We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaliyyah Dyani. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaliyyah below.
Aaliyyah, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later
I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey in the summer of 2019, filled with excitement and ambition. However, after a year, I made the difficult decision to close my business when I realized that the gap I aimed to fill existed for a reason. This experience taught me the importance of thorough research, which has since become a foundation for all my future ventures.
A year later, I launched Black Girl Hula. While I sometimes wish I had started sooner, the pandemic inevitably impacted its growth. However, I strongly believe in divine timing, and everything unfolded as it was meant to. This period allowed me to explore other passions, including becoming a birth educator, genealogist, higher education consultant, and realtor. The only thing I would have done differently is ensuring my businesses were fully established before leaving my full-time job.
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?
My name is Aaliyyah Dyani (A.D.), a Kansas City, Missouri native who has called Tampa, Florida home since June 2019. By day, I am a college educator, and by night, a polymath and serial entrepreneur. I am the Founder and CEO of Aaliyah J. Deggs Consulting, Black Girl Hula, Infinity Doula, and Infinity Genealogy, and a Realtor. The bridge between all of my interests and businesses is that I get to educate and make a positive impact.
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
With Black Girl Hula, I sell my weighted hula hoops on my website. I love the direct to consumer approach. When someone visits my website, I am always excited because it reminds me that someone is looking for me and/or what I have to offer. However, maintaining and updating the site, as well as driving consistent traffic, can be challenging.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
As an entrepreneur, I had to unlearn the assumption that people automatically know who I am and what I offer. While humility and modesty have their place, building a business requires taking risks and putting myself out there. As a college educator, I felt confident showcasing my skills and expertise, but stepping into entrepreneurship was a new and unfamiliar challenge. The responsibility of maintaining my business has pushed me to see my work and contributions from a different perspective, shaping how I present myself and engage with the world.
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