Meet Dionne Griffin McGee

Dionne, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in a broken home in the town of Washington, NC. I had (4) amazing women who showed me the true strength of a woman. My Mom Velma, my Grandmothers Helen and Carrie and my Aunt Catherine. I saw hard-work up close and personal and it shaped my work ethic to the point that I won’t stop until I’m done. I knew I had work to do at an early age but wasn’t sure what that work really was until I got older, but through it all I was in training/boot-camp. As a young mother, having my daughter (Mel) as a senior in high school my hopes for success looked dark and dismal. But I reflected on what the (4) women taught me, So I couldn’t make any excuses. I had to work even harder. So, I left my hometown at the age of 19, to begin this journey of “my work” and to create the legacy where my daughter could pick up the baton, because now it’s not just about me, someone is counting on me to make it. She honestly helped push me to a road of success! This journey turned into me honing in on my leadership skills. Receiving my Bachelor of Science (B.S) from North Carolina Wesleyan, Rocky Mount NC. Becoming a seasoned executive, certified Project Manager, Scrum Master, and Six Sigma (Practitioner). It was in the executive role that I learned Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is still a major issue as an African American Female working in a non-diverse and inclusive company with 4,000 employees less than 10% minorities and I was the only African American female in the executive suite. It doesn’t take a statistics major to determine that there was a disproportion in numbers. In that space I inherited a team of lackadaisical team members that had zero motivation and absolutely didn’t care for someone of my caliber to lead them. It was a lonely hard walk trying to climb this corporate ladder. HR wasn’t listening to my concerns nor did my leadership team. What I was dealing with didn’t matter as I was still winning multi-million-dollar accounts while leading a toxic team in a non-diverse company. It was pure hell!

So, after being tired of explaining to HR and the leadership team that I needed new talent on my team with no assistance. I decided to write about my journey. God spoke to me as I sat in my office “It’s time to write the book”. What Book I said? “All those notes you took wasn’t for HR or your VP. I trusted you with trouble and you need to share this story with others because you are not the only one.” So, I took the challenge to share the story to empower other women to ROAR! To that end my first book was released in 2019 “Finding Your ROAR”. Part of my role in the executive suite was to travel and participate in leadership conferences, empowering other women to have a seat at the table. I found that I came alive speaking and making a difference in the lives of other women. This led to the DG McGee Enterprises journey. I realized if I could generate $900M in revenue as a corporate executive, then surely, I could generate 6-figures plus for my own business. I realized corporate was only my training ground for “my work”. Now as Empowerment Speaker, Author, Coach and Business Women the sky’s the limit. It feels great to have my own company with the right team members that are ready for success. With the lives that are being impacted I then became the Founder of R.O.A.R University, my coaching program to reach more women. From the retail side of the journey www.BangingBangles.com was formed where my daughter and I have coached and trained women across the country to have multiple streams of income. We have 40 plus consultants on the team from across the country. I’m happily, married to Corey McGee Sr. an amazing Hazmat Fireman and we also have a son, CJ.

My journey now makes total since; as I was going through, I questioned God “Why Me”? Now, I get it. It was necessary that I was afflicted. So, when I speak; I speak with passion and conviction. I make women accountable to the calls on their lives and I disrupt the mediocre mindset and push them to be Relentless. Optimistic. Ambitious and Results Driven towards their goals and business ventures. Speakers, Authors, Coaches and Business Women have been formed from a dark place to a place of light, hope and peace. In the midst of all of this, my husband and I were on a debt free journey with Dave Ramsey. We took Financial Peace University at our church, Watts Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Raleigh NC, we paid off our home, cars and much more. This turned into a real estate journey, where my husband and I purchased rental property in N. Myrtle Beach, SC on one of the top golf courses in the country. Paradise Haven Condos was formed, https://www.phcondo.info/ So no one can tell me that dreams aren’t possible! I want all women to live in peace, not rest in it! All that I know I want to share with others. In the words of Dr. Maya Angelou “Do the best you can, when you know better, do better. When you learn, Teach and when you get, give” It’s actually a couple of combined quotes, but you get the point. My biggest cheerleaders are my Dad (Larry) and Sister (Alexandria). But, none of this would have been possible without my faith in God!

Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all. It has been a bumpy road. Leadership is a lonely walk. Creating a grass roots speaking and coaching business and writing my first book looked like a monstrous idea, but it was necessary for who I was intended to be. I needed to leave corporate America in order to become the Speaker/Coach/Mentor that I needed during a time of frustration. After experiencing the challenges and struggles of women working in non-diverse and inclusive places, after fighting daily to create a seat at the table for other women; working 60 plus hour weeks; after sacrificing family vacations; and juggling all my roles and responsibilities; I decided to create my own table for women to ROAR! It was quite simple. If I had this experience, I knew that other women of color had some similar issues if not the same. My team tried to sabotage my entire career, but it was necessary for me to move into my work.

It was a painful experience and because HR wasn’t inclusive, they believed every lie that was told. However, I was comfortable in a toxic situation. How many of us have done that? It’s not healthy so God had to disrupt my everything to get my undivided attention to get me to “my work”. Not the work that someone said I was qualified to do; the work that I was called, equipped and created to do!

DG McGee Enterprises – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
As founder of DG McGee Enterprises: I am an Empowerment Speaker, Author, Coach and Business Woman with a ROAR! We empower, motivate and inspire women to be Relentless. Optimistic. Ambitious and Results Driven towards their personal lives and businesses. I am personally an advocate for diversity and inclusion with 20 plus years of corporate experience, and a decade of those years in the executive suite, leading sales teams and generating sales of $900M plus. I’ve been fortunate to travel the country on leadership and empowerment tours. This is how DG McGee Enterprises came to be.

Author of “Finding Your ROAR” and Founder of the Coaching Program, R.O.A.R University”. I am passionate about our coaching programs to help women find their road to success with a Relentless. Optimistic. Ambitious and Results Driven attitude. I specialize in empowerment speaking, and coaching. We create other ROAR’ing women to come from behind the curtain to be phenomenal speakers, coaches and business women. I am most proud to see women balance all our roles and responsibilities and still find the courage to be who they were called, equipped and created to be.

My journey, energy, passion and drive set me apart from others. I want every woman that I encounter to create legacy, to live in peace; not rest in it and to live life on purpose. This is how I live my life with zero regrets. There are far too many women hurting who are just plain miserable because they keep playing small or making excuses about their roles and responsibilities. Time out for playing small; it’s time to ROAR!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
One of our products is a line of t-shirts “The SHIFT is HERE” Which simply means that Suddenly. He. Intervenes Forcing a Turnaround, I see women beginning to embrace their greatness. I see women realizing that we have gifts, talents and ideas that we need to pursue. I see women understanding that one stream of income is not enough. I see women Finding Their ROAR! So, that means that I see myself on more stages near and far empowering women to ROAR and to keep going because we have a legacy to leave. I see my coaching program growing exponentially; I see other women speaking across the globe; I see women writing more books to share their stories. I see more women coaching and helping other women. I tell my kids all the time…. “You need to be able to eat when I’m gone”. We all have options and they have a choice to work for someone else or create their own table so that everyone can eat. My job is to create the legacy so they’ll know how to eat when I’m gone.