We were lucky to catch up with Dionne Hook recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dionne, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

After having many challenges (in terms of budget restrictions), I decided to put some money into a birthday party In was having for my daughter. I wanted to show that I could actually make it work. This was a way to showcase A LOT of the skills I had learned along the way. My daughter came up with a great theme (Little Mermaid lol), I hired reputable vendors, like, I got a photographer, used a caterer, found a princess to perform, hired a professional baker, along with a slew of other things.

This was a major undertaking. We had not planned for it, but I wanted to prove that with a certain budget I could actually EXECUTE!!!

Event/Party day arrives and starts rough. Furniture vendor was late, early morning showers showed us down too. Furniture company arrived with 36 minutes before start time. We had to HUSTLE & BUSTLE but we actually got across the finish line, only going a few minutes into overtime lol. Until today, I still get asked to feature the photos on numerous platforms.

What actually happened though was a reality check. I think this was actually the first time I took my job serious. I was so used to the $500 & $600 budgets. This was my BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT at that time and that investment came from ME!

Dionne, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always had the creative bug. Growing up in Portmore, Jamaica, I would make gift baskets, design rooms and plan small family gatherings. I even helped out in our family’s small printing business.

In 2014, I began making custom letters and party supplies after being placed on bed rest due to a difficult pregnancy. My work had started being noticed and soon, I decided that doing props just wasn’t enough. I wanted to use my client’s vision, with my innovation to create PERFECTLY PLANNED events!

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media for me is very challenging, most recently about a year and a half ago I met and fell in love with Clubhouse.

This particular social media platform is audio based. I’ve created a club and has been going strong more than a year now. The club promotes conversations with different people across the world, from different walks of life. We network and share each other’s businesses. We have stimulating conversations. We even provide a space for new, upcoming & seasoned artists to premiere new music.

How did I build this? Time, dedication & AMAZING TOPICS, rooms & virtual shows to the community and the people that are a part of it. Knowing that the community I formed and never expected this overwhelming response to is known as “Headquarters” (According To Bri Bri lol). We make it our mission to give back and add value to the space. It’s the most special platform I have on Social media.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFT’s are tricky. I guess to me it depends on the item it is placed on. I fully support NFTs that are placed on a body of work to show exclusivity.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.doubblez.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/myleeevents?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/double_mint
• Other: Find me on Clubhouse! https://www.clubhouse.com/@doublemint?utm_medium=ch_profile&utm_campaign=4WeGqzjDYxKRJJAOpTvcXQ-202104