Today we’d like to introduce you to Donte’ Brown.
Hi Donte’, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Every business I started, started out of an initial frustration. Donte’s Boxing Gym started because a former company I used to work for, tried to “make” me sign an undesirable contract. That contract stated that I couldn’t work for 5 years within a 10 mile radius, if I left them for any reason. At the time, everyone that they hired, they fired for petty reasons. I was the first boxing trainer that they hired at the company, so I saw the whole thing first hand. I also knew I was the top boxing trainer making the most money at two locations, from personal training and membership signups bring in over $100k a year to the club.
At the time they presented the contract to me, they wanted me to commit to signing it on the spot. But I don’t like it when people try to rush me into signing things I’m not familiar with. I’ve seen too many athletes and entertainers sign bad contracts from “advisors” or bad business partners, and took advantage of them leaving them broke. From seeing that from afar, I knew intuitively that the contract wasn’t something good for me. But, I told them I’ll take the contract, and give it back to them within a couple of days after I read all of it.
By circumstance, I had a conversation with someone immediately after that initial conversation, and that friend helped me see that everyone that was there came because they liked me, and not the company. That friend suggested that they believed that I would do well on my own, and within that conversation I gave my word that I would start my own boxing gym. The next day I gave the company my two weeks notice that I was leaving.
Now, my business has been growing for the past 15 years, and I have also started a nonprofit company called Donte’s Boxing and Wellness Foundation. Both companies have added more value to my community, well beyond what I was doing for the previous company. That same company that wanted to take advantage of me, has since gone out of business. It goes to show you, that when you do good business, it far out weighs the “business bullies” who try to take advantage of others.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Any entrepreneur who has been in business for over five years, will absolutely tell you that having a business in NEVER easy. For starters, you work more hours than a traditional 9-5 schedule. You also typically get up earlier than most people, and stay up later than others to catch up on task and try to accomplish more goals everyday.
I think that there needs to be a different type of education for entrepreneurs. Just like how they have trade schools for HVAC and plumbing, there needs to be a basic entrepreneur school. I believe it is its own academic industry. It’s so much that you don’t know when getting into business, that even after years of business, “seasoned” business owners and CEO’s are STILL trying to figure it out.
Everything from marketing, taxes, state laws, and employee management, should be explained, researched, and shared from either a government assistant school, or a company ran by other previous successful entrepreneurs. Those experiences shared through honest dialogue, can help ensure better business successes, and better business outcomes with consumers.
People say that they want to be business owners, until they understand the amount of sacrifice it takes to consistently be good at it. It’s easy to see others looking like they’re “winning” in business when you see social media “influencers” that brag about their successes. But, they’re just showing the highlights and headlines, and not the true lifestyle. Business isn’t a sport, even though there are a lot of talk and framing like it is. I don’t know ANY business entrepreneur that has ever told me that they “won” in business. It’s more like a continuous mental goal post that has ebbs and flows. The more you get closer to achieving your goals, the more confident you become within yourself. That’s when you see how much you can personally improve on, and build self esteem from seeing the progress you’ve made overtime.
The truth is, most businesses are barely above breaking even. That’s why business owners work so hard, because they HAVE to make things work out. If they don’t, everything that they have could be in jeopardy. From the constant risk most entrepreneurs make, that’s their reality. There isn’t a work life balance that EVER feels just right. But, if you can find the right sacrifices you can live with, it can make the entrepreneur journey worth it. Again, when businesses and entrepreneurs are better stewards over their responsibilities, it positively impacts communities with great services, job creation, and a better overall society.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Donte’s Boxing Gym?
As of April 30, 2026, we have been in business for 15 years. Over the years, we have adapted different ways of leading and serving our community. We started out offering adult classes and adult personal training at the boxing club, then adapted to offering our world renowned 1-on-1 boxing training for youth and adults, corporate events for employee wellness, and a partnering with schools and nonprofit organizations as a resource for mental and physical health.
The expectation is that when someone is interested in learning boxing or wanting the best boxing workout, that they think about us first. Our culture has a standard that demands more of the people that come to our gym to train. Whether it’s 1-on-1 training, or youth taking boxing classes through the nonprofit, we want people to be better by the time they leave than before they came in. Overall, people love their time training with us! It’s an authentic experience that clients and students can’t fake. As people progress through their boxing training experience, you can see them become more confident after they finish their session or class.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
The advice that I have for anyone starting out their entrepreneurial journey, is to figure out WHY you want to do what you want to offer. Then it’s important to figure out how not to quit on your mission, until you’ve accomplished what you set out to do. Also, it will be more expensive than you think. A lot of times, it takes longer than you typically expect to complete your goals, you’ll need to have more patience with yourself, and show grace to customers you work with and employees you’ll lead along the way.
It’s also very important to work hard to inspire other people to want to work with you. Overtime you’ll need to delegate responsibilities to others, because your time will be split between working on your business, as well as in it too. Also, picking the right people is the hardest task when growing your business. If you get lucky enough to find or attract those people, those people can usually do responsibilities better than you can. Let them! Then watch your progress positively compound overtime. Lastly, choose to have a positive attitude every chance you get. Your mindset will be infectious within decisions you make, your reputation will proceed you because of it, and it will impact how customers will ultimately respond towards coming back to support you or not.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DontesBoxingGym.com
- Instagram: DontesBoxingGym
- Facebook: DontesBoxingGym
- Twitter: DontesBoxingGym
- Youtube: DontesBoxingGym
- Yelp: Donte’s Boxing Gym
