Episode 04 – Darren Kelley – The Divine Shine Story: Darren Kelly’s Leap from Football to Business

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Episode Summary

Join us on Homegrown Hustle as we spotlight local brilliance with our special guest, Darren Kelley, owner of Divine Shine Cleaning and a former professional football player. We take a trip through Darren’s life, starting from his challenging upbringing in Baltimore to becoming a successful entrepreneur in the Midwest. Darren opens up about how football saved his life and shaped his approach to business. You’ll hear about his journey of building a cleaning business, his transition from the football field to the entrepreneurial world, and his goal of achieving $100k in profit.

This episode also explores Darren’s experiences with personal growth and dating while maintaining a busy work schedule. Darren sheds light on his pursuit of self-improvement and his journey to find a partner who understands and supports his lifestyle. We also talk about his podcast, “The Real Balance Podcast,” which delves into the intersection of culture and consciousness.

Lastly, we discuss practical strategies for growing a business in the cleaning industry. We share insights into how to find and retain customers, leverage contractors, and track and organize marketing efforts. We touch on the importance of mail campaigns and creating a customer database for targeting potential clients. Plus, Darren shares his passion for social media branding and how he manages to find balance in all aspects of life. So, tune in to this episode full of wisdom and inspiration, as we celebrate the brilliant leaders in our local business community.

Key Takeaways

(00:04) Local Brilliance

(09:35) Transition From Football to Cleaning Business

(19:25) Dating Challenges and Personal Growth

(32:02) Growing and Marketing a Business

(43:08) Exploring Social Media Branding Strategies

(47:53) Supporting Local Business Success

Memorable Quotes

“Football literally saved my life from getting me out of Baltimore City, giving me a free education but, more importantly, coming to the Midwest, like literally saved my life.“

“I think cleaning is the easiest one that has the highest profitability that you can get into because you have to have a license to be a pest control specialist. You have to have a license to be a roofing specialist. You have a license to go do GC work. You don’t have to have a license to clean too many towels. So it was that barrier to entry.“

“My goal is to nurture those clients, treat them like a one people they are A1 and get them to either refer more business or just to be our steady recurring base and scale the commercial side.“