We asked the community what factors they felt were responsible for their success and we’ve highlighted some of those responses below.

Antoinne Duane Jones | Celebrity Photographer, Author & Serial Entrepreneur

The most important factor behind my success was something I highlighted in my recent book, The Down Entrepreneur. It is my most favorite point! You should be best friends with “NO”! The word no should be something that you are so comfortable with hearing that it no longer bothers you when people say it, because they will say it. In fact, you will hear no in business like 9 out of 10 times you ask. But if you are not comfortable hearing no and blowing right by it, you will never get to your yes! Read more>>

Maggie Bush | Writer, Actress & Producer

The most important factor behind my success as a writer/creative is consistency. A mantra that I infused into my career is, “Don’t stop when you’re tired. Stop when you are done.” Many of us have goals, but few of us put in the work it takes to achieve them. The catalyst to success is hard work, determination, and a lot of “self talks.” I received my degree in journalism as a wife and mother of three. Many nights I cried from being so tired and questioned my whole life, but I looked to those mentors and people who inspired me as a framework for my goals. Now I have made a full time career as a writer/creative with the flexibility to be a very present mom and wife. I can say my hard work came at a cost, but in the end it has paid off in more ways than I could have imagined or hoped. Read more>>

Quonda Renee | Digital Marketing Strategist & Influencer

The most important factor behind my success and the success of my brand would be my faith. When I first started my brand my Faith was the only thing I had. I didn’t have money, a marketing budget, or connections. But I did feel an urgency to just start and trust God for the rest. Read more>>

Duncan Kirkwood | Author, Speaker & Trainer

I found my purpose. Once I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, I learned just how powerful it is for my soul to walk in my purpose. I realized that speaking, training, and inspiring people were the things that give me joy and I could make money doing them. After I had that realization, I leaned in. I started committing a lot more of my time to develop my craft, building my networks, and learning how to grow my brand. I worked as hard as I could to develop content and do the foundational work, but I was limited with time because I had to manage my consulting contracts. And then COVID hit, and like everyone else, everything was seemingly shut down. But instead of being broken, I realized that if I stayed in the house and quarantined I would have extra time to work on my goals. Read more>>

Kyara Murry

Important factors behind my success are faith and integrity. I have found that being grounded in my faith and committing to transparency has created a trusting space between my clients and my business. Additionally, I have found that to succeed in business, you have to be a woman or man of your word. Integrity is essential to businesses that depend on referrals, and endorsements. The goal is to sustain your clientele, therefore retaining your customer base is essential. Legally Black LLC.’s mission is to serve as the number one legal directory for primarily Black business owners, law firms, companies, startups, joint ventures and partnerships who are seeking to create win-win situations through creative technology driven (social media support) campaigns for lead generation (gaining more clients) & service/product conversion (gaining more sales). With regard to Legally Black LLC, retention and trust are essential to running a successful directory. Read more>>

Dr. Casuel Pitts | Celebrity Entrepreneur

One of the most important factors behind my success is adding God to my corporate documents and making him apart of my board meetings. With him I am everything but without him I’m nothing. So he is my success ledger. Read more>>

Britnee Kinard | Founder, CEO, Military Wife & Caregiver

Honesty and Transparency. I am extremely honest….probably to a fault. I have learned over the years that being extremely honest and transparent not only builds trust with others but also gains their respect. I am upfront about what we can provide for someone and I absolutely do not promise anything I cannot back up. I would expect the same from someone I am doing business with. I am aware of what my strengths and weaknesses are, and I will always admit when i’m wrong or when i’ve missed the mark. There are so many questions around nonprofits on how they spend their funds and what they actually do. This is where transparency comes into play. Being transparent with your donors, vendors, and clients makes it easier for them to connect with you on a deeper level. There are no curtains here. What you see is exactly what you get and I’m proud of that. Read more>>

Cherrylita Castedio | Video Creator & Video Editor

The most important factor behind my success is self discipline, and determination. Of course I have had help doing things, but the main source of fuel is myself. In order to be good at something you have to practice and you have to continue to do it. Everything is trial and error. There is no reward without some type of risk; you will have to gamble something, whether it’s something physical or mentally. I gamble on myself, yes that is a thing. You only go as far as you allow yourself to. When it comes down to it you are your own worse enemy. For myself, I want to do a lot of things, so I try different things and I see what works and what doesn’t and make adjustments from there. Self discipline is not an easy thing, but it’s important to have if you really want to become successful and become good at what you do. Read more>>

Lavette Minn | The Family Brand Educator

The most important factor behind the success of my brand was being very clear on who I was building my business and brand for while building a community around them. When I launched The Family Brand Movement in 2017, I knew who I wanted to serve but I wasn’t clear on how I was going to serve them. After rebranding 4 times, my target audience shifted but with much more clarity. I changed my brand messages to speak directly to them and that’s when the success followed. Read more>>

Tyler Buckingham | Functional Strength, Mobility and Performance Specialist, Actor, Stuntman & Creator

The community. Without the community behind Buckingham Fitness there would be no success. Read more>>

Adriane Farley, Jayla Ores, Jacki “Kash” Childress, Robin Living | Youth on the Move Radio

As a team, we believe that success comes with faith and persistence. We understand that you must work hard and learn the business you are working in with others. Youth on the Move is to help our youth to keep moving and let their voices to be heard. Read more>>

Tiffany Burgess | Public Health, Writer & Actress

The most important factor behind my success is God. I stepped out on faith and wrote 2 children’s books and it was the best decision I have ever made. It hasn’t been easy. The process can take months but with determination and hard work, it has been very rewarding. Read more>>

Sianni Cabello | College and Life Prep Speaker & Marketing Consultant

The most important factor, though it may be overlooked is conducting a heart check every now and again. This keeps your stamina up, this keeps your head focused, and most of all this keeps you sane and moving in the right direction. When asking for sponsorships/partnerships brands can always tell if something is of value or done for the wrong reasons. Having success isn’t always in the hours you put in but how they’re put in. Are you cutting corners, cheating your way through, only looking for what you’ll get out of it? Or do you have heart and soul in everything you do for the good of others/your population? There is a scripture I love and as an entrepreneur I keep close & that’s Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”. Read more>>