Exploring Life & Business with DeAndre Nixon of iN Education, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to DeAndre Nixon.

Hi DeAndre, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Akron, Ohio. As a young kid, I was into the arts (drawing and singing). In 6th grade, I sang in the school choir and loved it. I continued to 7th grade with excitement to hear that I had no talent by my choir teacher. I could not sing a lick after that. It crushed me. I decided to pursue something else.

As a teenager, I started a business doing odd jobs around the neighborhood, I was a Junior Achievement President, School Marketing Class President, and was in the Junior ROTC program. I eventually went to the Navy as a Dental Technician. As a wartime veteran, my journey took me to 6 countries; I later visited 12 more.

After being honorably discharged, I went to college at the University of Washington for my undergrad. During my senior year, I founded my first business, iN Entertainment, as special events production company. I produced Seattle Fashion Week as a brand of iN Entertainment. Fashion shows and other productions was my niche. I then graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration with a Management focus.

My grandmother passed, so I decided to dissolve the company in 2005. It was a hard but easy decision to make. This is when I Founded iN Education in 2006. I started with Career Technical Education where I taught youth the industry of Event Planning and Coordinating. I helped them get their certifications in this industry.

I then added Zealousness publication to create success stories in the arts and education. Implemented Battle of the TEAL as part of my Arts & Culture Programming to allow free expression before launching Life Coaching while expanding on Career Exploration.

Today, we provide services for over 13,000 youth annually. Our footprint is found in 9 Ohio Counties and growing. We have over 5K Blog Subscribers with a staff of 45 editors, writers, and graphic designers. We are an Ohio Medicaid certified Service Provider.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road for me. I live in Ohio. When I started iN Education, I struggled to find the market that would allow me to serve and thrive. I chased my home town school district for 14 years who would not allow me to touch the kids in the district from which I was an alumni in.
One day, we had a corporate meeting and brought in one highly respected volunteer. She said why don’t we scale out and target all schools. From that moment, we had schools calling us and the statistics surprised us.

I thought my customer were inner city public schools with a high population of minorities. What we got was rural, suburban schools with 92 to 95 percent white public, private schools. I didn’t understand it. Later I understood that this population needed our services due to high mental health issues, high end drug use, and cutters. How could I turn my back on them?

The other struggles was making sure that my products and services were all innovative… enough to make some noise enough for others to pass the ball to us. Our team has worked hard to bring some value to the table in a highly competitive market. This was our only way to survive and sustain.

Grant funding was and will always be a struggle for nonprofits. This is a constant thing. So we had to create Service Revenues where we could sustain and thrive. Most Grantmaking organizations require this.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
iN Education is a 501 c (3) NPO in Ohio; we were founded in 2006 which we are celebrating our 20th year milestone.

I serve as the Founder & President, Chairman of the Board, Executive Producer, Editor in Chief. My wife is my Executive Administrator, I have 5 board members, 10 contracted staff, and 45 global volunteers.

As a youth development NPO, we empower youth and young adults through programs that encourage self-leadership, career awareness, and creative expression—equipping them with tools for self-discovery, transferable skills, and creative guidance to thrive in school, work, and life. We extend this mission through our blog, where we share stories, tools, and insights that build understanding, foster connection, and support the wider community around our youth.

We have 4 departments:

Career Exploration
Arts & Culture
Blog
Life Coaching

We are an award winning organization and an Ohio Medicaid Service Provider. I am a Certified Master Life Coach.

Our only annual fundraising activity is the TEAL Art Fest. This is a youth engaged community event where youth help with the production and serve as art vendors and performers.

I love the brand and love the way we serve. The cause is important to me. We are really into self-awareness and use a lot of Coaching strategies to help youth gain Clarity, build their Confidence and bring out their Creativity. Every department has the same goal.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Go on your journey without hesitation. The journey will take you in different directions over time. I started with Career Technical Education then added Publishing, Art programming, and life coaching in 20 years. This allowed us to find our way and discover our core that is found in every department that makes iN Education thrive – Careers and Workforce Development. Dream big and do a company audit annually.

Pricing:

• Life Coaching – $100 hr. / Medicaid Free
• Career Exploration – $100 hr. / Medicaid Free
• Art Fest – Free
• Blog post – $50 per article
• Career Cohort – $1500 / Medicaid $150

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ineducationonline.org
• Instagram: @ineducationinc
• Facebook: @ineducationinc
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1555292/admin/dashboard/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ineducationinc