$14 And A Dream | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

$14 And A Dream

“If you can conceive it; believe it, you can achieve it.”

93
$14 And A Dream
Danavan Hylton

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” –Winston Churchill

Danavan Hylton is not your average business owner. Danavan did not grow up with generational money passed down, he did not have everything lined up for him, and he did not know what life would bring him after high school. Danavan was born in Western Hollywood, but he grew up in San Bernardino.

From a young age he experienced hardship after seeing his dad deported back to Jamaica. With time Danavan's mom remarried, and Danavan found hope and grace from both his step father and his uncle. They led him down the pathway of becoming a man telling him day after day, “If you can conceive it; believe it, you can achieve it.”

Everyone Danavan came into contact with from middle school and high school could tell you that he was someone that bridged the gap between different cliques and friend groups. He was friends with everyone. Not only was he diverse with his friend groups, but he played a lot of sports to keep himself out of trouble. Ultimately, this led to him playing college basketball at a local community college. Sports became Danavan’s passion, and he was more committed to playing basketball than he was his schooling, at the time. He dropped out of college after being cut from the team.

After being cut, Danavan received the opportunity to coach club teams. He saw a lot of success creating three teams in different age brackets. This led him to coach at his alma mater. Not only was he excited from this opportunity, he led the team to the state finals for the first time in the school’s history. Danavan was only in his early 20’s.

Danavan continued with his multitude of jobs from becoming the Vice President of Sponsorship of the American Basketball Association to an admissions representative American Sports University, ASU. At this time, ASU was experiencing financial difficulty leading to the lay off of Danavan as well as other representatives. During this time is when he met his future wife, Malikah.


Danavan was passing a hair supply store one afternoon, and saw Malikah fixing a wig on a mannequin. He had to come up with a slick pick up line, right? Well, he asked for some hair grease. As you may be able to tell, Danavan did not need hair grease. This did lead to a date, which then kindled into love with time. After dating a while, and Danavan losing his job, the two were left with $14 dollars and a dream of moving to Nashville. After being sweet talked into moving to Nashville by a relative, the two came up with the money needed to fly out to Nashville to have a fresh start.

After moving to Nashville, Danavan tried to go back to college, but just as before, he ended up doing something else. He was trying to be admitted as a student at National College in Madison, but he was offered the position to be an admission’s representative instead, as they were very impressed with his resumé. He accepted the position, and he moved titles taking the place of director of admissions. During this time, Danavan asked Malikah to marry him after four years of dating, and the couple had their first son on the way.

Life was comfortable for the newly started family. Danavan was ready to start a business that he has dreamt of for a long time. He connected non-profit organizations to other businesses, but he did not have a structured business plan at the time, which led him to having to find a job.

He was humbled by picking up the job of being in valet, and decided to run for councilman of District 2 in Nashville. Not only did he win the position, he started his business back with a new direction. Danavan was connected and contracted to make connections with businesses from all around to Nashville to Express Employment Professionals. Not only was this successful, Danavan was finally committing his time to his dream. Even his wife helps in the business by keeping track of income, and paying any bills.

Danavan’s vision is to provide solutions to social and economic issues to individuals from every part of the world. With the help of an amazing team of people in the community, a well-connected environment, and the help of his wife, Donavan’s business and dreams are and will continue to skyrocket.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

12 Midnight NYE: Fun Ideas!

This isn't just for the single Pringles out there either, folks

13188
Friends celebrating the New Years!
StableDiffusion

When the clock strikes twelve midnight on New Year's Eve, do you ever find yourself lost regarding what to do during that big moment? It's a very important moment. It is the first moment of the New Year, doesn't it seem like you should be doing something grand, something meaningful, something spontaneous? Sure, many decide to spend the moment on the lips of another, but what good is that? Take a look at these other suggestions on how to ring in the New Year that are much more spectacular and exciting than a simple little kiss.

Keep Reading...Show less
piano
Digital Trends

I am very serious about the Christmas season. It's one of my favorite things, and I love it all from gift-giving to baking to the decorations, but I especially love Christmas music. Here are 11 songs you should consider adding to your Christmas playlists.

Keep Reading...Show less
campus
CampusExplorer

New year, new semester, not the same old thing. This semester will be a semester to redeem all the mistakes made in the previous five months.

1. I will wake up (sorta) on time for class.

Let's face it, last semester you woke up with enough time to brush your teeth and get to class and even then you were about 10 minutes late and rollin' in with some pretty unfortunate bed head. This semester we will set our alarms, wake up with time to get ready, and get to class on time!

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 5 Painfully True Stages Of Camping Out At The Library

For those long nights that turn into mornings when the struggle is real.

2468
woman reading a book while sitting on black leather 3-seat couch
Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

And so it begins.

1. Walk in motivated and ready to rock

Camping out at the library is not for the faint of heart. You need to go in as a warrior. You usually have brought supplies (laptop, chargers, and textbooks) and sustenance (water, snacks, and blanket/sweatpants) since the battle will be for an undetermined length of time. Perhaps it is one assignment or perhaps it's four. You are motivated and prepared; you don’t doubt the assignment(s) will take time, but you know it couldn’t be that long.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

The 14 Stages Of The Last Week Of Class

You need sleep, but also have 13 things due in the span of 4 days.

1525
black marker on notebook

December... it's full of finals, due dates, Mariah Carey, and the holidays. It's the worst time of the year, but the best because after finals, you get to not think about classes for a month and catch up on all the sleep you lost throughout the semester. But what's worse than finals week is the last week of classes, when all the due dates you've put off can no longer be put off anymore.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments