DeKalb County area women entrepreneurs say leaning into inspiration key to success

DeKALB – They say it takes a village. And success isn’t a solitary pursuit, especially for these DeKalb County area women entrepreneurs who say they’ve got a squad of people behind them to keep them inspired.

Each woman takes that inspiration in turn, then, and feeds it back into the community as leaders of their respective nonprofits that serve area residents.

For Sycamore resident Danita Sims, she says it’s her grandmother Mattie Lee Triggs, her mom, Detra Crudup-Robinson, her mom’s twin sister, Debra Jones, and her uncle Poppy.

DeKalb resident Malia Jones pointed to Jesus, her grandfather Jerry Wright, pop star Beyoncé and actress and producer Viola Davis.

Tiffany Tucker of DeKalb said she’s influenced by popular content creator on social media site Instagram Lynae Vanee.

Sims, Jones and Tucker may find inspiration in different ways, but as social entrepreneurs they said they all find meaning in the work of trying to make a difference in the community.

Danita Sims, Passion Pursuit Inc.

“I think, for me, it’s really about staying in tune with what you believe your purpose is.”

—  Danita Sims

Sims founded the personal growth and professional development consulting company Passion Pursuit Inc. in 2019.

It is there she works in partnership with those at DeKalb Township to help people with career development services.

Sims said she believes her work at Passion Pursuit is addressing a need in the community that otherwise may go unmet.

“That was kind of our deal was sharing resources with job seekers,” Sims said. “I knew some entities had these other resources and I didn’t want to duplicate them. I really wanted the freedom to be able to say, ‘Okay, there’s spots that we can do better. Or maybe the two or three organizations could communicate better.’”

Sims said she takes pride in knowing that her life’s work enables her to help people.

A mantra she lives by, she said, is “If want to be great in this world, all you have to do is believe in yourself.”

“I think, for me, it’s really about staying in tune with what you believe your purpose is,” Sims said. “I believe … as a Christian that God created everybody who didn’t make a mistake. That’s how I look at it. Now we may not understand each other. We may not understand ourselves in the journey, but I think that’s part of the journey. So being able to not take yourself too seriously but tap into your super power. I think everybody has a super power. One of the things I love sharing with other up-and-coming leaders is that just because you’re not great at something doesn’t mean you’re not an effective leader.”

Sims said she often feels as though she is shouldering extra weight from having to be a role model for younger women of color. As she juggles work life, family life or home life, she says she has learned that communication looks different for each of those spaces.

She said she tries to alleviate that burden on herself by remembering the end goals.

“I think there’s so many voices, especially with my culture,” Sims said. “I feel like in my family, I have to speak a certain way. I feel like it’s such a communication switch. Some people call it code switching. But I feel like I’m a very mission-driven person. So I really don’t get easily offended by people noticing that I switch up a little bit only because I have a mission. It’s the same thing with employers and job seekers. The language is different. I can’t speak to them the same way otherwise they won’t get the point. So I feel the same way even when it comes to people of color [and] even when it comes to people in my culture. … The language is different. The conversation is different. The goal is the same. I think sometimes we forget that.”

Malia Jones, Breakroom and Friends

Jones founded the local group Breakroom and Friends in 2020.

The platform, she said, was birthed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, inspired by that and politics surrounding the moment when George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer.

Jones said she’s found great meaning in the work of providing a “safe spaces for people to share their opinions and to build compassion” for one another.

Jones said she often reflects on how she wants to be remembered when her life is all said and done.

“Being purposeful, living life on purpose is what I want my takeaway to be with people,” Jones said. “So understand that their little is a lot … A lot of times especially within my demographic we stop at what we don’t have or what we can’t do or who we don’t know. So having to stop and be like ‘Your little is a lot.’ So whatever you know, whatever little connection you have goes a long way.”

Jones said she often feels pressure that she needs to be a role model for those younger than her.

“Within my demographic and outside, there’s a lot of point of views,” Jones said. “You have to find your identity within your culture and then outside of that, how are you being perceived from people outside of my demographic. It’s a lot because you have to one, take care of yourself and being able to center yourself all that and then also living up to the expectations that people have of you. It can be a lot and then I’ve realized I’ve been really hard on myself.”

Tiffany Tucker, Building Leaders Advocating for Change

Tucker is the founder of nonprofit Building Leaders Advocating for Change Inc.

Tucker said the idea behind the organization came while she was completing clinicals to become a nurse.

“I realized and recognized that there were a lot of young people and young men and young women who were struggling with mental health issues,” Tucker said. “I wanted to make sure that we were able to provide services and resources to help them in their time of need.”

BLAC Inc. engages in an array of mental health education and prevention initiatives.

“We like to provide services before it gets to a level where they feel like they have no help or no one to turn to,” she said. “We like to be the first line of support when our young people are dealing with mental health concerns.”

When asked how she would define greatness, Tucker said she believes it starts with your core self.

“I believe it’s stepping into your purpose and doing it in a way that’s authentic,” Tucker said. “Staying true to your why as to why you’re taking on such great initiatives.”