Daniel Eiland Never Let a Challenge Get in His Way
Daniel Eiland is an Entrepreneur/influencer, motivator, track athlete, business owner, and a person who can put a smile on anyone’s face. He gives his all to everything he does, whether it is helping his family, working a job, or pushing to better himself.
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Having faced many challenges throughout his life, he made sure to accomplish every one of them. Because of this, he’s found success by building himself up through each challenge or adversity he faced. By his willingness to push forward, regardless of what he was faced with, it prepared him for the future. He now teaches others how to beat challenging battles. He plans to write a book about this at one point.
Be a leader of your people, and the king of your mindset is the mantra he follows. Daniel’s goals are to bring change to his community, family, and friends. He wants to show others that becoming an entrepreneur at a young age is absolutely possible. His focus is strong and he gives his all to everything he does. His future goals are to one day compete in the Olympics, own multiple businesses, become a real estate investor, write a bestseller, and become an engineer so he can provide opportunities for his family and others for generations to come.
Tell us about who you are and what you do?
My name is Daniel Eiland, though some call me Danny. I’m 23 and was born on the West side of Chicago, IL (Austin community). It was tough growing up in this area and dealing with violence every day.
As a kid, I knew it wasn’t normal to hear about the crazy stories and even see those things right in front of me. But as each day went by, I had to face the reality of it all and live with it. I prayed to make it out of the Austin community because I was also a victim in my neighborhood.
I’ve been wrongfully accused, robbed, beaten, bullied, and had a gun pointed to my head multiple times. I was scared every day going to school, but one day it came to me that I should help change the community, instead of leaving it to perish for another kid to battle the same thing.
Be a leader of my people and king of my mindset. Every day I push as if it’s my duty to make an example of myself. I want to show younger children that they can make it far in life too. I accomplished getting my high school diploma, attending college to become an engineer, ran through college under USATF for track, managed organizations, and chose to start a business while attending school.
Now, I’m the founder of my own company, Eifit LLC. Moreover, it is something I know will help me create opportunities for others. My dream is to provide for my family, fund other people so they can go to college, donate to charities, and show young men and women it’s worth it to fight for something that will bring financial freedom.
How did you create Eifit and what inspired your brand?
I created Eifit with no money down, but a guarantee I could make a strong impact in this world. The road to creating Eifit was tough because I didn’t know where to start. I learned everything I could about starting a business, being an entrepreneur, and an amazing CEO. I researched everything I could and made phone calls to people that would guide me towards an answer. It took countless hours of studying and days without sleep, but I knew in order to be a great example for others this is what needed to be done.
Eifit’s mission is to help people feel good about themselves again. We want to help people feel great in what they are wearing, bring it close to their personality, and feel fit. I want to show people their purpose is heard, and Eifit will make sure their purpose means something.
I noticed while training people to reach their goals, the key thing they want to do is feel good about themselves through all the challenges. Who they are? Why are they determined to grind, and why it matters the most to them. That care has been lost. It’s time for Eifit to bring it back. Lastly, through others, I realized they want to be cared for, not singled out. Eifit is here to show others they will not be singled out no matter their color, size, gender, culture, and age. Eifit will be where you need us to be.
How does your brand work?
Eifit works with people to ensure that their needs are met. We interact on all levels to contribute back to communities, provide opportunities, and create something that everyone can call home. We understand quality is key to everyone, and we stand directly with the people to show them their life is of quality to us.
It is designed to help one stay in charge of their destiny. There are many untold battles people are facing, and through our brand, we want to change the way those battles are responded to. Eifit is a brand, but our brand will be built for the people and not against them.
Explain the challenges you went through creating your brand?
The challenges I went through creating my brand was wondering where do I want to go? What is my purpose? How will I get there? What will I do to get there? Besides the challenges faced by being a young African American male, I had to figure out what it would take for me to be amongst other great achievers?
I realized I couldn’t do anything other than by myself, be Daniel Eiland. Daniel had to come to terms with himself and what he is capable of. It is bigger than making money, I have to make a statement. My voice needs to be heard to make a difference in my community, and the world. The big challenge for me was to get out my own way and CREATE.
I’m a provider and when I realized that, I knew nothing else could stop me. I still face battles, but through them all, I have to feel me. Eifit brand is a place I call home, something I know will show others there’s more to it than clothing. We all face untold battles. With this brand, I’ll be able to help people voice untold things. My goal is to be of help to others because I face battles I wish to tell, and I know others face them too. Eifit is going to be a brand to help with this cause.
How do you manage your finances? What hardships did you face before starting the brand?
Managing my finances was tough for many years because of things I never thought I would encounter. I remember working a job that was over 50 miles away from home, and the Metra train was the one receiving my checks instead of me. I worked to make it to work and get home but still couldn’t afford lunch.
Another hardship was in college, I was a student worker barely getting by. But one day, I was heading home to my apartment from work and I received a notification to my phone from the bank. That notification basically said that everything I’d worked for was wiped clean from my bank account. Someone stole my bank information! I remember saying, this can’t be true! My bank account was $0, and it was everything I worked for from summer jobs, landscaping, playing drums in church, school, and family. I felt my life get taken away from me at that moment.
My rent was due within four days, and I was almost homeless. That experience tore me apart. The last hardship I had to face was me losing my car along the way. I and my girlfriend almost died because of a nasty event. This cost me so much because I’d already lost things prior to it. It cost both me and my family tons of money to battle the issue. At this point in my life, I lost who I truly was.
Because of Eifit, I found my way back. It made me think of ways to find multiple streams of income. However, it is still tough accessing grants, loans, lines of credit, and angel investors. Most of the finances come from personal training, playing drums, landscaping, and working retail. As of now, we are still looking for funding, but the mission will not stop without it.
What is your future vision of the brand?
The future of Eifit is about bringing joy to many hearts, providing opportunities for people to grow inside and outside our company, and lasting for generations to come. In order to get there, we know our core has to be strong first. We have to start with where we are now and build with what we have. My dream is to take Eifit to where we are amongst other great achievers. The road will get bumpy, but I am willing to work hard for the people, my team, and my family.
What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?
This is for anyone who has a plan to create something and doesn’t know what to create, or how to start. Just create and start it! Without starting you won’t know where that project will lead you. A person will only know what they are willing to learn.
Be open to learning what it takes to become successful with your project. Plan out your goals and start with the big ones first. Your small goals always follow the big goals. So, START BIG! After, you will have noticed you accomplished more goals by opening your mind to want more out of who you are. When you start small, your full potential is limited. I realized I spent too much time tackling my small goals and only moving into small spaces. Small spaces only fill portions of a room, so tell yourself you don’t want to be the small portion anymore.
Once you have fixed your mind that you are bigger than what you are, I assure you that your life will change. This will help you get started on your journey. The only way to make a living through it is by being who you truly are and becoming a better you. When you receive a no, don’t get discouraged. Just because someone didn’t agree with you doesn’t mean you won’t find your yes. The greatest fuel is to follow your gut, state your purpose, and take advantage of the grind. Give yourself the opportunity to feel you!
