Meet Raya DaModel | Business Owner, Model, Ambassador, & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Raya DaModel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Raya, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I created Go Getter Brand because since I was a little girl I always was a Go Getter. When I was in school I sold candy bars and chips. I had lemonade stands with my mother and siblings on different streets in the neighborhood I grew up in. At the age of 13 I started helping out at my uncle’s restaurant Coney Island in Gary, Indiana on 5th Ave. When I turned 14 it became my job until I turned 18. I also had summer city jobs from ages 14-16. I got an GED at the age of 16 and started college. I worked 2 sometimes 3 jobs and I was on my own since 16 as well, so I had no problem going out and getting it to support myself. My grandfather told me you’ll never be broke if you always have a hustle. That stuck with me my entire life. I created this Brand to represent the Go Getter that was in the heart of teen me and how it devoloped the business savy adult I have become. There is a GO GETTER in all of us I’m here to remind you who & what you are. You can achieve anything you put your mind too just GO GET IT & remember to always put God first.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Go Getter Brand RDM was created in July 2020. As we all know the world was hit with pandemic. I said I wanted to start my own business to generate another source of income incase I had to stop working my night job. In the beginning it was very frustrating because I knew very few facts about starting a legit business or creating a website. I took my time, did research, and asked business owners I know questions. I did go to college for my associates in business management, so I was not that clueless. I started by branding my actual business name through the state of Arizona. Once that was established I was excited. I felt so accomplished owning my brand name. I had a long way to go. I then had to get my logo made. I reached out to one of my fellow business owner friends and they pointed me in the direction to someone that could help that was from our home state (Indiana). I thought why not support one of our own. I talked with the guy about what I wanted & told him to let his creative genes fly. He sent me a few choices and I made my selection and paid for it. Now that I had ownership & my logo I was now ready to decide what products I would start with. I decided to start with white t-shirts with the logo on them. Now I had to create my website which was the hard part. I had never created a website before. In college we went over it briefly in one course I had. I started learning and created one the best of my ability.

The first year I learned that just because you know a lot of people that does not mean they will support your brand or business. I was expecting all my family & friends to shop with me. When you become a business owner you learn those are the main people that will disappoint you in some cases. They expect you to practically give them things for free. You can’t even expect them to just share your website or pass along your business cards. I will say I have some friends & family that supported but it was very few. That had me down in the beginning. Until I talked with other business owners & entrepreneurs. They told me you will get more support from strangers. People that don’t know you will support you more because they are not afraid of who you will become with That success you are destined for. I also had bad experiences with mentors. A business consultant I met at a local venue told me he’d help with expansion and guidance to building my business. He ended up trying to discourage me. He wanted me to change everything and based everything off my personal social media account. At first I tried to listen and take the advice until I noticed his own business was suffering. People he was working with that were also engaged in the process to help build my brand up was doing bad business amongst their own company. I then had to cut ties.

In that short time frame. I learned a lot. Did a lot of character building with my brand. I got more logos made to have more of a selection. I changed some of my pricing. I added more inventory. Just recently 11/11/22 I relaunched my website. I now had more experience & knowledge. I’m still learning daily. It has not been easy and I’ve had quite a few bumps in the road. One of the keys to success is never give up even if it gets tough.

I do eventually plan on opening up a store with urban clothing and accessories. This is my first business baby and I plan to keep growing & learning more about being a business owner.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would go Tempe Marketplace to have a quick lunch, walk around & shop. I’d take her to try Kegs steakhouse for dinner. We’d either hit up Mill Ave or Old Town Scottsdale for drinks if she’s in the partying mood. I’m not big on clubbing. I prefer a place like Main Event, we could have drinks, play pool, and bowl. I’d take her to River View Park to walk around enjoy the beauty & peace of the park. The Sloan Park Stadium is right next to the park so we would go walk over and look at the field. I’d also like to take a drive to Fountain Hills to show her the tallest fountain I’d ever did see that only comes on for 15 minutes on the hour. We would go to one of my favorite restaurants in Scottsdale called The Sanctuary Elements Restaurant. We’d go to Fat Cats on Tuesday for five dollar movies. I’d take her to all the different malls. We’d go to castles & coasters for amusement park fun. I also always find free events on Facebook that are in the area. We’d take part in any fun things I found on there. I’d also let her tell me what she’d like to do. We could go to Tempe Improv for a comedy show as well which is one of my favorite go to things to do with friends. No matter what we’d decide we would have the time of our lives.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my son & my granddaddy John. My son is my biggest motivation to strive for success because I know my success will ultimately become his success in the future. I want to be able to create generational wealth for him as well as teach him the credentials he will need to be a successful person himself. As for my Granddaddy John he instilled me with a hustling go getting spirit. When I was a little girl he had several different hustles. He taught me there is no such thing as being broke you can turn anything into a hustle. He had ice cream trucks, he would sell socks, underwear, hats, & many other things out his trunk. He would set up a booth at a local flea market. Snow cone machines & so much more. May he rest in peace and I hope he looks down & see that all the things he showed me as a little girl stuck with me.

Website: www.gogetterbrand.co

Instagram: @gogetterbrandrdm

Twitter: @RayaDamodel

Facebook: Raya Damodel

Other: IG main page @real_rayadamodel