"There is always a way to make money."
Coley World is a multifaceted artist. “Artist” in his world is used non-traditionally as it refers to his passion for leadership and performance. Coley left his 9-5 during the pandemic in pursuit of his entrepreneurial dreams. Shortly after taking this leap, he created a company called Dreams 2 Reality. D2R is a multifaceted company that focuses on impact and fashion. He has brought the D2R movement to 2 high schools where he serves as mentor to young men of color. The last name “world” comes from his belief that people deserve to create the life they want to live and not settle for what they are given. Mentorship is a form of art because he has the ability to teach others how to design their futures by sharing perspectives that empower others to see the possibilities that life has to offer them. He does this by using creative visual presentations and original metaphors for people to gain clear understanding.
The other form of his artistry takes place in his ability to perform through the skill of communication. Communication is an art. Coley capitalizes on this art as a motivational speaker and a spoken word artist, sometimes both depending on the occasion. One of the most unique aspects of his character is that the topics he speaks about as a motivational speaker versus as a spoken word artist are different. As a motivational speaker he will provide perspectives that cause paradigm shifts for growth and success but as a spoken word artist he will speak his truth about pain, depression, anxiety, even suicide. This dichotomy gives his audience a look at a whole, authentic person who cares about uplifting but is not afraid to be real about his life struggles.
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Table of Contents
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Coley World: I was born March 1st, 1997 in North LA Hollywood to a single mother. I was adopted six weeks later and taken to the Bay Area to be raised in Pittsburg, CA for the next eighteen years of my life. Being adopted is unique but what makes the story even more intriguing is that my adoption was interracial. I am Black, my parents and entire family are Caucasian. Growing up having white parents and being a black child, kids would wonder how on earth a white woman is my mother. I was born with forty percent of my hearing gone therefore I grew up with big ugly hearing aids in both of my ears when I was in elementary school. Kids also inquired about that. I took these hearing aids out by middle school and have been able to function highly without them. Since elementary school my peers have identified me as a go-to person, a leader. They demonstrated this by always coming to me with questions about how to solve their problems or choosing me as captain in different activities. To sum it up, I’ve never been like the average person and because of this, I have an unusual amount of courage in comparison to the rest of society. I’ve truthfully never known what it means to fit in and turns out I never will.
The year 2015 was the most pivotal. I turned eighteen that March, moved to a new city into my own apartment and began college at Sacramento State. The transition to Sacramento State academically was no challenge so the dean’s list became a regular occurrence. My first goal at Sacramento State was to make the football team, I tried out and it didn’t happen. My next quest was community leadership in the Black Student Union. After a year at a lower level, I became the President of the BSU. I did the McNair Scholar Program where I conducted my own research and traveled across the country to present. The Black student union showed me how to lead and the McNair scholars program taught me that I could speak. Both experiences taught me about my personal power and the value I bring to the table.
I am a speaker, poet and business owner. I have been getting paid to speak since 2019. I created a business called Dreams 2 Reality from my youth mentorship experience. In Fall 2020, I began cold calling high school students at a continuation school to join my mentorship sessions. Knowing that “college readiness” is not a great selling line, I came up with “Dreams 2 Reality” instead. I would say, “if you join this mentorship program, we will build a brotherhood that focuses on making your dreams 2 reality”. I started with 1-on-1 mentoring over zoom and soon brought the brothers together in virtual group mentorship sessions. These sessions were to establish community, ensure academic progress and overall wellness during the pandemic. Bonds and truths were shared through the screen. The idea to turn D2R into a business came from a young king named Jaylon during a 1 on 1 mentorship session. My students and I began brainstorming about brand colors and characters to represent what D2R stands for. The business was carefully cultivated and officially launched January 3, 2022.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Coley World: The top 3 lessons I have learned:
- There is always a way to make money.
- Having a spectacular network and reputation is a safety net in job a crisis.
- Entrepreneurship is only for those who embrace uncertainty.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Coley World: Businesses should focus on experimentation. The old ways for the stable economy don’t work in this new normal. We have to find new methods to thrive and continue to drive business to our front door. Experimentation will allow for businesses to create new methods of operation or generating revenue which would naturally breed innovation.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Coley World: For me as a motivational speaker and spoken word artist I have turned to performing on digital platforms. In 2020, rather than performing, I started a YouTube channel to get my message out to the world and started posting every Monday. I created 3 seasons that highlighted different lessons I learned and also documented my journey as a young hustler.
Conferences were still taking place and needed entertainment so as a poet I was able to be paid to perform poetry through zoom. I continued writing new spoken word pieces and stayed sharp for all virtual performances. I submitted an audition to a company out of Atlanta through Instagram and ended up taking a flight during the pandemic to get professionally recorded footage of me performing. This helped me for marketing and my website. As the pandemic continued, I focused on branding and finally put up a website for people to book me.
Previously, my gigs came from word of mouth. I sharpened my skills of effectively speaking through a computer screen by holding workshops for youth mentorship sessions weekly and leading a boot camp for young men of color in Northern California. This youth mentorship programming led to me to launching a business despite the pandemic.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Coley World: This pandemic hasn’t stopped me and it’s based off of the advice that the pandemic is something to embrace since we cannot change it. This has been a season of transformation for all of us and in order to thrive we have to become someone different if we want to see different. This year, I will be heavily focused on my performance and having content ready as soon as I am requested for a poetry feature or motivational presentation. I am new to the ecommerce game so I will also be heavily focused on scaling Dreams 2 Reality. In short, I will be improving as a performer and scaling my business.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Coley World: For 2022 I expect my business interactions to be hybrid. Currently, I have some bookings over zoom but I still hold group mentorship sessions in person. If Omicron accelerates then I anticipate going back on zoom to speak full-time. I have just started selling merchandise for Dreams 2 Reality and this takes place online and in-person. By summer 2022, I anticipate the world to open up a bit more so I will be performing at several poetry venues in Northern California and selling merchandise at event pop-ups.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Coley World: I spend about 8 hours a day in front of a screen. This is not consistent but sporadic times throughout the day I am checking my phone or on the computer for business. This time includes recording, editing and uploading videos, upgrading the online store, creating PowerPoint presentations, emailing, fulfilling orders, tracking student progress and everything in google drive possible.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Coley World: As a performer I do not have a team yet. My version of using stories in my leadership takes places in my poetry and during my youth mentorship sessions. In my poetry I have told stories about social justice to highlight issues in communities of color. In group sessions with my students, I speak about my college career and use metaphors to further demonstrate the lessons I am teaching. On panels and for motivational speaking, I use stories to talk about personal, leadership and identity development.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Coley World: The biggest challenge is COVID-19. This is affecting the performance world in a major way and has cancelled several events. This pandemic also makes it more difficult to network and share the brand face to face which is important when it comes to connecting and making sales.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Coley World: This year I am most interested in learning about marketing locally and online. I have aspirations to come up with eye catching and original concepts to capture different audiences. As a performer, I think it is important for me to also adapt to this new digital world and learn how to perform in the metaverse. I would also like to get my merchandise worn in the metaverse.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Coley World: I am extremely passionate about creating cultures in a space because this is what I do daily as a youth mentor. I recently wrote an article about this and will share the link below. Many workplaces do not put enough emphasis on creating a sense of belonging for those who work for them. If someone is going to spend a majority of their week in an environment there should be a certain level of comfort. Leaders need to initiate belonging by being aware, listening, uplifting voices and creating psychological safety.
Another principle that I think is important in the workplace that leaders overlook is making sure that employees are doing work that is aligned with their skillset and/or purpose. If people were aligned in this way work productivity would naturally increase.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Coley World: If I had the ability to pick any business superpower I would make money come out of my wrist like Spiderman’s web. I would have an unlimited amount and I could release any type of currency I choose.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Coley World: As an artist, success in 2022 looks like creating new spoken word pieces and professionally recording visuals for them. As a business owner, success in 2022 looks like creating a rhythm for D2R as we roll out this unorthodox concept. On a personal level success to me means letting go of every person, place and thing that doesn’t serve me so I can walk in my purpose without extra weight.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Coley World for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Coley World or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
