We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven VanDyke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success and the success of my brand is having something that everyone can and at some point, in their lives, will relate to. Life brings us to moments where we all have to Fight…Win…Survive, it’s truly inevitable. In the midst of presenting and building a brand, one must also learn how to develop into being a brand in their own sense as well. When you hear the name Steven VanDyke, you should think of Fight…Win…Survive, and when you hear the name Fight…Win…Survive, you should think Steven VanDyke. The same comes in to play with our emergency app 911 Alert. When you hear any of those three names, successful branding makes you think of all three.

For example, Bad Boy Records. Who is the name that comes to mind? Sean “Puffy or P. Diddy” Combs, right? When you think of the name of the individual, what’s another thing that comes to mind? Sean John clothing or Cîroc Vodka?
Ultimately, the most important factor behind my success is God. There have been many days I wanted to quit, be normal, live an average life, and do away with the fear and anxiety. If you find support in family and friends, you are blessed. But, in a lot of cases, you have to present yourself to a group of people who don’t know you, and that alone, makes the work harder and more intense. But, when you have a purpose, a mission, and a goal, you persevere through it. I use a catch phrase “it’s BIGGER than just you and/or me” for a reason, because life as a whole has to be exactly that!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While in my sophomore year at Jackson State University, I decided that I wanted to become an entrepreneur. As a student in the school of business, everything was centered around getting a job by completing the specified business curriculum courses. I constantly asked my professors what could I learn that would teach me how to run my own business. Unfortunately, at that time, there was nothing in place. The biggest problem with being a visionary is not a lot of people can see what a wooded lot can eventually become.

People look at Steven VanDyke and they see my smile and the happiness that is a part of my overall brand, but what they don’t know, is that I have failed in my life way more than I have succeeded. Business ventures like a university apartment complex called College Park in Jackson, MS, the Alcohol Awareness Coalition, My Family Connection, My $1 Sacrifice, The Independent Artist Promotion Network are just some of the things that I have tried and failed at. I have put a lot of time, money, and effort into those failures but they didn’t cause me to quit.  But trust me, I have wanted to quit more than a few times, but I just don’t have it in me to quit. It’s just not in my nature to quit.
Every person who has an idea, believes in their idea. I watch Shark Tank every season, and in every episode, I see the inventors trying to make sense out of things that I know a shark isn’t going to invest in, and I see how crushed and disappointed they are walking out of the room. How do you overcome the doubters and the non-believers? The first thing is knowing when what you have is not what people want. Sometimes it’s the product or service, and other times, it’s just the wrong time. One thing I tell and have told to everyone that I have consulted with on their business, is to write everything down that comes to mind that they think about. What you write down today may not come to fruition until five years later. There’s one thing that I totally disagree with that some people say when it comes to their business and ideas as well, and that is “don’t tell anyone what you are doing, just show them.” I have absolutely no success in doing that. Why? Because everyone believes in their idea. There’s a reason why companies pay millions of dollars for focus groups. It’s in getting random people to hear the idea, and question the idea, that makes what you are doing come full circle.
Here’s an example, when I started Fight…Win…Survive in 2012, all I wanted to do was sell t-shirts. I purchased a bunch of t-shirts and I started selling them. As I started asking around about other apparel items that I could sell, my father asked, “why don’t you do those plastic wristbands like people are wearing that says ‘WWJD’ on them?” He said people will only wear a t-shirt every once in a while, but a wristband, they can wear every day. Wow, guess what? Our wristbands are the biggest selling item that we offer.
Forgive me for going long, but if someone reading this gets a hint of inspiration or a desire to move forward or keep going, then my time here is definitely worth it. One final thing, life allows you to come up with an idea that will help others and change lives. My family’s tragedy with my sister having a massive stroke in 2018 is how my 911 Alert app was birthed. My strongest desire to see it on everyone’s cellphone is moving slow in downloads, but it was recently recognized as one of the best 911 safety apps in 2021 by a company called Leap Droid, one year after being released.  My point is, use everything that happens to you in life, good and bad, for a purpose. God said it, we just have to identify with it, and do it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s funny that you ask that question because I really don’t go out and get out a whole lot. If my best friend was visiting, there are a few places that I would take them that good friends of mine own. There’s the Showcase Food Gallery and the Savoy Bistro to start. A few good friends have recently opened up new spots in Atlanta, there’s Slush and Hippin’ Hops Brewery that we would visit during that week long trip. I’m a former athlete so depending on the time of year, we can go to the Falcons, Hawks or Braves game as well. I’m sure I would find other places; my wife would definitely have a lot of input in places and things to do.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank my parents Steven and Carolyn VanDyke for always encouraging me to be different and supporting my visions and dreams. My sister Kimberly who always made sure my presentation was right. My wife Crystal who married me as a guy who had nothing but visions and dreams. My high school political science teacher Mr. William Bradley who helped me incorporate my first company (VanDyke Entertainment, Inc.) in 1994 while still in college.

I would also like to thank everyone who has supported me by purchasing or contributing to anything that I have brought to market from music, apparel, books, running for my district’s county commissioner seat (Clayton County, GA), to my newest release, the 911 Alert mobile app.

Website: https://FightWinSurvive.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fightwinsurvive/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-a-vandyke-3050258/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fightwinsurvive

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FightWinSurvive/

Other: https://911alert.app https://www.facebook.com/911alertapp https://www.instagram.com/911alertapp/ https://twitter.com/911alertapp https://stevenvandyke.ecwid.com/

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