Today we’d like to introduce you to Diamond Bynum.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started when I came to the realization that from 9-5 everyday, I was hiding intricate parts of my personality from others around me. When I say intricate, I mean the funny, infectious, charismatic parts of my personality that made life fun, entertaining and fulfilling. As a chemistry major, I believed it was my natural career progression to work in a laboratory. At this time, I had worked in the Chemical Industry for four years and I still did not feel like I was fulfilling my purpose. So I asked my father, God, for direction on where my life was headed, and he showed up and showed out!
I traveled to Paris with my husband in the spring of 2018. I overpacked, as usual, with tons of accessories, different shoes, and looks for my Parisian experience. There was only one issue: My hair. I had decided a month before this trip that I was going to stop straightening my hair. My straight hair made me feel pretty, it made me feel whole, and now, here I was, in Paris with natural hair, feeling naked.
My husband is a videographer. So I had to mentally prepare to take tons of pictures and videos. This is something we always did, but it was just something about wearing my hair curly that I was unsure about. As expected, we took pictures everywhere! On the street, in the subway, next to the Louvre, and we even filmed our amazing experience in the Palace of Versailles. The highlight of the trip was taking professional photos, as a couple, right in front of the Eiffel Tower. At the end of the trip, my husband had tons of footage and he put together a “Curls in Paris” video and after viewing it, I fell in love with myself and the art of blogging/vlogging.
Now I was hooked. I began posting the photos that were taken in Paris on Instagram with cute captions and hashtags. A week after we returned, I posted the Curls in Paris video and thanked each of the brands whose products I had been using for their help in boosting my self-confidence and allowing me to embrace my natural hair. One of the brands that were tagged noticed my Instagram page and contacted me to create content for them! That was the beginning of my career as a micro-influencer.
From 2018-2020, I would get a new 9-5, work with many more brands, commit to being a better blogger and create a self-brand that is relatable, current and influential. To God be the Glory.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I would have to say it has not been a smooth road. It has been a fun road and an amazing learning experience, but definitely not a smooth road. Being a full-time working woman, a wife, a mom, a grad school student and a blogger takes a lot of time management. In the beginning, it was a lot to handle. There are many times when I would be filming at 2am to make contractual deadlines and then wake up at 6am to get ready for work. The greatest struggles have been taking time for self-care and not getting caught up in metrics. It can be easy to get caught up in likes and followers, etc., when you are just starting out. I have learned to focus on creating content that appeases my audience and focusing on engagement above all other things. For self-care, I will occasionally take social media breaks. When I was pregnant with my daughter last year, I took a four-month break from social media. It was great. I just ate, slept, and watched love and hip-hop.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As a blogger, I’m a self-brand. My content is centered around natural hair, beauty, and fashion. I conduct product reviews regularly, weekly tutorials, and I teach other people how to take care of their naturally curl hair. Occasionally, I will sprinkle in some lifestyle content with Mommy hacks and ways to stay organized. Anything that I find helpful in my daily life I always find a way to share with others. I am most known for creating cinematic tutorials! I had the opportunity to develop some amazing content for “The Mane Choice’s Peach Black Tea Line.” Many of my followers will call it the infamous “eye” video. The editing in that video was crazy! It really solidified my spot as a content creator and opened the door for so many other opportunities. The tutorials that I create are not just your standard how to do a wash and go. I make my videos look like mini hair movies. I am most proud of the vulnerability I have been able to show as a blogger and how influential my brand has become. It really warms my heart when people tag me in products they purchased that I recommend or say little saying I use with my family. To know that being vulnerable and genuine on social media has impacted people’s lives in a positive way really reassures me that I am fulfilling my purpose.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck? Hmm, I have a hard time referring to anything as being lucky or unlucky, because I know my God is intentional. I will say that prayer, opportunity, and hard work have had the most impact on my life and my business. There was a point where I was headed down a very destructive path. I had unexpectedly become pregnant in my junior year of college by my abusive boyfriend at the time, and graduation was looking very bleak and my future felt very dim. Needless to say, I was not prayed up at all during this time. If I was, I might have made better choices. I literally prayed for God to rescue my son and I from a toxic situation, and he did. Likewise, when I started my micro-influencing journey, I prayed for guidance, worked hard, and saw opportunities started to manifest themselves. So luck isn’t a word I would use to describe this. I would say blessed and hungry.
Contact Info:
- Email: mrsdimeydime@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dimey_dime/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/dimeydimee
- Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/dime_dimey
Image Credit:
Iexclusiveproductions
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