Daily Inspiration: Meet Dani La’ Shay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dani La’ Shay. 

Hi Dani, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
 I was born and raised in Detroit, MI. I lived with my mother and grandmother, who both owned their own businesses. So entrepreneurship is something I was exposed to at a young age.  I started WebCelebDaily.com in 2010 when I was working at a call center for Ford employees in Michigan. Prior to that, I was a stay-at-home mom, and I would always browse entertainment stories online. Necole Bitchie, TMZ, Media Take Out, Gossip To Go With Flo, Myra Pananche…those were my favorites. Then one day I thought, how cool would it be to create my own entertainment blog. One day a co-worker sent me a link for her daughter’s college blog. It was a WordPress site. I had never heard of WordPress, so I was shocked to see that how easy it was to make a website and publish anything and everything you want. That day I decided to start my own entertainment website. I would write stories from my desk in between calls. I didn’t really have a vision back then. I just knew I loved entertainment, loved to write, and wanted people to love the stories I put out.

I relocated from Detroit, MI to Tampa, FL, and real-life started taking me on a different course. I was focused on family and a career in the health insurance industry. I stopped writing for about 3 years, and then we moved to California. In 2014, I decided I was going to rebrand WebCelebDaily and take it to another level. I started hosting and covering entertainment red carpets and doing commentary for TMZ Live almost every week. People were seeing me on television, and it seemed unreal. My first celebrity interview was with Vh1 reality star Shekinah Jo. I conducted the phone interview in my car inside my garage. I was a mom with 3 small kids under 8 so, if you are a parent, you know why I was in the garage lol. The interview was a success, and that sparked a fire in me that I could really succeed with this by any means. 

I ended up covering the BET Awards and their annual BET Experience in 2017 for the first time. That was a learning experience because there were so many media outlets that were there to do the same thing I was there to do. I was nervous, not knowing what exactly I was doing, but it woke up the beast in me. That experience allowed me to tap into so many skills that I hadn’t before when it came to being an entrepreneur and I am so thankful for that. I came across so many people and attended many influential events. It motivated me so much, I decided to put together my own networking event during the 2018 BET Awards weekend. I brought together bloggers, PR firm reps, rappers, producers, actors, DJs, celebrity make-up artists, etc…, from all different walks in the entertainment industry for “Network & Chill”. 

With the success of my networking event and new relationships, I established in the industry, I needed to see where I wanted to go next. I take pride in not following what everyone else does. By the time I joined Instagram in 2015, there were a million IG-only blog pages, so I had to figure out how to stand out but stay true to myself. I noticed that these pages were not getting celebrity interviews, so I made that my thing. So, I decided to start doing live interviews on Instagram. I believe my outlet was one of the first to start doing so. I also joined forces with celebrity commentator SheGossipz (Hey Kae!), and we hosted ‘Lets Dish’, a weekly recap of what happened in entertainment. That turned into the ‘Shhh…Don’t Tell Nobody podcast’. After that ended, I realized that in regards to celebrity interviews, the money to be made was on YouTube. I created ‘Dishing with Dani’ went on to have the honor of interviewing celebrities such as rapper Pusha T, producer/actress Issa Rae, multi-platinum R&B singer Avant, reality show star/actress Tami Roman, actress/singer Nicci Gilbert of the legendary 90’s group Brownstone, reality star Van Johnson of Vh1’s ‘Black Ink Crew’, actor London Brown of STARZ hit show ‘Raising Kanan’ and many more. 

My content has been published on Hot 97, Blavity, Vlad TV, The Miami Herald, Buzzfeed, Vh1, Madame Noire, BET, and more! I decided to follow my heart in production, and went on to start my production company Grand River Ave Films, and will be producing a true-crime series for YouTube about missing men and women of color, whose cases have gone cold, or have not received much media attention. I also have my wine brand De’Twah Premium Wines coming in 2022. Both companies are named in honor of my hometown of Detroit, MI. 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many things in my life that affected me personally and professionally. I went through a time where I was going through a divorce, and I was depressed and lost. Only a select few knew what I was dealing with. I wanted to give up and stopped believing in myself and my work for a while. I ended up being invited by Tami Roman to a celebrity Master Class because she wanted to talk to me about something. Little did I know she was going to speak life back into me in front the entire audience. I knew that was my sign to get things back in gear. 

Being a black woman in media has caused some struggles as well. When my outlet covered the BET Awards in 2018, my crew along with myself were racially profiled by security that were hired. That was truly disappointing and a big change from how we were treated in 2017, and I haven’t returned since. 

Other bumps in the road have been things like talent securing an interview that has already been promoted but they pull a no-call no-show or cancel last-minute, or an outlet with a larger audience stealing my content and not crediting myself or WebCelebDaily. Then you have to worry about copyright infringement, or a celebrity being upset over an article….and yes, I have been threatened to be sued. 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am the founder and owner of WebCelebDaily.com, a black-owned entertainment media outlet. We are known for our keeping the public updated in what’s happening in trending entertainment and celebrity news. We are also known for our blind items and celebrity interviews for ‘Dishing with Dani’. 

What sets me apart from others is that I stick to my morals. You won’t see me posting any and everything for the sake of a newsworthy headline. Sometimes you do have to draw the line. We are also much more than celeb news. We tackle real-life issues, world news, and true crime. 

I am most proud of my organic growth of building the audience for WebCelebDaily, and the things I have been able to accomplish without the help of anyone. I am also very proud of my first billboards! I have them running in my hometown of Detroit, also in Chicago, LA, Las Vegas, and Phoenix! Growing up in the “hood”, you don’t think about stuff like this being something you can accomplish, let alone to be an opportunity. 

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The world is forever changing so sometimes you have to make changes to adjust. With the metaverse becoming such a big thing, I see us crossing over into that world for sure. 

Contact Info:

• Email: info@webcelebdaily.com
• Website: webcelebdaily.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/webcelebdaily
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/webcelebdailyfans
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/webcelebdaily
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHC6WlHaZSv7VFvOL33W4Cg