DALLAS — D’Leon Burnett is what one would consider to be a non-traditional college undergraduate, considering he is 27 years of age.
Still, to his distinct credit, he’s using his assortment of life lessons — particularly those slew of obstacles and hardships — he learned prior to enrolling in school to better help enhance his young life for the better.
A native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Burnett is an up-and-coming clothing designer and owner and CEO of a uniquely compelling Dallas-Fort Worth-based business called B.A.Y.
An acronym that stands for Black All Year, Burnett’s rising business is widely known for highlighting and paying homage to notable developments involving black history, particularly those historical occurrences he said had gotten overlooked due to black history only being globally recognized for only one month out of the year.
“Being in the sports world helped me a lot (and allowed me to see so much) as I got to see firsthand the youth and the elderly,” Burnett told Making Headline News this week. “What I saw was so many individuals would go day and night training to be the best athletes. In my mind, I felt if we dedicated half of that to becoming better human beings, the black community would be more united.”
That practically sums up why Burnett thought it essential to establish B.A.Y., or to appropriately adopt a business-oriented mindset, if you will.
By and large, he sensed that becoming an entrepreneur would greatly give way to array of opportunities to prosper and excel, especially in this ever-so-competitive, business-oriented era in which we live.
“What I love most about my business is I control my image and the message we put out is our brand,” Burnett explained. “No one can say that an outside hand has an influence. This is a real black owned business.”
Credit his mother, Kendra Burnett, who’s also an accomplished DFW-area entrepreneur, for instilling in her son the qualities and inspiration to delving off into entrepreneurship.
According to D’Leon Burnett, his B.A,Y, clothing line offers clothing and gear for individuals of all ages and genders, although he stressed that certain items may have size limitations.
“Other than that, all items are available for anyone to purchase,” said D’Leon Burnett, a Plano (Texas) East Senior High graduate.
Much to his delight, his dazzling clothing line has afforded him with the golden opportunity to travel to a variety of places throughout the Southern region, most notably to Houston, Shreveport, Louisiana, Monroe, Louisiana, various establishments in Alabama, as well as to his native home state.
“The support has been overwhelming in those areas,” said D’Leon Burnett, adding that along with his flourishing business, he’s looking to assemble a youth basketball team in the coming months, which would allow him to promote his business on a broader platform. “Special thanks to my parents, especially my mother. She is the driving force behind (my success). Last but not least, (I’m grateful my little family that I can call my own. They all motivate me to go the moon and back daily.”
Not to mention help enhance his young life for the better.
For more information about B. A. Y., email D’Leon Burnett at blackallyear@yahoo.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.
Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send an email to memphisgraduate@yahoo.com. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.
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