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[00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:05.680] Hey, Entrepreneurs, it's Steph here with a special invite just for you.
[00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:10.800] Do you want to experience what it's like to be part of our Entrepreneursa League community of founders?
[00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:12.400] Now is your chance.
[00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:21.360] You can join me this month at one of our upcoming Entrepreneursa League info sessions where I'm going to share with you all you're going to get access to when you join the community.
[00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:27.040] Plus, I'll be giving away some big bonuses that you will only be able to get access to when you attend live.
[00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:35.600] Head over to refer.entreprenista.com forward slash info session to join us at one of our virtual info sessions this month.
[00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.640] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash info session.
[00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.560] Or head over to the show notes right now and tap the link to join us.
[00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.120] I can't wait to meet you there and learn more about you and your business.
[00:00:50.080 --> 00:00:55.920] I needed support community, someone to reach their hand down and pull me up.
[00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.920] And now I'm always reaching my hand down to pull someone else up.
[00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:16.000] Mary Seats is the founder of the Icing Agency and the Bakery Co-Work, a co-working space designed for women entrepreneurs.
[00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:22.560] From a young age, Mary showcased her entrepreneurial spirit by selling handmade Barbie clothes to all of her friends.
[00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:33.200] Despite facing challenges, including being fired from her own company, Mary persevered and created a thriving business and is an Entrepreneurista 100 award winner.
[00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:40.800] She is dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs, fostering community, and breaking barriers for minority women in business.
[00:01:40.800 --> 00:01:45.840] Get ready to hear Mary's story and her biggest business secrets.
[00:01:46.160 --> 00:01:51.440] Coming up, you'll hear how Mary launched her first business with only $300.
[00:01:51.440 --> 00:01:56.800] Mary shares how she scaled her first company to $4 million in revenue.
[00:01:56.800 --> 00:02:00.680] You'll learn about the challenges of working with major retailers.
[00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:06.120] Mary details the hard lessons learned about navigating contracts and partnerships.
[00:02:06.440 --> 00:02:12.920] And finally, Mary discusses her current fundraising efforts for expanding the bakery co-work.
[00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.680] This is the Entrepreneur Podcast presented by Social Fly.
[00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:27.400] It's the best business meeting you'll ever have with must-hear real-life looks at how leading women in business are getting it done and what it takes to build and grow a successful company.
[00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:33.240] It's beyond the Graham with no filters, no limits, and plenty of surprises.
[00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:43.720] Mary, I am so excited to finally be recording this episode.
[00:02:43.720 --> 00:02:46.360] This has been a long time in the making.
[00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:57.240] And for our entrepreneurs who haven't met you yet, I have to share with everyone that you were one of our Entrepreneursa 100 winners and our community builder of the year winner.
[00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.320] And we got to meet this year at Founders Again.
[00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:00.360] Yes, I love it.
[00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:02.120] So so excited to have you on.
[00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.680] If you get to see this, I'm holding my award.
[00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:07.880] But if you are listening, I'm holding my award.
[00:03:07.880 --> 00:03:08.520] Yes.
[00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:14.040] You are so incredible and you've accomplished so much in your career as an entrepreneur.
[00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:22.840] And I want to get down to all of the good stuff and learn how you have been able to make all of these incredible business dreams an actual reality.
[00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:26.360] But I want to go a little bit further back than starting your first business.
[00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:28.520] Let's go back to early Mary.
[00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:30.040] Were you a born entrepreneurista?
[00:03:30.040 --> 00:03:33.000] Did you always know that you wanted to start a business one day?
[00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.520] Oh my God.
[00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.920] So I didn't really know that I wanted to start a business, right?
[00:03:38.920 --> 00:03:47.840] But I, a couple of years ago, found a picture of me and my grandmother at seven years old, laying on the floor with all of my Barbies in front of it.
[00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:50.320] And it said, dresses by Mary.
[00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:55.280] And I had took scrap fabrics and socks and I made Barbie clothes.
[00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.960] So I guess that was the first journey of entrepreneurship.
[00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:09.120] At seven years old, I was going into first grade and second grader selling Barbie clothes to all of my friends for whatever that they would exchange it for.
[00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:15.680] And so like, I guess that was my first experience into like childhood entrepreneurship.
[00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.200] But I honestly, growing up, I didn't know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
[00:04:19.200 --> 00:04:21.760] I knew that I wanted to be a music artist.
[00:04:21.760 --> 00:04:27.920] And I felt like my biggest outlet for my pain and childhood trauma was in the music.
[00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:30.240] And so that's what I thought I was going to be.
[00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.360] I thought I was going to be this huge music artist.
[00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:43.600] And then I knew that business would come from that, but I didn't set out to own a clothing company or a marketing agency or a co-working space or any of those other things.
[00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:44.640] Not at all.
[00:04:44.640 --> 00:04:47.120] So what was your career path like?
[00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.160] What led you to ultimately start your first business?
[00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.360] Oh my goodness, my career path was wild.
[00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:58.160] So I started early on my freshman year of high school.
[00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:02.560] I went on to open up as the opening act for a really big tour.
[00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:08.160] And this had teenagers going crazy all around the U.S.
[00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:10.400] So I got to open up on that tour.
[00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:19.920] And that's what it started me to understand the value of relationships and the value of owning your personal brand and branding, which is, I didn't know then at the time was a thing.
[00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.680] But okay, when I wear pink, then everybody knows me as the girl in pink.
[00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:27.360] And like, oh, if I wear my hair this way, people will remember me.
[00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.280] So that's kind of what started it.
[00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:50.200] And I went on tour to open up for so many artists like nikki minaj i work with rihanna like the list goes on and on when it came to the music world okay so i end up in senior year of college And now I'm going to school for fashion merchandising with a double minor in business management and marketing.
[00:05:50.200 --> 00:05:53.480] Really don't know what I'm going to do, but my dad said I had to go to college.
[00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:56.600] So, hey, let me at least pick a couple of fun things that I could do.
[00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:05.480] I'm getting out of college and I meet this huge Disney star at my job, which I was working as a head stylist at Top Shop.
[00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:09.800] I meet this Disney star and I meet her publicist and she's like, hey, we may go on tour.
[00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:11.560] We may need some extra hands.
[00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:18.840] And I go on tour with her to Europe and I leave with this $30,000 check in my hand.
[00:06:18.840 --> 00:06:20.120] And I don't know what to do with it.
[00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.640] I'm like, oh my God, dad, take me to the Range Rover dealership.
[00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:26.680] I want a pink Range Rover like Perrence Hilton.
[00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:28.840] And my dad's like, yeah, no.
[00:06:28.840 --> 00:06:34.440] What about starting a business or what about doing something like paying off college?
[00:06:34.440 --> 00:06:35.720] I'm like, boring.
[00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:36.200] Okay.
[00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:44.920] So I call around to a couple of friends that had businesses and I ended up meeting with this guy that when I was a music artist, he sponsored all of my clothing.
[00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:59.800] From there, he's like, yeah, okay, you can give me a little bit of money to buy into my company, which at that time was about to close because he had multiple retail stores and he just didn't have any sense of marketing.
[00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:07.720] He didn't know how to like get people in his stores, and the trends were changing so quickly and he needed what I had to offer.
[00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:15.360] So, we partnered up on this retail store, me fresh out of college, not knowing anything about entrepreneurship or owning a business.
[00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:19.360] But what I did know is I knew how to get awareness.
[00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:27.920] I knew how to bring, as a music artist, your job is to bring people to an empty nightclub on a Friday night and fill it up.
[00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:29.440] And that's how you make your money.
[00:07:29.440 --> 00:07:34.080] And so, I knew how to get brand awareness to the brand.
[00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:35.680] And so, we partnered.
[00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:44.000] And here we go: a couple of years in, two years in, I see we start carrying this brand called Mary to the Mob that no longer is around.
[00:07:44.320 --> 00:07:46.080] That brand took off.
[00:07:46.080 --> 00:07:53.520] Like, every girl in Cleveland, Ohio was coming to our store from all around wanting this particular streetwear brand.
[00:07:53.520 --> 00:07:55.920] Mary, I have to ask you, why?
[00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.040] What did you do?
[00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:03.280] What was the marketing strategy that you did that made everyone know about this brand and want to come to the store?
[00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.000] At that time, men's streetwear was really, really big.
[00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:19.680] So, the women were coming into the store and taking a men's t-shirt, a size small, a size medium, and wearing it as a dress and putting like thigh-hat boots on to make up the space on the leg, right?
[00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:36.400] So, once we got the exact same vibe in a women's brand that said cool sayings and like really aggressive apparel, they wanted that and it wasn't sold anywhere else because we had distribution rights in Cleveland.
[00:08:36.400 --> 00:08:52.000] So, we had the exclusivity in that region, and that's how we made it super special and exciting because now there were shirts that had all these cool phrases for women that they weren't getting when they were buying it in the men's department.
[00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.160] So, that's how we made that brand blow up.
[00:08:54.160 --> 00:08:54.800] And guess what?
[00:08:54.800 --> 00:08:59.440] Out of nowhere, this founder decides, I don't want to sell this brand anymore.
[00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:01.240] I don't want to sell this apparel.
[00:08:59.680 --> 00:09:02.520] I'm going to move to swimwear.
[00:09:02.520 --> 00:09:03.800] And we're in Cleveland, okay?
[00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:05.560] Like it is cold half of the year.
[00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:10.440] So we couldn't really sell the swimsuits the way that we were selling the t-shirts.
[00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:16.520] I was sitting down one day and I was like, man, we have to get these women t-shirts going again.
[00:09:16.520 --> 00:09:17.880] I don't know what we should do.
[00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:19.560] And my friend's like, why don't you just make it?
[00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:21.400] Like, you used to be a music artist.
[00:09:21.400 --> 00:09:22.760] You have really cool sayings.
[00:09:22.760 --> 00:09:24.520] Like, why don't you just make the t-shirts?
[00:09:24.520 --> 00:09:25.720] I was like, no, no, no.
[00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:27.320] That's like too much investment.
[00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:28.760] It's so scary.
[00:09:28.760 --> 00:09:30.040] I don't know how to do that.
[00:09:30.040 --> 00:09:33.000] He's like, literally, you don't need a lot of money.
[00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:34.600] And I'm like, okay, how much do I need?
[00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:35.880] He's like, $500.
[00:09:35.880 --> 00:09:37.880] I was like, no, too scary, too scary.
[00:09:37.880 --> 00:09:39.480] He's like, okay, $300.
[00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.760] I was like, too scary.
[00:09:40.760 --> 00:09:46.760] Now, meanwhile, I just left tour making five figures, almost six figures on this tour.
[00:09:46.760 --> 00:09:52.920] Like, why is it scary that you're going to invest $300 in a brand new brand?
[00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:59.400] But it was just the fear and thinking that like, yes, this woman was successful, but I can't do that same thing.
[00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:00.680] And so he said, you know what?
[00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:05.560] I'll give you $150 because I believe in you so much and I know that this is going to work.
[00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:08.760] Once you make your money back, give me my $150 back.
[00:10:08.760 --> 00:10:10.200] I'm like, okay, cool.
[00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:10.680] Deal.
[00:10:10.680 --> 00:10:11.640] We have a deal.
[00:10:11.640 --> 00:10:13.240] I took $300.
[00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.000] I printed 30 t-shirts.
[00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.560] The saying was on my first launch.
[00:10:17.560 --> 00:10:19.560] It said, men are life parking spots.
[00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:23.080] The good ones are taken and the free ones are handicapped.
[00:10:24.680 --> 00:10:27.320] And that shirt went crazy.
[00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:41.320] Like, I think the time of the year, it was also just the season of like women being more expressive in their apparel and just like being able to wear things that you typically wouldn't say.
[00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:42.120] And we got those.
[00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:45.600] I used the relationships that I had to get them on a couple of influencers.
[00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.720] And our first year, we made $100,000 with that brand.
[00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:49.120] Wow.
[00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.720] What year was this?
[00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:52.960] This is in 2010.
[00:10:53.280 --> 00:10:55.840] So early days of social media.
[00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:56.320] Yeah.
[00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.800] So like we were on Facebook.
[00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:03.760] I mean, we were like past MySpace, new age Facebook.
[00:11:03.760 --> 00:11:08.480] And like once I launched my next collection, Instagram was just starting.
[00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.480] Okay, so tell me what happens next.
[00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:11.440] You have your first year.
[00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:13.360] You're doing six figures your first year.
[00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:14.880] Now, what happens?
[00:11:14.880 --> 00:11:16.400] We're doing six figures my first year.
[00:11:16.400 --> 00:11:20.320] My second year, we decided to go to a trade show called Magic Trade Show.
[00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:24.480] At that trade show, I ended up meeting this cool guy who's named my husband.
[00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.120] Now we literally met.
[00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.120] He had several retail stores.
[00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.440] I had this cool startup brand that was growing and we met.
[00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:36.800] It's funny because at that time I was already married.
[00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:40.800] And so he was just literally my buyer, just someone that I did business with.
[00:11:40.800 --> 00:11:46.720] And then four years later, we ended up getting divorced, getting another relationship, breaking up again.
[00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.240] And then we gave ourselves a try.
[00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:50.240] And now we've been together 11 years.
[00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.200] You never know where that important relationship is going to happen.
[00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:53.760] Always tell you.
[00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.320] Absolutely.
[00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.040] I had my booth at Magic Trade Show.
[00:11:59.040 --> 00:12:01.760] We got a purchase order from Nasty Gal.
[00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:08.480] We got a purchase order from so many amazing retailers that our brand continued to grow.
[00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:15.200] So we went from $100,000 to $1.4 million to $2.6 million.
[00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:19.520] Don't quote me on that one, to then $4 million in our fourth year.
[00:12:19.520 --> 00:12:26.960] And in our fourth year, we got a purchase order from Forever 21 that was around $1.4 million as well.
[00:12:27.280 --> 00:12:30.760] And that is what kind of sent me on the spiral.
[00:12:30.760 --> 00:12:36.600] So as we were growing, I was growing steadily within my capacity.
[00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.040] People loved my brand.
[00:12:38.040 --> 00:12:40.600] They loved me as well and my team.
[00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:50.760] And so they were willing because they knew that they couldn't get this type of apparel anywhere else, they were willing to fund the purchase order, which is almost unheard of in retail, especially from these big retailers.
[00:12:50.760 --> 00:12:52.920] They were giving me the money up front.
[00:12:52.920 --> 00:12:56.680] So if their order was $30,000, they were giving me $30,000.
[00:12:56.680 --> 00:13:09.960] Maybe they were giving me $15K in one week, but by the time I shipped the order, I had all of my money up front because they knew that I was too small to actually have the capital to produce the brand.
[00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:15.880] And our sell-throughs were so amazing, they didn't want to miss out on having the brand in their actual stores.
[00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:18.840] We got a huge purchase order from Sneaker Villa.
[00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:26.920] That company ended up selling in the middle of us getting our purchase order delivered to America.
[00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:31.800] This is the first time ever in history that I never took money up front.
[00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:38.520] I was funding the purchase order because it was one of the largest purchase orders I had got and I funded it myself.
[00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:45.880] They did a merge between Sneaker Villa and DTLR and they dropped all the independent brands.
[00:13:45.880 --> 00:13:49.880] So I'm calling Sneaker Villa's buyers the day that the order comes from China.
[00:13:49.880 --> 00:13:51.880] I'm like, hey, your inventory is in.
[00:13:51.880 --> 00:13:53.000] Your inventory is in.
[00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.680] And they're like, yeah, we don't need this inventory anymore.
[00:13:56.680 --> 00:13:58.520] We don't even own that store anymore.
[00:13:58.520 --> 00:14:00.600] It's now owned by DTLR.
[00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:02.760] I could have cried for like five days straight.
[00:14:02.760 --> 00:14:07.080] Now I tie up my bootstraps again and I'm like, okay, we're going to go at this again.
[00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:10.840] We get a purchase order, $1.4 million from Forever 21.
[00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:22.320] That sends us into needing to find an investor or a partner that is going to push forth this order because no independent company one cannot ship through Forever 21.
[00:14:22.560 --> 00:14:25.840] Their routing guide is set up for you to fail.
[00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:30.720] If you put your label on the right-hand side, it's like $50,000 off the purchase order.
[00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:35.680] If you put tape too thick on the box, it's like $20,000.
[00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:37.680] Well, let's talk about this right now.
[00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:52.880] So for our entrepreneurs who are selling into stores, Mary, talk to me about like the different requirements that you have to be able to fulfill and not mess up in order to actually sell into some of these retailers.
[00:14:52.880 --> 00:14:57.680] Yeah, so Forever 21 is a whole big beast, right?
[00:14:57.680 --> 00:15:18.720] There are some retailers like the Sneaker Villas, Foot Actions, DTLRs that we were shipping with that kind of understood that we are a small company and gave us a little bit of grace because they also knew that we were bringing so many new customers into their doors that they didn't want to lose that opportunity of coolness in their stores.
[00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.800] So they gave us a little bit of grace, right?
[00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:31.680] But in stores like Target, Forever 21, these big box retailers, there is no room for error in the way that their shipping process operates, right?
[00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:33.040] There's no room for error.
[00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:43.440] So literally, if you get a routing guide, which is bigger than this book, for those that are watching, bigger, like this is big.
[00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:50.160] If you get a routing guide, every single page, every single word must be followed, right?
[00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:59.040] If they say that you must ship each box one of one, one of three, one of five, it must be labeled that way.
[00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:04.280] It must be labeled on the box, or they're going to charge you back on the order.
[00:16:04.280 --> 00:16:08.040] So imagine a $1.4 million order.
[00:16:08.040 --> 00:16:20.920] If I ship it wrong, I could ultimately, even if the sell-throughs are high, even if they sell every single piece of inventory, I could then only make $500,000 because I shipped it wrong.
[00:16:20.920 --> 00:16:22.600] So it's a big risk.
[00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.040] It is a big risk.
[00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:33.400] Also, what people don't talk about in big box retailers like Walmart or like Target is you are paying to be on those shelves.
[00:16:33.400 --> 00:16:35.960] You are paying for every return that you get.
[00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.760] You are paying for every damaged product that is sent.
[00:16:38.760 --> 00:16:39.720] You are paying.
[00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:44.680] It's not like the opportunity that you see on Instagram when people are like walking into those targets.
[00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:51.800] Like, I'm in my 5,000, you know, this is my 5,000 Target or 500 Target location.
[00:16:51.800 --> 00:17:04.600] Yeah, but every single return, damage, product, every product that doesn't ship on time, if you send more than what was supposed to be sent, less than what's supposed to be sent, you're going to get charged back on those orders.
[00:17:04.600 --> 00:17:09.400] So people think that big box retailers is actually when you make it.
[00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:13.880] Sometimes people go to big box retailers and it's what actually takes them out of business.
[00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.160] It puts them out of business.
[00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.080] And I feel like people don't talk about that enough.
[00:17:17.080 --> 00:17:23.480] So I partnered with this distribution company that had an experience with operating with Forever 21.
[00:17:23.800 --> 00:17:25.400] We signed with them.
[00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:27.560] I got the PO in February.
[00:17:27.560 --> 00:17:41.720] We partnered with them in March because Forever 21 wanted the inventory in their stores for summer, which means that we had to move fast, like fast, fast, lightning fast to get it into their stores.
[00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.120] Well, I pack up my Atlanta apartment.
[00:17:44.840 --> 00:17:46.320] I moved to New York.
[00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:57.440] I signed with this company that now I go from eight individual employees to now 180 employees, also them operating in China.
[00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:02.000] And I'm just one of the founders in their conglomerate of other founders.
[00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.640] And y'all, within six months, I was fired from my company.
[00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:15.200] Six months, I was fired from my own company after not wanting to sell my company to an off-price retailer.
[00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:29.680] So, what happened was to give you a long, long, long story, but short, when I signed with the company, there was only one individual who knew how to read Forever 21's routing guide and had the relationship with Forever 21.
[00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:38.320] Whatever the issue that they had with him, because of the other brands that they worked with, they decided to let him go.
[00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:44.960] They promised to me that they would replace his role immediately and that we would not lose the Forever 21 order.
[00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.320] Well, that did not happen.
[00:18:46.320 --> 00:18:55.920] They did not replace his role, which means that in the long run, my projections were going to be off because we never shipped the Forever 21 order.
[00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:10.480] So they projected for me to come into the company and do $6 million that year with $1.4 million of that projection being the Forever 21 order, as well as all of the other orders that we were going to do.
[00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:29.760] But because they fired the guy, now I'm held to this heavy projection of $6 million that the only reason I'm with you is because you had the ability to scale my company further than what I could scale it, right?
[00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:38.760] I came up with a bright idea, which is to partner with this off-price retailer to sell them a lower-priced brand that is similar to my brand.
[00:19:38.760 --> 00:19:40.760] They wanted to carry Cupcake Mafia.
[00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:42.760] I didn't want them to carry Cupcake Mafia.
[00:19:42.760 --> 00:19:46.120] I was willing to give them a new brand called Sweet Cartel, right?
[00:19:46.120 --> 00:19:52.280] Sweet Cartel was this new trendy brand, and that would have been amazing for their company.
[00:19:52.280 --> 00:19:53.720] It was exclusive to them.
[00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.640] I had influencers and everything.
[00:19:55.640 --> 00:20:02.520] Right before we go to sign the deal, my partners decide: no, we think that's going to be too complicated.
[00:20:02.520 --> 00:20:05.160] We just would rather sell them your brand.
[00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.240] Wait, hold on.
[00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.120] Why are we selling them my brand?
[00:20:10.120 --> 00:20:12.760] Because we're going to ruin the company that way.
[00:20:12.760 --> 00:20:20.440] Like, who, no woman walks into off-price retailers and says, oh my God, I got the new hottest item off the shelf.
[00:20:20.520 --> 00:20:22.760] Like, no, that's not how it works.
[00:20:22.760 --> 00:20:31.000] And so we got into this whole argument about why I didn't want to sell them the brand, why I wanted to continue with the other brand that I created for them.
[00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:41.720] And that's what ultimately led to them saying, well, we're going to fire you, own your company, because you're a B member on a board and A members have rights.
[00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:48.040] We're going to fire you and we'll take this on and be able to do whatever we want to do.
[00:20:48.040 --> 00:20:57.160] And so that left me on an airbed above my retail store without even being able to use my name, trademark, likeness, or anything.
[00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.680] How did that happen in terms of what was put in place?
[00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:05.160] What did you sign initially that gave them the ability to be able to do that?
[00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:13.080] So I essentially signed over the rights for them to own my company.
[00:21:13.080 --> 00:22:46.760] I signed over the rights for them to own my ip and the way that they had oh my god talking about it gives me well we're gonna we're gonna break down all the learning lessons we all go through these learning lessons to be able to help others we're gonna use it as a learning opportunity absolutely the way that they had it broke up right they had it made to scam young founders new founders that don't really understand the value that they have in the marketplace they don't really understand yes i built a four million dollar company at that time but i was in my 20s and i didn't know what scaling looked like i didn't know what exiting looked like i didn't know what raising capital or how to build a sustainable business i didn't know what it looked like so they built their contracts for this reason right and i'm not the first founder that they fired they fired seven founders before me that i didn't know about and all to take the likeness of cool brands and then either sell them or operate them until they are watered down and the brand is no longer cool how they had me sign they had me sign one a contract for my ip and and ownership as a founder right what i did not know was that cupcake mafia the ownership of cupcake mafia was now under cupcake mafia a holding company i thought on my contract that i own 60 of my company.
[00:22:46.760 --> 00:22:49.400] I did own 60% of my company.
[00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.440] I own 60% of my company.
[00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:57.240] That is only 30% of the holding company.
[00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:06.520] So I really only owned 30% of the 60% that the holding company was operating.
[00:23:06.520 --> 00:23:07.880] I didn't understand this.
[00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:09.560] I didn't know that when I signed in.
[00:23:09.560 --> 00:23:19.000] When it said 60% of Cupcake Mafia, I'm like, yes, because I'll be the main decision maker and I'll have final authority.
[00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.640] But then on the other contract, it says that I'm an employee.
[00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:29.800] I am the CEO that is employed by this holding company.
[00:23:29.800 --> 00:23:34.760] And so I could easily be fired because I was an employee.
[00:23:34.760 --> 00:23:45.960] And in that employee contract, it says that I'm a B member on the board and A members have the right to vote off any B members for any reason.
[00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.040] Did you have a lawyer at the time?
[00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:49.320] Okay.
[00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:58.680] So most retail brands are signing deals, partnerships, collaborations between February and August.
[00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:03.640] Those are the biggest months because that's when the trade shows are, right?
[00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:10.040] And so my lawyer was so busy with other deals when I wanted to get into this.
[00:24:10.040 --> 00:24:13.240] He kept saying, just hold off, just hold off, just hold off.
[00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.200] And I'm like, Peter, I cannot hold off.
[00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:21.640] Like, this is literally life or death within my company if we don't ship to Forever 201.
[00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:24.680] So I let them hire a lawyer for me.
[00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:25.960] And I just trusted.
[00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:33.400] I'm like, I looked up, you know, I wish ChatGPT was there then, but I looked up, can other companies hire a lawyer for you?
[00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:36.680] And they represent them double dip essentially.
[00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:40.600] And they were like, you know, no, there's no, you know, mutual representation.
[00:24:40.600 --> 00:24:41.640] And I was like, okay.
[00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:49.760] I was like, oh, I want to also have maybe like a minority lawyer that he can understand where I come from and like my background.
[00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:59.040] But one thing that he did say, he was like, if this all goes wrong, which I've seen it go wrong before, do you have a backup plan?
[00:24:59.040 --> 00:25:05.520] And my answer was, yes, I would have made so much money that I would easily create another company.
[00:25:05.520 --> 00:25:07.280] Of course, I have so many ideas.
[00:25:07.280 --> 00:25:08.800] I have this, I have that.
[00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:10.400] He was like, okay.
[00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:14.400] And so I just signed my life away.
[00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:21.920] But what I will say that I learned from all of this, I feel like in the darkest times of your life is when you really find the light.
[00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:25.600] That was the darkest moment of my life.
[00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.520] And that is when I found the light.
[00:25:27.520 --> 00:25:28.720] That is when I really believed him.
[00:25:28.800 --> 00:25:30.320] I started to believe in myself.
[00:25:30.320 --> 00:25:34.480] That is when I really understood my gift, my calling from God.
[00:25:34.800 --> 00:25:37.040] And that is when I got closer to God.
[00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:40.240] On the airbed, everything opened up.
[00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:46.080] Up next, Mary shares her vision for the bakery co-work after a major setback.
[00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:54.640] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:55.680] It's Steph here.
[00:25:55.680 --> 00:26:02.320] As a founder, I know firsthand that building a business can feel so lonely, but it doesn't have to.
[00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:06.960] And that's why we created our Entrepreneursa Founders Weekend Wealth and Wellness Retreat.
[00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:09.120] And I can't wait to meet you in person there.
[00:26:09.120 --> 00:26:23.280] So you're officially invited to join us from April 30th to May 3rd, 2026 at the stunning PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for three transformative days of connection, collaboration, and real business growth.
[00:26:23.280 --> 00:26:25.440] This isn't just another business conference.
[00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:33.880] It is a curated retreat designed to help you build authentic, lasting relationships with women who truly understand your journey.
[00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:40.680] From business panels and workshops to wellness activations and so much more, this is the room that you need to be in.
[00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:52.120] So if you are ready to invest in yourself and your business and your vision and your next level of success, head over to entrepreneursa.com forward slash founders weekend to reserve your ticket today.
[00:26:52.120 --> 00:27:00.440] That's entrepreneur.com forward slash foundersweekend or head over to the show notes right now and tap the invitation to reserve your ticket.
[00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:01.800] I'll see you there.
[00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:13.640] This is what I wrote on the airbed.
[00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.760] This is November 20th, 2015.
[00:27:16.760 --> 00:27:27.400] The bakery co-work for women to bake dreams together, co-work podcasts, photo studio offices, conference room, in-house cafe, in-house services, one-stop shop for women.
[00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:30.360] Women will bake their dreams together in one building.
[00:27:30.360 --> 00:27:33.560] I will exit the company itself for over $50 million.
[00:27:33.560 --> 00:27:35.320] We will have franchises everywhere.
[00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:39.320] We will start our first location 15,000 square feet in Atlanta.
[00:27:39.320 --> 00:27:41.320] This is on an airbed, you guys.
[00:27:41.320 --> 00:27:44.680] This is before I even had a building.
[00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.920] This is before I even had a plan, a blueprint, or anything.
[00:27:48.920 --> 00:28:04.200] And here we are, three years into operating the bakery and now on our, now opening our second location and doing everything that I wrote, scribbled on this piece of paper from an airbed of dreams that were manifesting in my mind.
[00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:10.720] And so I went on from sleeping on an airbed to saying, I'm going to save retail for women.
[00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:11.040] Right.
[00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:16.960] And from there, I literally bought my company back in April of the very next year.
[00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:21.280] So I got fired in November and I bought my company back in April.
[00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:21.360] Bought my company back.
[00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:24.720] My husband's like, babe, where do you want to go for your birthday?
[00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:25.520] I'm like, to China.
[00:28:25.520 --> 00:28:26.080] He's like, what?
[00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:26.960] You want to go to China?
[00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:27.680] Why?
[00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:29.920] I'm like, because I want to just go out there.
[00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.240] I went to China with one address.
[00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:39.120] This address was where one of my stores in Dubai that was carrying my brand, they needed to ship a package back.
[00:28:39.120 --> 00:28:45.440] And my partners fought with me about giving me this one address because they didn't want to ship it back to America.
[00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.280] They were like, we could just ship it to China.
[00:28:47.280 --> 00:28:49.280] And that's much cheaper and much easier.
[00:28:49.280 --> 00:28:50.960] And they fought with me about this address.
[00:28:50.960 --> 00:29:00.160] And because they fought with me so hard to give me the address, I always kept it because it was like something about this address is so important to them that they didn't want to give it to me.
[00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:01.040] So I'm going to keep it.
[00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:04.400] And I held that address like closely to my heart.
[00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:07.760] My husband booked flights to China, hotels to China, all around this address.
[00:29:07.760 --> 00:29:11.920] We don't know what is in this address or what we're going to see when we get there.
[00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:18.240] But one day I just showed up to Guangzhou for two weeks and I said, I'm going to buy a factory in China.
[00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.080] I don't know how I'm going to do it.
[00:29:20.080 --> 00:29:36.960] I don't know where I'm going to do it, but I'm going to buy a factory because what they told me in the beginning when we partnered with them was that I would own my own factory to do women's apparel because their factory for the men's apparel was messing up all of my samples, no matter with the proper tech packs.
[00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:44.640] So they were like, well, we're going to take this amount of money out of the account that we owe you and we're going to put it towards your own factory.
[00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:50.800] So in my mind, this address that I have is the factory or is the warehouse that we own together.
[00:29:50.800 --> 00:29:53.600] And so I show up one day at this factory, you guys.
[00:29:53.600 --> 00:30:01.160] And when I tell you, I am nervous because my partners, my old partners, were also in and out of China.
[00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:03.640] Like they would just wake up and go to China.
[00:29:59.840 --> 00:30:06.200] So I could literally, he could literally open the door.
[00:30:06.520 --> 00:30:07.800] What am I going to say?
[00:30:07.800 --> 00:30:10.840] You know, what did it feel like when you walked in there?
[00:30:10.840 --> 00:30:24.040] I knocked on the door and Annie, who was our production manager for the time that we were there and obviously has been with him for years, opens the door and she's like, Mary, where have you been?
[00:30:24.040 --> 00:30:26.760] Like, what's going on with Cupcake Mafia?
[00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:27.960] What's going on with the brand?
[00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:29.800] We haven't heard anything about it.
[00:30:29.800 --> 00:30:31.480] I haven't seen you in months.
[00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.760] What's going on?
[00:30:32.760 --> 00:30:40.600] And I was like, oh, like, girl, they sent me out here like to check on things, you know, like I didn't really even know what to say.
[00:30:40.600 --> 00:30:42.520] I didn't know how she was going to respond.
[00:30:42.520 --> 00:30:51.160] But what I did know was that this was my opportunity to get as much information and as much help as I could possibly do.
[00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:53.240] And I told her, I was like, I'm looking to buy a factory.
[00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:55.000] She's like, oh, is Mike looking to buy a factory?
[00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:56.520] I was like, kind of.
[00:30:56.840 --> 00:30:58.520] And she's like, yeah, okay, great.
[00:30:58.520 --> 00:31:02.360] Let me show you how we do this and how we looked at this and how we looked at that.
[00:31:02.360 --> 00:31:17.240] And literally, that is how I found my partner for my factory in China that I operated for three years owning a factory in China, helping small independent brands not get middleman, like not experience that.
[00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:25.240] So not only from an Airbed was I running a factory, essentially, well, at this point, I'm not on the Airbed anymore.
[00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.840] We just bought our home.
[00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:29.640] So from the Airbed, I started managing a talent.
[00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:33.880] The second thing I did from the Airbed was I started teaching.
[00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:35.720] I'm like, people got to know about this.
[00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.080] Like, how didn't I know?
[00:31:37.080 --> 00:31:43.560] Why is it that when I Google founders getting fired from their company, why is it only Steve Jobs that comes up?
[00:31:43.560 --> 00:31:50.240] Like, why is there no tools or information or resources for people to know how not to get done this way?
[00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:50.800] Right.
[00:31:50.800 --> 00:31:55.280] And so I started teaching and I created a community called Girl Mob from an Airbed.
[00:31:55.280 --> 00:32:02.640] I would literally get up off my airbag, go into the dining room of our apartment, office, showroom, whatever you want to call it at that time.
[00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:04.880] And then I would just teach on Periscope.
[00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:11.360] And like, I built a really big community because I was so vulnerable and authentic about my story.
[00:32:11.360 --> 00:32:14.400] And then from there, that community grew into people.
[00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:25.600] But it started with just me teaching on Periscope and me having people come to my retail store on Sundays and pay $25 to just cover the payroll for my staff.
[00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:28.000] Like that's kind of how it started.
[00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.560] And then I get a call one day after I just bought my company back.
[00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:38.960] I get a call of the off-price retailer that heard that I got fired from my company.
[00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:43.040] And they're like, hey, we have a really amazing opportunity for you.
[00:32:43.040 --> 00:32:44.720] I'm like, okay, what's up?
[00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:56.880] And then she's like, we have a contract for you to be a consultant as a marketing agency to bring in new innovative brands into our company and create private label products for us.
[00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:00.400] I'm like, girl, I want an airbag above my retail store.
[00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.640] I don't have no marketing agency.
[00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:05.680] And I don't, I don't know what you're talking about.
[00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.240] Like, I'm just trying to buy my company back.
[00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:09.440] That's all I'm trying to do.
[00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:11.600] And she's like, I'll call you back.
[00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:15.600] Hung up, called me on her cell phone and was like, Mary, you are the person.
[00:33:15.600 --> 00:33:18.480] Like, we've interviewed so many companies.
[00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.880] They don't have the connections that you have.
[00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:26.400] They don't have the relationships, the information of the industry, the wit, the edginess.
[00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.440] They don't have any of it.
[00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:29.040] Like, you have it all.
[00:33:29.040 --> 00:33:31.880] Google, how to create a marketing agency.
[00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:38.760] You have 24 hours to get us back the name, the LLC, and we're going to interview you for this contract.
[00:33:38.760 --> 00:33:40.120] I'm like, okay.
[00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.480] I like hung up the phone.
[00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:51.320] I went upstairs to my photographer and graphic designer who I still had on board because we were still making apparel, but just not using the Cupcake Mafia licensing.
[00:33:51.320 --> 00:33:52.200] So I still had them.
[00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:54.280] I was like, guys, I have a big opportunity.
[00:33:54.280 --> 00:33:55.560] We have to create a marketing agency.
[00:33:55.560 --> 00:33:57.480] They're like, what?
[00:33:57.480 --> 00:33:58.280] I'm like, yeah.
[00:33:58.280 --> 00:33:59.160] And we're the team.
[00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:00.200] You're the photographer.
[00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.480] You're the graphic designer.
[00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:02.760] I'm the CEO.
[00:34:02.760 --> 00:34:03.880] We're a marketing agency.
[00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:04.840] Let's come up with a name.
[00:34:04.840 --> 00:34:08.920] They're like, Cupcake icing agency.
[00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:13.080] I'm like, perfect, because we have the recipe for all of your marketing needs.
[00:34:13.080 --> 00:34:14.280] They're like, great.
[00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:15.320] I like call her back.
[00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:16.840] I'm like, we're ready.
[00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:18.120] I get an LLC.
[00:34:18.120 --> 00:34:19.960] She's like, I interview for the role.
[00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:21.160] They're like, do you know this brand?
[00:34:21.160 --> 00:34:22.360] Do you know this brand?
[00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:23.320] Do you know this founder?
[00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:23.880] I'm like, yes.
[00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:24.600] They're like, great.
[00:34:24.600 --> 00:34:26.360] The contract is yours.
[00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:35.880] That is what gave me the money to buy my company back, as well as my husband, boyfriend at the time helped too.
[00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:40.520] But the majority of it came from that particular deal.
[00:34:40.520 --> 00:34:45.080] So without that, I could have never got Cupcake Mafia back, right?
[00:34:45.080 --> 00:34:49.320] And so from there, I built this blueprint for the bakery.
[00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:50.600] I owned a marketing agency.
[00:34:50.600 --> 00:34:53.480] Now I had a digital company called Girl Mob.
[00:34:53.480 --> 00:35:00.120] And I also had this retail store called Cupcake Mafia, but that didn't sell Cupcake Mafia products because I didn't own the license anymore.
[00:35:00.120 --> 00:35:03.160] But I still own the IP to the store.
[00:35:03.160 --> 00:35:04.440] Crazy.
[00:35:04.440 --> 00:35:11.480] And year after year, I just continued to grow and pivot through all of the challenges that were thrown at me.
[00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:16.880] And so every day when I wake up, I'm like, I cannot believe I own all of these businesses.
[00:35:17.200 --> 00:35:19.920] And some days I'm like, what am I doing?
[00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:26.480] But I honestly feel like, you know, God has given me all of these businesses and they're all serving and helping people.
[00:35:26.640 --> 00:35:28.640] It's so amazing all that you've done.
[00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:33.600] And you were able to just pack all those years into 20 minutes here.
[00:35:33.600 --> 00:35:35.520] I have so many questions for you, Mary.
[00:35:35.520 --> 00:35:48.320] And I didn't want to stop to interrupt your flow when you were sharing and when you pulled out that paper of what you wrote down about starting the bakery co-work in 2015 on that air mattress.
[00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.840] And you have now built exactly what you wrote.
[00:35:51.840 --> 00:36:02.640] Like, how does that feel knowing that this vision that you came up with while you were laying there after one of the hardest moments in your life, you've now turned into a reality?
[00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:06.800] Honestly, I can't even put it in words, right?
[00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:11.600] I wrote this idea after actually going to another co-working space.
[00:36:11.600 --> 00:36:14.800] At that time, I was on the airbed and I just craved community.
[00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:17.760] I just was like, I got to find other people that have been through this.
[00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:25.600] Like, if I can't find it on Google, maybe it's out, maybe it's like getting out of my house, getting out off of the airbed and like going somewhere.
[00:36:25.600 --> 00:36:30.960] And I heard about this cool co-working space that my friend had joined in LA and I flew out there.
[00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:34.880] And immediately getting there, it was like I felt at home.
[00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:38.480] Like I felt like I found my tribe, this tribe that I was looking for.
[00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:44.000] But by the end of that two days that I was there, I was racially profiled there.
[00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:49.520] And I heard a lot of things that other women were saying about that space.
[00:36:49.520 --> 00:36:50.720] And it broke my heart.
[00:36:50.720 --> 00:36:59.960] Like, it broke my heart that I'm using my last money to fly to LA to crave this community and to get around other women founders.
[00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:03.720] And I've done so much with my life, and I've done so much with my career.
[00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:06.600] And you're judging me by the color of my skin.
[00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:08.120] Are we our ancestors?
[00:37:08.200 --> 00:37:10.040] You know, like, where are we here now?
[00:37:10.040 --> 00:37:15.960] Like, we're in the, we're in 2020, like, we're in a new age, and you're judging me.
[00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:22.520] Like, you're telling me not to take my purse in the bathroom of your co-working space because of the color of my skin.
[00:37:22.520 --> 00:37:23.800] Like, are you serious?
[00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:25.480] And it broke my heart and it left me.
[00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:28.120] And that's when I got back to Atlanta.
[00:37:28.120 --> 00:37:29.640] That's when I wrote this plan.
[00:37:29.640 --> 00:37:38.760] I wanted to create a space where women could come together, despite what the color of their skin is, despite what their religious political beliefs are any of that is.
[00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:42.120] At the end of the day, we still have the same inside.
[00:37:42.120 --> 00:37:52.520] If we take this skin off, if we take this hair off, if we take the physical features that makes us different, we are still moms balancing lives.
[00:37:52.520 --> 00:37:55.640] We're still wives balancing lives and emotions.
[00:37:55.640 --> 00:37:59.960] And we're still trying to figure it out every single day.
[00:37:59.960 --> 00:38:07.480] No matter what the color of our skin, no matter what our religion is, no matter who we pray to, no matter who we vote for, at the core, right?
[00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:10.440] We are still women facing the same opposition.
[00:38:10.440 --> 00:38:14.520] We still get less than 1% of funding, right?
[00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:18.360] Until we cut our hair and we show up in a suit.
[00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:20.680] Well, we're here to change that.
[00:38:20.680 --> 00:38:22.440] We're changing all of that, right, Mary?
[00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:23.480] Yes.
[00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:34.680] And so I wrote this plan down because I was like, why is there not a space where women can go and get everything they need and resources, community, connections, funding, capital?
[00:38:34.680 --> 00:38:36.600] Why is there not a place like that?
[00:38:36.600 --> 00:38:38.040] It's really my baby goal.
[00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:46.400] Like, I know that what people probably deem me most successful at is marketing, but really, my goal is to connect women together.
[00:38:44.760 --> 00:38:50.400] Like we are really all the secret ingredient in somebody else's recipe.
[00:38:50.720 --> 00:38:54.480] It is so true without community and connection and collaboration.
[00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:57.600] Like you can't build a business alone by yourself in a room.
[00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:58.960] You need that support.
[00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:03.920] You need that mentorship and to be around other people to learn from and to grow.
[00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:09.600] Like imagine if you had had community when you started your first business, like you might not have made those mistakes.
[00:39:09.600 --> 00:39:10.480] Now you've learned a lot.
[00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:11.680] We've all learned a lot, right?
[00:39:11.680 --> 00:39:14.400] From what you shared and we've all gone through these really hard times.
[00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:20.880] But now that we have communities like Entrepreneur, like Bakery Cowork, there's other communities out there.
[00:39:20.880 --> 00:39:23.360] Just join them to learn and to grow.
[00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:29.200] Like that's how we're all going to move forward and change that one to 2% figure as well.
[00:39:29.200 --> 00:39:30.160] Absolutely.
[00:39:30.160 --> 00:39:31.440] Absolutely.
[00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:32.160] I love that.
[00:39:32.160 --> 00:39:35.040] And that's exactly why I joined Entrepreneur as well.
[00:39:35.040 --> 00:39:38.480] I have a community called Girl Mob, but my community is different.
[00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:46.480] And especially everybody that is a leader of a community, if you are leading a community right now, please go and join another community, right?
[00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:50.960] One, you're going to be able to see, oh my God, like you're going to be re-inspired.
[00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:53.840] The teacher also needs a teacher.
[00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:57.360] So when I found Stephanie, I'm like, oh my God, it's so much more I could be doing.
[00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:59.200] Like I'm settling over here.
[00:39:59.200 --> 00:40:06.080] And then when I see what she's doing and then she sees what I'm doing, like it's a power in collaboration.
[00:40:06.080 --> 00:40:08.880] Yes, there's so much business and opportunity out there.
[00:40:08.880 --> 00:40:17.120] So the more we're able to come together and collaborate, I still remember when we were sitting at the pool at Founders Weekend the day after it ended and we were talking about different ideas.
[00:40:17.120 --> 00:40:21.280] And I remember you shared with me, you're like, oh, I have a lot of our members like help lead things.
[00:40:21.280 --> 00:40:22.320] And you shared ideas with me.
[00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:23.920] I'm like, oh my God, that's a great idea.
[00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:25.200] I never thought of that.
[00:40:25.200 --> 00:40:27.680] So we're all able to help each other.
[00:40:27.680 --> 00:40:37.880] So no matter what type of business you have for all of our incredible entrepreneurs that are listening to this episode right now, just remember there's other people who are there to help you and want to support you.
[00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:39.400] There's enough business out there for everyone.
[00:40:39.400 --> 00:40:40.840] We're not all competing.
[00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:41.640] For sure.
[00:40:41.640 --> 00:40:42.360] Absolutely.
[00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:47.960] Everybody, even if you quote unquote sell the same thing, the ingredients and the recipe is different.
[00:40:47.960 --> 00:40:48.920] Absolutely.
[00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:50.840] I posted this on Instagram recently.
[00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:56.120] So I was looking at my counter in my bathroom and I'm like, I have like 50 different products there.
[00:40:56.120 --> 00:40:59.400] It's not like I'm just buying one product over and over again.
[00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:00.920] And that's the only brand I buy from.
[00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:03.000] We're consumers of so many different products.
[00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.920] Like look at all the things behind you on the screen and behind me here right now.
[00:41:06.920 --> 00:41:08.440] We all buy tons of stuff.
[00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:14.440] So the more we can collaborate together with other like-minded brands and founders, I'll say it until I die.
[00:41:14.440 --> 00:41:17.080] Like there's just more opportunity together for sure.
[00:41:17.080 --> 00:41:18.680] Absolutely, for sure.
[00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:26.520] Mary, tell me about some of your favorite business tools and solutions that have really helped you streamline your operations and your businesses.
[00:41:26.520 --> 00:41:27.320] Absolutely.
[00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:32.680] So the first one I would have to say is Triannual.
[00:41:32.680 --> 00:41:47.320] So I was like, even at $17 million in revenue, even at $20 million in revenue, even at $30 million in revenue collectively, we were a hot mess as a company on the back end.
[00:41:47.320 --> 00:41:50.440] We did not have, oh, these are our policies.
[00:41:50.440 --> 00:41:52.040] These are our trainings.
[00:41:52.040 --> 00:41:55.000] This is our mission statement values.
[00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.800] Like we were just like, come to work, be on time, and you're going to get paid.
[00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:00.840] Like, you know?
[00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:05.800] So one, we created our operational processes in Triangle.
[00:42:05.800 --> 00:42:11.560] So now everybody can stop coming to me for things that I have said multiple times.
[00:42:11.560 --> 00:42:24.800] So every time there is a SOP that needs to be changed or altered, or if I see something happening multiple times, immediately I go into Triangle and I update our SOP because your company is ever changing.
[00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:26.080] You are ever changing, right?
[00:42:26.080 --> 00:42:29.600] Like our branding color may move from a pink shade.
[00:42:29.600 --> 00:42:34.080] And then like as we hire new graphic designers, our pink will change and change and change.
[00:42:34.080 --> 00:42:40.160] And I have to remind them to like, no, hey guys, please go back to the original branding guide.
[00:42:40.160 --> 00:42:42.880] Here is the SOP for our colors, you know?
[00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:49.600] So like Traanuel is definitely one because it houses everything that my team is looking for.
[00:42:49.600 --> 00:42:50.880] And it's so beautiful.
[00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:54.640] They feel like they're coming into a company that they can actually grow with.
[00:42:54.640 --> 00:42:57.280] I think the second one would be Manny Chad.
[00:42:57.280 --> 00:42:58.320] I love Manny Chat.
[00:42:58.320 --> 00:43:07.920] Before Manny Chat, I hated our social media algorithm, but I feel like Manny Chat has really helped our social media algorithm because we can now give freebies.
[00:43:07.920 --> 00:43:10.400] We can now make it easy for people to find things.
[00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:12.960] So Manny Chat is an amazing tool.
[00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:14.160] We've been using that one too.
[00:43:14.160 --> 00:43:15.280] It's so good.
[00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:16.880] I love, love, love Manny Chat.
[00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:25.600] Rocket Money is like a slept on girl that's not good at girl math.
[00:43:25.600 --> 00:43:27.600] This is the app that you need, right?
[00:43:27.600 --> 00:43:28.880] I have a CFO.
[00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:29.760] I have a CPA.
[00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:31.040] I have all the things.
[00:43:31.040 --> 00:43:34.560] But for me, I operate with a creative brain.
[00:43:34.560 --> 00:43:37.520] My brain is very creative.
[00:43:37.520 --> 00:43:41.680] So I will think, oh, for this conference, we want this kind of stage, this type of thing.
[00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:49.120] And like Rocket Money is able to tell me how much I'm spending, where I'm spending the money on, how much I'm saving.
[00:43:49.120 --> 00:43:50.560] And it motivates me, right?
[00:43:50.560 --> 00:43:53.680] Like, so we go to Bali every year for Christmas.
[00:43:53.680 --> 00:43:57.440] This is the third year we've done it with me and my husband and my kids.
[00:43:57.440 --> 00:44:02.520] When I'm in Bali and our team is off for two months or two weeks, right?
[00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:06.520] It tells me you've saved this large amount of money.
[00:44:06.680 --> 00:44:07.880] I'm like, whoa.
[00:44:07.880 --> 00:44:11.640] So it lets me know that this is a really good thing that we're doing.
[00:44:11.640 --> 00:44:19.480] Instead of going and buying all these Christmas gifts and running around like crazy, if we just go to Bali and we collect more memories, right?
[00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:29.640] We're saving money because the currency rate is way different and we're living like queens and kings for like not a lot over in Bali.
[00:44:29.640 --> 00:44:30.920] So it's better.
[00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:35.880] So Rocket Money has literally gave me a full idea of where my money goes.
[00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:39.080] And I just think that every person needs to have it on their phone.
[00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:41.240] I haven't heard, I had not heard of Rocket Money before.
[00:44:41.240 --> 00:44:43.800] So I'm excited to go check out that platform.
[00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:49.160] So I love, I love learning all the tools all of our founders are using.
[00:44:49.160 --> 00:44:51.560] Mary, talk to me about the fundraising process.
[00:44:51.560 --> 00:44:55.720] I know that you're currently raising capital for the bakery co-work.
[00:44:55.720 --> 00:45:02.920] And I would love to hear, you know, a bit about the process of actually raising capital, some of your learning lessons.
[00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:09.080] And then, of course, for those that could be interested in investing in the bakery co-work, share more about it.
[00:45:09.080 --> 00:45:10.120] Absolutely.
[00:45:10.120 --> 00:45:13.080] Yeah, I'm super excited about what we've built.
[00:45:13.080 --> 00:45:16.600] So the first thing I wanted to do is make sure we had a proof of concept.
[00:45:16.600 --> 00:45:19.000] So I didn't start raising until after three years.
[00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:20.760] We are fully profitable.
[00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.880] I invested in the business all myself.
[00:45:23.880 --> 00:45:25.080] We don't have any partners.
[00:45:25.080 --> 00:45:27.240] I don't have any debt for the business.
[00:45:27.240 --> 00:45:31.160] It's fully profitable and it is a very unique model.
[00:45:31.160 --> 00:45:36.040] So there are six different ways that we make revenue within the bakery co-work.
[00:45:36.040 --> 00:45:37.080] So I'm super excited.
[00:45:37.080 --> 00:45:40.200] So no one can say, oh, what about WeWork?
[00:45:40.200 --> 00:45:40.920] It didn't work.
[00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:45.760] Well, then one, you invested in the wrong founder and the wrong business model.
[00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:50.800] Our co-working space has six ways that we bring revenue into the business.
[00:45:51.120 --> 00:45:57.920] So there's no, there's no investor that could ever think, oh, well, what if COVID happens again and people can't co-work?
[00:45:57.920 --> 00:45:58.880] No problem.
[00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:00.480] This is another stream of revenue.
[00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:02.080] This is another stream of revenue.
[00:46:02.080 --> 00:46:05.600] In Atlanta, we have not had a decrease in events.
[00:46:05.600 --> 00:46:09.200] Our event space is booked up until January.
[00:46:09.200 --> 00:46:12.320] In Atlanta, people are going to do photo shoots.
[00:46:12.320 --> 00:46:13.760] You're going to create content.
[00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:19.680] Every CPG brand needs new product photos, needs new influencer UGC content.
[00:46:19.680 --> 00:46:21.040] And that's what we produce here.
[00:46:21.040 --> 00:46:23.280] People are going to record their podcast.
[00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:29.360] People are going to come out and have a coffee in a cafe or sitting with other like-minded people.
[00:46:29.360 --> 00:46:33.280] We have not had an issue with selling tickets to our in-house events.
[00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:37.920] So there's so many different ways that revenue comes into the bakery co-work.
[00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:45.040] So we've had so many amazing meetings with potential investors, and now we're just looking to close around.
[00:46:45.040 --> 00:46:49.200] So we are raising $3 million in our seed round.
[00:46:49.200 --> 00:46:52.880] And it's to open our second location, which is in Houston.
[00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:57.360] And then it's also to infuse the tech inside of our brand.
[00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:00.960] So we have a new cool app that we are launching called the Bakery app.
[00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:05.840] It's actually called Bake and it's for women to be able to bake their ideas together.
[00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:10.480] We truly believe that one dreams are baked here and dreams will be baked on our app.
[00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:16.400] And then also that women have the secret ingredient to someone else's recipe.
[00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:24.480] So, like, you can make a cake, and maybe I have the sugar, but Stephanie has the flour, and Courtney has the, you know, the spatula.
[00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:26.480] I need all of those tools.
[00:47:26.480 --> 00:47:39.080] And so, and on our app that we're looking to launch with the seed round of funding, once we close it, it will allow women to all the tools necessary to be able to bathe together and grow their dreams.
[00:47:39.080 --> 00:47:39.560] I love it.
[00:47:39.560 --> 00:47:40.760] I have the chills right now.
[00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:50.040] Well, definitely send over your investor deck and I'll send it to some people I know who could be interested because this is how connections and collaborations happen, even live on podcast recordings, right?
[00:47:50.360 --> 00:47:51.080] Absolutely.
[00:47:51.080 --> 00:47:52.520] And I'm super excited.
[00:47:52.520 --> 00:47:55.000] It definitely, some things that I would tell you I struggle with.
[00:47:55.000 --> 00:48:00.120] I think I struggle with, I don't want to say imposter syndrome, but maybe confidence, right?
[00:48:00.120 --> 00:48:03.000] Confidence in trusting investors again.
[00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:03.880] People know me.
[00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:09.800] People know that whatever I put my mind to, especially if I invested in myself, is going to be successful, right?
[00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:20.600] Like every single company that I have launched with blood, sweat, tears, lots of resilience, lots of tears, but they all became profitable.
[00:48:20.600 --> 00:48:21.400] They all scaled.
[00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:23.080] They're all doing amazing.
[00:48:23.080 --> 00:48:25.400] I know how to make money.
[00:48:25.400 --> 00:48:32.600] What I'm looking for is strategic investors that now are able to say, okay, well, this is how we scale it more strategically.
[00:48:32.600 --> 00:48:34.280] This is how we bring in new partners.
[00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:38.520] This is how we bring in someone that sponsors our water and this and that.
[00:48:38.520 --> 00:48:44.920] So it was a lot of confidence in like, oh, is the same thing that happened to me in my 20s going to happen again?
[00:48:44.920 --> 00:48:48.760] Is someone going to take my company, not believe in my company?
[00:48:48.760 --> 00:48:50.200] So I had to get over that.
[00:48:50.200 --> 00:49:06.360] I took a year of mentorship, a year of really finding myself, understanding what I brung to the marketplace, having those really hard meetings with VCs and angel investors to now being like, I know what I have is amazing.
[00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:10.920] And you guys will be, I'll be laughing at you guys once we exit this company.
[00:49:10.920 --> 00:49:13.880] And so will the other investors that believed in me.
[00:49:13.880 --> 00:49:20.160] Coming up, Mary shares the importance of investing in minority women entrepreneurs.
[00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:30.400] Founders are always asking us, what has been the secret to our success building multiple seven-figure businesses?
[00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:31.840] Do you want to know how?
[00:49:31.840 --> 00:49:33.520] It's our community.
[00:49:33.520 --> 00:49:41.120] We created the Entrepreneurista League for founders like you because the most successful entrepreneurs do not navigate business alone.
[00:49:41.120 --> 00:49:46.960] We navigate the challenges and opportunities with the support of people we know, love, and trust.
[00:49:46.960 --> 00:49:50.800] The relationships you build in business will be the key to your success.
[00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:52.960] Trust me, it's how we've done it.
[00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:58.640] And I'm giving you access to everything we've used to grow and scale our businesses over the past decade.
[00:49:58.640 --> 00:50:02.960] Plus, you're going to meet your new best friends in business right inside the community.
[00:50:02.960 --> 00:50:25.360] Our members have access to everything we've used to grow our businesses over the past 10 plus years, from in-person events to virtual events, business education, funding resources, office hours with myself and other top founders in your industry, press opportunities, and access to our community platform where you can instantly get all of your business questions answered.
[00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:32.080] You can join us in the community over at refer.entreprenista.com forward slash join us.
[00:50:32.080 --> 00:50:37.840] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash join us to join the community.
[00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:41.280] Or head to the show notes right now and tap the link to join.
[00:50:41.280 --> 00:50:43.200] I cannot wait to meet you.
[00:50:44.160 --> 00:50:56.560] I was talking to one of our members, and I was sharing with her like this mindset shift of thinking, okay, anyone who is investing in my company, you're giving them the opportunity to invest.
[00:50:56.560 --> 00:51:00.360] Like, they should be so lucky that you're giving them that opportunity.
[00:51:00.360 --> 00:51:03.160] So, it's not about like being scared, like, oh, I need to talk to this investor.
[00:51:03.160 --> 00:51:03.640] I'm nervous.
[00:50:59.840 --> 00:51:05.160] It's like, no, you need to own it.
[00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:09.320] Like, you're giving them this opportunity to be part of something amazing.
[00:51:09.320 --> 00:51:19.320] And that's why having this mindset and confidence is so important when you're raising capital, because investors are giving you the money because they believe in you.
[00:51:19.320 --> 00:51:26.120] Yes, they need to believe in the mission and the business as well, but they're not going to give you money if they don't believe in you.
[00:51:26.120 --> 00:51:26.760] Yes.
[00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:34.360] And I honestly, I'm doing this not just for the success and the exit and all the things.
[00:51:34.360 --> 00:51:39.720] I'm doing this because I want to show every single minority girl that grew up how I grew up, right?
[00:51:39.720 --> 00:51:41.160] Like, I came from the hood.
[00:51:41.160 --> 00:51:42.120] I grew up with nothing.
[00:51:42.120 --> 00:51:47.640] I grew up with not a good relationship with my mother, no real mentorship, no real guidance.
[00:51:47.640 --> 00:51:51.960] I want to show every minority girl that has a dream that they can do it.
[00:51:51.960 --> 00:51:55.000] And I want to show other people, right?
[00:51:55.000 --> 00:52:01.800] Our allies that to invest in minority women, invest in women in general.
[00:52:01.800 --> 00:52:14.120] But specifically, I want to show them that because for every person that I, that a VC or angel investor that I sit across the table from, that's thinking, hmm, I mean, I don't know, I don't know.
[00:52:14.120 --> 00:52:17.960] And they believe in me and say, I'm going to invest in her.
[00:52:17.960 --> 00:52:41.000] I'm going to make it so much easier for every other brown girl that sits across the table from those VCs, that sits across the tables from those venture capitalists and from those firms that have those dollars that are choosing to not invest in brown women, minority women, not just black women, but brown women in general, because they're like, hmm, I don't know, I don't know.
[00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:49.120] They may not have the college education, they not, but they have the grit, but we have the tenacity, but we have the resilience though.
[00:52:49.440 --> 00:52:53.520] Trust me, like if we, we're already doing it for ourselves, right?
[00:52:53.520 --> 00:53:00.800] I've already grown a marketing agency to over collectively in nine years over $100 million in revenue.
[00:53:00.800 --> 00:53:03.280] So why wouldn't I do it for my new company?
[00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:14.400] So I just really, whether I need the funding or not, I want to do it to make it easier for more brown women to sit when they're sitting across the table.
[00:53:14.400 --> 00:53:24.320] They're going to think, wow, well, we invested in Mary and Mary gave us a five that we invested in Mary and Mary went on to do this and Mary went on to do this.
[00:53:24.320 --> 00:53:27.920] So now let me give Ashley an opportunity and let me give this.
[00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:30.080] And that's how we break the generation.
[00:53:30.080 --> 00:53:37.600] That's how we break this 1% and less than 5.5% in funding for minority women.
[00:53:37.600 --> 00:53:51.120] That's how we break it by showing people like myself and Mayell and Courtney Adelaide, other brown women that venture capitalists invested in that, wow, they went on to do something amazing.
[00:53:51.120 --> 00:53:56.880] Let me open the, let's put our shoulders down to investing in more brown women.
[00:53:56.880 --> 00:54:05.440] Well, we're doing it and we're here to help you and help make all of this happen because our missions are so aligned and it is so important.
[00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:07.120] Mary, last question for you.
[00:54:07.120 --> 00:54:09.920] What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
[00:54:09.920 --> 00:54:15.280] Oh my gosh, being an entrepreneur means so much to me.
[00:54:15.280 --> 00:54:21.280] Being an entrepreneur means reaching my hand down to pull someone else up, no matter where you are.
[00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:25.040] That honestly is what I needed when I first started.
[00:54:25.040 --> 00:54:30.840] I needed support community, someone to reach their hand down and pull me up.
[00:54:29.840 --> 00:54:34.200] And now I'm always reaching my hand down to pull someone else up.
[00:54:34.520 --> 00:54:37.960] And I feel like that's what the entrepreneur community does as well.
[00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:39.480] They're always reaching their hand.
[00:54:39.560 --> 00:54:42.840] Steph has put me in group chat and say, Hey, this is somebody she needs this.
[00:54:42.840 --> 00:54:43.960] This is somebody she needs that.
[00:54:43.960 --> 00:54:51.000] And like, she doesn't have to do that, but she's reaching her hand down or over or to the side and pulling me in.
[00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:55.240] And I think that's what being an entrepreneur means to me most.
[00:54:55.400 --> 00:54:56.040] I love it.
[00:54:56.040 --> 00:54:58.600] Mary, where can everyone find you, follow you?
[00:54:58.600 --> 00:55:06.200] And for those that might be interested in learning more about investing in the bakery co-work, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?
[00:55:06.200 --> 00:55:07.000] Yes.
[00:55:07.000 --> 00:55:18.360] So if you're interested in investing in the bakery co-work, you guys can email me, Mary at theicingagency.com or info at thebakerycoork.com.
[00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:21.720] You can also find us on Instagram, the bakery co-work.
[00:55:21.720 --> 00:55:23.720] You can find me on all channels.
[00:55:23.720 --> 00:55:32.920] Literally, if you just Google Miss Skittles, M-Z, S-K-I-T-T-L-E-Z, Miss Skittles, you can see everything that I have going on.
[00:55:32.920 --> 00:55:35.880] It's amazing to be able to be on this podcast.
[00:55:35.880 --> 00:55:38.120] I'd love to know where my new followers came from.
[00:55:38.120 --> 00:55:42.760] So if you are listening to this podcast and you're like, oh my God, I love Mary.
[00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:44.200] I want to get to know her.
[00:55:44.200 --> 00:55:54.760] Just comment on my last post on Instagram and say, Hey, I heard you from Entrepreneur, and therefore I can send you a follow, I can shoot you a message, and we can connect further.
[00:55:54.760 --> 00:55:56.520] So thanks so much, Stephanie.
[00:55:56.520 --> 00:56:00.040] What you guys are doing, Entrepreneur, is truly amazing.
[00:56:00.040 --> 00:56:04.760] I do not take my community builder of the year award lightly.
[00:56:04.760 --> 00:56:15.920] And my goal is to continue to expand on all the things that me and you and both of our communities have in common, which is to help women see the best versions of themselves in their lives.
[00:56:15.920 --> 00:56:17.840] Yes, we all rise together.
[00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:21.200] And Mary, again, it is so incredible all you've accomplished.
[00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:24.960] Only bigger and bigger things ahead for you.
[00:56:24.960 --> 00:56:28.720] And thank you so much for spending the time to share your story and journey.
[00:56:28.720 --> 00:56:31.360] It's how we all learn from each other and can all move forward.
[00:56:31.360 --> 00:56:32.560] So thank you again, Mary.
[00:56:32.560 --> 00:56:34.480] And everyone, go ahead to the show notes right now.
[00:56:34.480 --> 00:56:40.320] You can tap through all of the links that Mary shared to go find her on Instagram, all over social.
[00:56:40.320 --> 00:56:42.480] She will connect with you over there.
[00:56:42.480 --> 00:56:47.120] And I'm Stephanie, and this is the best business meeting I've ever had.
[00:56:47.440 --> 00:56:48.720] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:56:48.720 --> 00:56:49.760] It's Steph here.
[00:56:49.760 --> 00:56:56.880] And I hope today's episode has left you feeling inspired and with some actionable tips that you can apply to your own business.
[00:56:56.880 --> 00:57:04.240] The way we've grown our community and resources is by sharing content like this for years and asking for help along the way.
[00:57:04.240 --> 00:57:09.760] So here's where we need your help so we can continue to make as much impact as possible together.
[00:57:09.760 --> 00:57:19.520] If you can leave us a five-star review and extra credit if you share this episode on Instagram, LinkedIn, or DM it to a founder friend who would benefit from hearing it.
[00:57:19.520 --> 00:57:26.800] Not only would it mean the world to us, but you sharing this episode is going to help someone who just may need to hear what we share today.
[00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:29.840] And you know I love nothing more than giveaways and prizes.
[00:57:29.840 --> 00:57:36.560] So every month I'll be giving away a one-on-one session with me to someone who has shared the episode and left a review.
[00:57:36.560 --> 00:57:44.320] So send me a personal DM over on Instagram at Steph Jill Carton once you've done it so you can be entered to win.
[00:57:44.320 --> 00:57:50.080] Wishing you a productive week ahead, and stay tuned for another impactful episode next week.

Prompt 2: Key Takeaways

Now please extract the key takeaways from the transcript content I provided.

Extract the most important key takeaways from this part of the conversation. Use a single sentence statement (the key takeaway) rather than milquetoast descriptions like "the hosts discuss...". 

Limit the key takeaways to a maximum of 3. The key takeaways should be insightful and knowledge-additive. 

IMPORTANT: Return ONLY valid JSON, no explanations or markdown. Ensure:
- All strings are properly quoted and escaped
- No trailing commas
- All braces and brackets are balanced
Format: {"key_takeaways": ["takeaway 1", "takeaway 2"]}

Prompt 3: Segments

Now identify 2-4 distinct topical segments from this part of the conversation.

For each segment, identify:
- Descriptive title (3-6 words)  
- START timestamp when this topic begins (HH:MM:SS format)
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Most important Key takeaway from that segment. Key takeaway must be specific and knowledge-additive.
- Brief summary of the discussion

IMPORTANT: The timestamp should mark when the topic/segment STARTS, not a range. Look for topic transitions and conversation shifts.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted, no trailing commas:
{
  "segments": [
    {
      "segment_title": "Topic Discussion", 
      "timestamp": "01:15:30",
      "key_takeaway": "main point from this segment",
      "segment_summary": "brief description of what was discussed"
    }
  ]
}

Timestamp format: HH:MM:SS (e.g., 00:05:30, 01:22:45) marking the START of each segment.

Prompt 4: Media Mentions

Now scan the transcript content I provided for ACTUAL mentions of specific media titles:

Find explicit mentions of:
- Books (with specific titles)
- Movies (with specific titles)  
- TV Shows (with specific titles)
- Music/Songs (with specific titles)

DO NOT include:
- Websites, URLs, or web services
- Other podcasts or podcast names

IMPORTANT: 
- Only include items explicitly mentioned by name. Do not invent titles.
- Valid categories are: "Book", "Movie", "TV Show", "Music"
- Include the exact phrase where each item was mentioned
- Find the nearest proximate timestamp where it appears in the conversation
- THE TIMESTAMP OF THE MEDIA MENTION IS IMPORTANT - DO NOT INVENT TIMESTAMPS AND DO NOT MISATTRIBUTE TIMESTAMPS
- Double check that the timestamp is accurate - a timestamp will NEVER be greater than the total length of the audio
- Timestamps are given as ranges, e.g. 01:13:42.520 --> 01:13:46.720. Use the EARLIER of the 2 timestamps in the range.

Return ONLY valid JSON. Ensure all strings are properly quoted and escaped, no trailing commas:
{
  "media_mentions": [
    {
      "title": "Exact Title as Mentioned",
      "category": "Book",
      "author_artist": "N/A",
      "context": "Brief context of why it was mentioned",
      "context_phrase": "The exact sentence or phrase where it was mentioned",
      "timestamp": "estimated time like 01:15:30"
    }
  ]
}

If no media is mentioned, return: {"media_mentions": []}

Full Transcript

[00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:05.680] Hey, Entrepreneurs, it's Steph here with a special invite just for you.
[00:00:05.680 --> 00:00:10.800] Do you want to experience what it's like to be part of our Entrepreneursa League community of founders?
[00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:12.400] Now is your chance.
[00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:21.360] You can join me this month at one of our upcoming Entrepreneursa League info sessions where I'm going to share with you all you're going to get access to when you join the community.
[00:00:21.360 --> 00:00:27.040] Plus, I'll be giving away some big bonuses that you will only be able to get access to when you attend live.
[00:00:27.040 --> 00:00:35.600] Head over to refer.entreprenista.com forward slash info session to join us at one of our virtual info sessions this month.
[00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:40.640] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash info session.
[00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:44.560] Or head over to the show notes right now and tap the link to join us.
[00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:49.120] I can't wait to meet you there and learn more about you and your business.
[00:00:50.080 --> 00:00:55.920] I needed support community, someone to reach their hand down and pull me up.
[00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:59.920] And now I'm always reaching my hand down to pull someone else up.
[00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:16.000] Mary Seats is the founder of the Icing Agency and the Bakery Co-Work, a co-working space designed for women entrepreneurs.
[00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:22.560] From a young age, Mary showcased her entrepreneurial spirit by selling handmade Barbie clothes to all of her friends.
[00:01:22.560 --> 00:01:33.200] Despite facing challenges, including being fired from her own company, Mary persevered and created a thriving business and is an Entrepreneurista 100 award winner.
[00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:40.800] She is dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs, fostering community, and breaking barriers for minority women in business.
[00:01:40.800 --> 00:01:45.840] Get ready to hear Mary's story and her biggest business secrets.
[00:01:46.160 --> 00:01:51.440] Coming up, you'll hear how Mary launched her first business with only $300.
[00:01:51.440 --> 00:01:56.800] Mary shares how she scaled her first company to $4 million in revenue.
[00:01:56.800 --> 00:02:00.680] You'll learn about the challenges of working with major retailers.
[00:01:59.600 --> 00:02:06.120] Mary details the hard lessons learned about navigating contracts and partnerships.
[00:02:06.440 --> 00:02:12.920] And finally, Mary discusses her current fundraising efforts for expanding the bakery co-work.
[00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.680] This is the Entrepreneur Podcast presented by Social Fly.
[00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:27.400] It's the best business meeting you'll ever have with must-hear real-life looks at how leading women in business are getting it done and what it takes to build and grow a successful company.
[00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:33.240] It's beyond the Graham with no filters, no limits, and plenty of surprises.
[00:02:38.920 --> 00:02:43.720] Mary, I am so excited to finally be recording this episode.
[00:02:43.720 --> 00:02:46.360] This has been a long time in the making.
[00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:57.240] And for our entrepreneurs who haven't met you yet, I have to share with everyone that you were one of our Entrepreneursa 100 winners and our community builder of the year winner.
[00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.320] And we got to meet this year at Founders Again.
[00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:00.360] Yes, I love it.
[00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:02.120] So so excited to have you on.
[00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.680] If you get to see this, I'm holding my award.
[00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:07.880] But if you are listening, I'm holding my award.
[00:03:07.880 --> 00:03:08.520] Yes.
[00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:14.040] You are so incredible and you've accomplished so much in your career as an entrepreneur.
[00:03:14.040 --> 00:03:22.840] And I want to get down to all of the good stuff and learn how you have been able to make all of these incredible business dreams an actual reality.
[00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:26.360] But I want to go a little bit further back than starting your first business.
[00:03:26.360 --> 00:03:28.520] Let's go back to early Mary.
[00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:30.040] Were you a born entrepreneurista?
[00:03:30.040 --> 00:03:33.000] Did you always know that you wanted to start a business one day?
[00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.520] Oh my God.
[00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.920] So I didn't really know that I wanted to start a business, right?
[00:03:38.920 --> 00:03:47.840] But I, a couple of years ago, found a picture of me and my grandmother at seven years old, laying on the floor with all of my Barbies in front of it.
[00:03:44.360 --> 00:03:50.320] And it said, dresses by Mary.
[00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:55.280] And I had took scrap fabrics and socks and I made Barbie clothes.
[00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:58.960] So I guess that was the first journey of entrepreneurship.
[00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:09.120] At seven years old, I was going into first grade and second grader selling Barbie clothes to all of my friends for whatever that they would exchange it for.
[00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:15.680] And so like, I guess that was my first experience into like childhood entrepreneurship.
[00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.200] But I honestly, growing up, I didn't know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur.
[00:04:19.200 --> 00:04:21.760] I knew that I wanted to be a music artist.
[00:04:21.760 --> 00:04:27.920] And I felt like my biggest outlet for my pain and childhood trauma was in the music.
[00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:30.240] And so that's what I thought I was going to be.
[00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:33.360] I thought I was going to be this huge music artist.
[00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:43.600] And then I knew that business would come from that, but I didn't set out to own a clothing company or a marketing agency or a co-working space or any of those other things.
[00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:44.640] Not at all.
[00:04:44.640 --> 00:04:47.120] So what was your career path like?
[00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.160] What led you to ultimately start your first business?
[00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:53.360] Oh my goodness, my career path was wild.
[00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:58.160] So I started early on my freshman year of high school.
[00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:02.560] I went on to open up as the opening act for a really big tour.
[00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:08.160] And this had teenagers going crazy all around the U.S.
[00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:10.400] So I got to open up on that tour.
[00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:19.920] And that's what it started me to understand the value of relationships and the value of owning your personal brand and branding, which is, I didn't know then at the time was a thing.
[00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:23.680] But okay, when I wear pink, then everybody knows me as the girl in pink.
[00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:27.360] And like, oh, if I wear my hair this way, people will remember me.
[00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.280] So that's kind of what started it.
[00:05:29.280 --> 00:05:50.200] And I went on tour to open up for so many artists like nikki minaj i work with rihanna like the list goes on and on when it came to the music world okay so i end up in senior year of college And now I'm going to school for fashion merchandising with a double minor in business management and marketing.
[00:05:50.200 --> 00:05:53.480] Really don't know what I'm going to do, but my dad said I had to go to college.
[00:05:53.480 --> 00:05:56.600] So, hey, let me at least pick a couple of fun things that I could do.
[00:05:56.600 --> 00:06:05.480] I'm getting out of college and I meet this huge Disney star at my job, which I was working as a head stylist at Top Shop.
[00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:09.800] I meet this Disney star and I meet her publicist and she's like, hey, we may go on tour.
[00:06:09.800 --> 00:06:11.560] We may need some extra hands.
[00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:18.840] And I go on tour with her to Europe and I leave with this $30,000 check in my hand.
[00:06:18.840 --> 00:06:20.120] And I don't know what to do with it.
[00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:23.640] I'm like, oh my God, dad, take me to the Range Rover dealership.
[00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:26.680] I want a pink Range Rover like Perrence Hilton.
[00:06:26.680 --> 00:06:28.840] And my dad's like, yeah, no.
[00:06:28.840 --> 00:06:34.440] What about starting a business or what about doing something like paying off college?
[00:06:34.440 --> 00:06:35.720] I'm like, boring.
[00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:36.200] Okay.
[00:06:36.200 --> 00:06:44.920] So I call around to a couple of friends that had businesses and I ended up meeting with this guy that when I was a music artist, he sponsored all of my clothing.
[00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:59.800] From there, he's like, yeah, okay, you can give me a little bit of money to buy into my company, which at that time was about to close because he had multiple retail stores and he just didn't have any sense of marketing.
[00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:07.720] He didn't know how to like get people in his stores, and the trends were changing so quickly and he needed what I had to offer.
[00:07:07.720 --> 00:07:15.360] So, we partnered up on this retail store, me fresh out of college, not knowing anything about entrepreneurship or owning a business.
[00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:19.360] But what I did know is I knew how to get awareness.
[00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:27.920] I knew how to bring, as a music artist, your job is to bring people to an empty nightclub on a Friday night and fill it up.
[00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:29.440] And that's how you make your money.
[00:07:29.440 --> 00:07:34.080] And so, I knew how to get brand awareness to the brand.
[00:07:34.080 --> 00:07:35.680] And so, we partnered.
[00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:44.000] And here we go: a couple of years in, two years in, I see we start carrying this brand called Mary to the Mob that no longer is around.
[00:07:44.320 --> 00:07:46.080] That brand took off.
[00:07:46.080 --> 00:07:53.520] Like, every girl in Cleveland, Ohio was coming to our store from all around wanting this particular streetwear brand.
[00:07:53.520 --> 00:07:55.920] Mary, I have to ask you, why?
[00:07:55.920 --> 00:07:57.040] What did you do?
[00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:03.280] What was the marketing strategy that you did that made everyone know about this brand and want to come to the store?
[00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.000] At that time, men's streetwear was really, really big.
[00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:19.680] So, the women were coming into the store and taking a men's t-shirt, a size small, a size medium, and wearing it as a dress and putting like thigh-hat boots on to make up the space on the leg, right?
[00:08:19.680 --> 00:08:36.400] So, once we got the exact same vibe in a women's brand that said cool sayings and like really aggressive apparel, they wanted that and it wasn't sold anywhere else because we had distribution rights in Cleveland.
[00:08:36.400 --> 00:08:52.000] So, we had the exclusivity in that region, and that's how we made it super special and exciting because now there were shirts that had all these cool phrases for women that they weren't getting when they were buying it in the men's department.
[00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.160] So, that's how we made that brand blow up.
[00:08:54.160 --> 00:08:54.800] And guess what?
[00:08:54.800 --> 00:08:59.440] Out of nowhere, this founder decides, I don't want to sell this brand anymore.
[00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:01.240] I don't want to sell this apparel.
[00:08:59.680 --> 00:09:02.520] I'm going to move to swimwear.
[00:09:02.520 --> 00:09:03.800] And we're in Cleveland, okay?
[00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:05.560] Like it is cold half of the year.
[00:09:05.800 --> 00:09:10.440] So we couldn't really sell the swimsuits the way that we were selling the t-shirts.
[00:09:10.440 --> 00:09:16.520] I was sitting down one day and I was like, man, we have to get these women t-shirts going again.
[00:09:16.520 --> 00:09:17.880] I don't know what we should do.
[00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:19.560] And my friend's like, why don't you just make it?
[00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:21.400] Like, you used to be a music artist.
[00:09:21.400 --> 00:09:22.760] You have really cool sayings.
[00:09:22.760 --> 00:09:24.520] Like, why don't you just make the t-shirts?
[00:09:24.520 --> 00:09:25.720] I was like, no, no, no.
[00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:27.320] That's like too much investment.
[00:09:27.320 --> 00:09:28.760] It's so scary.
[00:09:28.760 --> 00:09:30.040] I don't know how to do that.
[00:09:30.040 --> 00:09:33.000] He's like, literally, you don't need a lot of money.
[00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:34.600] And I'm like, okay, how much do I need?
[00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:35.880] He's like, $500.
[00:09:35.880 --> 00:09:37.880] I was like, no, too scary, too scary.
[00:09:37.880 --> 00:09:39.480] He's like, okay, $300.
[00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.760] I was like, too scary.
[00:09:40.760 --> 00:09:46.760] Now, meanwhile, I just left tour making five figures, almost six figures on this tour.
[00:09:46.760 --> 00:09:52.920] Like, why is it scary that you're going to invest $300 in a brand new brand?
[00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:59.400] But it was just the fear and thinking that like, yes, this woman was successful, but I can't do that same thing.
[00:09:59.400 --> 00:10:00.680] And so he said, you know what?
[00:10:00.680 --> 00:10:05.560] I'll give you $150 because I believe in you so much and I know that this is going to work.
[00:10:05.560 --> 00:10:08.760] Once you make your money back, give me my $150 back.
[00:10:08.760 --> 00:10:10.200] I'm like, okay, cool.
[00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:10.680] Deal.
[00:10:10.680 --> 00:10:11.640] We have a deal.
[00:10:11.640 --> 00:10:13.240] I took $300.
[00:10:13.240 --> 00:10:15.000] I printed 30 t-shirts.
[00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.560] The saying was on my first launch.
[00:10:17.560 --> 00:10:19.560] It said, men are life parking spots.
[00:10:19.560 --> 00:10:23.080] The good ones are taken and the free ones are handicapped.
[00:10:24.680 --> 00:10:27.320] And that shirt went crazy.
[00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:41.320] Like, I think the time of the year, it was also just the season of like women being more expressive in their apparel and just like being able to wear things that you typically wouldn't say.
[00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:42.120] And we got those.
[00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:45.600] I used the relationships that I had to get them on a couple of influencers.
[00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.720] And our first year, we made $100,000 with that brand.
[00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:49.120] Wow.
[00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.720] What year was this?
[00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:52.960] This is in 2010.
[00:10:53.280 --> 00:10:55.840] So early days of social media.
[00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:56.320] Yeah.
[00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.800] So like we were on Facebook.
[00:10:58.800 --> 00:11:03.760] I mean, we were like past MySpace, new age Facebook.
[00:11:03.760 --> 00:11:08.480] And like once I launched my next collection, Instagram was just starting.
[00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:10.480] Okay, so tell me what happens next.
[00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:11.440] You have your first year.
[00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:13.360] You're doing six figures your first year.
[00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:14.880] Now, what happens?
[00:11:14.880 --> 00:11:16.400] We're doing six figures my first year.
[00:11:16.400 --> 00:11:20.320] My second year, we decided to go to a trade show called Magic Trade Show.
[00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:24.480] At that trade show, I ended up meeting this cool guy who's named my husband.
[00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:27.120] Now we literally met.
[00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.120] He had several retail stores.
[00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:33.440] I had this cool startup brand that was growing and we met.
[00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:36.800] It's funny because at that time I was already married.
[00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:40.800] And so he was just literally my buyer, just someone that I did business with.
[00:11:40.800 --> 00:11:46.720] And then four years later, we ended up getting divorced, getting another relationship, breaking up again.
[00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:48.240] And then we gave ourselves a try.
[00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:50.240] And now we've been together 11 years.
[00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.200] You never know where that important relationship is going to happen.
[00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:53.760] Always tell you.
[00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.320] Absolutely.
[00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.040] I had my booth at Magic Trade Show.
[00:11:59.040 --> 00:12:01.760] We got a purchase order from Nasty Gal.
[00:12:01.760 --> 00:12:08.480] We got a purchase order from so many amazing retailers that our brand continued to grow.
[00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:15.200] So we went from $100,000 to $1.4 million to $2.6 million.
[00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:19.520] Don't quote me on that one, to then $4 million in our fourth year.
[00:12:19.520 --> 00:12:26.960] And in our fourth year, we got a purchase order from Forever 21 that was around $1.4 million as well.
[00:12:27.280 --> 00:12:30.760] And that is what kind of sent me on the spiral.
[00:12:30.760 --> 00:12:36.600] So as we were growing, I was growing steadily within my capacity.
[00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:38.040] People loved my brand.
[00:12:38.040 --> 00:12:40.600] They loved me as well and my team.
[00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:50.760] And so they were willing because they knew that they couldn't get this type of apparel anywhere else, they were willing to fund the purchase order, which is almost unheard of in retail, especially from these big retailers.
[00:12:50.760 --> 00:12:52.920] They were giving me the money up front.
[00:12:52.920 --> 00:12:56.680] So if their order was $30,000, they were giving me $30,000.
[00:12:56.680 --> 00:13:09.960] Maybe they were giving me $15K in one week, but by the time I shipped the order, I had all of my money up front because they knew that I was too small to actually have the capital to produce the brand.
[00:13:09.960 --> 00:13:15.880] And our sell-throughs were so amazing, they didn't want to miss out on having the brand in their actual stores.
[00:13:15.880 --> 00:13:18.840] We got a huge purchase order from Sneaker Villa.
[00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:26.920] That company ended up selling in the middle of us getting our purchase order delivered to America.
[00:13:26.920 --> 00:13:31.800] This is the first time ever in history that I never took money up front.
[00:13:31.800 --> 00:13:38.520] I was funding the purchase order because it was one of the largest purchase orders I had got and I funded it myself.
[00:13:38.840 --> 00:13:45.880] They did a merge between Sneaker Villa and DTLR and they dropped all the independent brands.
[00:13:45.880 --> 00:13:49.880] So I'm calling Sneaker Villa's buyers the day that the order comes from China.
[00:13:49.880 --> 00:13:51.880] I'm like, hey, your inventory is in.
[00:13:51.880 --> 00:13:53.000] Your inventory is in.
[00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:56.680] And they're like, yeah, we don't need this inventory anymore.
[00:13:56.680 --> 00:13:58.520] We don't even own that store anymore.
[00:13:58.520 --> 00:14:00.600] It's now owned by DTLR.
[00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:02.760] I could have cried for like five days straight.
[00:14:02.760 --> 00:14:07.080] Now I tie up my bootstraps again and I'm like, okay, we're going to go at this again.
[00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:10.840] We get a purchase order, $1.4 million from Forever 21.
[00:14:10.840 --> 00:14:22.320] That sends us into needing to find an investor or a partner that is going to push forth this order because no independent company one cannot ship through Forever 21.
[00:14:22.560 --> 00:14:25.840] Their routing guide is set up for you to fail.
[00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:30.720] If you put your label on the right-hand side, it's like $50,000 off the purchase order.
[00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:35.680] If you put tape too thick on the box, it's like $20,000.
[00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:37.680] Well, let's talk about this right now.
[00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:52.880] So for our entrepreneurs who are selling into stores, Mary, talk to me about like the different requirements that you have to be able to fulfill and not mess up in order to actually sell into some of these retailers.
[00:14:52.880 --> 00:14:57.680] Yeah, so Forever 21 is a whole big beast, right?
[00:14:57.680 --> 00:15:18.720] There are some retailers like the Sneaker Villas, Foot Actions, DTLRs that we were shipping with that kind of understood that we are a small company and gave us a little bit of grace because they also knew that we were bringing so many new customers into their doors that they didn't want to lose that opportunity of coolness in their stores.
[00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.800] So they gave us a little bit of grace, right?
[00:15:20.800 --> 00:15:31.680] But in stores like Target, Forever 21, these big box retailers, there is no room for error in the way that their shipping process operates, right?
[00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:33.040] There's no room for error.
[00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:43.440] So literally, if you get a routing guide, which is bigger than this book, for those that are watching, bigger, like this is big.
[00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:50.160] If you get a routing guide, every single page, every single word must be followed, right?
[00:15:50.160 --> 00:15:59.040] If they say that you must ship each box one of one, one of three, one of five, it must be labeled that way.
[00:15:59.040 --> 00:16:04.280] It must be labeled on the box, or they're going to charge you back on the order.
[00:16:04.280 --> 00:16:08.040] So imagine a $1.4 million order.
[00:16:08.040 --> 00:16:20.920] If I ship it wrong, I could ultimately, even if the sell-throughs are high, even if they sell every single piece of inventory, I could then only make $500,000 because I shipped it wrong.
[00:16:20.920 --> 00:16:22.600] So it's a big risk.
[00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:24.040] It is a big risk.
[00:16:24.040 --> 00:16:33.400] Also, what people don't talk about in big box retailers like Walmart or like Target is you are paying to be on those shelves.
[00:16:33.400 --> 00:16:35.960] You are paying for every return that you get.
[00:16:35.960 --> 00:16:38.760] You are paying for every damaged product that is sent.
[00:16:38.760 --> 00:16:39.720] You are paying.
[00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:44.680] It's not like the opportunity that you see on Instagram when people are like walking into those targets.
[00:16:44.680 --> 00:16:51.800] Like, I'm in my 5,000, you know, this is my 5,000 Target or 500 Target location.
[00:16:51.800 --> 00:17:04.600] Yeah, but every single return, damage, product, every product that doesn't ship on time, if you send more than what was supposed to be sent, less than what's supposed to be sent, you're going to get charged back on those orders.
[00:17:04.600 --> 00:17:09.400] So people think that big box retailers is actually when you make it.
[00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:13.880] Sometimes people go to big box retailers and it's what actually takes them out of business.
[00:17:13.880 --> 00:17:15.160] It puts them out of business.
[00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.080] And I feel like people don't talk about that enough.
[00:17:17.080 --> 00:17:23.480] So I partnered with this distribution company that had an experience with operating with Forever 21.
[00:17:23.800 --> 00:17:25.400] We signed with them.
[00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:27.560] I got the PO in February.
[00:17:27.560 --> 00:17:41.720] We partnered with them in March because Forever 21 wanted the inventory in their stores for summer, which means that we had to move fast, like fast, fast, lightning fast to get it into their stores.
[00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:45.120] Well, I pack up my Atlanta apartment.
[00:17:44.840 --> 00:17:46.320] I moved to New York.
[00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:57.440] I signed with this company that now I go from eight individual employees to now 180 employees, also them operating in China.
[00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:02.000] And I'm just one of the founders in their conglomerate of other founders.
[00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.640] And y'all, within six months, I was fired from my company.
[00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:15.200] Six months, I was fired from my own company after not wanting to sell my company to an off-price retailer.
[00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:29.680] So, what happened was to give you a long, long, long story, but short, when I signed with the company, there was only one individual who knew how to read Forever 21's routing guide and had the relationship with Forever 21.
[00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:38.320] Whatever the issue that they had with him, because of the other brands that they worked with, they decided to let him go.
[00:18:38.320 --> 00:18:44.960] They promised to me that they would replace his role immediately and that we would not lose the Forever 21 order.
[00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:46.320] Well, that did not happen.
[00:18:46.320 --> 00:18:55.920] They did not replace his role, which means that in the long run, my projections were going to be off because we never shipped the Forever 21 order.
[00:18:55.920 --> 00:19:10.480] So they projected for me to come into the company and do $6 million that year with $1.4 million of that projection being the Forever 21 order, as well as all of the other orders that we were going to do.
[00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:29.760] But because they fired the guy, now I'm held to this heavy projection of $6 million that the only reason I'm with you is because you had the ability to scale my company further than what I could scale it, right?
[00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:38.760] I came up with a bright idea, which is to partner with this off-price retailer to sell them a lower-priced brand that is similar to my brand.
[00:19:38.760 --> 00:19:40.760] They wanted to carry Cupcake Mafia.
[00:19:40.760 --> 00:19:42.760] I didn't want them to carry Cupcake Mafia.
[00:19:42.760 --> 00:19:46.120] I was willing to give them a new brand called Sweet Cartel, right?
[00:19:46.120 --> 00:19:52.280] Sweet Cartel was this new trendy brand, and that would have been amazing for their company.
[00:19:52.280 --> 00:19:53.720] It was exclusive to them.
[00:19:53.720 --> 00:19:55.640] I had influencers and everything.
[00:19:55.640 --> 00:20:02.520] Right before we go to sign the deal, my partners decide: no, we think that's going to be too complicated.
[00:20:02.520 --> 00:20:05.160] We just would rather sell them your brand.
[00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:07.240] Wait, hold on.
[00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:10.120] Why are we selling them my brand?
[00:20:10.120 --> 00:20:12.760] Because we're going to ruin the company that way.
[00:20:12.760 --> 00:20:20.440] Like, who, no woman walks into off-price retailers and says, oh my God, I got the new hottest item off the shelf.
[00:20:20.520 --> 00:20:22.760] Like, no, that's not how it works.
[00:20:22.760 --> 00:20:31.000] And so we got into this whole argument about why I didn't want to sell them the brand, why I wanted to continue with the other brand that I created for them.
[00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:41.720] And that's what ultimately led to them saying, well, we're going to fire you, own your company, because you're a B member on a board and A members have rights.
[00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:48.040] We're going to fire you and we'll take this on and be able to do whatever we want to do.
[00:20:48.040 --> 00:20:57.160] And so that left me on an airbed above my retail store without even being able to use my name, trademark, likeness, or anything.
[00:20:57.480 --> 00:21:00.680] How did that happen in terms of what was put in place?
[00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:05.160] What did you sign initially that gave them the ability to be able to do that?
[00:21:05.480 --> 00:21:13.080] So I essentially signed over the rights for them to own my company.
[00:21:13.080 --> 00:22:46.760] I signed over the rights for them to own my ip and the way that they had oh my god talking about it gives me well we're gonna we're gonna break down all the learning lessons we all go through these learning lessons to be able to help others we're gonna use it as a learning opportunity absolutely the way that they had it broke up right they had it made to scam young founders new founders that don't really understand the value that they have in the marketplace they don't really understand yes i built a four million dollar company at that time but i was in my 20s and i didn't know what scaling looked like i didn't know what exiting looked like i didn't know what raising capital or how to build a sustainable business i didn't know what it looked like so they built their contracts for this reason right and i'm not the first founder that they fired they fired seven founders before me that i didn't know about and all to take the likeness of cool brands and then either sell them or operate them until they are watered down and the brand is no longer cool how they had me sign they had me sign one a contract for my ip and and ownership as a founder right what i did not know was that cupcake mafia the ownership of cupcake mafia was now under cupcake mafia a holding company i thought on my contract that i own 60 of my company.
[00:22:46.760 --> 00:22:49.400] I did own 60% of my company.
[00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.440] I own 60% of my company.
[00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:57.240] That is only 30% of the holding company.
[00:22:57.240 --> 00:23:06.520] So I really only owned 30% of the 60% that the holding company was operating.
[00:23:06.520 --> 00:23:07.880] I didn't understand this.
[00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:09.560] I didn't know that when I signed in.
[00:23:09.560 --> 00:23:19.000] When it said 60% of Cupcake Mafia, I'm like, yes, because I'll be the main decision maker and I'll have final authority.
[00:23:19.000 --> 00:23:23.640] But then on the other contract, it says that I'm an employee.
[00:23:23.640 --> 00:23:29.800] I am the CEO that is employed by this holding company.
[00:23:29.800 --> 00:23:34.760] And so I could easily be fired because I was an employee.
[00:23:34.760 --> 00:23:45.960] And in that employee contract, it says that I'm a B member on the board and A members have the right to vote off any B members for any reason.
[00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.040] Did you have a lawyer at the time?
[00:23:48.360 --> 00:23:49.320] Okay.
[00:23:49.640 --> 00:23:58.680] So most retail brands are signing deals, partnerships, collaborations between February and August.
[00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:03.640] Those are the biggest months because that's when the trade shows are, right?
[00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:10.040] And so my lawyer was so busy with other deals when I wanted to get into this.
[00:24:10.040 --> 00:24:13.240] He kept saying, just hold off, just hold off, just hold off.
[00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:16.200] And I'm like, Peter, I cannot hold off.
[00:24:16.200 --> 00:24:21.640] Like, this is literally life or death within my company if we don't ship to Forever 201.
[00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:24.680] So I let them hire a lawyer for me.
[00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:25.960] And I just trusted.
[00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:33.400] I'm like, I looked up, you know, I wish ChatGPT was there then, but I looked up, can other companies hire a lawyer for you?
[00:24:33.400 --> 00:24:36.680] And they represent them double dip essentially.
[00:24:36.680 --> 00:24:40.600] And they were like, you know, no, there's no, you know, mutual representation.
[00:24:40.600 --> 00:24:41.640] And I was like, okay.
[00:24:41.960 --> 00:24:49.760] I was like, oh, I want to also have maybe like a minority lawyer that he can understand where I come from and like my background.
[00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:59.040] But one thing that he did say, he was like, if this all goes wrong, which I've seen it go wrong before, do you have a backup plan?
[00:24:59.040 --> 00:25:05.520] And my answer was, yes, I would have made so much money that I would easily create another company.
[00:25:05.520 --> 00:25:07.280] Of course, I have so many ideas.
[00:25:07.280 --> 00:25:08.800] I have this, I have that.
[00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:10.400] He was like, okay.
[00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:14.400] And so I just signed my life away.
[00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:21.920] But what I will say that I learned from all of this, I feel like in the darkest times of your life is when you really find the light.
[00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:25.600] That was the darkest moment of my life.
[00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:27.520] And that is when I found the light.
[00:25:27.520 --> 00:25:28.720] That is when I really believed him.
[00:25:28.800 --> 00:25:30.320] I started to believe in myself.
[00:25:30.320 --> 00:25:34.480] That is when I really understood my gift, my calling from God.
[00:25:34.800 --> 00:25:37.040] And that is when I got closer to God.
[00:25:37.040 --> 00:25:40.240] On the airbed, everything opened up.
[00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:46.080] Up next, Mary shares her vision for the bakery co-work after a major setback.
[00:25:53.360 --> 00:25:54.640] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:25:54.640 --> 00:25:55.680] It's Steph here.
[00:25:55.680 --> 00:26:02.320] As a founder, I know firsthand that building a business can feel so lonely, but it doesn't have to.
[00:26:02.320 --> 00:26:06.960] And that's why we created our Entrepreneursa Founders Weekend Wealth and Wellness Retreat.
[00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:09.120] And I can't wait to meet you in person there.
[00:26:09.120 --> 00:26:23.280] So you're officially invited to join us from April 30th to May 3rd, 2026 at the stunning PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, for three transformative days of connection, collaboration, and real business growth.
[00:26:23.280 --> 00:26:25.440] This isn't just another business conference.
[00:26:25.440 --> 00:26:33.880] It is a curated retreat designed to help you build authentic, lasting relationships with women who truly understand your journey.
[00:26:33.880 --> 00:26:40.680] From business panels and workshops to wellness activations and so much more, this is the room that you need to be in.
[00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:52.120] So if you are ready to invest in yourself and your business and your vision and your next level of success, head over to entrepreneursa.com forward slash founders weekend to reserve your ticket today.
[00:26:52.120 --> 00:27:00.440] That's entrepreneur.com forward slash foundersweekend or head over to the show notes right now and tap the invitation to reserve your ticket.
[00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:01.800] I'll see you there.
[00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:13.640] This is what I wrote on the airbed.
[00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:16.760] This is November 20th, 2015.
[00:27:16.760 --> 00:27:27.400] The bakery co-work for women to bake dreams together, co-work podcasts, photo studio offices, conference room, in-house cafe, in-house services, one-stop shop for women.
[00:27:27.400 --> 00:27:30.360] Women will bake their dreams together in one building.
[00:27:30.360 --> 00:27:33.560] I will exit the company itself for over $50 million.
[00:27:33.560 --> 00:27:35.320] We will have franchises everywhere.
[00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:39.320] We will start our first location 15,000 square feet in Atlanta.
[00:27:39.320 --> 00:27:41.320] This is on an airbed, you guys.
[00:27:41.320 --> 00:27:44.680] This is before I even had a building.
[00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.920] This is before I even had a plan, a blueprint, or anything.
[00:27:48.920 --> 00:28:04.200] And here we are, three years into operating the bakery and now on our, now opening our second location and doing everything that I wrote, scribbled on this piece of paper from an airbed of dreams that were manifesting in my mind.
[00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:10.720] And so I went on from sleeping on an airbed to saying, I'm going to save retail for women.
[00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:11.040] Right.
[00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:16.960] And from there, I literally bought my company back in April of the very next year.
[00:28:13.640 --> 00:28:21.280] So I got fired in November and I bought my company back in April.
[00:28:13.880 --> 00:28:21.360] Bought my company back.
[00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:24.720] My husband's like, babe, where do you want to go for your birthday?
[00:28:24.720 --> 00:28:25.520] I'm like, to China.
[00:28:25.520 --> 00:28:26.080] He's like, what?
[00:28:26.080 --> 00:28:26.960] You want to go to China?
[00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:27.680] Why?
[00:28:27.680 --> 00:28:29.920] I'm like, because I want to just go out there.
[00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:32.240] I went to China with one address.
[00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:39.120] This address was where one of my stores in Dubai that was carrying my brand, they needed to ship a package back.
[00:28:39.120 --> 00:28:45.440] And my partners fought with me about giving me this one address because they didn't want to ship it back to America.
[00:28:45.440 --> 00:28:47.280] They were like, we could just ship it to China.
[00:28:47.280 --> 00:28:49.280] And that's much cheaper and much easier.
[00:28:49.280 --> 00:28:50.960] And they fought with me about this address.
[00:28:50.960 --> 00:29:00.160] And because they fought with me so hard to give me the address, I always kept it because it was like something about this address is so important to them that they didn't want to give it to me.
[00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:01.040] So I'm going to keep it.
[00:29:01.040 --> 00:29:04.400] And I held that address like closely to my heart.
[00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:07.760] My husband booked flights to China, hotels to China, all around this address.
[00:29:07.760 --> 00:29:11.920] We don't know what is in this address or what we're going to see when we get there.
[00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:18.240] But one day I just showed up to Guangzhou for two weeks and I said, I'm going to buy a factory in China.
[00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:20.080] I don't know how I'm going to do it.
[00:29:20.080 --> 00:29:36.960] I don't know where I'm going to do it, but I'm going to buy a factory because what they told me in the beginning when we partnered with them was that I would own my own factory to do women's apparel because their factory for the men's apparel was messing up all of my samples, no matter with the proper tech packs.
[00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:44.640] So they were like, well, we're going to take this amount of money out of the account that we owe you and we're going to put it towards your own factory.
[00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:50.800] So in my mind, this address that I have is the factory or is the warehouse that we own together.
[00:29:50.800 --> 00:29:53.600] And so I show up one day at this factory, you guys.
[00:29:53.600 --> 00:30:01.160] And when I tell you, I am nervous because my partners, my old partners, were also in and out of China.
[00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:03.640] Like they would just wake up and go to China.
[00:29:59.840 --> 00:30:06.200] So I could literally, he could literally open the door.
[00:30:06.520 --> 00:30:07.800] What am I going to say?
[00:30:07.800 --> 00:30:10.840] You know, what did it feel like when you walked in there?
[00:30:10.840 --> 00:30:24.040] I knocked on the door and Annie, who was our production manager for the time that we were there and obviously has been with him for years, opens the door and she's like, Mary, where have you been?
[00:30:24.040 --> 00:30:26.760] Like, what's going on with Cupcake Mafia?
[00:30:26.760 --> 00:30:27.960] What's going on with the brand?
[00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:29.800] We haven't heard anything about it.
[00:30:29.800 --> 00:30:31.480] I haven't seen you in months.
[00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.760] What's going on?
[00:30:32.760 --> 00:30:40.600] And I was like, oh, like, girl, they sent me out here like to check on things, you know, like I didn't really even know what to say.
[00:30:40.600 --> 00:30:42.520] I didn't know how she was going to respond.
[00:30:42.520 --> 00:30:51.160] But what I did know was that this was my opportunity to get as much information and as much help as I could possibly do.
[00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:53.240] And I told her, I was like, I'm looking to buy a factory.
[00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:55.000] She's like, oh, is Mike looking to buy a factory?
[00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:56.520] I was like, kind of.
[00:30:56.840 --> 00:30:58.520] And she's like, yeah, okay, great.
[00:30:58.520 --> 00:31:02.360] Let me show you how we do this and how we looked at this and how we looked at that.
[00:31:02.360 --> 00:31:17.240] And literally, that is how I found my partner for my factory in China that I operated for three years owning a factory in China, helping small independent brands not get middleman, like not experience that.
[00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:25.240] So not only from an Airbed was I running a factory, essentially, well, at this point, I'm not on the Airbed anymore.
[00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.840] We just bought our home.
[00:31:26.840 --> 00:31:29.640] So from the Airbed, I started managing a talent.
[00:31:29.640 --> 00:31:33.880] The second thing I did from the Airbed was I started teaching.
[00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:35.720] I'm like, people got to know about this.
[00:31:35.720 --> 00:31:37.080] Like, how didn't I know?
[00:31:37.080 --> 00:31:43.560] Why is it that when I Google founders getting fired from their company, why is it only Steve Jobs that comes up?
[00:31:43.560 --> 00:31:50.240] Like, why is there no tools or information or resources for people to know how not to get done this way?
[00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:50.800] Right.
[00:31:50.800 --> 00:31:55.280] And so I started teaching and I created a community called Girl Mob from an Airbed.
[00:31:55.280 --> 00:32:02.640] I would literally get up off my airbag, go into the dining room of our apartment, office, showroom, whatever you want to call it at that time.
[00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:04.880] And then I would just teach on Periscope.
[00:32:04.880 --> 00:32:11.360] And like, I built a really big community because I was so vulnerable and authentic about my story.
[00:32:11.360 --> 00:32:14.400] And then from there, that community grew into people.
[00:32:14.400 --> 00:32:25.600] But it started with just me teaching on Periscope and me having people come to my retail store on Sundays and pay $25 to just cover the payroll for my staff.
[00:32:25.600 --> 00:32:28.000] Like that's kind of how it started.
[00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.560] And then I get a call one day after I just bought my company back.
[00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:38.960] I get a call of the off-price retailer that heard that I got fired from my company.
[00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:43.040] And they're like, hey, we have a really amazing opportunity for you.
[00:32:43.040 --> 00:32:44.720] I'm like, okay, what's up?
[00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:56.880] And then she's like, we have a contract for you to be a consultant as a marketing agency to bring in new innovative brands into our company and create private label products for us.
[00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:00.400] I'm like, girl, I want an airbag above my retail store.
[00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.640] I don't have no marketing agency.
[00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:05.680] And I don't, I don't know what you're talking about.
[00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:08.240] Like, I'm just trying to buy my company back.
[00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:09.440] That's all I'm trying to do.
[00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:11.600] And she's like, I'll call you back.
[00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:15.600] Hung up, called me on her cell phone and was like, Mary, you are the person.
[00:33:15.600 --> 00:33:18.480] Like, we've interviewed so many companies.
[00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.880] They don't have the connections that you have.
[00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:26.400] They don't have the relationships, the information of the industry, the wit, the edginess.
[00:33:26.400 --> 00:33:27.440] They don't have any of it.
[00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:29.040] Like, you have it all.
[00:33:29.040 --> 00:33:31.880] Google, how to create a marketing agency.
[00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:38.760] You have 24 hours to get us back the name, the LLC, and we're going to interview you for this contract.
[00:33:38.760 --> 00:33:40.120] I'm like, okay.
[00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.480] I like hung up the phone.
[00:33:41.480 --> 00:33:51.320] I went upstairs to my photographer and graphic designer who I still had on board because we were still making apparel, but just not using the Cupcake Mafia licensing.
[00:33:51.320 --> 00:33:52.200] So I still had them.
[00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:54.280] I was like, guys, I have a big opportunity.
[00:33:54.280 --> 00:33:55.560] We have to create a marketing agency.
[00:33:55.560 --> 00:33:57.480] They're like, what?
[00:33:57.480 --> 00:33:58.280] I'm like, yeah.
[00:33:58.280 --> 00:33:59.160] And we're the team.
[00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:00.200] You're the photographer.
[00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.480] You're the graphic designer.
[00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:02.760] I'm the CEO.
[00:34:02.760 --> 00:34:03.880] We're a marketing agency.
[00:34:03.880 --> 00:34:04.840] Let's come up with a name.
[00:34:04.840 --> 00:34:08.920] They're like, Cupcake icing agency.
[00:34:08.920 --> 00:34:13.080] I'm like, perfect, because we have the recipe for all of your marketing needs.
[00:34:13.080 --> 00:34:14.280] They're like, great.
[00:34:14.280 --> 00:34:15.320] I like call her back.
[00:34:15.320 --> 00:34:16.840] I'm like, we're ready.
[00:34:16.840 --> 00:34:18.120] I get an LLC.
[00:34:18.120 --> 00:34:19.960] She's like, I interview for the role.
[00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:21.160] They're like, do you know this brand?
[00:34:21.160 --> 00:34:22.360] Do you know this brand?
[00:34:22.360 --> 00:34:23.320] Do you know this founder?
[00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:23.880] I'm like, yes.
[00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:24.600] They're like, great.
[00:34:24.600 --> 00:34:26.360] The contract is yours.
[00:34:26.360 --> 00:34:35.880] That is what gave me the money to buy my company back, as well as my husband, boyfriend at the time helped too.
[00:34:35.880 --> 00:34:40.520] But the majority of it came from that particular deal.
[00:34:40.520 --> 00:34:45.080] So without that, I could have never got Cupcake Mafia back, right?
[00:34:45.080 --> 00:34:49.320] And so from there, I built this blueprint for the bakery.
[00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:50.600] I owned a marketing agency.
[00:34:50.600 --> 00:34:53.480] Now I had a digital company called Girl Mob.
[00:34:53.480 --> 00:35:00.120] And I also had this retail store called Cupcake Mafia, but that didn't sell Cupcake Mafia products because I didn't own the license anymore.
[00:35:00.120 --> 00:35:03.160] But I still own the IP to the store.
[00:35:03.160 --> 00:35:04.440] Crazy.
[00:35:04.440 --> 00:35:11.480] And year after year, I just continued to grow and pivot through all of the challenges that were thrown at me.
[00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:16.880] And so every day when I wake up, I'm like, I cannot believe I own all of these businesses.
[00:35:17.200 --> 00:35:19.920] And some days I'm like, what am I doing?
[00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:26.480] But I honestly feel like, you know, God has given me all of these businesses and they're all serving and helping people.
[00:35:26.640 --> 00:35:28.640] It's so amazing all that you've done.
[00:35:28.640 --> 00:35:33.600] And you were able to just pack all those years into 20 minutes here.
[00:35:33.600 --> 00:35:35.520] I have so many questions for you, Mary.
[00:35:35.520 --> 00:35:48.320] And I didn't want to stop to interrupt your flow when you were sharing and when you pulled out that paper of what you wrote down about starting the bakery co-work in 2015 on that air mattress.
[00:35:48.320 --> 00:35:51.840] And you have now built exactly what you wrote.
[00:35:51.840 --> 00:36:02.640] Like, how does that feel knowing that this vision that you came up with while you were laying there after one of the hardest moments in your life, you've now turned into a reality?
[00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:06.800] Honestly, I can't even put it in words, right?
[00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:11.600] I wrote this idea after actually going to another co-working space.
[00:36:11.600 --> 00:36:14.800] At that time, I was on the airbed and I just craved community.
[00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:17.760] I just was like, I got to find other people that have been through this.
[00:36:17.760 --> 00:36:25.600] Like, if I can't find it on Google, maybe it's out, maybe it's like getting out of my house, getting out off of the airbed and like going somewhere.
[00:36:25.600 --> 00:36:30.960] And I heard about this cool co-working space that my friend had joined in LA and I flew out there.
[00:36:30.960 --> 00:36:34.880] And immediately getting there, it was like I felt at home.
[00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:38.480] Like I felt like I found my tribe, this tribe that I was looking for.
[00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:44.000] But by the end of that two days that I was there, I was racially profiled there.
[00:36:44.000 --> 00:36:49.520] And I heard a lot of things that other women were saying about that space.
[00:36:49.520 --> 00:36:50.720] And it broke my heart.
[00:36:50.720 --> 00:36:59.960] Like, it broke my heart that I'm using my last money to fly to LA to crave this community and to get around other women founders.
[00:36:59.960 --> 00:37:03.720] And I've done so much with my life, and I've done so much with my career.
[00:36:59.840 --> 00:37:06.600] And you're judging me by the color of my skin.
[00:37:06.920 --> 00:37:08.120] Are we our ancestors?
[00:37:08.200 --> 00:37:10.040] You know, like, where are we here now?
[00:37:10.040 --> 00:37:15.960] Like, we're in the, we're in 2020, like, we're in a new age, and you're judging me.
[00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:22.520] Like, you're telling me not to take my purse in the bathroom of your co-working space because of the color of my skin.
[00:37:22.520 --> 00:37:23.800] Like, are you serious?
[00:37:23.800 --> 00:37:25.480] And it broke my heart and it left me.
[00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:28.120] And that's when I got back to Atlanta.
[00:37:28.120 --> 00:37:29.640] That's when I wrote this plan.
[00:37:29.640 --> 00:37:38.760] I wanted to create a space where women could come together, despite what the color of their skin is, despite what their religious political beliefs are any of that is.
[00:37:38.760 --> 00:37:42.120] At the end of the day, we still have the same inside.
[00:37:42.120 --> 00:37:52.520] If we take this skin off, if we take this hair off, if we take the physical features that makes us different, we are still moms balancing lives.
[00:37:52.520 --> 00:37:55.640] We're still wives balancing lives and emotions.
[00:37:55.640 --> 00:37:59.960] And we're still trying to figure it out every single day.
[00:37:59.960 --> 00:38:07.480] No matter what the color of our skin, no matter what our religion is, no matter who we pray to, no matter who we vote for, at the core, right?
[00:38:07.480 --> 00:38:10.440] We are still women facing the same opposition.
[00:38:10.440 --> 00:38:14.520] We still get less than 1% of funding, right?
[00:38:14.840 --> 00:38:18.360] Until we cut our hair and we show up in a suit.
[00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:20.680] Well, we're here to change that.
[00:38:20.680 --> 00:38:22.440] We're changing all of that, right, Mary?
[00:38:22.760 --> 00:38:23.480] Yes.
[00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:34.680] And so I wrote this plan down because I was like, why is there not a space where women can go and get everything they need and resources, community, connections, funding, capital?
[00:38:34.680 --> 00:38:36.600] Why is there not a place like that?
[00:38:36.600 --> 00:38:38.040] It's really my baby goal.
[00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:46.400] Like, I know that what people probably deem me most successful at is marketing, but really, my goal is to connect women together.
[00:38:44.760 --> 00:38:50.400] Like we are really all the secret ingredient in somebody else's recipe.
[00:38:50.720 --> 00:38:54.480] It is so true without community and connection and collaboration.
[00:38:54.480 --> 00:38:57.600] Like you can't build a business alone by yourself in a room.
[00:38:57.600 --> 00:38:58.960] You need that support.
[00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:03.920] You need that mentorship and to be around other people to learn from and to grow.
[00:39:03.920 --> 00:39:09.600] Like imagine if you had had community when you started your first business, like you might not have made those mistakes.
[00:39:09.600 --> 00:39:10.480] Now you've learned a lot.
[00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:11.680] We've all learned a lot, right?
[00:39:11.680 --> 00:39:14.400] From what you shared and we've all gone through these really hard times.
[00:39:14.400 --> 00:39:20.880] But now that we have communities like Entrepreneur, like Bakery Cowork, there's other communities out there.
[00:39:20.880 --> 00:39:23.360] Just join them to learn and to grow.
[00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:29.200] Like that's how we're all going to move forward and change that one to 2% figure as well.
[00:39:29.200 --> 00:39:30.160] Absolutely.
[00:39:30.160 --> 00:39:31.440] Absolutely.
[00:39:31.440 --> 00:39:32.160] I love that.
[00:39:32.160 --> 00:39:35.040] And that's exactly why I joined Entrepreneur as well.
[00:39:35.040 --> 00:39:38.480] I have a community called Girl Mob, but my community is different.
[00:39:38.480 --> 00:39:46.480] And especially everybody that is a leader of a community, if you are leading a community right now, please go and join another community, right?
[00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:50.960] One, you're going to be able to see, oh my God, like you're going to be re-inspired.
[00:39:50.960 --> 00:39:53.840] The teacher also needs a teacher.
[00:39:53.840 --> 00:39:57.360] So when I found Stephanie, I'm like, oh my God, it's so much more I could be doing.
[00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:59.200] Like I'm settling over here.
[00:39:59.200 --> 00:40:06.080] And then when I see what she's doing and then she sees what I'm doing, like it's a power in collaboration.
[00:40:06.080 --> 00:40:08.880] Yes, there's so much business and opportunity out there.
[00:40:08.880 --> 00:40:17.120] So the more we're able to come together and collaborate, I still remember when we were sitting at the pool at Founders Weekend the day after it ended and we were talking about different ideas.
[00:40:17.120 --> 00:40:21.280] And I remember you shared with me, you're like, oh, I have a lot of our members like help lead things.
[00:40:21.280 --> 00:40:22.320] And you shared ideas with me.
[00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:23.920] I'm like, oh my God, that's a great idea.
[00:40:23.920 --> 00:40:25.200] I never thought of that.
[00:40:25.200 --> 00:40:27.680] So we're all able to help each other.
[00:40:27.680 --> 00:40:37.880] So no matter what type of business you have for all of our incredible entrepreneurs that are listening to this episode right now, just remember there's other people who are there to help you and want to support you.
[00:40:37.880 --> 00:40:39.400] There's enough business out there for everyone.
[00:40:39.400 --> 00:40:40.840] We're not all competing.
[00:40:40.840 --> 00:40:41.640] For sure.
[00:40:41.640 --> 00:40:42.360] Absolutely.
[00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:47.960] Everybody, even if you quote unquote sell the same thing, the ingredients and the recipe is different.
[00:40:47.960 --> 00:40:48.920] Absolutely.
[00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:50.840] I posted this on Instagram recently.
[00:40:50.840 --> 00:40:56.120] So I was looking at my counter in my bathroom and I'm like, I have like 50 different products there.
[00:40:56.120 --> 00:40:59.400] It's not like I'm just buying one product over and over again.
[00:40:59.400 --> 00:41:00.920] And that's the only brand I buy from.
[00:41:00.920 --> 00:41:03.000] We're consumers of so many different products.
[00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:06.920] Like look at all the things behind you on the screen and behind me here right now.
[00:41:06.920 --> 00:41:08.440] We all buy tons of stuff.
[00:41:08.440 --> 00:41:14.440] So the more we can collaborate together with other like-minded brands and founders, I'll say it until I die.
[00:41:14.440 --> 00:41:17.080] Like there's just more opportunity together for sure.
[00:41:17.080 --> 00:41:18.680] Absolutely, for sure.
[00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:26.520] Mary, tell me about some of your favorite business tools and solutions that have really helped you streamline your operations and your businesses.
[00:41:26.520 --> 00:41:27.320] Absolutely.
[00:41:27.320 --> 00:41:32.680] So the first one I would have to say is Triannual.
[00:41:32.680 --> 00:41:47.320] So I was like, even at $17 million in revenue, even at $20 million in revenue, even at $30 million in revenue collectively, we were a hot mess as a company on the back end.
[00:41:47.320 --> 00:41:50.440] We did not have, oh, these are our policies.
[00:41:50.440 --> 00:41:52.040] These are our trainings.
[00:41:52.040 --> 00:41:55.000] This is our mission statement values.
[00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.800] Like we were just like, come to work, be on time, and you're going to get paid.
[00:41:59.800 --> 00:42:00.840] Like, you know?
[00:42:00.840 --> 00:42:05.800] So one, we created our operational processes in Triangle.
[00:42:05.800 --> 00:42:11.560] So now everybody can stop coming to me for things that I have said multiple times.
[00:42:11.560 --> 00:42:24.800] So every time there is a SOP that needs to be changed or altered, or if I see something happening multiple times, immediately I go into Triangle and I update our SOP because your company is ever changing.
[00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:26.080] You are ever changing, right?
[00:42:26.080 --> 00:42:29.600] Like our branding color may move from a pink shade.
[00:42:29.600 --> 00:42:34.080] And then like as we hire new graphic designers, our pink will change and change and change.
[00:42:34.080 --> 00:42:40.160] And I have to remind them to like, no, hey guys, please go back to the original branding guide.
[00:42:40.160 --> 00:42:42.880] Here is the SOP for our colors, you know?
[00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:49.600] So like Traanuel is definitely one because it houses everything that my team is looking for.
[00:42:49.600 --> 00:42:50.880] And it's so beautiful.
[00:42:50.880 --> 00:42:54.640] They feel like they're coming into a company that they can actually grow with.
[00:42:54.640 --> 00:42:57.280] I think the second one would be Manny Chad.
[00:42:57.280 --> 00:42:58.320] I love Manny Chat.
[00:42:58.320 --> 00:43:07.920] Before Manny Chat, I hated our social media algorithm, but I feel like Manny Chat has really helped our social media algorithm because we can now give freebies.
[00:43:07.920 --> 00:43:10.400] We can now make it easy for people to find things.
[00:43:10.400 --> 00:43:12.960] So Manny Chat is an amazing tool.
[00:43:12.960 --> 00:43:14.160] We've been using that one too.
[00:43:14.160 --> 00:43:15.280] It's so good.
[00:43:15.280 --> 00:43:16.880] I love, love, love Manny Chat.
[00:43:16.880 --> 00:43:25.600] Rocket Money is like a slept on girl that's not good at girl math.
[00:43:25.600 --> 00:43:27.600] This is the app that you need, right?
[00:43:27.600 --> 00:43:28.880] I have a CFO.
[00:43:28.880 --> 00:43:29.760] I have a CPA.
[00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:31.040] I have all the things.
[00:43:31.040 --> 00:43:34.560] But for me, I operate with a creative brain.
[00:43:34.560 --> 00:43:37.520] My brain is very creative.
[00:43:37.520 --> 00:43:41.680] So I will think, oh, for this conference, we want this kind of stage, this type of thing.
[00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:49.120] And like Rocket Money is able to tell me how much I'm spending, where I'm spending the money on, how much I'm saving.
[00:43:49.120 --> 00:43:50.560] And it motivates me, right?
[00:43:50.560 --> 00:43:53.680] Like, so we go to Bali every year for Christmas.
[00:43:53.680 --> 00:43:57.440] This is the third year we've done it with me and my husband and my kids.
[00:43:57.440 --> 00:44:02.520] When I'm in Bali and our team is off for two months or two weeks, right?
[00:43:59.840 --> 00:44:06.520] It tells me you've saved this large amount of money.
[00:44:06.680 --> 00:44:07.880] I'm like, whoa.
[00:44:07.880 --> 00:44:11.640] So it lets me know that this is a really good thing that we're doing.
[00:44:11.640 --> 00:44:19.480] Instead of going and buying all these Christmas gifts and running around like crazy, if we just go to Bali and we collect more memories, right?
[00:44:19.480 --> 00:44:29.640] We're saving money because the currency rate is way different and we're living like queens and kings for like not a lot over in Bali.
[00:44:29.640 --> 00:44:30.920] So it's better.
[00:44:30.920 --> 00:44:35.880] So Rocket Money has literally gave me a full idea of where my money goes.
[00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:39.080] And I just think that every person needs to have it on their phone.
[00:44:39.480 --> 00:44:41.240] I haven't heard, I had not heard of Rocket Money before.
[00:44:41.240 --> 00:44:43.800] So I'm excited to go check out that platform.
[00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:49.160] So I love, I love learning all the tools all of our founders are using.
[00:44:49.160 --> 00:44:51.560] Mary, talk to me about the fundraising process.
[00:44:51.560 --> 00:44:55.720] I know that you're currently raising capital for the bakery co-work.
[00:44:55.720 --> 00:45:02.920] And I would love to hear, you know, a bit about the process of actually raising capital, some of your learning lessons.
[00:45:02.920 --> 00:45:09.080] And then, of course, for those that could be interested in investing in the bakery co-work, share more about it.
[00:45:09.080 --> 00:45:10.120] Absolutely.
[00:45:10.120 --> 00:45:13.080] Yeah, I'm super excited about what we've built.
[00:45:13.080 --> 00:45:16.600] So the first thing I wanted to do is make sure we had a proof of concept.
[00:45:16.600 --> 00:45:19.000] So I didn't start raising until after three years.
[00:45:19.000 --> 00:45:20.760] We are fully profitable.
[00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.880] I invested in the business all myself.
[00:45:23.880 --> 00:45:25.080] We don't have any partners.
[00:45:25.080 --> 00:45:27.240] I don't have any debt for the business.
[00:45:27.240 --> 00:45:31.160] It's fully profitable and it is a very unique model.
[00:45:31.160 --> 00:45:36.040] So there are six different ways that we make revenue within the bakery co-work.
[00:45:36.040 --> 00:45:37.080] So I'm super excited.
[00:45:37.080 --> 00:45:40.200] So no one can say, oh, what about WeWork?
[00:45:40.200 --> 00:45:40.920] It didn't work.
[00:45:40.920 --> 00:45:45.760] Well, then one, you invested in the wrong founder and the wrong business model.
[00:45:44.920 --> 00:45:50.800] Our co-working space has six ways that we bring revenue into the business.
[00:45:51.120 --> 00:45:57.920] So there's no, there's no investor that could ever think, oh, well, what if COVID happens again and people can't co-work?
[00:45:57.920 --> 00:45:58.880] No problem.
[00:45:58.880 --> 00:46:00.480] This is another stream of revenue.
[00:46:00.480 --> 00:46:02.080] This is another stream of revenue.
[00:46:02.080 --> 00:46:05.600] In Atlanta, we have not had a decrease in events.
[00:46:05.600 --> 00:46:09.200] Our event space is booked up until January.
[00:46:09.200 --> 00:46:12.320] In Atlanta, people are going to do photo shoots.
[00:46:12.320 --> 00:46:13.760] You're going to create content.
[00:46:13.760 --> 00:46:19.680] Every CPG brand needs new product photos, needs new influencer UGC content.
[00:46:19.680 --> 00:46:21.040] And that's what we produce here.
[00:46:21.040 --> 00:46:23.280] People are going to record their podcast.
[00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:29.360] People are going to come out and have a coffee in a cafe or sitting with other like-minded people.
[00:46:29.360 --> 00:46:33.280] We have not had an issue with selling tickets to our in-house events.
[00:46:33.280 --> 00:46:37.920] So there's so many different ways that revenue comes into the bakery co-work.
[00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:45.040] So we've had so many amazing meetings with potential investors, and now we're just looking to close around.
[00:46:45.040 --> 00:46:49.200] So we are raising $3 million in our seed round.
[00:46:49.200 --> 00:46:52.880] And it's to open our second location, which is in Houston.
[00:46:52.880 --> 00:46:57.360] And then it's also to infuse the tech inside of our brand.
[00:46:57.360 --> 00:47:00.960] So we have a new cool app that we are launching called the Bakery app.
[00:47:00.960 --> 00:47:05.840] It's actually called Bake and it's for women to be able to bake their ideas together.
[00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:10.480] We truly believe that one dreams are baked here and dreams will be baked on our app.
[00:47:10.480 --> 00:47:16.400] And then also that women have the secret ingredient to someone else's recipe.
[00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:24.480] So, like, you can make a cake, and maybe I have the sugar, but Stephanie has the flour, and Courtney has the, you know, the spatula.
[00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:26.480] I need all of those tools.
[00:47:26.480 --> 00:47:39.080] And so, and on our app that we're looking to launch with the seed round of funding, once we close it, it will allow women to all the tools necessary to be able to bathe together and grow their dreams.
[00:47:39.080 --> 00:47:39.560] I love it.
[00:47:39.560 --> 00:47:40.760] I have the chills right now.
[00:47:40.760 --> 00:47:50.040] Well, definitely send over your investor deck and I'll send it to some people I know who could be interested because this is how connections and collaborations happen, even live on podcast recordings, right?
[00:47:50.360 --> 00:47:51.080] Absolutely.
[00:47:51.080 --> 00:47:52.520] And I'm super excited.
[00:47:52.520 --> 00:47:55.000] It definitely, some things that I would tell you I struggle with.
[00:47:55.000 --> 00:48:00.120] I think I struggle with, I don't want to say imposter syndrome, but maybe confidence, right?
[00:48:00.120 --> 00:48:03.000] Confidence in trusting investors again.
[00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:03.880] People know me.
[00:48:03.880 --> 00:48:09.800] People know that whatever I put my mind to, especially if I invested in myself, is going to be successful, right?
[00:48:09.800 --> 00:48:20.600] Like every single company that I have launched with blood, sweat, tears, lots of resilience, lots of tears, but they all became profitable.
[00:48:20.600 --> 00:48:21.400] They all scaled.
[00:48:21.400 --> 00:48:23.080] They're all doing amazing.
[00:48:23.080 --> 00:48:25.400] I know how to make money.
[00:48:25.400 --> 00:48:32.600] What I'm looking for is strategic investors that now are able to say, okay, well, this is how we scale it more strategically.
[00:48:32.600 --> 00:48:34.280] This is how we bring in new partners.
[00:48:34.280 --> 00:48:38.520] This is how we bring in someone that sponsors our water and this and that.
[00:48:38.520 --> 00:48:44.920] So it was a lot of confidence in like, oh, is the same thing that happened to me in my 20s going to happen again?
[00:48:44.920 --> 00:48:48.760] Is someone going to take my company, not believe in my company?
[00:48:48.760 --> 00:48:50.200] So I had to get over that.
[00:48:50.200 --> 00:49:06.360] I took a year of mentorship, a year of really finding myself, understanding what I brung to the marketplace, having those really hard meetings with VCs and angel investors to now being like, I know what I have is amazing.
[00:49:06.360 --> 00:49:10.920] And you guys will be, I'll be laughing at you guys once we exit this company.
[00:49:10.920 --> 00:49:13.880] And so will the other investors that believed in me.
[00:49:13.880 --> 00:49:20.160] Coming up, Mary shares the importance of investing in minority women entrepreneurs.
[00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:30.400] Founders are always asking us, what has been the secret to our success building multiple seven-figure businesses?
[00:49:30.400 --> 00:49:31.840] Do you want to know how?
[00:49:31.840 --> 00:49:33.520] It's our community.
[00:49:33.520 --> 00:49:41.120] We created the Entrepreneurista League for founders like you because the most successful entrepreneurs do not navigate business alone.
[00:49:41.120 --> 00:49:46.960] We navigate the challenges and opportunities with the support of people we know, love, and trust.
[00:49:46.960 --> 00:49:50.800] The relationships you build in business will be the key to your success.
[00:49:50.800 --> 00:49:52.960] Trust me, it's how we've done it.
[00:49:52.960 --> 00:49:58.640] And I'm giving you access to everything we've used to grow and scale our businesses over the past decade.
[00:49:58.640 --> 00:50:02.960] Plus, you're going to meet your new best friends in business right inside the community.
[00:50:02.960 --> 00:50:25.360] Our members have access to everything we've used to grow our businesses over the past 10 plus years, from in-person events to virtual events, business education, funding resources, office hours with myself and other top founders in your industry, press opportunities, and access to our community platform where you can instantly get all of your business questions answered.
[00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:32.080] You can join us in the community over at refer.entreprenista.com forward slash join us.
[00:50:32.080 --> 00:50:37.840] That's refer.entrepranista.com forward slash join us to join the community.
[00:50:37.840 --> 00:50:41.280] Or head to the show notes right now and tap the link to join.
[00:50:41.280 --> 00:50:43.200] I cannot wait to meet you.
[00:50:44.160 --> 00:50:56.560] I was talking to one of our members, and I was sharing with her like this mindset shift of thinking, okay, anyone who is investing in my company, you're giving them the opportunity to invest.
[00:50:56.560 --> 00:51:00.360] Like, they should be so lucky that you're giving them that opportunity.
[00:51:00.360 --> 00:51:03.160] So, it's not about like being scared, like, oh, I need to talk to this investor.
[00:51:03.160 --> 00:51:03.640] I'm nervous.
[00:50:59.840 --> 00:51:05.160] It's like, no, you need to own it.
[00:51:05.320 --> 00:51:09.320] Like, you're giving them this opportunity to be part of something amazing.
[00:51:09.320 --> 00:51:19.320] And that's why having this mindset and confidence is so important when you're raising capital, because investors are giving you the money because they believe in you.
[00:51:19.320 --> 00:51:26.120] Yes, they need to believe in the mission and the business as well, but they're not going to give you money if they don't believe in you.
[00:51:26.120 --> 00:51:26.760] Yes.
[00:51:26.760 --> 00:51:34.360] And I honestly, I'm doing this not just for the success and the exit and all the things.
[00:51:34.360 --> 00:51:39.720] I'm doing this because I want to show every single minority girl that grew up how I grew up, right?
[00:51:39.720 --> 00:51:41.160] Like, I came from the hood.
[00:51:41.160 --> 00:51:42.120] I grew up with nothing.
[00:51:42.120 --> 00:51:47.640] I grew up with not a good relationship with my mother, no real mentorship, no real guidance.
[00:51:47.640 --> 00:51:51.960] I want to show every minority girl that has a dream that they can do it.
[00:51:51.960 --> 00:51:55.000] And I want to show other people, right?
[00:51:55.000 --> 00:52:01.800] Our allies that to invest in minority women, invest in women in general.
[00:52:01.800 --> 00:52:14.120] But specifically, I want to show them that because for every person that I, that a VC or angel investor that I sit across the table from, that's thinking, hmm, I mean, I don't know, I don't know.
[00:52:14.120 --> 00:52:17.960] And they believe in me and say, I'm going to invest in her.
[00:52:17.960 --> 00:52:41.000] I'm going to make it so much easier for every other brown girl that sits across the table from those VCs, that sits across the tables from those venture capitalists and from those firms that have those dollars that are choosing to not invest in brown women, minority women, not just black women, but brown women in general, because they're like, hmm, I don't know, I don't know.
[00:52:41.000 --> 00:52:49.120] They may not have the college education, they not, but they have the grit, but we have the tenacity, but we have the resilience though.
[00:52:49.440 --> 00:52:53.520] Trust me, like if we, we're already doing it for ourselves, right?
[00:52:53.520 --> 00:53:00.800] I've already grown a marketing agency to over collectively in nine years over $100 million in revenue.
[00:53:00.800 --> 00:53:03.280] So why wouldn't I do it for my new company?
[00:53:03.280 --> 00:53:14.400] So I just really, whether I need the funding or not, I want to do it to make it easier for more brown women to sit when they're sitting across the table.
[00:53:14.400 --> 00:53:24.320] They're going to think, wow, well, we invested in Mary and Mary gave us a five that we invested in Mary and Mary went on to do this and Mary went on to do this.
[00:53:24.320 --> 00:53:27.920] So now let me give Ashley an opportunity and let me give this.
[00:53:27.920 --> 00:53:30.080] And that's how we break the generation.
[00:53:30.080 --> 00:53:37.600] That's how we break this 1% and less than 5.5% in funding for minority women.
[00:53:37.600 --> 00:53:51.120] That's how we break it by showing people like myself and Mayell and Courtney Adelaide, other brown women that venture capitalists invested in that, wow, they went on to do something amazing.
[00:53:51.120 --> 00:53:56.880] Let me open the, let's put our shoulders down to investing in more brown women.
[00:53:56.880 --> 00:54:05.440] Well, we're doing it and we're here to help you and help make all of this happen because our missions are so aligned and it is so important.
[00:54:05.440 --> 00:54:07.120] Mary, last question for you.
[00:54:07.120 --> 00:54:09.920] What does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
[00:54:09.920 --> 00:54:15.280] Oh my gosh, being an entrepreneur means so much to me.
[00:54:15.280 --> 00:54:21.280] Being an entrepreneur means reaching my hand down to pull someone else up, no matter where you are.
[00:54:21.280 --> 00:54:25.040] That honestly is what I needed when I first started.
[00:54:25.040 --> 00:54:30.840] I needed support community, someone to reach their hand down and pull me up.
[00:54:29.840 --> 00:54:34.200] And now I'm always reaching my hand down to pull someone else up.
[00:54:34.520 --> 00:54:37.960] And I feel like that's what the entrepreneur community does as well.
[00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:39.480] They're always reaching their hand.
[00:54:39.560 --> 00:54:42.840] Steph has put me in group chat and say, Hey, this is somebody she needs this.
[00:54:42.840 --> 00:54:43.960] This is somebody she needs that.
[00:54:43.960 --> 00:54:51.000] And like, she doesn't have to do that, but she's reaching her hand down or over or to the side and pulling me in.
[00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:55.240] And I think that's what being an entrepreneur means to me most.
[00:54:55.400 --> 00:54:56.040] I love it.
[00:54:56.040 --> 00:54:58.600] Mary, where can everyone find you, follow you?
[00:54:58.600 --> 00:55:06.200] And for those that might be interested in learning more about investing in the bakery co-work, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?
[00:55:06.200 --> 00:55:07.000] Yes.
[00:55:07.000 --> 00:55:18.360] So if you're interested in investing in the bakery co-work, you guys can email me, Mary at theicingagency.com or info at thebakerycoork.com.
[00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:21.720] You can also find us on Instagram, the bakery co-work.
[00:55:21.720 --> 00:55:23.720] You can find me on all channels.
[00:55:23.720 --> 00:55:32.920] Literally, if you just Google Miss Skittles, M-Z, S-K-I-T-T-L-E-Z, Miss Skittles, you can see everything that I have going on.
[00:55:32.920 --> 00:55:35.880] It's amazing to be able to be on this podcast.
[00:55:35.880 --> 00:55:38.120] I'd love to know where my new followers came from.
[00:55:38.120 --> 00:55:42.760] So if you are listening to this podcast and you're like, oh my God, I love Mary.
[00:55:42.760 --> 00:55:44.200] I want to get to know her.
[00:55:44.200 --> 00:55:54.760] Just comment on my last post on Instagram and say, Hey, I heard you from Entrepreneur, and therefore I can send you a follow, I can shoot you a message, and we can connect further.
[00:55:54.760 --> 00:55:56.520] So thanks so much, Stephanie.
[00:55:56.520 --> 00:56:00.040] What you guys are doing, Entrepreneur, is truly amazing.
[00:56:00.040 --> 00:56:04.760] I do not take my community builder of the year award lightly.
[00:56:04.760 --> 00:56:15.920] And my goal is to continue to expand on all the things that me and you and both of our communities have in common, which is to help women see the best versions of themselves in their lives.
[00:56:15.920 --> 00:56:17.840] Yes, we all rise together.
[00:56:14.840 --> 00:56:21.200] And Mary, again, it is so incredible all you've accomplished.
[00:56:22.000 --> 00:56:24.960] Only bigger and bigger things ahead for you.
[00:56:24.960 --> 00:56:28.720] And thank you so much for spending the time to share your story and journey.
[00:56:28.720 --> 00:56:31.360] It's how we all learn from each other and can all move forward.
[00:56:31.360 --> 00:56:32.560] So thank you again, Mary.
[00:56:32.560 --> 00:56:34.480] And everyone, go ahead to the show notes right now.
[00:56:34.480 --> 00:56:40.320] You can tap through all of the links that Mary shared to go find her on Instagram, all over social.
[00:56:40.320 --> 00:56:42.480] She will connect with you over there.
[00:56:42.480 --> 00:56:47.120] And I'm Stephanie, and this is the best business meeting I've ever had.
[00:56:47.440 --> 00:56:48.720] Hi, Entrepreneurs.
[00:56:48.720 --> 00:56:49.760] It's Steph here.
[00:56:49.760 --> 00:56:56.880] And I hope today's episode has left you feeling inspired and with some actionable tips that you can apply to your own business.
[00:56:56.880 --> 00:57:04.240] The way we've grown our community and resources is by sharing content like this for years and asking for help along the way.
[00:57:04.240 --> 00:57:09.760] So here's where we need your help so we can continue to make as much impact as possible together.
[00:57:09.760 --> 00:57:19.520] If you can leave us a five-star review and extra credit if you share this episode on Instagram, LinkedIn, or DM it to a founder friend who would benefit from hearing it.
[00:57:19.520 --> 00:57:26.800] Not only would it mean the world to us, but you sharing this episode is going to help someone who just may need to hear what we share today.
[00:57:26.800 --> 00:57:29.840] And you know I love nothing more than giveaways and prizes.
[00:57:29.840 --> 00:57:36.560] So every month I'll be giving away a one-on-one session with me to someone who has shared the episode and left a review.
[00:57:36.560 --> 00:57:44.320] So send me a personal DM over on Instagram at Steph Jill Carton once you've done it so you can be entered to win.
[00:57:44.320 --> 00:57:50.080] Wishing you a productive week ahead, and stay tuned for another impactful episode next week.