The Mommy Hustle: A Story of Overcoming Challenges in Business and Motherhood

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:14] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this morning. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast, CEO with Rebirth Hair Products, Ms. Dionna Walker. How are you?

Dionna Walker: [00:00:34] I am great, thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: [00:00:38] What a delight to have you in studio and you have gone to some trouble to be here. You came in from Ohio?

Dionna Walker: [00:00:45] Yes, yes. Representing for the Dayton, Ohio area. I came flying in to Atlanta, Georgia for a jam packed weekend.

Stone Payton: [00:00:54] Yes, not just me. We’re going to have a great conversation, but you’ve got some cool stuff happening on Saturday. Yeah.

Dionna Walker: [00:01:00] Oh, yeah. So tell us about it. Okay, so Saturday I will be going to the Dropping Knowledge Tour and it is hosted by, um, Kaleidoscope Hair Products CEO, the real Baby Judy. So we’re going to be learning about how to reach our customers in 2024. And she’s just going to be dropping gems overall. So I am so excited for that.

Stone Payton: [00:01:26] Well I hope you’ll take some notes and share that with me.

Dionna Walker: [00:01:28] Okay. Of course.

Stone Payton: [00:01:30] We’ll take all the help we can get over here at Business RadioX. Okay. So Rebirth Hair Products. I do want to get into that in a little while. But, uh, what’s for foremost on my mind right now? You’ve got a book out. Yes.

Dionna Walker: [00:01:43] Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:01:43] Tell us about it.

Dionna Walker: [00:01:44] So I have a book out called The Mommy Hustle, and this book is an inspirational read. And I kind of wrote it because sometimes being a mom, I have eight children. Oh, my. So. Wow.

Stone Payton: [00:01:56] That’s a whole nother show. Yeah.

Dionna Walker: [00:01:59] Couple of hours worth a show. But being a mom and business, sometimes we have this thing called mom guilt and we want to make sure that we are our number one priority is our children. But when you’re in business, sometimes you have to, you know, tip that scale a little bit and say, hey, I know you have a football game tonight, but mom has to go to this meeting and sign this contract so we can pay for this mortgage. Okay, so I kind of wrote the book to inspire and to also give tips on how to balance that mom and entrepreneur lifestyle out.

Stone Payton: [00:02:38] Man, that sounds like a marvelous pursuit, a noble pursuit. And it’s, uh, I would think it’s no easy task. How do you go about taking these ideas, these experiences, and, and committing them to paper in such a way that it’s really going to benefit other people? Tell us a little bit about the process you went through for getting the book together.

Dionna Walker: [00:02:59] So it just, you know, it came to me as an idea and I said, well, I looked for something that relates to me. Right. So I was looking for a book that could relate to my struggles. And you know what I was thinking, what I had going on, and I couldn’t find it. So that is basically where most of my entrepreneurial spirit comes when I find something, when I want, when I need to find something on the market that I cannot find for myself, I go ahead and I create it because, hey, I know a lot of other women is looking for some, you know, some type of encouragement, um, to, you know, juggling, you know, business and motherhood or even, you know, working the 9 to 5 and being a mom, you know what I’m saying? So I just the inspiration comes from seeing a need for it. And I just, you know, after I, I just couldn’t find what I needed. I said, I’m going to go put pen to paper.

Stone Payton: [00:04:00] So what what is the structure of the of the book? Does it have, uh, chapters or how did you how did you set it up?

Dionna Walker: [00:04:07] Okay. So the book is so interesting because I have, um, I have graphics like I have a quote in there that said, I am not a Cinderella and that that chapter just talks about, you know, I’m not I’m not going to be cleaning all day. I’m not going to be, you know, I’m going to put on my, you know, my business suit and I’m going to go out there and I’m going to do what I need to do, and then I’ll come back and be Cinderella. But I have pretty cool, I have pretty cool graphics. And then I have. Oh, and then in the back of the book it is actually a journal. So once, as you and I encourage in the book, as you’re reading through the chapters, go to the back of the book and write down your thoughts. And even if you have a business idea, write it down. So the book is really pretty beautiful graphics I have. Oh man, it’s just such amazing. I’m that is my Picasso work.

Stone Payton: [00:05:10] So did some of the chapters come together really easy for you and other ones? Take a little while and you had to kind of work through the the way you you decided to say what you really wanted to say.

Dionna Walker: [00:05:22] Well, I had a great editor, um, and I just, I wrote it up and she just said, hey, we’re going to put some things in, we’re going to put some things out. But the overall process, it just came natural to me because it was just like, you know, I’m sharing my journey, right? Yeah. And I’m and she edited it in a way to where even if you’re, um, working in the corporate or 9 to 5, you can still relate to the book. We have like inspirational quotes and, you know, just a journal in the back. So the overall process was easy for me because I had a team that was able to edit the book. And we took about a good 2 to 3 months to even work on the editing part. And then we went to the graphics and the journal and all that. So most of the things was added as we developed and as we got like the the draft done. But the overall development of the book, it just came. It came natural to me because I wanted to share my story, but then I also wanted to put in there tips to my success that I think that other women can relate to as well. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:06:32] So what are some other key messages in the book? I love that I’m not Cinderella, but what are a couple of others?

Dionna Walker: [00:06:37] Um, and then one other chapter that I love so much, it is, um, you can be me, but can you beat me? And that is just. And it is just like a little fun little, uh, motivational thing that I do for mothers. Like, hey, I’m not going to let depression beat me. I’m not going to let you know. My financial, my me, my financial situation, um, define me. So the that quote is just for any situation that we may go through. So that one is a really good one. And I want, you know, I’m going to save a little bit of that. You got to go get the book. You got to get the book.

Stone Payton: [00:07:19] Absolutely. Okay. So at the individual level a person invest in the book and they start reading it. If you had the luxury of kind of sitting behind their shoulder and coaching them up on the best way to get the most out of this book, and you did touch on it. But say more about how to how to really use the book so that you are getting, um, as my partner would say, my business partner would say, uh, all the juice out of out of the book. How do you get the most out of it? Is it reading a chapter? Journaling? Yeah.

Dionna Walker: [00:07:51] I recommend reading a chapter. And after you read the chapter, really think about your own situation and add it to the journal. Part of it is really for the reader to jot down how they’re feeling and what it is that they’re they’re wanting to do for their own life. So I even have a part in there where I say, hey, how are you feeling right now? Go to the back of the book and write it down. And that kind of like helps most of the readers because they’re like, I took my time and read each chapter because I was looking forward to that push of you telling me to go in the back of the book, tell me how I’m feeling, what is my ideas? And I even asked them, how are we doing so far in the book, goes to the back of the book and write about it, because when we write our ideas down, I just feel like we can have something to go back to look at it and say, hey, I’m going to, I’m going to get to that. I’m going to knock that out. So I just feel like the most the chapter by chapter, read it by chapter, write down how you’re feeling. Um, if you can relate to something, go in the back of the book and just really write it down of how are you relating to the passage? And I give a lot of tips on business. I give a lot of tips on motherhood. As a mom of eight, I know.

Stone Payton: [00:09:16] It certainly sounds like.

Dionna Walker: [00:09:17] You do. I know. So I give tips on motherhood and just juggling the overall mom and business. And and that’s why it’s called the Mommy hustle. Because I give all my gems and I just want you to. I want us to feel connected in a way of, I have written this book, but you are partnering with me. You’re like my virtual partner and we’re going to write through our ideas. So I kind of wanted to just, you know, include that as a way of pushing out, you know, what it is that the reader wants to, you know, do.

Stone Payton: [00:09:55] Well, it sounds to me like this is also the kind of book that that you you reread. You don’t just read it once and you’re done. I could see reading it chapter by chapter, but also coming back to it. Yeah. Is that accurate?

Dionna Walker: [00:10:08] I wanted to make sure the reader got their money’s worth. Um. It is, it is a book. But the diary part of it is to where you can keep it on you and go back and read, you know, read your thoughts and go to a chapter and say, hey, I’m not a Cinderella. Today I have a meeting to get to and let me go brush up on that chapter. You know what I’m saying? So yes, this book is an investment of being able to carry it with you right in it. You know, it’s really it’s really like a diary, but it is a it is a guide on, you know, juggling the, the, the 9 to 5 and juggling a mom being a business owner.

Stone Payton: [00:10:51] So I am not a leader of a women in business mastermind, but I’m trying to put myself in that type of person’s shoes. I can also envision if I were. Eating a mastermind group of six, eight, ten, 12 people or whatever that we could use the book that way too. Whereas, you know, you go off and you read some, and then we come, come together and we, we use it as a platform for dialog. I mean, it has some real application in a, in a, in a group setting too. Yeah. Oh yeah.

Dionna Walker: [00:11:20] Absolutely. I know a couple of women, they purchased it. Um, they were college students. Um, and they purchased the book and they were saying, hey, we it took us a month to get through the book because we didn’t want to not read it with each other to talk about it. So I said, yeah, the book has some tea in it. And tea means interesting, interesting stories. So yes, you can definitely read it in a group setting. And I and I kind of feel that a group setting would be awesome as well because we can say, hey, let’s bounce ideas off each other, you know, let’s, you know, what are you putting in your notes? So yeah, I think a group setting will be great too.

Stone Payton: [00:12:00] So we have a great meeting, as you might imagine. Well, we have a great many authors actually kind of in our, in our crew. Right. People who tap into our work, people who come on as guests, uh, people who are clients at Business RadioX. But we also have a great many who are aspiring authors. So let’s talk about the benefits to you as an author, and specifically, I’m at least interested to know, did you find that committing your ideas to paper preparing this in service of others also helped you kind of crystallize your own thinking, solidify your, uh, ability, equip you to be even that much more effective when you were speaking or consulting or training or facilitating, did it have that effect for you?

Dionna Walker: [00:12:43] Um, it did, but I will say to anyone that is looking to get into, you know, writing, I just say go for it. You never know what. With your book may help, you know, tell your story. Um, someone is waiting on you to tell your story. And I say, don’t worry about how much it cost and what it’ll look like if you’re going to fall. Fall for it, okay? You don’t have to. You don’t have to be perfect. My first book. Oh my God. It was not the best, but I kept going and I learned. I listened to the customers and hiring someone on Fiverr to edge a book and make the graphics don’t cost number $1,020. So I just say started. Um, for me it was, um, I failed a lot when I was writing these books, but the mommy hustle is my protege. I learned a lot before I released that one. Um, I hired amazing team, and for me, the benefit was not only financial, but it was also knowing that I took a chance to inspire women to, you know, and that was enough for me because I want to always be inspirational and be inspirational to others. And I also want to lead by example and everything that I put in that book. I have went through every single thing. I have been a Cinderella at once. So yeah, everything in the book I just can relate to. I went through and, you know, the readers say, hey, I can’t believe you put this in the book, but that’s that’s something that people don’t say out loud, but you put it in there, and I just, I just had to email you to let you know, like, wow, that’s what I was thinking as well. So the benefits for me is just to make sure the reader is enjoying the experience. I wanted the book to be an experience, and I also wanted to bring the reader in to, you know, to have the connection of this is my book, but we’re sharing the experience because you get to write your own part in the back of the book.

Stone Payton: [00:14:56] Well, it sounds like you’re getting feedback from this thing. What are some of the things that people are saying you’re hearing from readers? Right, I.

Dionna Walker: [00:15:02] Am, I get a lot of emails and oh, interesting story real quick. Uh, my teacher, she emailed me and I haven’t talked to this lady in so long, and she said, I seen you on the news and I had to get your book. And she said, that’s my student.

Stone Payton: [00:15:22] That had to feel good. Yeah, that was great.

Dionna Walker: [00:15:24] And she was one of my favorite teachers as well. But I just wanted to throw that story out there. But yes, the readers are enjoying it. And, you know, some some things are not for everyone, but for the most part, um. When the readers get the book, they’re excited because, like I said, it flows as if we’re on a journey together. So the feedback has been great. Um, and whenever the feedback is not great, I make those notes for my next book. Yes, yes.

Stone Payton: [00:15:57] Good for you.

Speaker4: [00:16:00] All right.

Stone Payton: [00:16:01] What’s the best way for our listeners to get their hands on this book?

Dionna Walker: [00:16:04] Um, my website would be, uh, Rebirth Hair products.com, and they can get it. It’s on my website.

Stone Payton: [00:16:13] So that’s Mecca for everything. If they want to get to you, they want to get to the book. They want to tap into any of your your speaking, your facilitation, your coaching. It was just whatever you might be doing. Yeah. Okay. Let’s go into some of the real life source material for this book because, oh, by the way, you’re a CEO of a company, a successful company called Rebirth Hair Products. Uh, paint force, if you would. Mission. Purpose. What are you out there doing for folks with that company?

Dionna Walker: [00:16:41] So the rebirth hair products, that is my baby. Um, I’ve been in that business for three years. And what Rebirth Hair Products is. We started as a hair restoration brand for moms and we have expand. So I created this brand because when I had I was going through postpartum hair loss and I didn’t know that was a thing. I did my research and as I was getting bald, I was putting together, you know, I was looking for products again. I was looking for products to help that. So when I couldn’t find it, I created it. And I, you know, I created the Rebirth hair products specifically for moms with hair loss. And to this date, if Google, Google is our friend, Rebirth Hair Products is the only company. Of his kind that have products for mothers experiencing hair loss after postpartum. So we expand and I said, I want to reach more people. So our products are now for anyone. We have men, we have women, we have children, and we are a hair restoration brand. And our motto is to restore, rejuvenate and rebirth your hair. And we do that by offering all natural hair products. So we have conditioners, we have shampoos, we have edge control. You know, we got to keep some edges cute. We have you know, we have products that I have sourced and I, you know, I add my ingredients to it. And I let our people on the back end do what they have to do. And it’s just that, that brand, all of that is my baby.

Speaker4: [00:18:32] I have to believe.

Stone Payton: [00:18:34] A product like that that delivers results like that has got to be so much more than just the product. It’s it’s the, uh, it’s what it produces for the individual in confidence and self esteem. And I would think that would be huge for a lot of people, yeah?

Dionna Walker: [00:18:50] Absolultely. Especially us women. Our hair. What we don’t play about that. But yeah, the confidence is because you can imagine how I felt as I was losing hair and I just had a baby. So postpartum hair loss, you know, and I had to do my research. That is a big issue. And once I found that out, I was able to create Rebirth Hair products. And that’s how I really got the name, because I said, I need a rebirth, this hair. And that’s how I came up with the name rebirth. But to this day we expand, um, and we are an overall hair restoration and growth system brand. And we have products just for about anyone.

Stone Payton: [00:19:34] So now that you’ve been at it three years and counting, right. So, uh, clearly it’s very rewarding work. What’s the what are you enjoying the most? What’s the most fun about it for you?

Dionna Walker: [00:19:46] I love the shipping part because I’m doing everything, um, right now. Or it’s just me and my kids and my husband and my mom. Some family sometimes, and the shipping is what I had to get a handle on. And once I learned how to do that, I enjoy it. Sometimes I’ll put an extra product in there. Sometimes I’ll write a note in there. I really enjoy the shipping aspect of my company because I just feel like, oh man, this this person took a chance on my dream and I’m just so appreciative. So I try to make sure that even doing the back end of my company, you know, doing the marketing and everything, I always, you know, find time to ship most of my orders. I kind of feel connected in a way to my customer, and I’m just so grateful for them to take a chance on my company. So I love the shipping part. I know that sounds crazy, but I love the shipping aspect of my brand. I love all of my brand, but the shipping part and getting my orders to the customer. I love that part.

Stone Payton: [00:20:55] I’m so glad that I asked.

Stone Payton: [00:20:57] And no, I did not expect that answer at all. But then as you described it, it made perfect sense to me. And I got to tell you, you know, I get stuff mail order all the time, and there’s one company when they send me stuff it, they send me a bottle of hot sauce. And it’s just, it’s a nice little touch. And to get even to get a little note, you know, thank you for the business or we appreciate you or, you know, enjoy that. Really it means so much. So there there’s a pro tip for you guys out there. Yeah shipping shipping product makes all the sense in the world.

Dionna Walker: [00:21:27] It does. It gives your it gives your customer a personal feel to the person you are. I’ll even put in there ship with love or you know, you never know what someone could be going through. So you’re you going the extra mile for your customer can hey, I got this product from Rebirth Hair Products Girl. They send me a cute little note and some extra products. Try this product out. You may like it. It gets the word of mouth out.

Dionna Walker: [00:21:56] So yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:21:58] So I know you’re going to go learn a lot more Saturday. And I hope you share some of your notes. But talk to me a little bit about the sales and marketing aspect of your work because you can’t just, you know, build it and they will come. Right. You got to get out there and let people know about it. What’s what’s that like for you?

Dionna Walker: [00:22:12] Oh, I’m still learning. That’s why I’m going to the event Saturday with the real Julia Kaleidoscope Hair Products Dropping Knowledge tour, because I’m still learning the marketing aspect of the business. And that one is tricky because the, you know, reaching your customers is different. You know, especially in 2020 for a lot of things is expensive. And you have to be creative when you’re reaching your customers. So I have everything business related when it comes to reaching reaching my customers. But you want to stay true to your brand, but you want to make it interesting. You want to make make it to where you’re producing good content that tells your customers about your product, what you’re offering, but you don’t want to drag it all out. So I’m still learning about the marketing aspect of it. But, you know, I feel that we’re doing great because we have a good we have a good team. We have people that’s helping us. We put up billboards, um, we we go to events, we do bags with mini sized products in it at other events. Um, but I’m excited to learn more about that Saturday. But it is a learning. It is a learning. I’m learning a little bit, you know, I’m trying to get into that marketing aspect. So if anybody can help me reach out, please.

Stone Payton: [00:23:35] Well, I love that attitude, that life learner, uh, approach.

Dionna Walker: [00:23:39] I’m forever a student.

Stone Payton: [00:23:41] Well, I can see that. And often I will ask my guests if they’ve had the benefit of a mentor or two as they’ve kind of, you know, transitioned into different aspects of business. The answer in your case is clearly yes. So maybe a better question would be, uh, what tips, if any, do you have in terms of, uh, seeking out mentors and and getting the most out of that relationship?

Dionna Walker: [00:24:06] I for me, connect with someone who’s already where you want to be. Connect with someone that is not afraid to tell you. Like, um, the product that you put out is ugly, and I need you to start over. You need to connect with someone that is honest already in a position of where you want to be in life, either as business, at a job, anywhere, and just get the most out of the gems that they can drop to where to how they got to where they are for you to join them, you know what I’m saying? And I just say reading books as well, and then having a mindset of I am a student. I’m always learning, I learn, I wake up to learn. What am I going to learn today, especially on TikTok? I didn’t try so many TikTok videos. I am a student and I receive, you know, I received the knowledge I received, you know, learning. You know, that’s that’s just my personal preference. I’m always a student. I’m going to learn. I’m going to look forward to the knowledge. You know what I’m saying? I’m and I, I just want others to, you know, be a student, learn. Um, and then once you learn, reach back and help other people.

Stone Payton: [00:25:43] Well, yeah, I want to dive into that a little bit, too. So, yes, on the other side of the coin, as a successful entrepreneur, an author, you find yourself in a mentoring role sometimes maybe formally, but I’m sure a great deal informally insight, perspective on being a good mentor and maybe some do’s and don’ts on trying to help the next person.

Dionna Walker: [00:26:00] The funny thing is, I have, um, I have a well, I wouldn’t say a mentorship per se, but I created digital products as well, and the digital products are just basically ebooks to help business owners. So I have one that’s how to make a sale and or how to make 30 sales in ten days. I have another one that is basically how to create a digital product, how to create a six figure product. I, I have used ebooks as a way to mentorship because I’m a mom of eight. I sometimes don’t have time to sit and chat with other people. So I created ebooks to help entrepreneurs and I detail so much in the ebooks. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:26:54] I’m a switch gears on you for a moment before we wrap, if I might. And I don’t know where you would find the time with eight kids, a successful business, writing books, creating digital product. But I’m going to ask anyway about passions, pursuits, hobbies, interests outside the scope of your work. A great meeting of my listeners know that I like to hunt, fish, and travel, you know? So what do you have a tendency to nerd out about or get into when it’s outside the scope of the work?

Dionna Walker: [00:27:20] I am a die hard Harry Potter fan, I love books, I love iced coffee, I love to dance, I love fashion, um, I love walks in the park, I love picnics, I love candles. Wow, I can go on for and I just, I love the simple things in life because I don’t I don’t need to go to a fancy restaurant. I mean, it’s nice, but going to the park, getting a cute bath, getting a blanket and just I love vibes. I’m a vibe type of girl.

Stone Payton: [00:27:58] And I know you mentioned earlier you must like to cook because you said you went to TikTok and got the rest of season.

Dionna Walker: [00:28:03] Yeah, I love trying different foods. I love to cook. I just love the experience of, you know, TikTok. Oh my God, I try so many of those meals.

Stone Payton: [00:28:17] I should have had cooked to my list. Uh, Santa Claus brought me a Blackstone, one of those griddles. Wow. And so I’ve really enjoyed that. And I was watching YouTubes last night on how to do the hibachi. So, you know what? I’m gonna I’m gonna, I should add, cooked to my list, because I do.

Dionna Walker: [00:28:30] Yeah. Make some hibachi.

Stone Payton: [00:28:32] Well the activity is fun, but the what builds around it having family and it’s just, it just it helps create a variety of very intimate, you know, genuine experiences around around food. Yeah.

Dionna Walker: [00:28:44] It does.

Stone Payton: [00:28:46] All right. Uh, what’s the best way for our listeners to tap into your work? Let’s I know you mentioned the website and the book, and maybe that’s the right place. I just want to make sure that folks, if they want to reach out and have a more substantive conversation with you or get their hands on these, uh, digital products or get to your book, let’s leave them with some coordinates to do that.

Dionna Walker: [00:29:06] So, um, I’m on IG, Instagram at Rebirth University and then I am not opposed to dropping. My email address, I just hey, it is Deanna Walker. Zero eight at gmail.com. Email me, email me. Check out the website Rebirth Hair products. Com follow me on Instagram at Rebirth University. Email me Diana Dionna Walker WALKER08 at gmail.com. And if you’re going to message me, just put in the subject line. If you want digital products, say hey digital product. Hey, how you doing? I heard you on the hottest radio business, radio X. I need a digital product.

Stone Payton: [00:29:53] Well, Diana, it has been an absolute delight having you in the studio sharing your story. You’re doing really important work and we want you to keep it up. We sure appreciate you.

Dionna Walker: [00:30:06] Thank you for having me. I’m so I’m so appreciative for the opportunity. Until next time.

Stone Payton: [00:30:14] Absolutely. My pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, CEO with Rebirth Hair Products and author of the Mommy Hustle book, Miss Diana Walker. And everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.