Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Graceful Grady. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Graceful, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
When dealing with something that you have fun doing, freeing your mind to be creative comes easily. In my case, finding something in relation to dimples is around me throughout the day, it’s just a matter of being attentive. My first true “creative” idea for National Dimples Day was a giveaway I called, “The 2023 Dimpled Emmy Awards Giveaway.” I was fortunate to present my idea (something fun and unique) to get permission from the Primetime Emmy Awards Association to use their trademark. What was surprising, they got back to me within 24 hours, stating how much they loved the idea. The outcome was great and by the way Dimples Nation, over 60% of the major category winners for the Primetime Emmy Awards have dimples!
There’s no better feeling than seeing a creative idea become successful and one characteristic of being creative is being BOLD. I told people of my idea and most thought I was crazy and there was no way the Emmys would go for it (after all, they are the Emmys). I don’t think I’m crazy, but I am bold…bold enough to dig and dig and dig until I got the right contact person to share my creative idea. As stated, they got back to me within 24 hours with 2 thumbs up.
What’s my next BOLD, fun, and creative idea? Here is a hint…golf balls have what? The answer is dimples (between 300 to 500 of them)! It’s so bold and creative it may take over 2 years to make happen. Dimples Nation, be prepared for a golf tournament coming to a golf course near you called, the Dimples Open!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
A little bit about me, well I initially came to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech and I later transferred/graduated from Georgia State University. I moved to New York to work on Wall Street (literally with Lehman Brothers). After a couple of years, I was fortunate to be able to go independent as a financial advisor. I’m still in the industry but as an Annuity Specialist and of course now with National Dimples Day. I came up with the idea to create a national holiday after hearing every morning that today is National…oh wow, I just came up with an idea for a new holiday! Talking about being creative (you never know when it may hit you). Anyway, back to what I was saying…hearing every morning today is a national holiday. I was curious to see if there was a holiday for dimples and voila!
I initially wanted to primarily spread the word around the world for people to be proud of their dimples and to celebrate but after I designed a t-shirt, I started getting inquiries about where they can purchase it. My next idea was to sell apparel, so I focused on a logo to represent the brand (Dimpuls) and an online store (The Dimple Store).
After just one year I was very pleased with the results of my short-term goals. National Dimples Day was used on a birthday card, Plastic Surgeons are promoting it for dimpleplasty, Dentists are promoting it for a better looking smile, an article about National Dimples Day/International Dimples Day was written in AsiaOne.com along with their top 10 Asians with dimples…can’t wait for the future!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I have to say, three of the top qualities I think are very important are:
- Visualize.
- Be bold.
- Be persistent (but not a pain in the you know what).
*There will be some ups and downs during your journey but if managed well it will lead to a great experience in life.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I’m always looking to collaborate with someone or a company, especially if they have the same vision for National Dimples Day. I do intend on trying to raise capital from an Angel Investor or Venture Capital. As for what I will be looking for specifically, a fashion designer with unique style and a marketing team. Oh, and having dimples (any type) would be helpful, but not a requirement.
*I can be reached at support@nationaldimplesday.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nationaldimplesday.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nationaldimplesday/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/natdimplesday
