MomsRTheBest.net is many things. It is a blog, a calendar of workshops and other events, an online store, and more. Owner Cheryl Wood took time out of her busy schedule to speak with MyCity4Her about her company.
Cheryl decided to go into business for herself when she grew tired of getting up at 5am to get three kids ready in addition to getting ready for her full-time job as a legal secretary. Despite help from her husband, she was still rushing. She felt as though she was leaving a rushing legacy for her children. Cheryl would sit in her car and the tears would just roll down her face. She knew it wouldn’t happen overnight, but she needed to replace this income.
Cheryl decided to start with a small business—a t-shirt company—and it just opened up so many doors and so many opportunities. She launched her business in a year and a half; Cheryl didn’t know how big she could actually grow her business. She received honors for it, and began thinking about how she could move from a t-shirt company and expand into a motivational speaking business.
She didn’t want it to be something that she would make a quick buck on; she brainstormed and thought about what the one thing she was truly passionate about was. She discovered it was motherhood. It was then that the idea came to inspire other women through expression and put cute and fancy slogans on -shirts. She began selling her shirts at different events and when she would go out and vend, she would meet the Mom’s who fell in love with the t-shirts and the slogans they adorned. They would have conversations and that opened her up to start speaking more. She realized she had the power to inspire people in this way, and it grew from there. Cheryl no longer vends her shirts, though she has them for sale in a boutique in Rockville, MD and will be going in two more boutiques in the near future.
Facebook has been a great tool in expanding her business. It has allowed her to connect with a lot of organizations and network with a lot of different people. People stop by her webpage, Women’s Empowerment Zone, daily for positive inspiration and motivation.
The best advice Cheryl received along her business-building journey was, “Networking with positive like-minded people who recognize your vision and your mission and want to support it. It’s not what you know – it’s who you know. It’s that right person that can open a door, help you get to the next level. Effective networking is the key to success – have to connect with people who can help you get to the next level,” she said.
She said in hindsight, there were some thing she underestimated. She thought that she could really reach her full potential without a bunch of degrees and certifications and that she could use her God-given talent as a way of doing something that would earn a living. She also learned not to put down school, but she was amazed to see that once she showed up, people listened up.
In five years, Cheryl would like to be on a speaking circuit. She hopes to be recognized as a national empowerment speaker for women and moms. She wants to be able to share her experiences with as many women as possible and encourage them to take themselves off the backburner while still selling shirts, promoting her book, How I Flat-Lined and Woke Up in 45 Days-A Guide to Empowered Living.
“The thing I love most is the look on the women’s faces as I’m sharing my story and watching them get inspired ,” Cheryl says. “Helping people realize they have what they need within is the best.”
Cheryl will be speaking at the Fabulous Moms: Women In Small Business Expo at the Mall in Columbia on March 12 and 13.