Today we’d like to introduce you to DeVonna Payne.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve always been a creative at heart and a jack of all trades, not to toot my little horn. I guess you can say my love for design, blogging, and photography started back in college ’10. My college boyfriend, who is now my husband, bought me my first camera and I started my side hustles as a photographer/graphic designer doing graduation announcements, party flyers, headshots, weddings, and so forth. I also did some copywriting for a well-known Nashville DJ on 101.1 the Beat where he started paying me to blog for his hip-hop blog site. Surprisingly, I started to make enough money where all my side hustles were paying my bills consistently.
Fast forward seven years later, I’ve dedicated myself to furthering my skills and career in design and photography to what it is now. After leaving my graphic design job at Howard University, my husband and I (along with our then 2-year-old daughter Heaven), took a leap of faith to make the move to Atlanta. Our main focus was that we wanted to follow our dreams as business partners and individually so we did just that. Up until this point, we had already invested every paycheck we had into our big move and all of this high-tech equipment from drones, lighting, speakers, microphones and more. Shortly after the move, my husband made a comment about us having so much equipment that we had invested in and although we were new to Atlanta we couldn’t lose our focus on why we initially wanted to invest in ourselves. That was the day, I started my YouTube channel, recorded my first video, and published my first post on my blogsite WifeyKnowsBest.com.
Looking back, it has been two years since I’ve been consistent with being a digital content creator and I am so proud of myself for taking that leap of faith by STARTING WITH WHAT I ALREADY HAD! Since then, I have been blessed to be doing this full-time along with undergoing my master’s in Digital Marketing, and work-from-home for my multimedia business all while being a stay-at-home mom (with my 13-month-old daughter Harmony). Although I am far from where I want to be, I am blessed to have worked with so many amazing brands and get paid to do what I love as a mom blogger and digital creator.
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?
Let’s keep it all the way real…my journey to where I am now has been everything but smooth. Honestly, just like anything new, it is an ongoing learning process and with that comes trial and error. Although I wasn’t new to the photography and design aspect, I struggled to find my voice in front of the camera and writing for my blog. I would look at so many digital creators and loved how much they were truly themselves and I just could not figure out how I could portray this perfect image I had for myself in my head.
Unfortunately, that search for perfection only delayed my growth process and it took some self-reflecting for me to stop trying to be this perfect person and just be 100% real with myself and my audience. By this point, I felt like I went through several different stages of blossoming and got to the point of doing what works for me naturally which has been the key to building my audience.
Along with the struggle of finding my voice, came with me trying to figure out what kind of content to put out. Initially, I questioned the type of content I was creating because I wanted to my audience love every single post but I didn’t want to confuse them by posting hair videos one day, skincare the next, my kids and so on. Finally, I told myself to forget trying to put myself in a box and just create what I love!
However, my biggest obstacle by far has been balancing my many hats as a full-time blogger/influencer, full-time student, business owner, and stay-at-home mom. The level of stress took a huge toll on my body recently but after some serious prayer and counseling, I’ve realized that for me to be consistent in all aspects I had to obtain self-discipline in planning out my days and taking needed breaks for my mental health.
Overall, the greatest advice I would give is to stay focused, live your truth, and pace yourself for your journey will always be a work in progress.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am a mom blogger and lifestyle digital content creator for WifeyKnowsBest.com. I love to create content about parenting, family, beauty, fashion, hair, tech, home, food, and wellness. I have over 8+ years of professional experience specializing in photography, design, and cinematography in which I have brought to my blog site as well as my social media.
I am most proud of the amazing opportunities I have been able to have from collaborating by myself and alongside my family for brands like Great Wolf Lodge, Sony, Colgate, New Air, Gymboree, so many more. To get paid to do what you love and create content that is authentic to my everyday lifestyle is truly a blessing in which I am so very grateful.
Although I have only been blogging for almost three years now, I found that my niche is being a millennial mompreneur that loves to showcase my life in all of its authenticity. Not only do I blog but I love showing the behind-the-scenes (or “secrets”) about how I shoot and what tools people can use to get started with following their dreams.
My goal is to not just inspire but to be inspired by other moms and go-getting women who are making it happen for their dreams and their families all from this free digital space on the internet.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
What is luck? I am the first to say that nothing is given to you and that success comes from hustling in pursuit of the bigger picture. That means you have to roll up your sleeves and dive into educating yourself on everything you desire to be or obtain.
When people ask me how did I learn to do X, Y, and Z, I point them in the direction of my greatest resources on the internet: Google and YouTube University.
So to answer the question, I don’t believe in luck. I believe in self-education, preparation, and consistency so when the opportunity presents itself, I am prepared to execute or find the right resources to get it done. This mindset is what I set to instill in my children every day because I want them to be self-efficient and show them early in their lives that they can obtain anything they put their minds to without the crutch of luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.wifeyknowsbest.com/
- Email: dyoungpayne@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MrsPayneBranding/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WifeyKnowsBest/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrsDeVonnaPayne
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/c/devonnapayne
Image Credit:
Payne Branding Company, LLC. Website: http://www.paynebrandingcompany.com/; Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PayneBrandingco/; Portfolio: https://paynebrandingco.myportfolio.com/
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
