How Jamaican Dionnie Wynter Pfunde went from working odd jobs to building a six-figure law firm

Dionnie Wynter Pfunde comes from a family of entrepreneurs who always had side hustles. Becoming an entrepreneur was more like a natural course for her but her journey to success did not come easy.

She became a mother at 16 when she had just graduated from high school. She would spend the next six years working various side hustles in the Jamaican tourism industry to finance her college education.

In college, she unexpectedly became pregnant again but decided she was not going to stop college nor allow her pregnancy to delay her ambition of becoming a lawyer. “I decided I wasn’t going to stop. I literally went to final exams in the morning and gave birth that night. A week later, I was back in classes again,” she told Time.

Combining education, child care, and working odd jobs was challenging for Pfunde. Luckily for her, she had a supportive mother who went the extra mile to ensure that she achieved her dream as an attorney. 

“She gave me everything she had. She always dug into her savings to make sure my tuition was paid. My mother is the hero of my story; if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be an entrepreneur today,” she noted.

Despite her mother’s support, Pfunde described law school as a nightmare. She would drop her children off at a local library so she could study. And to pay her bills, she signed up for every social assistance program available, sold furniture and worked at the prosecutor’s office.

She was also a teaching assistant and did anything and everything that was legitimate to do to survive, a culture she said she adopted from her family’s propensity for side hustles.

Today, she is the founder of Wynter Immigration Law, a Tampa-based law firm “helping immigrants navigate the path to United States citizenship”. What is more, she has one contract attorney, three paralegals, a legal assistant, a fractional CMO, and a P.R. person.

In addition to her law firm, she has created Wynter Immigration Law Academy, an online training program for immigration lawyers who would like to know how to start a thriving law practice.

Managing these businesses helps Pfunde to make multiple six-figure months and corporate contracts, she told Time. From a difficult background, she prides herself on creating financial independence for her family.

Also, she was able to give back to her mother for all the times she stood by her before she died. “Not everyone is going to choose you, and that’s okay,” she said. “Understand your value. I absolutely enjoy the freedom my business now gives me.” 

Pfunde comes from Jamaica and migrated to the U.S. before her 21st birthday with a big dream of becoming a lawyer and establishing her own law firm, a feat she has accomplished.