We had the good fortune of connecting with Danielle Brent-Bownes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I graduated law school in 2012, took the bar exam Feb 2013 and failed by two points. It would then take me 5 more times to pass. I passed in 2018. After passing I was thinking about what I wanted do next. After having to take the exam so many times I had loss confidence and felt like failure even after I passed. I went back and forth about what I wanted to do. I prayed and prayed because the most logical thing to do was go and work for a law firm but something in my gut was holding me back. I didn’t put in any applications. It came to me that maybe I should start my own law firm. But the thought of failure immediately popped into my head. I was scared..all of the the what ifs was hitting me at once. What if this bad thing happen, what if that happen and so on. But after working so hard to finally get to this point, I couldn’t see myself going to work for someone else. I believed if I didn’t have anything else, I had perseverance and that could take me far. For years I had felt like I was living life on somebody else’s terms and I wanted to live my life on my terms. I felt the only way to do that was to start my own firm and build it the way I see fit. So I emailed my supervisor and told her I was quitting on my day off. She said you should put in your two weeks notice just in case you need to come back. I said to myself I’m never coming back but I did put in my 2 weeks notice lol. That was over 3 years ago and I haven’t looked back since. The quote I kept telling myself by Martin Luther King Jr is “faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase. I knew nothing about running a business and new to the practice of law but I’m still in it, so my perseverance worked after all.

The journey hasn’t been easy at all but it’s damn sure been worth it.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m the owner of Brent Bownes Law PLLC where we help women enterprenuers legally protect thier brand so they can grow thier business with peace of mind. Iv’e always wanted to help the underserve. I thought I would do that as a criminal defense attorney but realized that area of law wasn’t for me. I had to figure out what area of law I could do but still help the underserved. I decided on business law and trademarks. More specifically I show up to help black women owned businesses start, grow, and protect their brand. Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs but yet the most underserved when it comes to business resources. Black women entrepreneurs now have a law firm they can come to that will understand not only what it means to be a black business owner but the legal protections that they need for their business. You will not get that at every law firm. It’s our mission to provide culturally-centered legal representation.

I got to where I am today through hard work and perseverance. I am a person that can get things done regardless of the challenges because I don’t give up. The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is that business is all about trial and error. Some days you will get it right other days you won’t. But pay close attention to the days you got it wrong because that’s where you will learn the most. Never dwell on the mistakes just learn from them and keep it moving.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would go wine tasting, eat sushi, nice bar, seafood restaurant

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My grandmother because she showed me what handwork looks like. She never waited on anyone to get things done she made it happen always.

Website: www.brentbowneslaw.com

Instagram: @b.b.law

Linkedin: Danielle Brent-Bownes

Facebook: Brent Bownes Law PLLC

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