Following his dream, alumnus and former Student Government Association president, Jonathan Allen has formed a business to empower people’s dreams.
Dream Again Empire was recently put in place after years of planning out his vision, even before coming to Grambling State University.
”I am a big dreamer,” said Allen. “I want DAE to be an inspiration to people who have a dream.”
After being let go from his job in Lafayette, Allen put his vision from high school in place. He said “even though this is a challenging situation” this is all he has.
The business provides several services and support “for the empowerment needs for any business” person, or organization; from leadership training and business development to community engagements and media services.
Allen, the founder and CEO of DAE, said his team’s goal is to see all their clients leave satisfied and empowered, instead of being turned away.
Seven young professionals make up the DAE team; five are Gramblinites. One in particular is psychology major Derrick ‘Chuckie’ Young Jr. Allen first took note of Young’s potential last year when in SGA as the director of student relations.
Young, said he “was blown away” when Allen and Craig Mathews, the cofounder, asked him to be apart of the their team.
”I automatically jumped on it,” said Young, who is the COO of DAE.
Another current student who is a part of the team is Travis Donald, CMO, a New Orleans. Former GSU student Blaise Wabo, CFO, is also a part of the team.
Last month, Passaic County Community College in Paterson, N.J., hired DAE to provide leadership training to the student leaders on campus. This week, members of the team traveled to Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana in Indianapolis to provide similar services as well.
On Monday, Allen received a phone call from an author and client, who needed their professional services. Wanting to relaunch his book called Born for a Purpose, Pastor Mike Nwanju asked Allen if DAE could renovate his book, along with developing a new marketing plan and new book cover.
Though DAE has been successful in providing services to clients in different states, team members have took note to challenges they may face. One in particular is the fact that the corporation is new compared to the competition Mathews said.
”Our corporation is a relatively new entity and most prospective clients seeking such services tend to strongly consider track record and previous experience,” said Mathews, a 1994 GSU graduate. “In this field, consumers look for a track record for providing these services.”
But, Mathews then added the team makes up for this by having individuals who have been part of successful projects in the past and have over 25 years of experience combined. For more information on DAE and the team go to www.dreamagainempire.com.