The odds were stacked against Chinaza Duson from birth. Born in Buffalo, New York, her mother was a prostitute and her father was a pimp. Duson soon found herself in a youth home. However, being taught discipline and the value of never allowing yesterday to define today fueled her desire to overcome her rough upbringing.
She received her MBA and BA in business administration from Stayer University and after surviving some bumps in her career path, she eventually became a top network marketing professional. But the job closest to Duson’s heart is serving as founder and chair of the SheSpeaks Worldwide Foundation, a platform which empowers women, children and anyone with a dream to live to their highest potential and be a pillar in their communities.
Although SheSpeaks does amazing work creating programs that educate budding female entrepreneurs and uplifting various communities, the upcoming SheSpeaks Global conference is a different animal. The conference gathers some of the wisest, fiercest professionals to speak life into women yearning for mental, spiritual and financial enrichment. This year’s event will be on July 29-31 at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Atlanta. Rolling out‘s Yvette Caslin, grant management mogul Tina Wheeler, Duson, and a list of others will be guest speakers .
Duson told us what women can expect from the conference and also let us in on her powerful backstory.
What inspired you to get into network marketing?
Getting into network marketing was a force of nature. I was an executive working at the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). I walked into my office on April 14, 2010, and they dropped a bomb on me. Literally the day before, I received the Top 40 Under 40 [award] in Mass Transit Magazine. The next day, they said “We’re sorry, but in six months, your position will no longer exist, but you’ll be fine.” I said, “Excuse me?” I was a single mom with two children and at that time, I had a Facebook friend who inboxed me. I was known for posting things empowering people, but my energy had dropped. So he said “What’s going on?” and I told him life as I knew it had changed. He said “Look, I have a business you should take a look at.” He was in the travel industry. So I did, and that was six years ago. I made a total of $20,000 over a total of four years. But in 2013, I got into my stride. I literally woke up one day and I went full speed ahead to get to where I am now, in the No. 1 position.
After that, you decided to get into motivational speaking and humanitarian work. Why?
What I found in network marketing is that every time you heard from someone who was successful, it was always a story behind it. I remember listening to everyone else’s story, but I never wanted to tell you mine because I was embarrassed about it. I was embarrassed about being a product of rape and some of the things that happened to me. I thought no one wanted to hear it, and I wasn’t one to play victim. One day, I began to tell it little by little and realized people were being liberated and wanted to understand that if you can do it, I can do it. When I saw my story was serving as an inspiration and point of healing, I said “Wait, there’s nothing to hide anymore.” It freed me. Whenever I tell my story, I stay free, and when others are empowered to tell theirs, they get free.
Was there anyone who uplifted and inspired you when you were growing up?
She found me later on. I was at a youth home called Gateway for children in upstate New York. There was a woman named Ally Mae Mixon. She and her husband were pastors. I was outside roaming the property, and Ms. Mixon saw me and asked for directions. I gave them to her, and she said there was something about me that made her fight for me to come and live with them. I was a hard nut with her, but she stayed on me like no other. Her discipline and punishments were hard, and I wanted to run away. My foster father said the reason why his wife was so successful was because she never lost herself, regardless of where she came from. So she would remind me consistently that life is not about today, it’s about what you do tomorrow. I took that and ran with it.
Tell us about the SheSpeaks Worldwide Foundation and SheSpeaks Global.
SheSpeaks Global is the conference series. God told me to pull together an experience for women. I named it SheSpeaks because I believe a lot of women have lost their voice because of things they’ve been through, and they forget that their voice has power. So SheSpeaks is about helping women find that voice and put the pieces together. So I thought I was just going to do it one time, but God said “No, I want you to take this around the world. There’s so many women who need to find their voice.” So the first conference was birthed last July. It was an absolute success — we had about 160 women who came from different parts of the country and parts of the U.K. who got to share unique experiences. No one left the same. This year, we realized that a lot of the women who came were aspiring entrepreneurs who wanted to take back their life, be inspired to come out of corporate America; they wanted to identify who they are. So the foundation was birthed to be an incubator for women who aspire to be business owners — to give them the tools, connections, and relationships with mentors and coaches.
Out of that, we birthed the Young Wall Street program which I partner with a friend of mine. We’re going into high schools and talking to the young women and men about being entrepreneurs. Mainly, it’s in the urban community. Every time I go into an urban community, I heard the same stories of lost hope — “My brother was killed, he sold dope,” etc. So [we’re] able to walk into a classroom and give that child hope and inspiration and show them what to do to get out of poverty, better themselves, and show them better minority examples to follow. We also tap into causes like breast cancer. We do things as servants — feed the homeless, serve our community, but at the same time, keep our focus, which is the empowerment of women moving forward.
Tell us about this year’s SheSpeaks Global conference.
This year’s SheSpeaks conference theme is “Destination: Destiny.” Last year was about removing the mask. This year, now that you’ve removed the mask and recognized that you’re destined to go somewhere, let’s get you on that path. It’s July 29-31 at the Sheraton Hotel in Atlanta. We’re launching the foundation officially with out Black Tie gala. We’ve got Bishop Lester Love out of New Orleans coming in to bless the foundation as our keynote speaker. We’ve got two full days of empowerment and coaching sessions. We’ve got our pajama experience on Saturday night. The women will remove those layers and come in with no make-up, no lashes, just pink pajamas and bringing open hearts. We’ll close it out on Sunday with an inspirational segment with Dr. Wanda Davis Turner. There’s some amazing talent coming to the table. I’ve got rolling out’s very own, Yvette Caslin, coming in and talking about what it means to rise as an empowering woman, I’ve got David Shands, who is the founder of Sleep Is 4 Suckers, talking about how dreams are built overnight. We’ve got a segment on how marriage works. So at the conference, we make sure that every single aspect of people’s lives are touched. We’ve got a lot of great speakers, and we’re still adding.
How has being a mother impacted your life?
My daughter is 17 and getting ready to go to college, and my son will be 16 on April 18. And I have two dogs. Coming from a place where love was not freely given, my children have truly taught me the meaning of unconditional love. God gave me two amazing gifts. I had three [children], but one passed away. But my children have been the very essence of what drives me. What they see is that the possibilities are limitless, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted to give them.
Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
My goal is to be the No. 1 woman in the entire industry of network marketing. This industry has been the fuel that allows me to finance this dream that I have and help other people. I want to build a facility where young boys and girls can learn entrepreneur skills and get off the street, and network. I see myself married. I see myself retiring from the rat race and doing philanthropy full-time. I want to build the SheSpeaks platform around the world.
What kind of advice would you give to a college student who wants to go down a similar path as you have career-wise?
Never close your eyes or ears to one source of income. Warren Buffet said you must invest to create multiple streams of income. Had I known then what I know now, I would have gotten into this industry a long time ago. There’s no time like the present to get started, and network marketing has provided freedom. So don’t close your mind. Let all options serve as possibilities.
What is your favorite quote?
Albert Einstein — “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
To register for the SheSpeaks Global conference, visit www.shespeaksworldwide.com. For more information on SheSpeaks Worldwide Foundation, visit www.shespeaksfoundation.org. Follow Chinaza Duson on Facebook and Instagram @Chinazaspeaks. Follow SheSpeaks on Facebook and Twitter @SheSpeaksGlobal.
