Deirra Lake blogger of DeiLake.com and founder of Success On Demand

Woman Boss Wednesday
Feb 28, 2018
4 min read

Thank you for allowing Woman Boss Wednesday to feature you! Before we begin can you tell the reader(s) a little about yourself?

First and Foremost, I am someone who is constantly growing. I find curiosity in the strangest things, and my love for people is eternal. I am also the creator of DeiLake.com and "Success on Demand" the podcast. I enjoy coordinating events and consulting small businesses, while sharing my love of fashion and creativity. I am constantly looking for ways to connect with women while also traveling and exploring the world around me.

Your personal brand DeiLake.com focuses on dope, positive, and fashionable vibes, while Success on demand focuses on the lady boss. Some people might think that it’s the same. Lady bosses can be dope, positive, and fashionable as well. Can you go more into details on the difference between both platforms?

I can definitely understand your perspective. DeiLake.com is the platform that inspires by example. Since DeiLake.com is focused around my life, style, and experiences, the main mission is to show people that you can win at being “yourself”! I struggled for many years trying to find my look and identity. But it wasn’t until I removed myself from all influences and looked within, that I truly understood who I was and could run freely with it. DeiLake.com is meant to help women find themselves, and to give them that unneeded permission to flourish at their own pace. That is why we had events like “Dine With Dei”, that allowed women to bring “their whole selves” to a space that was safe for them to open up and truly connect. “Success on Demand” Has a similar culture but it is definitely professional based. We focus on building the cognitive, logical, and problem solving skills of our participating women business owners, so that they can in turn become more confident decision makers. We definitely nurture that dope, sexy, and fashionable aspect of being a business owner, but we really hone in on those critical thinking skills to show women how to get to the water rather than giving it to them. SOD is about building a community of strong, reliable, and able women business owners.

Dine with Dei has been a big hit over the years. What exactly happened at Dine with Dei and when will the next event be?

Dine with Dei is an event that brings together the vision and mission that I have for my personal brand, as well as SOD. In Nurturing Self Discovery & Dispersing business know-how to growing business owners, we saw that our community was lacking a space for women to congregate together. Dine with Dei was birthed from our desire to create a space for those blossoming women, to meet, network, and grow as a community. It has been the beginning of many friendships and partnerships, and will soon offer even more benefits to our attendees. Dine with Dei will be back in Fall of 2018, mark your calendars!

What has been you most memorable challenge?

Getting people to understand the vision. When first sharing my vision with the world, I often felt that I wasn’t communicating it correctly. This was less because of my target audience, and more because I just wasn’t clear on the specifics of my vision. After some much needed brand strategizing, I was able to better communicate my brand in a way where my audience could relate.

What is one quote you live by and why?

“With God you win” This quote is important to me because I remember the times in my life when I was far away from God, and I remember how that felt. I had no control over anything, I was lost, and I was constantly seeking but not finding. Then one day, I decided to stop running and look around bit. Thats when I found God. From then on, no battle was too large for me. I found myself, in my relationship with God.

What advice do you have for someone desiring to follow in your steps?

I would advise to start by planning “alone” at first. I say this because there is a raw excitement, energy, and ambition that you get in the beginning stages of planning. This is where your most genuine ideas come from, and these ideas are what help you to differentiate yourself. Its important to protect that, and then allow people in gradually to brainstorm with you. From there I would suggest turning your attention to finding your voice. For someone headed down a path similar to mine, this can be a game changer. When my voice was lost, people couldn’t find a way to relate to what I was saying. But once I found my voice, it was not only easier for me to relate, but easier for me to show women how they can find their voice too. If you want to influence people, your voice and your vision will be the keys to your success.

What plans does DeiLake.com and Success on Demand have for 2018?

DeiLake.com plans to crank Dine With Dei back up in the fall, and to expand our platform to showcase more fashion and beauty inspo. Success on Demand is getting ready to launch its first website/platform, where women will be able to share and listen to the podcast, nominate women for the show, and download resources to use for their businesses. We will also be rolling out some of our events mid way through 2018!

Do you prefer dressing up in your girl boss attire every day or kicking it in pajamas?

I prefer dressing up! I am all for slippers and onesies lol, but its nothing like stepping out in an outfit that makes you feel like you can conquer the world!

What keeps in motivated when you get discouraged?

Realizing that I don’t have all of the answers, but that I’m doing a pretty darn good job of finding them. It can be so easy to beat yourself up about shortcomings, but those shortcomings help to build solid leaders! I have to constantly take in positive and powerful content, whether it be a podcast or a good read. Doing these things helps me to stay grounded.