Diana Fowlkes shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Diana , thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
The most surprising thing that I have learned about my customers is ; they are really grateful for my effort and hard work . Many have referred others and they simply appreciate my hardwork and dedication. It shows because I have many who are loyal and have returned for over two decades ; incorporating their personal friends and colleagues with my introduction. It never occurred to me that they really do pay attention to my customer care . I am forever thankful.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My life is designed on purpose as being a multi talented entertainer . My role as Entertainer, Facepainter , Balloon Artist and Event Planner snowballed into a business, and grew progressively. It all began in an effort to serving my Urban Church Community ( in which I resided , previously). I saw a need to bridge the community to the church and began a Performing Arts Program for Youth in my community. It started with me , learning the fine art of Facepainting , then progressing to Basic Balloon Twisting and the rest is history . I developed a curriculum and plan for Before and After School Programs; once I mastered the creative skills . It took time and dedication , but , I wanted to play it forward teaching our Youth a Trade. I set the example, leading out front with my two beautiful children, teens who showed interest and trained them . I pretty much discipled my children as they were taught to lead . We were blessed to have a growing and thriving team of young students ; some clowns , balloon artists and puppeteers; they made their choice based on their purpose . I taught 12 week classes in the surrounding areas of Baltimore . It increased parent awareness and participation as we hosted , Recitals for the Finale . Our youth learned the process of becoming Entrepreneurs . Those who mastered their skills and showed good stewardship were hired at “ Main Events “ I was blessed to Contract .
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
My community leaders taught me by their examples. I was influenced by my teachers and participated in extra curricular activities, after school ( on all levels). Just seeing how they were passionate about grooming me , in a nurturing way , caused me to see . I was not a waste of time . My hard work and dedication was influenced by my Pastor and Church Leaders. I’d listen to their stories of humble beginnings and thought , maybe one day I’ll do the same . My dream was to always focus on what was ahead of me , they didn’t play around ; if they heard me talk myself out of achieving, I was redirected towards a more hopeful outlook. The fact that my community leaders specifically at the Recreation Center were so positive was my foundation and molded my hopeful future . With much hard work and dedication , I put the work into mastering my skills and never gave up . I practice the three P’s #practice #prayer #patience I learned through my walk of faith , God really did help me to acquire everything, by faith and works that is what made my dreams a reality . Put the time in to make your own vision come to pass .
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fears that held me back were , me surrounding myself around the wrong people. I learned in life , surrounding myself around people of like faith , hardworking , dedicated , positive relationships should always cover me . Sincerely , becoming a loner was the best decision I ever made; for a season . It wasn’t until years later in my career that I met up with people who were established and settled in the industry that welcomed me into their world . Their circle was small as well . These were influential persons who already made a name for themselves. My fear was , I had been ridiculed by so many negative persons whom I tried to mentor and betrayed . My observation was, they were not working hard at mastering their craft and hindered me wasting my time. They were insubordinate whenever I hired them , showed up late and set a poor example. Well , I let them eat my dust and embraced the new relationships that still remain until this day ; two decades later strong . Fear could no longer grip me once I had influence and investors who saw my potential and mentored me . Emmy Award Winning Kinderman was my mentor and greatest influencer . Today , I surround myself with people who are going forward and don’t mind helping empower others who are new to the business. My Brand is all about “ Empowerment “!!!
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
I am on a life long bold journey to be a blessing to others . What I have learned ; be it good , bad or ugly . I myself must set a good example, period . People come to me often for help , some from social media. Apprehensive thinking; she’s not cool or maybe doesn’t have time . Me, I observe their work ( seeing they have followed me watching ) their posts and we go from there . Often , I too will compliment their work as artists , but , inbox them privately and offer helpful advice. I don’t know them ; many artists from social media see my posts of my work and live gigs on location and compare themselves ( feeling a bit defeated ) . I’ve gained friendships from just being supportive of others . We Zoom with dedicated time constraints and I teach them whatever they need to strengthen their skills at no cost . Making assessments along the way , we develop a viable plan to help improve their skills and abilities. I do require dedication and promptness for my attention . Otherwise , we do have payment options. Most importantly, I am committed in investing my time in strengthening others who will play it forward . It’s all worth it . The end result is a testimony… never did I ever think I could achieve it . With a big push from Annie they did . I love building others up and sticking with them until they get it , but , they have to be hungry for it to happen .
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would change my diet and stop eating processed junk food , meats and ice cream !! Seriously, I have no food restrictions or health issues. I eat whatever I want . For me , I probably would grow my own foods organically and make better decisions about my diet and exercise more . These days you really have to watch and pray over your food , look at the recalls and uncertainty of healthy food purchased from the grocery stores .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kinderklowndmv.com
Image Credits
Photo Credit : Annie The Kinderklown and Staff
