Moms Actually

Time Out: Behind the Brand - Entrepreneurship, Faith and Motherhood

July 20, 2023 Morgan Taylor and Blair Gyamfi Season 3 Episode 9
Moms Actually
Time Out: Behind the Brand - Entrepreneurship, Faith and Motherhood
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Ever wonder how two moms, living in different states, are not just surviving, but thriving in the world of entrepreneurship? In this episode, candidly share: 

  • our journey of building and sustaining a thriving business while living hundreds of miles apart
  • the highs, the lows, the importance of starting - imperfections and all 
  • what keeps us moving when doubt sets in? 

As we look back on a year of growth and risk-taking, we believe our story can inspire other moms and women out there. Thank you for joining us as we continue to build, grow, and navigate the world of entrepreneurship, motherhood, and faith.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Time Out. Welcome to Time Out. Where are we at? We are in. I was like where are we at? I was like what does that mean? We are in LA and we wanna put some content together while we're here, and our most frequently asked question is we start this business?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, how did we meet.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, how does this exist?

Speaker 2:

How are we?

Speaker 1:

sustaining. Yeah, no one really can believe what we've done. Yeah, and I think we take it for granted.

Speaker 2:

No, we definitely do, Absolutely Wholeheartedly. I think. If you've noticed, recently I've been taking moments just to kind of recap like, oh my gosh, we're here.

Speaker 1:

I've been doing that a lot more lately.

Speaker 2:

I'll text her straight away because I'm like this is not normal. This is not normal, and you know when you are used to something, you start to get numb to all the things that are happening. But we say this since it's like this time next year or this time last year, it just everything changed so fast. But to know that there's so much more to go.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, like we're not even like we're just kind of like we just kind of like scratch the surface, we've only had our one year birthday. One year birthday, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Like we're branded, we're still so new and we've had a lot of growth, a lot of success, a lot of like things that have happened quickly, but we definitely I don't know we just have to like take a moment to be like wow, this is really a thing. And take a moment to like appreciate, too, I think, to have people support you that have no idea who you are and just believe in what you're doing, I think it's amazing, because you have to have great content for that to happen.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, because again people that don't know you, they're not doing you any favors. Like, whatever they're doing, some great content as babies, yeah, you know, and that doesn't mean if you are starting a business. I always say done is better than perfect, because you won't find there's plenty of times we did stuff that we were like. People will find excuses not to start because it doesn't look perfect or it doesn't look good or the quality isn't XYZ, and then, next thing you know, five years have passed and you have done nothing.

Speaker 1:

I'd say start rather than wait.

Speaker 2:

But I think that's also what makes us a little bit different is we started and we started strong as a gang strong, yeah, I think even us being here today is another like cool thing about our story is that we don't live together Like that. We're together.

Speaker 1:

We don't even live in the same state. We don't live in this close proximity of each other.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we don't live in the same state, so a lot of times people are like well, how do you guys record and you know how do you guys get all the content and stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

But like that's, it's kind of a cool thing too that we don't live close to each other, because when it is time to shoot stuff, we can kind of just decide where we want to be and what like makes sense to us. And it's kind of like I feel like this is like our workcation, because we get to kind of take a step back, and I do also feel like it strengthens our narrative of like making sure that you have balance between your family, your kids and your work. Like, yes, we're working, but right now it's also a moment for us to kind of decompress, take some time away from our kids, because you know it's summertime and you know we're constantly inundated.

Speaker 1:

I don't know if I'm saying it right, inundated, inundated, inundated, yeah, inundated. You just said it like weird because you were like that confident.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we're constantly inundated with our children and their things and it's just really nice to be able to be like woo.

Speaker 1:

I can think and it makes us more intentional together because I think other. Well, I know, I'm working on that. You know how we say like I think, when we know yeah, you know other podcasts, whether it's a single person or a duo working together, because they're always together, they're turning out content every single week.

Speaker 1:

And so you're just trying to think of topics or get it done. Get it done and not to say that they don't plan ahead, but we know we have these three days or four days, so months ahead, we're planning ahead. We're really thinking about the content that we're trying to get out, paying attention to what you guys are asking about, talking about what matters to the people in our circle. So we're very intentional about our content.

Speaker 2:

Which I think is what makes us like strong. Yeah, because, like you said, we have to think about all the things. It's not something we can think about later. Whatever we don't get when we're together is like dang.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we can't be like, oh, we'll just do that next week. No, yes, we can thug it out and figure it out, but it's not a sustainable way if we continue like oh man, we missed this. Oh man, we missed this.

Speaker 2:

And I think too, even with just building the brand, there have been so many things that have not been done and didn't really make sense. Saying it out loud, we're like, ooh, I don't think this could happen. So even just the fact that we don't live in the same state, obviously, I think we both kind of are like ugh, are we gonna be able to really keep this up and sustain it? Because most podcasts can do we do, I mean, everybody does it they compare themselves to other platforms and they're like man, they're pushing out content every week and they're able to stay current and they'll watch, and I'm like, yeah, they're able to do that, but we're able to do something else.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and they get to have all the multicolored neon lights because they're like. That's why I know we're not like a real podcast, because we don't have the neon lights, we gotta like insert some disco green lights because we're like doot, doot, doot, doot, doot, but so that's. But yeah, we feel we're pay to be our own link, Like we're not a traditional podcast.

Speaker 2:

We're not a traditional TV show.

Speaker 1:

We're something in the middle. So, even though we're looking and comparing, as everybody does, as you do there's no one that's quite like us, and the funny thing is, since the beginning we've said that season three is gonna be our pivotal season and what almost happened before season three would have.

Speaker 2:

You know we have a lot of time to plan and we were looking at everybody on the slope.

Speaker 1:

And it's like, oh, maybe we should do this and we can just content all the time. You know, this is how this podcast does it, and then we quickly got our minds, yeah when we first started, because I didn't even get the story, but when we first started.

Speaker 2:

First of all, blair and I have only known each other for a year. We met March of 2022. We were sitting on the same row At a woman's conference and we did like pleasantries.

Speaker 1:

You know you'd be like hey girl, you're off the cute, your shoes cute blah, blah blah. I did the awkward thing. You must have your kids at 10 years old. Look about 10 years old.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, she's like how old are you? Because if you're saying you're mom not gonna say that, so we did that and that was it. And then I followed her because it all made like you know, when you see somebody you're like.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I know this person now and cool, cool, cool and she slid in my DMs on that Monday. I remember we came back Sunday and she's like wait, you do like mom stuff. I knew I liked you girl, like it was like that, and then Looked through her page I saw she also had a mom platform and Literally which is also insanely crazy because I think we only DM'd I'll have to like find it.

Speaker 1:

I really I should have like looked it up, so what happened when she followed me, she followed me from two different pages.

Speaker 2:

Yes, first.

Speaker 1:

I saw her page and I was like oh I remember her from the women's conference, so I followed her back. So what you left out about the women's conference is we were both praying for things. So it was yes conference and that's my sister, dr Jackie greens conference, and so we were both there and we were both praying about what we should do with our platform. So in 2020, I had a platform called mom goals. She had, and has, a platform called millennial moms, a millennial moms club, mm-hmm and so I'm praying about whether I should bring mom goals back. Everywhere I go, people are like oh, are you gonna bring it back? The two people I had done it with before they had left the Podcast or whatever was at the time, and I didn't want to do it by myself. I didn't feel like this was something that I was supposed to do with myself, do by myself, so I was just pretty should I Bring it back?

Speaker 2:

should I do it?

Speaker 1:

because someone had asked me about it right before that like prayer moment.

Speaker 2:

And then working yeah.

Speaker 1:

I'm being unbeknownst to me because I didn't know her was Was praying like down on our knees and the funny thing is my husband was actually praying over her. Yeah, God was gonna send her help and he doesn't know specifically what she's asking God no idea, she doesn't know he doesn't know anything about her, anything about me, and so he's praying for her. God's gonna send you help.

Speaker 2:

God's gonna say help is on the way. Help is on the way, kept saying that and that. That still is so crazy to me. I think about that like randomly sometimes, because when, I tell y'all Millennial mom's club and everything about me and like that. That just whole venture was about to be over because I was just in such a like dark place and I didn't see anything really moving the way I thought it was supposed to. Also fun story.

Speaker 1:

Millennial mom's club was supposed to be like a club Mom that's where the club came from. I was, I liked you, but it's just you sometimes I see like a friend and yeah, I like you this you.

Speaker 2:

Me or out guys, I'm the literally.

Speaker 1:

We talk all the time so I'm still scrolling and I'm gonna get back to it, but that is true.

Speaker 2:

So I literally thought Millennial Moms Club was supposed to be like basically this council of women who cause. When I was doing Millennial Moms Club, people just started affectionately calling me the mayor of the moms.

Speaker 1:

So I took that and ran with it and I was like, oh my gosh, it'd be so she made up people for herself.

Speaker 2:

No, I did.

Speaker 1:

I promise this is my nickname, not for you.

Speaker 2:

No, I was like, I wish I was like I wish I came up with that Cause. Mayor of the moms is still something mom.

Speaker 1:

Why did that, though? Why did?

Speaker 2:

you just do. Mayor of moms.

Speaker 1:

Mayor of moms, but the fact that it's spelled out moms is like man, I wish I would have thought of that.

Speaker 2:

Anywho, I'm like okay, I can have a council Millennial Moms Club. Honestly, I've always had the name club because I just thought whatever I'm doing is gonna be about community and I think it just sounded cooler. So I did that and then I started to invite people because I'm like I need a council, like let's run with the mayor thing and everybody have a mom that they can really relate to and ready to have their zone. Genius. I just you know I had this big idea.

Speaker 2:

And one of the things that I think is important is collaboration is still very, very important. I think it just makes more sense than doing things by yourself. But I also think that in that season I truly God wanted me to believe in me and believe in myself, and I think sometimes we lean on people as a crutch, to kind of like be like oh you know, maybe they'll do this and they'll do this and you know, we're kind of still scared.

Speaker 2:

It's. I feel like that was a cop out for me a little bit, because I or either that or I was just premature in my collaboration efforts, because obviously we're still collaborating. But I think God wanted to teach me just certain lessons in that season and I was not liking those lessons. So before the conference I was basically like, all right, god, you better show me and tell me, like very clear, that I'm supposed to continue to really pursue this vision that you've given me of really speaking out and creating a platform for women all over the world. And I was like, if you don't make it clear this weekend, I'm stopping everything and going back to the corporate world of the clubs. At the time I was literally just pursuing building this brand of Millennial Moms Club because I thought that's what it was supposed to do. And I told God, I said I will go on Indie.

Speaker 1:

Monday, when I get that, I'm getting a J-O-B, I'm a J-O-B.

Speaker 2:

Wow, no, like literally, I was like I can't do this. And also and people ask that all the time they're like yo, you have a family like three kids and you decided to just take the lead. First of all I didn't decide. It was kind of like I was pushed, but I did decide. I guess I still did make a decision because, even though I had lost my job, I could have very well said well, go get yeah, the way my I could have gotten a job afterwards for sure.

Speaker 2:

So I did decide to say, all right, I'm gonna bet on myself. But I didn't give myself that much time and I literally asked God and that's another caveat, sorry, ask God for what you are looking for, like I think sometimes we're so. So like we just kind of we're waiting on something or we're waiting on some huge sign and we're not. We don't want to open our mouth and ask for it, but like God is your father. God is somebody who cares about you just as much as you like think he does. He loves you, and so sometimes he just is waiting for you to ask you know, and of course he'll bless you, even when you don't ask but sometimes it causes.

Speaker 1:

Because that's what relationship is we're like. God knows our heart, God knows what's on our mind, but that's like saying my husband or my friend should know what I'm thinking, Even if they know you. There's nothing like opening up your mouth and speaking, asking, having that conversation. That's what relationship is, Not like. Oh, he just needs to go in my head and figure out what's going on.

Speaker 2:

Some big voice is supposed to come down and just say, and that's the thing it never, even though that was a very powerful weekend. There were just all these instances where I was like I gotta get it okay, cool, cool, cool.

Speaker 1:

It was never like a other than Norma being like helping someone yeah way. I mean, that was a big one.

Speaker 2:

But there was no insane thing, it was just like okay, first of all, this conference is all about permission. The whole theme is permission. However, there were several moments in the conference that ended up to be about motherhood. There was a sermon about motherhood, there was and birthing, and there was like an altar call about all the women who were dealing with infertility. And just to see all those women spread up about the altar, for me it was like immediately I saw jars like the woman with the jars.

Speaker 2:

And I was like I'm supposed to fill these jars and that was what was resonating in my mind and I'm like, okay, I got my sign. And then the very last dance, when Norma prayed over me. So that was like a confirmation, after all the other things, that I had already known. That's crazy.

Speaker 1:

So when I saw her other page follow me, the Millennial Moms Club, I was like I just thought one of our deans. I was like what interests me about her page is there's so many motherhood pages Like don't get me wrong, but they're all from the focus of parenting, Like it's all about what diapers and what formula and how to raise your kids.

Speaker 1:

And so when I saw her page, it was about the woman, and that's what mom goals was that I had started. It wasn't about how to be a better mother Like there's a lot of platforms to go to that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and that's all great, that's all helpful, but if you've had a baby through any means, you know, once you have the baby, once it's in the home, like no one's asking about you and how are you and no one really cares. So the fact that we both had platforms that were focused on the woman who is a mother and not on parenting, that's what blew my mind and made me DM her. I was like, when I saw the page, I was like, okay, god, I get it, I was just like I get it.

Speaker 1:

Okay, this is my answer. So I DMed her and I was like she's gonna find it, we got so many shots. We're gonna save these forever instead of just referring to them. I know, but I was like whoa, you're doing this too and I don't. I can't wait until she finds it. But basically, we said maybe like two pleasantries, I'm telling you.

Speaker 2:

Two, I'm almost there, guys. I'm like, oh, you're doing this.

Speaker 1:

I'm doing this, you know, maybe we should do this together, I don't know. And from that moment on March 8th, march 8th we have worked since that moment Non-stop. We were coming up with a name the next day, we just kept working to the process, but then to bring it back also Millennial mom, to seeing all this is like that's the planning.

Speaker 2:

So Millennial.

Speaker 1:

Mom's Club March 8th.

Speaker 2:

I'm here. I found it, girl. I knew I liked you when I saw you. This is motivation to get back on the mom's side. I'm stuck. I started in 2020. And then I responded. I said, wow, yes, it's so needed I literally started after having my son in 2018.

Speaker 2:

That's a postmarked impression and I kept thinking about myself, thinking to myself I cannot be the only one dealing with this. And God pretty much gave the idea. And that pretty much told her where I was at. And then I asked her. I said, were you a blogger? And then she sent me her thing. She sent me her Instagram of mom goals and then also showed the website, and then she told me she suffered from postpartum anxiety. So that was another thing that we like, both again relating to, and she said, if you want us to, I said, actually, let me read this. I suffer from PPA. If you want to consider working, together.

Speaker 2:

I would love to talk about it being transparent was a as a wife and a mother is a big passion of mine. And no pressure, I think what you're doing is incredible. Senior stuff just reminded me not to let the fire from the weekend go away. I sent her basically this long little message like yes, we need to talk, girl. And then we lit it. She you sent me oh, I was like we got asked, we got grabbed, let's go. Yes, so as soon as I made school, I was like, yes, I'm down. She sent me her number. She sent me what she is thinking about recordings, and then also sent me a YouTube podcasters like grant thing that she thought would be really cool that we could apply for. We never applied, no, we never applied for, but she was in it and literally from then on we started working. So actually on March 11 is the next time we were in our DMs and this is now us just showing each other Because we had moved to Tech.

Speaker 2:

Yeah we had moved to Tech and now we're literally just going back and forth, showing each other inspo all that stuff so we started working I would say March 9th, like immediately. March 9th we started. We filmed April 27th, so literally within the month, but I want to bring it OK.

Speaker 1:

So Millennial Moms Club was supposed to be a group of women Mom goals. I wanted the different experiences of different women. That's why I didn't want to bring it back with just me, Because I can share my perspective all day. But the point is to get different perspectives. Because we're not all the same, like how I deal with something isn't going to be how someone else deals with something. So the more people you have, the more perspectives you have. So, regardless of what happened on Millennial Moms Club, she wanted to bring her girls in, yeah.

Speaker 1:

I want to bring my girls in, so we were going to have like six hosts, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and we were like you know it could be like the View, Like they have so many people Like to real all the shows the way that they're set up, because you hear different perspectives.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, like I relate to her. I relate to her and I was like this makes sense. And to me in my mind, I still was in the mindset of, of course we would. I would bring in some of the people that I was already working with Because, again, I had my sign that I was supposed to continue. So I'm thinking like, all right, god got it, I understand the assignment. I'm supposed to now collaborate with Blair and we're just all going to work together.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Because I was working so well before. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 2:

That too, yeah, ok, but it wasn't. I mean, I think, to.

Speaker 1:

They had great intentions. They do love you and they are your friends. Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

I think one of the biggest things that I am so grateful for is people's yes, like and people's no and people's no. I'm very grateful for no's Very good. Well, we'll get to that, ok. So, um, great for People's Yeses.

Speaker 1:

Sorry, but man, that was funny.

Speaker 2:

But um, I don't even remember what I said People's Yeses. Yes, because they're. First of all, when I started Millennial Moms Club and asked for people to join it, it was off the strength of them, just believing in the vision. Like I wasn't saying hey, I have a job offer for you Like, and I was requesting things of them.

Speaker 2:

I'm requesting content and hey, let's like meet up once a month and all these things, and this was not like a paid gig. They were just literally cooperating with me and ready to be down for the thing, and their moms and wives and their children?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and they have their own lives and own things and all this stuff, and what really just ended up happening was everybody's Yeses, I think one. It was just not the time and, like I said a couple minutes ago is I believe that God wanted to show me something and meet a certain level of really commitment to myself, commitment to the vision. It was just premature and so it was no like shade to them at all, it was just I had to learn a lesson and I did.

Speaker 2:

But once we started it, I'm like, okay, well, I can take some of the people that I feel like could definitely be a part of the show, because these are the people that I think have a bit more capacity, you know, to be able to do it and things like that. So that's where I went with it.

Speaker 1:

So it's like in her mind.

Speaker 1:

I think it was like bringing Millennial Moms Club you know here you know Blair's also in here, Yep, and then I was going to bring in my friend and then that just quickly did not become what we thought it was going to be, because it's a different expectation. You're not just doing content for you know, Instagram. We had, we wanted to have conversations, we had to talk about time and six people trying to get schedules together, schedules together, trying to all have a conversation and their pieces. Like before we had like and six people that don't know each other six people that don't know each other.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, everything was basically scripted out.

Speaker 2:

Yep.

Speaker 1:

And then I tried to like take some of the script out.

Speaker 2:

Oh, my God. It was like, completely like you didn't have to think like just range apart, and I was like well, we got to have some organic pieces in there, and then we had some, some test runs.

Speaker 1:

The test runs were not great, nope, and then I got scared. I was going to get kicked out. That's really scary yeah, I, I think I really, I really thought I was going to get kicked out. I was like, just be quiet and maybe she'll forget.

Speaker 2:

So we work very hard. If you ever heard Blair mentioned me as sugar or diddy- I personally, like diddy, I think I've graduated to ditty now.

Speaker 1:

I don't know, you were hanging people over the balcony this wasn't like go get some cheesecake. This was like she was. She was thugging, now she more like you know she diddy boss, but she was. She was a thug, yeah she was a thug.

Speaker 2:

That's why, when it comes to work, I do I can get very stern, and I'm just because at that point too, in my mind I'm like I didn't play around like we, I have the vision, I like God. Already he basically he threw me the ball and I got a run with it, and so now I don't really have the time to like be dancing around and stuff like that, you know, like this is my life.

Speaker 1:

This is not just my passion, but I'm trying to build a life off of it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that too I don't have your job or you have whatever. No this is like my attitude yes, yes, and that was. I think that's always a driving force for me and in just how I like my professionalism and when I start to get like a little bit more stern than than, uh, Her camera's saying. My camera's saying now so I hope you guys have enjoyed this part one. Yes, I think this is a great like way to even kind of stop the story, because there's so much that has gone on in a year.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I could happen in a year, which is why our first episode of season three was called that because a lot has happened in a year and we get questions all the time and we really want to take this off season just to be able to, like, share it with you guys. Yeah, and one sitting, just talk to you guys. That's my word. We're dressed down, we're chilling and nothing too crazy, because we just want to be able to share, like, our journey and hopefully just help another mom like, or just a woman who was like yo. I thought I heard God, but maybe I was wrong. Yeah, you're probably not wrong. You might just need a little bit more.

Speaker 1:

Need to switch it to it, just switch it to it.

Speaker 2:

So join us for part two. We'll be back, yeah, we'll be back.

Speaker 1:

I hope you enjoyed this time out.

Speaker 2:

Bye.

Start a Business, Build a Brand
Mom Goals and Millennial Moms Journey
Formation of Millennial Moms Club
Reflecting on a Year of Growth