Natalie Franke
Can you really use your business to change the world? That is the question we are asking and my extraordinary guest Danielle Coke is answering in today’s episode of The Independent Business Podcast. Danielle Coke is a designer turned illustrator, advocate, speaker and entrepreneur. She’s the founder of Oh, happy Dani, a lifestyle brand and educational platform that uses artwork, and resources to encourage hope, inspire justice, and make complex ideas so much more accessible. She’s driven by her desire to help everyday advocates do good daily in their spheres of influence, and use their passions, their skills to change the world. Danielle also has a passion for helping brands to deliver their messaging with light and truth and to make an impact. She’s worked with companies like Target, Adobe, the Home Depot, Dell, and metta. She’s also served around organizations like the NAACP, the Boys and Girls Club of America and other Nonprofits and Charities within her hometown of Atlanta. I had the opportunity to meet Danielle and hear her speak last year on the show at Spark stage. And I can tell you that her talk was so deeply transformative to every single person in that audience. It is my great joy, my great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to sit down with her today and bring her genius, her passion, her artistry to the independent business podcast.
Natalie Franke
Hey, everyone, this is your host, Natalie Frank, and you’re listening to the independent business podcast, more people than ever are working for themselves and building profitable businesses in the process. So on this show, I sit down with some of the most influential authors, entrepreneurs and creators to break down the science of self made success so that you can achieve victory.
Natalie Franke
Danielle, thank you so much for joining me. I am honored, honored to have you here.
Danielle Coke
I’m so excited. I think you’re the best. I think you’re really kind and really brilliant. And so I’m very excited to be able to do this together.
Natalie Franke
Oh, well, thank you. i The first time I heard you speak on a stage was just a couple months ago. And I have to be honest, I think you rattled the whole room. Like, there was power. There was emotion, there was brilliance there was like I sat there. And the whole time I felt like I just wanted to be scribbling quotes down, like as you were onstage like, oh, mic drop, and then another and another. And I’m like, we don’t have as many mics to be dropped right now. Like, I just couldn’t even handle it. So the fact that you suggest to come on this podcast, I just want to say thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you. And for anyone who, you know, maybe doesn’t know your story, I bet though they’ve seen your work, they’ve seen your art. If they haven’t, then they’re probably not on the internet, because it has been so impactful, so deeply impactful over the past couple of years. And so I would love to kind of kick us off there in sharing, you know, how has your journey unfolded? And how have you used art throughout that journey to make an impact? Yes.
Danielle Coke
best intro ever. By the way, thank you so much. I think the journey was very unexpected, very wild. I think it’s started really, and you’ve heard part of the story already. But it started back when I was working at the last full time job I ever had. It was also my very first full time job. And I had already been super passionate about justice and equity. And I wanted to bring that energy into my job, which was at a small event planning agency in a small town. And I was the only black woman on staff, which was not abnormal for me, like my life has looked like that based on where I grew up. So being there, the sweetest people a lovely environment, but just so painfully unaware of the implications of not being knowledgeable about race, and those kinds of conversations that come out of that. And I experienced a lot of different situations that put me in an uncomfortable position because of that. And so I talked to my boss, and I wanted to set some time up to just be like, Hey, would you be willing to maybe bring in a speaker like we were in Atlanta, it’s the mecca of black owned di, justice, lead organizations. And I was just kind of like, yeah, there’s just so many opportunities to bring somebody in, or maybe we could, I don’t know, do a class or training. And he basically said to me that he is not passionate about that. And he’s not interested in that. And he doesn’t see why he would spend company money or time investing into something he is not passionate about. And so me a person very passionate about it, and also an employee in his business was like, wow, you may care about my output, but you don’t care about me. I As an individual, and all that that entails. And so I don’t feel like I can actually grow here as a person, or a professional, if I’m not being thoughtful in that way. So I decided to quit. So I saved up some paychecks. And I started a small business on the side, it’s called so happy social. And the purpose of the business was to help positive mission based brands use social media for maximum impact. And I really wanted to focus on those brands, because they were so busy on the ground doing that incredible work, they weren’t worried about if their fees were ascetically pleasing, or, you know, anything like that. So I wanted to just come in and help him that way. And I thought that would be my contribution. And so I did that for a little while. And then I picked up art, this was all in the year 2019. So I picked up art on the iPad digital art, at the end of that year, and I had always been super creative and into art, digital art was just a new medium. And so I wanted to kind of make art to speak to the kind of people that I, you know, worked with at one point who I felt like could benefit from that additional knowledge of like, Justice concepts and race and just things that I wish people understood more. So I made these little graphics, mostly just speaking to the people that already followed me, which was around 700 people at that time in December of 2019. And, yeah, I would make art that talked about the dangers of the seeing and color or not seeing color mentality and how it’s important. So see, see color, obviously. And then other things like that I talked about microaggressions, I talked about the importance of empathy and the role that that plays in justice work. And I would just make it pretty, and I would draw it. And I posted it online, and was very surprised when people I didn’t know started to share it. And I’ve worked for social media accounts for all sorts of brands, but I just never pictured that this would be my story. So long story short, I would share them, people would share them to the art started to pick up. And then during summer of 2020, when we all know what happened in summer of 2020. You know, the deaths of Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd became center stage. And we started talking about racial justice in a whole new way. Well, a bigger way. And my art went viral about 300,000 followers in one week. Wow. Which was unbelievable. Yeah, unbelievable. I wouldn’t recommend necessarily, but ever since then, people have been interacting with the artwork, because I feel like it takes complex ideas and makes them more accessible for the everyday person. And the goal is never to dumb anything down. It’s to make it more approachable and recognize that people are entering these conversations at many different points of life. And they all deserve the chance to come into contact with information in a way that is most accessible to them. So yeah, that’s kind of the story.
Natalie Franke
That’s beautiful. That’s really beautiful. And you do such an exceptional job of all of the things that you’ve described. I’m curious if because you mentioned even like, went viral 300,000 followers, like just this rapid, expansive growth in a short amount of time and you joked, like, wouldn’t recommend I met there are a lot of learnings that you’ve had that go have gone alongside that impact that’s been made. So I’m curious if you’d be open to sharing some of those, like, what are some of those learnings that you’ve had about the impact or alongside the impact? The Good, The Bad? Anything that you’re open to sharing? Yeah,
Danielle Coke
sure. So I think one thing that I had to make known very quickly, was that I’m not a resource, I’m a person, because the content and the art that I would create was very, from a very specific vantage point. It was from, you know, my young, black female voice. And so and, you know, also there was faith tied into there, and just many different aspects that make up who I am as an individual. And so people would come and be like, I don’t appreciate this, because this doesn’t take into account my worldview. And I was like, that’s not what I’m trying to do. You know, I’m a person, not a textbook, you can find all the information that I’m sharing in a way that reaches your specific, you know, point in context, if you want to Google it. But like, for me, that was just a part of staying true to who I am as a creator is to not leave my individuality and my personality on the table in order to appease the masses. It was important for me to maintain my personhood, and not just because that helped with my creativity, but also because it helped with staying on top of all of this staying alive in this wild landscape of people wanting all this information so quickly, and it felt like we were in the middle of a revolution of some kind, like a huge racial reckoning is what it felt like at the time. And so I didn’t want to get swept away in the current of people focusing on what was trending at the Time and wanting to extract as much as they could out of me. So that was one thing. And the second thing I learned was how to build up boundaries. So I’m not flooded with abuse. So very early on very abusive comments, messages, emails, people were sending me 20 Page letters about why they disagree with me. And there was so much love, of course, the love greatly outweighed the hate, but there was hate. And so I immediately limited my comments to followers only. And it’s like that to this day. Because this is a conversation for another day. But the hate I’m experiencing in the year 2023 is neck and neck with the hate from 2020, which is a whole, that’s a whole conversation that I haven’t even started having yet, anywhere. But I’ll just throw that out there to show the how the landscape is changing, and it feels very cyclical. But yeah, I just had to do many things to protect my my well being and my peace of mind. So those are two things that I immediately implemented,
Natalie Franke
which is so important. So many business owners and creatives and artists and recovering people pleasers in general struggle a lot with setting boundaries, they struggle a lot with even doing any of the steps you just mentioned. It’s it can be terrifying. And it shouldn’t be to take care of yourself to honor your needs, and to put those needs first before people that do not deserve to have access to your time and to cause harm. And yet it is it feels impossible in a world that just expects the opposite of us. Yeah. And so I hope that really resonates with business owners listening to who maybe need to set some of those boundaries, and can feel good in doing so can feel strong and doing so. I am curious, this is a question that I will say the team all of us behind the scenes, were like, Can we ask this? Is this going too deep, but in a good way, now that you have had this growth now that you have kind of expanded both creatively and through your business? I’m really curious. How do you feel about the responsibility now that you that perhaps, does or is perceived to sit upon your shoulders? Because of the impact that you’ve had? How does that feel to have people looking to you, you know, every time something happens in the world and wanting to know, you know, how are you going to talk about it? Are you going to talk about it? That immense amount of pressure and eyes and attention? How do you feel? How are you doing? Really?
Danielle Coke
Yes, I will say that at the beginning, it was it felt like it wasn’t too heavy, because I was coasting alongside all these other people doing similar work at the same time. And we were driven at each other and we were cheering each other on rock. Yeah, we can just we talk about these hard things. And eventually, it became crippling to feel like I had to be that person to either say something new, or speak to all the trending topics and everything that was going on in the world. I’ll remember when a story first came out about civil unrest in another country. I had this specific situation has been going on for years and years and years. But I had very, very, very limited context, not because I didn’t care, but because I live here. And so I just didn’t know. And so when that happens, of course, we learn, we take in information. And we’re like, okay, I need to sit with this new thing. I need to get a grasp on what’s going on. So I can have an informed opinion and know the facts. But there was a moment where I was flooded with all of these opinions in my inbox of people saying, You clearly don’t care, like you act like you do if you’re not speaking about this specific thing in this specific country. And that taught me a huge lesson. Firstly, that there’s nothing wrong with knowing your lane and occupying it. But also, you can never be all things to all people at all times, there will always be somebody who’s disappointed. And the responsibility is not on me to speak to all things at all times. Because that’s what community is four. That’s what the collective is for. That’s why we lean on other people. And we learn from other people and we amplify each other’s voices because I cannot be the resident expert on things that I have no context on, because knowledge and context are two different things. That’s a whole other thing. But yes, when I just decided I’m going to stand on this truth in this reality, because I will never go to someone else and say you post about all these good things that you’re doing Let’s say it’s another activist, you do such good work here. But how dare you not speak to this thing here and all of the other things as if this person is not a human being. So that was the, that was the lesson that I learned early on. And then I took the pressure off myself, to feel as though I always had to say something new. Because, in reality, I wasn’t actually saying something brand new every time I said something, I think a lot of what I do, and what I aim to do with the future of this work is reimagination. So taking things that have already been said, quoting and giving credit to who said it, but also breathing new life into the concept with my own skills, talent and specific worldview, and then bringing that to life in my own creative way. I think that’s beautiful. Also, because not a lot of things that we think are new and brand new, and we’re the first to do it, it’s often not actually the case. And while we are creative, and have initiative and do bring new things to life, sometimes, it’s not possible to always be saying something brand new. So I just took the pressure off of myself and reminding myself the point isn’t to make much of me anyway, in the work that I’m doing is to make much of the topic, it’s to highlight the issues, it’s to highlight the change that’s needed. And so that shift helped me take the pressure off myself to appear new and on top of things, and just to be human, and stay in my lane. But not closing myself off to empathy and caring and feeling and learning about things outside of myself. Bow, it’s a balance.
Natalie Franke
I needed that. I’m sure a lot of folks listening also needed that reminder. And speaking of our listeners, look, I have four we hopped on, you know, I mentioned that independent business owners care a lot about their communities, they care a lot about the world around them, they care a lot about social justice issues, they care a lot about the environment, they care a lot about, you know, the infrastructure of the government, and the ways that they are and often are not supported. They care about a lot of things. And yet, sometimes it can feel impossible to change the world from where you are. But you are an example of someone who as a designer, turned illustrator turned entrepreneur, you’ve had done that you’ve truly done that, I have no doubt in my mind that lives have been changed, and saved just by your work and by what you do in the world every single day. So for those listening, who want to use their talents want to use their business to make a difference to change the world for where they are, how would you recommend they lean into their strengths to make an impact? How do you recommend that they get started? Yeah,
Danielle Coke
that’s good. So I often talk about the idea of purpose being found at the intersection of your passions, your skills, the community you’re planted in, and a need that you see in the world. This is not an idea that’s unique to me. I got it from the Japanese ideology known as iki. Guy. I hope I’m saying it correctly. I should know by now. But it’s that ideology of the meaning of life being at the intersection of several different things. And so I kind of was inspired by that ideology and kind of said, Okay, if someone is struggling with the idea of purpose, what am I meant to do with my whole entire life and my whole business? And what’s the deeper meaning I feel as though that pressure can often seem overwhelming. And if someone wants a more practical alternative, the idea of present purpose is that discovery of what can I do here now, based on what I’m currently passionate about what I’m currently skilled in the needs that I currently see in the community that I’m currently planted in. And so I would say for a small business owner who wants to kind of add that impact to what they’re already doing is to just consider, first of all, the nature of the business and what you currently do. For example, I was a graphic designer. And so in analyzing my skills at the time, I was like, Yeah, I love to design I’m not even really that good at drawing yet. I just started drawing, but I do like to draw right now, digitally. And I’m passionate about racial justice. And I see a need in the world right now for, you know, digestible information about these topics. So what if I put all that together and draw about it and then posted to my community, which is social media. And that’s see I fully intended it to be and remain a small thing that I did. And things just happened the way they happened, but I think people can apply that to many different aspects of life. I recently gave a talk to Barry college And we talked about Dr. King’s speech that he gave at the Youth march for integrated schools. And he called it making a career of humanity. He said, You are at the stage of life right now where you are contemplating many different career paths and options. And he said, as you pursue like your vocation, may I propose an avocation to go along with it, he said, make a career of humanity become a perpetual, you know, student of human rights. And he said, that will take your vocation, and amplify it because you’re combining it with impact and making a difference in the world around you. And so using that framework, that idea, I basically gave the example of let’s say that you work in healthcare, and you recently learned about the motherhood mortality rate? And how about how black women are more likely to die in childbirth, and you working in the healthcare system, you could be a nurse or something, you as you learn about that, and you apply your skills and your passions for these things, you’re able to make a difference right there by just becoming more aware of, okay, how am I are my black patients feeling seen and cared for is somebody complaining about pain, and not being taken as seriously as they need to be? How can I step in and make sure I’m aware and focused. And so that’s a way to apply it to, you know, to a job, but you also talked about entrepreneurship. So even I know small business owners who have attached fundraising initiatives to their sales, or saying, you know, for this week, for this limited amount of time, 10% of our proceeds is going to go to this cause. And that’s a beautiful, easy step to take if you’re able to, to kind of shine some light on a cause that you care about while using your skills and passions to continue to do the work that you already do. And, yeah, even the ways that you honor holidays, on your social media platforms, or the ways that you implement your marketing content, or the stock photos that you choose, or the ways that you highlight communities, throughout the work that you do, the ways that you amplify and care for your team. There’s just so many different ways to just amp up the awareness, tag it with your skills, and your passions and the needs you see in the world, and your community. And then just make a difference, right where you are with what you have, it doesn’t always have to be a protest that you’re watching it, you know, or a vote, it can also be your everyday life.
Natalie Franke
And that’s so empowering as a business owner, because I think that we have the hope and the desire, and you just laid out a ton of ways to get moving to act to take action. And one of the things that I love, it’s been several, several, several years now ongoing, but even, you know, down to Small Business Saturday, every year, you know, every year, there’s one day, we all know it, and everyone focuses on supporting small business. But one challenge that, you know, was raised several years ago, and I love kind of reminding the community over and over again, is take a look at within your own business. What other businesses are your supporting? Who are you hiring through your business? Right? Like, are you ensuring that you are supporting black owned business, that you’re supporting businesses in different marginalized groups and communities? Are you being intentional pivoting from you know, you actually using your business to make that impact? I want to talk about some research. This is a podcast all about the science of self made success. So please hang in there with me when I get a little nerdy for just a second. Research shows that generation by generation, younger generations care more and more and more as you progressively get younger about the values behind a company that they support. 83% of millennials say that they care about whether a brand’s values align with their own, and 70 over 70% actually want the CEO or the owner of the business to actively speak out against injustice is in the world and issues that that CEO cares about. The way that a business owner shows up has always mattered. And we are seeing that especially because of social media and the ability to reach more people than ever with a platform. That impact essentially is scaling more and more and more year over year and customers and clients want to know where you stand. They want to know the values behind the brands that they are supporting. And so with that knowledge in mind, I want us for a second to kind of speak to the business owner who’s afraid who maybe has never vocalized the values that they have behind their business, maybe has never spoken out against something that at home and in private they feel strongly about but When it comes to business, they’re still maintaining that kind of ideology that I was taught 15 years ago, which is politics stays out of business, we’ve entered a very different arena,
Unknown Speaker
things have changed. What do you say to them? What
Natalie Franke
do you say to the person who’s remaining silent out of fear?
Danielle Coke
Yes, I think this is very, very important. Because it’s really not easy. And I know, we tend to act like it is sometimes some people tend to act like it is, I think, to fear can come from two different places, it can come from many places, but to jump out at me right now, fear of judgment. So the fear that once you make your case, people will formulate opinions about you, that are not necessarily as positive as they once were. And they might repel some of your customer base. And, yeah, it will. So people will judge you, I tried to make it sound better, but that’s just the reality. And so, knowing that it’s a given, we can prepare ourselves for that, as we prepare to make that stance or take that stance or say that thing fully knowing that, yes, it may repel certain people, but it will attract the people you want supporting your business. Because when somebody is reaching out and purchasing from you, and knowing in the back of their minds that this is a company that values what I value and aligns with what I align, when people reorient and change their buying habits or want to make different pledges to support certain kinds of businesses, that won’t negatively affect you as much as it could affect other people who don’t take that stance because you were clear about where you’re at. And so if the trends, like you just said, are showing that people are going in that direction, and you do want to make an impact. Just know that impact does not come without a cost. And most people want this to be easy. And most people want it to be a seamless transition. But this is not just about positioning your business to be more trendy, or trying to keep up with the times, this is a decision that you’re making to draw a line in the sand and declare that you care about other people. And you care about injustice, and you care about fighting oppression. And so if that’s the case, you got to stand 10 toes down on that, and know that you are entering a whole different arena, where more is required of you in that way. But the benefit beyond the metrics is that you are having an impact on the world around you. And that’s the kind of stuff that really stands the test of time. And to me that’s worth all the sacrifice. So that’s the first thing I would say fear of judgment. The second thing, I think, is the fear of getting it wrong. And this one is huge. You you spend time researching, you craft a statement, you craft a stance, you put it out there, and we find out that you said something in a way that wasn’t the best to the community that you’re seeking to support, or you missed it. That is also going to happen at some point too. And so I really want people to understand that some of this is bracing for impact, bracing for the impact of judgement and bracing for the impact of one day getting it wrong. And if you do get it wrong. There’s beauty in that too. Because you’re growing, you’re taking that risk to say the thing, even if you say it wrong. And it’s the beginning of a process, and a continuous growth journey that humbles all of us, because this is one of those things that you can’t necessarily arrive at overnight or ever. You may get really good at learning all the business stuff, and all of that, but I don’t think you ever arrive at understanding how to perfectly communicate justice things. And that’s because we as humans and as culture are just consistently shifting language changes all the time. A word that you may have used to describe a community 10 years ago can be a no go right now. And that’s why continuously learning is important. But also the fear of getting it wrong can be curbed by an absolutely knowing what you stand for inside and out. And this is not just saying I stand for fighting against human trafficking. It’s saying like, I know the definition of human trafficking, I can identify it. I know the threats to it. I know and even even from a justice perspective, if you’re to say, you know, I stand against racism, you need to know and this sounds so basic. Do you know racism means like definition. Can you identify what that looks like? If you were to post out a statement and say, we at x community condone the racist comments of X person, if someone pushes back and says, that wasn’t racist, can you defend, because you need to know, then you need to know how to defend and be able to speak clearly about what you stand for. So when those moments come where either you, either someone accuses you of getting it wrong when you did, or you did, in fact, maybe not say it perfectly, you can reorient, or you can clear the air. And know that I’m just not going with a trend or someone else said, it’s racist. So we got to say it too, we know what’s up. And we’re gonna stand 10 toes down on this. And so speaking back to the person who may be feeling fearful, because that kind of sounds a little bit intimidating. I just think remembering that, once you decide to name what you stand for, you are entering a new level of business and life and care that will require more intentionality. And you will have to know a little bit more and learn a little bit more and be brave. But the reward in that the impact that you’re making on other people’s lives, the consumer who could have felt so isolated for so long, thinking about the businesses that they support, don’t care anything about them. They’ll see that and they’ll be like, Oh, I’m bought in. And these are the kinds of people we want, being the cheerleaders of our businesses.
Natalie Franke
100%, you know, for every first I’ll just need to pause for a second. Yeah, let’s find the impact, bracing for it? Is it the fear of being judged? Is it the fear of getting it wrong? The reality that you will probably have both happen, right? Yes, you will be judged? Yes, you’re gonna get it wrong. The question is, are you still going to choose to do it anyway? And that’s the big question that I think we need to ask like, ask the listeners and ask yourself, if you’re listening to this, are you willing to face judgment? Are you willing to face getting it wrong, and having to set your ego aside and admit that you are imperfect, but that what you care about is more important than you showing up as polished and perfect and holding on to that ego with clenched fists? Right? Yeah. So this is an invitation. What Danielle has just offered all of you is an invitation with so much grace and kindness and love. But I think it’s one that I hope as you listen to this, like, we take seriously, we take seriously and even if it’s one step forward, and I would kind of lead us into this question, then someone’s listening, they’re going, Okay, you’re right. I’m going to step up, I’m going to brace for the judgment, I’m going to brace for maybe getting it wrong and screwing it up. But I’m committing to the long term effort of getting it right. What do I do next? What is my first step? Where do I even begin? What would you say to someone in that moment of realization, and now, now they’re they’re ready to kind of take the tip toe, maybe not do the full donation and run the business and start hiring like crazy, like, what is the first step that you would recommend? Maybe before all of that, yeah. Okay, so
Danielle Coke
you decided that you’re going to start, then that’s awesome. I think the first step is starting to grow in awareness. And so I have this framework as an illustrator, you know, I’d be drawing, but I have this funnel that I call narrowing down your action. And it’s, the goal of it is to help people go from information overwhelm to aligned action, like at the end of this funnel, I’m going to have identified a next step. And so the top of the funnel, you have like general information. So all of these things that you have learned about and all of these things that you care about. It goes into the top of this funnel, and then you get a little bit more specific and you’re like, Okay, I’ve been researching, I’ve been learning I’ve been I care about this topic. Let me get a little bit more specific. What maybe is an issue caused by this in my industry? What in my field, what can I latch on to and kind of say, Okay, I am a business owner in what can I I don’t even know what pick it pick a field PICK IT industry, any industry
Natalie Franke
deal mine wedding photographer that I come from wedding photography. Oh, you
Danielle Coke
know what? That’s great. Okay, so let’s say, let’s say you are researching about racial justice, and then you get a little bit into the topics and you’re finding okay, how easy is it for people of color to find wedding photographers that do justice to their skin? totes that don’t feel like they’re washed out. And this is come from somebody who’s planning a wedding right now.
Natalie Franke
Yeah, I was gonna say, Are you we’re days away now, aren’t we? Are we abandoned the days away? Yeah.
Danielle Coke
So this is things that I am keeping in mind, I’m looking at this portfolio. And I’m like, this photographer has never photographed a black couple. The the ones that I have seen, I don’t know if they care enough about these images, to research different ways to you know, edit that saturation and get my skin tone, not to flushed. And so what are ways that you can just set some time aside and be like, I’m gonna look into best practices for this. And I’m gonna see the best ways I can do that, I might offer one or two complimentary sessions, because you know, I might do that every six months, do a complimentary session. And I might reach, I might see like, the people who come in, maybe I can make a way to clarify that I really want to welcome in couples of color. So maybe in the marketing photos, I’ll pull couples of color as much as I’m pulling white couples, and showing like, yeah, I want to do this. And so that’s, that’s an example. And that’s an example of like, going actually all the way through the funnel. So you’ve researched racial justice, you’re like photography? How can I align that to what I do? You researching, okay? Is it what are the pain points here for people of color, probably this, and then you’re getting more specific, and you’re tying, you’re tying this to your passion. And then at the bottom, you have an action step that you can start. And this none of that what I just said, is necessarily front facing right away, that research can happen behind closed doors, those decisions, you can make those small decisions, that means so much, I think that’s one way that somebody can get started, is just narrowing down your action from all the information you take in to something that makes sense with what you’re passionate about. In an action step. That’s not overwhelming to take.
Natalie Franke
Wow, we’re gonna include that funnel that you’re talking about, if possible, in the show notes. Yeah. Is that something that we can get link to? And do? Is it up on social or Okay, so we will make sure to link to that. So if you’re listening, and you want to see that visualized, which again, if you’re familiar with Danielle’s work, it is just so beautiful. And if you’re not all the more reason, run to the show notes, see that and walk through it for your specific business, right, like, go through the steps, apply your business, that was such a powerful example. And I’ll say, too, I know for a fact knowing in our community that we have black educators who teach on how to edit skin tones for photographers, so if that like that actual example that you just gave, I wonder if Ty Renda, Pentecost still has her course available? If so I will also link that in our show notes. Thank you, Ty. But that’s an example of as you’re going through that funnel look to and say like, Okay, I want to learn these things and take those steps. And just like Danielle said, you can do so much of this, behind the scenes, and keep kind of growing and growing and growing as you move to bringing it external in your business. Whew, that was very, very powerful. As we kind of round the corner and towards the end of our interview. This, you know, is a question I love to ask. And as we’re unpacking, like, what is the science of self made success, what we’re really trying to say is that there is a science to success based on however you define that success. And whatever uniqueness you bring to the table, those are two key variables in the equation. But nonetheless, there are inputs that contribute to you becoming the success that you desire and finding it in your life. So I would love to know from you, Danielle, what do you think, is the biggest thing that differentiates the businesses that succeed from the ones that fail? What is that biggest factor?
Danielle Coke
Oh, wait, that’s quite the question, especially taking into account what I do, as I as I was in the early days of running my small business. And so for those who may not know, I was selling art prints, bookmark, stickers, etc. It was one it was wildly successful, it was also painstakingly difficult. But I realized early early on that there’s a level of tenacity and not giving up notice that I had to have as I moved through each day, and I also thought about how important it was to not try to do things the way I saw other people doing them. But moreso doing things in a way that worked for me, it worked for my industry, the impact that I was trying to make, as well as things that made sense numbers wise and such. So I think, and it just kind of goes back to what I said at the very beginning, like staying true to who I am as an individual, as a person, the things that matter to me, and the values that I have, and also the way I operate. I found out in January that I have ADHD, like that explains a lot. So how I say okay,
Natalie Franke
please name here. Yes, welcome to the neuro divergent community exactly, explains a
Danielle Coke
lot. But how can meet a black female neurodivergent woman in the Justice space, run a business that is true to who I am and what I value. And I think at the end of the day, even when things switch up when a brand client reaches out, and completely changes the script, it’s it’s the integrity and wanting to reflect the values that I embody, that had me say, Oh, we’re gonna go ahead and stop this project, I’m gonna send, I’m gonna actually send you your money back, and we’re just gonna bow, let’s cancel the contract, I will lose, I will lose $5,000, I was $10,000. So those, it’s those moments where I could choose to go against what I believe and make a whole lot of money and crumble on the inside. Where I had to realize me as a person and who I am, I’m going to have the tenacity to work hard, but also stay true to who I am. And I think when we separate the me from the business is when the business can start it starts to kind of crumble, not because it’s no longer a reflection of you, but because your values and all those things that you hold dear, should in a way be like, inextricably linked as Dr. King would say. That avocation and vocation thing. And so, for me, that’s a big lesson I learned like the two cannot be separated. And I love that. Yeah. The businesses who may not stand the test of time may have in one way or another come face to face with that reality.
Natalie Franke
Tenacity, integrity. What a powerful conversation, Danielle, thank you so so so much for being on the podcast, I have no doubt that our listeners are going to want to learn more from you follow you and I heard a little birdie told me that there is a book coming out this fall that is a must buy. And I also heard from being an author myself, I should say, I know that when you preorder a book you are supporting an author tenfold because that preorder is what signals to retailers how much of a book to buy how much of a book to put on shelves. So I would love for you to share how can people find out about you follow you and then preorder this amazing book I’m hearing so much about? Yes.
Danielle Coke
I love this. Thank you. So you can find me at Oh, happy dani everywhere because that brand alignment is strong. ohhappy dani.com. And on the website, Oh, happy dani.com That will be all the information on how you can preorder my first book called a heart on fire. It is 100 meditations on loving your neighbor as well. And the whole goal of it is to make living a life of impact. A daily practice approachable and accessible for the everyday person. And so there’s 100 meditations, 100 art pieces to go with them. And it’s just something I’m very proud of. So yeah, you can find me there
Natalie Franke
and join us we’re going to celebrate Dani, we’re going to celebrate you when that book comes out in October. And I will be pre ordering some copies. So if you follow along with the podcast, you will also get a chance to win one of her books which I’d recommend preorder it then if you win a second copy, it can be the best gift that you’ve ever given a friend or a neighbor that you intend to love. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. I have absolutely loved getting to chat with you.
Danielle Coke
Thank you for having me. This has been lovely.
Natalie Franke
That ends our episode of The Independent Business Podcast. Everything that we’ve discussed today can be [email protected]. Head to our website for access to show notes, relevant links and all of the resources that you need to level up. And if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss our future content. Drop us a review and leave our guests some love on social. Thanks again for listening
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
