We were lucky to catch up with Dion Chavis recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dion , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I created my company The Glad Dad, LLC based out of what I saw as a disconnection between adults and children. The business was initially designed as a way to speak with fathers about the importance of responsible parenting and engaging with their kids. I would travel around the country speaking at conferences and working with dads to provide them with the tools that they needed to play an active roles in the lives of their kids. Through my journey of being a dad, I made it my mission to help dads as much as I could. Over the years, I began to work with schools, juvenile justice systems, foster care providers and other organizations to understand the importance of connecting and building bridges with young people in order to see significant changes in school attendance, truancy, and graduation rates. My approach to this work is based on helping folks understand the importance of meeting kids where they are and gaining a better understanding of Hip Hop and popular culture.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I spent 20 years as a radio personality, so that is where I honed my public speaking skills. It was my journey as a father that pushed me into starting The Glad Dad, LLC. When my daughter was born in 2004 I didn’t have any ideas about what parenting or fatherhood really looked like. When my daughter was born, her mother and I weren’t in a relationship, so there were often times that we did not see eye to eye on things or we would be at odds about how much time I should spend with her. When my daughter was about 3 years old I decided that I would use my story as a way to inspire others to never give up on their role as a dad. The thing that I am most proud of is the journey itself. Taking the stressors that came with being a single father and turning them into a way to encourage others was a lot of work, but it has been worth every minute of it. The work that I do isn’t just about me, it is about making sure that as adults we understand the importance of consistent and meaningful engagement with our young people.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My reputation was built of authenticy. I pride myself on walking in every room and being my true and authentic self. So, whenever I am speaking to an audience I bring my life experience with me and I don’t try to be something that I’m not. People can sense when you aren’t genuine. That authenticity has not only brought me new clients, but made it possible for many of my clients to do repeat business with me.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I mentioned previously that I worked in radio for 20 years. During that time, my speaking business was pretty much a side hustle. Like many people in 2020 I lost my job due to Covid, and I had to figure it out. I decided to go full speed ahead with The Glad Dad, LLC and I began doing virtual speaking events in order to build my audience and also to stay afloat financially. It was a forced pivot, but I was able to figure it out and do something that I loved doing. My wife and I also decided to start focusing more on our online record store Remix Records Tapes & Tees (@remixrecordboutique on IG) and that allowed me to continue to be involved with music and provide a service for vinyl collectors who were stuck at home during the pandemic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dionchavis.com
- Instagram: thegladdad
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegladdad
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dionchavis