Tell us how you all met.
We met at a club in DC called Aqua. His cousin was celebrating his birthday and that’s the only reason he was at the club. His cousin’s friend invited me, who was also a friend of mine. He set my girls and I up in their VIP section and you can say it became our section while we partied the night away. I saw Brian directly across from me and thought to myself where did he come from and who is he, because he was looking good. He walked over to me and introduced himself after a while. He told me that I was in him and his family’s VIP section. We had drunk the bottles by that point, so it was our VIP section, now. From the moment we met, it was a wrap for anybody else in the club. We talked and danced all night. We were stuck like glue to each other from the night we met and still are today.
Q: How did the idea of starting a business together first come about, and what motivated you to pursue multiple ventures as a couple?
Both of us are entrepreneurs at heart and grinding is what we do. He supports my dreams and vice versa. Most of all we are both risk-takers and that’s a blessing to be married to someone that has the same go-getter mentality. We always want more, so we just go after everything we want, while understanding that we have to constantly do more.
Q: Dana, as the more outgoing partner, can you share how you and Brian complement each other's strengths and weaknesses in running your businesses?
Brian handles the behind-the-scenes business in everything we do for all our companies. Finances, taxes, contracts, and all things business go to him and through him. That's not my lane and never was. He does not like the limelight or being in the mix of things. He truly prefers to be in the background, so that works perfectly for us. I like being hands-on with networking, marketing, and creating opportunities because I'm a people person. He cannot do what I do and vice versa and that is what makes us perfect business partners. We know our lanes and take running our lanes very seriously.
Q: Brian, as the quieter, more introverted partner, how do you approach decision-making and leadership within your businesses, and how does this dynamic contribute to your combined success?
I approach decision-making analytically, based on information gathered, facts, and wisdom based on past experience. My leadership within my businesses is based on a situational or a contingency approach. My thought pattern is different from Dana's way of thinking. When addressing a situation all bases are covered.
Q: What are some of the challenges you have faced as a couple running multiple businesses, and how have you navigated these challenges together?
Sometimes we just don't agree, and we are not on the same page. We have both made decisions that we thought were for the best, but that ended up not being the case. Now we try to find a middle ground when we don't agree on certain things.
Q: Dana, how do you balance your outgoing nature with Brian's more reserved approach to ensure effective communication and collaboration in both your personal and professional lives?
I am just me and he accepts me for me and that works with us. I'm over the top, he is more reserved, but it is the balance that makes our marriage so awesome.
Q: Brian, what advice would you give to other introverted individuals who play a significant role in their businesses but may not be as vocal or outwardly assertive?
You must communicate and it's no getting around that. I'm a work in progress and Dana is constantly pushing me towards being a better communicator.
Q: Can you share a specific example of a time when your differing personalities and working styles led to a particularly successful business decision or outcome?
Bringing Dana’s stage play "A Woman's Love" to life in May 2022, we took a leap of faith and had two sold-out shows and rave reviews. She did all the marketing and promoting, and I did all the backend business. Then September 2, 2023, we took her play on the road to Charlotte N.C. It was an awesome turnout for us to have had no big-name celebrities and no theatre contacts in Charlotte. It was because we took that risk we have been getting calls for opportunities that we never imagined. Our drive and determination create amazing things when they are combined. We are just going into 2024 and we have an EP partner who is excited to help us with turning the script for "A Woman's Love" into a movie. God had bigger plans for us than we had for ourselves.
Q: Dana, what are some of the key lessons you've learned about working closely with your spouse, and how have these lessons contributed to the strength of your partnership?
I learned extremely fast that he knows much more than I do about running a business. I have always had a hustler mentality. I'm going to get it done, but I will do it my way. I have become the businesswoman that I am today from learning from Brian and being hands-on in his world. Knowing what I know now makes us even stronger in business and as partners.
Q: Brian, what do you find most rewarding about collaborating with Dana in your various business endeavors, and how has this experience enriched your relationship?
I love supporting her dreams and ambitions. I never thought that I would be a part of the entertainment industry. But together we are growing in business, traveling through multiple lanes and it’s very fulfilling.
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