Fearless Faith: A Candid Conversation w/ Monique Rodriquez

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host, Christophernaine Hazen and this is the Keep It Positive Sweetie Show. Monique Rodriguez has shattered the glass ceiling in the beauty world with her Mayel Organic's brand. As the founder and CEO, Monique transformed her personal tragedy into a thriving, purpose driven enterprise. Her journey from registered nurse to a leading global beauty brand is a testament of resilience, faith, and unwavering determination. In her new book, The Glory in Your Story, activating a fearless faith to change your life, your career, and the world, she shares intimate insights into overcoming adversity and finding purpose through pain. Monique's story is not just about business success. It's about inspiring others to embrace their own narratives and pursue their dreams fearlessly. Join us as we delve into her incredible journey and the lessions she's learned, and how she's empowering others to find the glory in their own stories. Kiss Found, Let's welcome Monique Rodriguez. Monique, thank you so much for coming today.

00:01:05
Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be.

00:01:07
Speaker 1: Here me too. We got to hang out for the first time really together for fashion Weed. Yes you guys, mo Nick allowed me to come to the Tom Brown share with her.

00:01:15
Speaker 3: I didn't allow you. You just show up and show it out. Your presence was it was definitely needed to be there.

00:01:21
Speaker 1: Thank you. I had a blast. It was like one of the most amazing shows I've ever seen. So that was a great time. But fashion has become a part of your personal brand. When did you really get into fashion? I know you have Jeremy who was an incredible stylas, but when did you really decide this is something that's a part of me and I love it.

00:01:39
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:01:39
Speaker 3: So you know what's funny, So my mom her passion is fashion. Really so I grew up she was like a seamstress. She was so you know, garments that she would pick it up, put it back down because you know, she wasn't in an environment where she thought it was something that she can pursue. So I would see her pick it up all the time and just you know, stop. And she always instilled in us like you have to be well dressed, you have to be well manerable, you have to be poised and well put together, like don't walk outside looking crazy, make sure your hair is comb don't have a bond it on. So she always made sure that we were super well dressed. And even though like when I look back, I know she couldn't afford some of the clothes that she was buying us, she would put stuff on Lowa so we can have the best type of material and outfits like when we would start school. So that was just impressionable to me at a young age. So becoming an adult, I've always loved to dress up. Like I love to dress up, and I love to feel like it was nice and thank you and so to you. So it's just an extension of just really who I am. So people may look at it as a personal brand, but it's really me, Like I am such a girly girl, like you will probably always see me in like a skirt or a dress. I wore jeans one time, and like people look, I mean like I had three faces because they're like, I've never seen you with jeans, are right, But I'm just like a girl girl. So I love dressing up. It's just a part of who I am.

00:03:07
Speaker 1: And your girls, they just they're adorable the way they dress you do? So you picked that up on your mom the way that cause they are stylists, they look so cute all the time. Yes, I love that, so what about you me? Honestly, my mom used to make my dresses as well. Yeah, when I was a kid and we had Layoway too, Yes, but she made my outfits. And I'm from a small town, so I used to like get my inspiration from TV and magazines. Like We're in the grocery store in the line, I'm picking up Ebony and Vibe and all those magazines and Essence and reading through them like, oh this, I need this outfit. So we have to go to Memphis, like two hours away to get to the nicest mall so that I could like get certain things that I wanted. Oh wow, you were two hours fromis two hours no, mam, where I'm from.

00:03:50
Speaker 2: So because you started as a stylist.

00:03:51
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah here in Atlanta. Yeahs ain't that crazy? Yeah yeah, came to the town with no mom. It is now, and I feel like, even from a young age, it was a part of how I expressed myself. Now you'll see me in jeans. I'm a tomboy at heart, so you'll see me in jeans, baggy sweatpants, and it all kind of just expresses how I feel like today I came in and I was in pink. Maybe your girliness is running off because I came in here looking real cute like girl is today. Other days, my I have an allo like sweatsuit that I caught. My uniform, I having all different colors and I wear that like almost every day.

00:04:25
Speaker 2: I wouldn't have took you, as I thought you were like a girly girl. I would do your dressed up though.

00:04:29
Speaker 1: Yeah that's for pictures, okay, yeah, you know have like that on Instagram. It is like this is me ninety nine percent of the time, like no makeup, hair looking crazy, and then like the one percent you're on Instagram.

00:04:42
Speaker 3: Like, I mean that's me too. But I said, I just cleaned up. Well, we clean up very well. Yes, it was really fun, and I was hoping that you was coming to Paris, but I know you're such a busy lady.

00:04:54
Speaker 1: You know.

00:04:54
Speaker 3: That was like I was planning out. We don't have so much fun. I'm with you, You're not coming, You're.

00:05:00
Speaker 1: Like no, yeah, yes, duty called. I had to get ready for work and I had twenty two scripts that landed on my desk that I had to learn. So I was like, go have fun in pairs and get back and not know my lines or be ready for what plays the bills.

00:05:14
Speaker 2: So I had to priority I will always be there, Yes, it.

00:05:17
Speaker 1: Will yes, and we can go again some of the time. I would love that. I would love that. So thank you for taking the time. Of course, I'm so excited to dive into everything about your new book and just talk to you about your journey and everything you have going on. Yeah, but I want to start from the beginning. You are from the South Side of Chicago. That from the stories I've heard, that is a rough side of town, like I always hear like stories of down Chicago, and Michelle Obama is from there, and I read her book and I was like, oh, okay, it's a very interesting place to grow up. What was it like for you, because I know everybody has different experiences in different places.

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Speaker 3: What was the South Side of Chicago like for you? So Chicago gets a bad rap. It's really a beautiful city, rights you know, It's where I'm from, It's where I grew up. I feel it's what built the character and the grit inside of me, right, yea. I feel that the best entrepreneurs also come from Chicago because Chicago is a different breed. Like if you can weather the below zero temperatures and still come out on top, you know, and wait for the summer in the springs time to come.

00:06:21
Speaker 2: You're gonna be alright in life.

00:06:24
Speaker 3: But outside of the you know, the weather, it's a beautiful city. Right the skyline, I feel like we have the most beautiful skyline in the entire country. But you know, there are some rough parts. I think with any city, any major city you go to, like, there's going to be some rough parts. And you know, I was I don't know if I was fortunate and then I can say fortunate, but I was able to see both sides of Chicago. You know, I talk about this a lot in my book, how I grew up and you know what I've experienced with my dad, and that was the rough side of Chicago where you know, I was around drug addicts and processes and at that time, back in the day, it used to be called the low End and that's where like the projects were, and I was able to see different people from different walks of life. Like I didn't grow up in the projects, but I was around the projects and down there because that's where my dad, you know, would purchase his drugs. So I feel like it just it has taught me to be a well rounded individual and to learn how to manage and be in all different rooms and settings and work with all different walks of life, because you know, that's how I grew up. I know how to be with the best of them, and I know how to be with the lowest of them.

00:07:37
Speaker 1: So no, I love that.

00:07:39
Speaker 2: It's resilience.

00:07:40
Speaker 1: It is. I can see that. I can see that because I love to show the shy, and I guess that shows like a different It shows you different sides of Chicago's well. Leaning does a really good job of showing you the political side and I guess the higher end of it, and then also the crime and the disparities that go on in that city. But I've always been fascinated with the city and the people that come out of it. So to know that that's where you're from as well, it was like it makes sense.

00:08:06
Speaker 3: Yeah, like I know how to pull out South Simonique. I'm trying to keep her back there. You know, I'm a professional.

00:08:12
Speaker 1: So okay, South Simonique is what was the moment that you can recall where South Simonique tried to creep out?

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Speaker 2: Oh, in my professional life, yeah, you know it can.

00:08:23
Speaker 3: It tries, you know, when I faced criticism or when I have trolls on social media that feel like they are entitled to say certain things, or you know, people that may also try me, like in the public or in doing an interview, and I feel that, you know, I can politically correct check someone, but still it remains poised and peaceful about it. And so I feel that, like in business, being a professional, like you have to be able to not go there or not pull out the South Simonique. She has to stay back there because I'm also a represent a representative of God's kingdom. I'm a representative for my kids, and I have to lead by example.

00:09:10
Speaker 2: But it's tempting, and.

00:09:11
Speaker 3: I think we're all tempted to pull that person out. But it comes with self discipline, self awareness to be like, you know what, I'm gonna just pray for you and do we fall short of course absolutely, Like I'm sure you have had instances where you may want to just jap out on somebody on social media, and I have like commented back on certain things and I'll go back and I'm convicted and I'll delete it. But you know that, I feel like that's the growth in me, you know.

00:09:39
Speaker 1: Being same girl, I'm right there with you. There's definitely been times, even recently. It's I guess the last big one was last year. I did a podcast when we talk about interviews and sometimes a backlash or the comments that people make and somebody from the church is like somebody needs to take your phone. Yeah, put you give somebody your phone because no.

00:10:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, or you like don't read them, like don't even like give your energy to things like that. Yeah, And that's how I also maintain like professional mode, like I have to choose what I give my energy and what I give peace away to, Like my piece is not worth is the negativity and the trolls.

00:10:20
Speaker 1: It's not. It is not let's talk about the glory in your story. I'm often like inquisitive about like what makes somebody's decide I want to write a book or it's time to write a book. So what moment were you like mos time?

00:10:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel that. So I've built this company over the past ten years. It'll be eleven years in May, and I feel that the success that I have garnered, you know, people tell me all the time, Oh, you're a unicorn. It's so rare to see a black woman have such a successful exit in this space. And I want to normalize that. I don't want to have the conversation the narrative of like creating more unicorns. I want this to be normal in our community. And I wanted to share the road map of what it took to build a successful company, what it took to scale to the level that you know the public seedes today and the trials and the tribulations that you know came with building this company, because I feel that entrepreneurs need to hear this story, right, anyone needs to hear this story, because there's so many different, you know, facets that can relate to people. Right, if you are a career person, this book is definitely for you. If you are someone that's trying to increase your faith walk with God, like this book is for you. If you are going through a loss of a career, a loss of a loved one, a loss of anything that you may be grieving, like, this book is for you. So it's many different relatable chapters that I feel relates to anyone. But I wanted this book to be like, I'm your big sister, and we're having a conversation, and I'm giving you all the wisdom the knowledge that I've learned over the past ten years, because the knowledge is not for me to just keep to myself. It's for me to share it, and people ask me all the time, can you be my mentor? So this is my gift to my community of like all those people that asks for mentorship, Like, I'm literally pouring my heart and soul into this book, being very vulnerable and transparent over not just the Instagram real highlights, yeah, but like the tough moments when I didn't even think Mayea was going to make it like right. People don't see that on Instagram, And I wanted to share because you may feel that you're the only one going through what you're going through in this moment, and I want to give hope to that person that's reading, like, you're not in this alone. I went through it, and if I can overcome that you can too. So my husband would always say, from the very beginning, the story must be told. We have it painted in our office space, and he was manifesting that and the story has to be told because it's not my story, it's God's story, and that's why the glory goes to him.

00:12:53
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I love that, and thank you for being obedient and giving us this because I know I get asked all the time as well, like we mentor, and I'm sure you can attend with our schedules. It's so hard to really commit to that. You have two daughters and then you have businesses and you have so much going on. I know it's hard to find time to really commit to mentoring. So this is a great way to pour it back into and I love that I do. And in your book you also talked about the passing of your son, Milan and you worked as a registered nurse, and then it was that that was a turning point of view to start your entrepreneurship journey. At what point in that were you like, I can't do this anymore. And I also wanted to ask you, and it's a two part question, when you saw the everything that was happening in that hospital room as they're calling all the things, and you're saying, I know that's not right, this is not what's be happening at what point are You're like, this is I can't do this this anymore, working in the healthcare system with all the disparities for minorities.

00:13:51
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's true.

00:13:53
Speaker 3: So I actually started as a labor and delivery nurse, so I worked in the field, so I understood, you knew everything about labor and delivery that you can possibly know, you know. And so when I was in the hospital room and I went through, you know, being rushed to the hospital, being on the hospital bed and them having to like rip my clothes off, put my baby on the monitor, and when his heartbeat was down, like I knew, if you all don't act quick, like, it's not going to be a good outcome. Yeah, And I remember I kept asking like where's the doctor, where's the doctor? And the doctor was at home and that was in a hospital that was equipped to have like an on call doctor that was twenty four hours yeah, and so them having to call the doctor to be rushed to rush to the hospital to deliver my baby. By the time he got there, his heart rate was like, like it was so low it was probably no saving at that point. And so when he did the C section, you know, and my son came out he was lifeless, so he didn't get there in time to you know, cut him out quick enough, and so it was just devastated. And then I remember like waking up and I asked my mom and my family, I'm.

00:15:18
Speaker 2: Like, is he pink?

00:15:19
Speaker 3: Because I was incoherent, like I was drugged up, but I knew to ask, like, what's he pink? And then I saw the look on my mom's face and I knew at that point that you know, it wasn't it wasn't right. So it was very like even talking about it, just even though it's healing, its therapeutic, it's still so hurtful because when you think about the health disparities in the medical system for black women, like I tried to be my own advocate because I knew I was highly educated in the field, and my level of education couldn't save my son. Wow, right, And so I think about the women or the black people the black community in general that go to the hospital and don't have any knowledge of their care or being an advocate for themselves, Like how doctors and nurses dismiss their symptoms, dismiss you know, their care for whatever reason because of the disparities, and something has to give. Something has to stop, and I also wanted to be an advocate for that and bring awareness to you know, our health system, right and to hopefully educate more black and brown young adults to go into the medical field and be our advocates. Because my doctor at the time was white. He did not look like me, and you know, it's always what I should have could have I wish I would have done this, but I had to learn, like I can't blame myself, but all I can do is be an advocate for you know, more black and brown people to step up to go into the medical field so they can be a voice and an advocate and have the empathy and caring and compassion that our community needs. Right yes, because like even now, my dad when he goes into the hospital, I have to like always step in and advocate for him or ask questions. And about the questions I asked are always like are you a nurse?

00:17:14
Speaker 2: Or why does it matter?

00:17:16
Speaker 3: Do you not expect an educated black person to ask these type of questions? So we have to be our own advocate. And so I hope that people gather that from reading you know, my traumatic story of having my son and when I had my son, and I had to go back into a career field that number one, I didn't want to be in in the first place. And then number two, I was dealing with the loss of my son and having to now take care of patients. My hair wasn't there.

00:17:43
Speaker 1: I can imagine, like no.

00:17:45
Speaker 3: I remember my boss pulling me in and she's like, you're not the same nurse that you were before, and I'm like, well, you think like I just lost my son, so I'm not going to be that person. So I had to go through this healing journey and I knew that I did not want to go back into a feel where I felt I was doing everything right. I knew everything that I should have known, and something still happened to me. Had I wanted to just cut ties with the medical around people ask me all the time, would you want to go back? Absolutely not right, No, absolutely not just like now, No, absolutely not. And you know, but it paid its contribution to my journey and who I am today, but it's not who I am and I just had to cut ties with it to avoid being depressed.

00:18:27
Speaker 1: Yes, that's powerful, I know as a black woman, just finding the right primary care doctor, I have a black woman that's my primary care doctor. And then I went and got my first mammogram the other day. Yeah, and I was so nervous. I was so nervous because I don't know in my mind, I think sometimes I feel like a lot of because you know, like some people, the doctors will say, oh, we see cancer, and then you'll go get a second opinion that like there's nothing there. So I always like worried about are they going to tell me the right thing or it's like, what's going to happen? Because I was having like this pain, like right here, and of course you get on Google and start googling. It's like is your enemy right, You're dying? Gosh, And so you're automatically like going in kind of preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best, but understanding that having I want to look across that room and see someone that looks like me or reflects me. And that's so important, which is why I love my primary care doctor because she is a black woman and she gives it I'm talking about. I can call her anytime, I can pull up on her and say whatever I'm feeling, She's going to look into it and connect me with the right, another black doctor that's gonna take it serious versus like, oh, which just comes with age, or oh yeah, you're fine, you know, like it's very passive. Yes, And I don't like that, So I totally understand why you were like, no, I have to get out of this so that I'm not depressed. I get it from that. Did that make you more of an advocate for midwives and doulas? Are you more like an at home birth mom where you like want to push women like just kind of stay away from the healthcare system. How do you feel like I wouldn't.

00:20:04
Speaker 2: Push women to stay away from the healthcare soil.

00:20:06
Speaker 3: I still think that it's needed, But I think that as women, we should just educate ourselves on speaking up, educating ourselves on basically what you just said, like having a black doctor, or if your doctor's not black, maybe a minority doctor, but having someone that is that here's your concerns, that listens to your concerns and does not just blow you off.

00:20:29
Speaker 2: If you have a doctor that comes.

00:20:30
Speaker 3: In the room and they just want to do a quick assessment, write you a quick prescription. I stay away from doctors as quick with the pain and write a prescription without trying to understand and walk through the assessment skills that they teach you in school of what is wrong. And then once they identify what is wrong, what is causing that, are there natural things that you can do to reverse whatever it is? Like, don't be so quick to just put me on medication. So I just like a doctor to be very thorough and to listen to me as a patient. And I just encourage, you know, our community to just find those type of doctors because at the end of the day, we still do need, you know, doctors. If you are a C section candidate, you can't have a home birth.

00:21:14
Speaker 2: You need to go to the hospital.

00:21:17
Speaker 3: So in some ways you can't avoid it. But just make sure you have the right team around you that listens to you. And if they're not listening to you, just make sure that you're advocating. You speak up for yourself.

00:21:29
Speaker 1: I love that. That's so good. So this caused a pivot for you to go into entrepreneurship. What was like the first thing that you tried Because I know you've done a few things, What was one of the first things that you tried to do on your own outside of being a nurse.

00:21:44
Speaker 3: So Mayo was the first thing outside of being a nurse. So once I left my nursing career and I started Mayel. But during my nursing career is when I did try to like branch off and start getting into like different business ventures such as multi level marketing. So I did like Avon and Mary Kay and I talked about all of the direct seale business ventures that I tried to like go off into because I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur. So I've always had that bug and that desire, and it always pulls on you and keeps nagging, so you like fulfill that burning desire that you have. And I just felt that God was just redirecting me and rerouting me because I did not go the path of entrepreneurship because I didn't see it growing up. You can't be what you don't see, so I didn't see black women that were like running and operating beauty businesses or any business for that matter. I saw women that were on magazine covers or on the relaxer kit. So that was my aspiration. I thought that was the only route that I can take to be into this beauty world.

00:22:45
Speaker 2: And I felt that God put this vision in me.

00:22:48
Speaker 3: He put this passionate purpose, but I kept running from it because of fear, because of doubt and not believing in myself and not thinking that I can achieve it because I don't have a business degree, didn't have any business experience. So you know, the enemy gets into your head and says like, Oh, you can't do this?

00:23:07
Speaker 2: How dare you?

00:23:08
Speaker 3: You have the audacity to dream this and you have the audacity to think that you can do it. Well, I'm going to remind you that you can't do that, because if you don't have the education and you don't have X, Y and z, like that enemy can be like something strong. And I had to learn how to silence the noise, silence of distractions. And when you go through such a tragic loss like what I went through. For me, it was like what are what are my chances? Like at this point, I don't care what people think. I don't care, you know, about this career anymore. Like my mind frame was like, what's the worst that can happen? Because the worst has already happened. Yeah, So it just gave me another level of grit and tenacity that I didn't know that I had, And I decided to just follow guy's calling and be obedient to what he had been calling me to do for years, and decided to not feed into the fears, but to feed the faith and just to trust. And that's how Mayo was started.

00:24:07
Speaker 1: I love it. What made you want to go into hair care? Like, what was the spark for that? So besides your beautiful hair? Thank you?

00:24:16
Speaker 3: So I've always loved hair, and I've always been obsessed with making sure that my hair was always maintained and always presentable.

00:24:24
Speaker 2: Like I told you, I wanted to be the little girl on the.

00:24:27
Speaker 3: Just for Me kick. That was my aspiration. Like I used to ask my mom to drive me to model calls. Every time they did a model call for a hair company. I'm like, I'm signing up. I want to be there. Yeah, And she would take me and she got to the point she's like, girl, they're not picking you and this is not something stable. This is like this is cute, but I need to teach you how to like find something stable. And you know, because it's one day you're gonna grow up and I'm not gonna be paying for you for the rest of your life. You're gonna have to find your own job. She encouraged me to be a nurse. Right, she didn't nourish the passion that I had to pursue beauty. And no fault to her, but she didn't see it.

00:25:11
Speaker 1: You know.

00:25:11
Speaker 3: She came from an environment. She was raised of survival, so she was taught to only survive. So when you are coming from a survival mentality, you're not encouraged to dream big. And so she instilled that in me. And so even though I had I was always a dreamer. But that's the thing, like sometimes people around you that have good intentions and they mean well, but sometimes their advice and their wisdom is coming from a place of fear because they didn't see it for themselves, So why would they see it for you, right, So she didn't see that in my future, and so I just put my dream to the wayside of being in this space. And once I went through the loss of my son, it just circled me back and it was like a full circle moment God which is redirected me back to that childhood monique. And I feel like Mayel has healed a lot of that childhood dream that I had, you know growing up, I mean not healed, but fulfilled a lot of the childhood dream that I had growing up, Right, it just made a full circle three sixty Like God's like, I'm gonna run that back. Yes, so you can know what's in front of your face.

00:26:20
Speaker 1: Yes, you tached on something about how dare you dream this big? I was reading a book called The Prayer Circle, where you like, basically kind of build your own Jericho wall while you have they go around the wall until it comes down and it comes true. And in the book he says something about a lot of times when you like your faith is too small or you don't believe big, it's an insult to God.

00:26:43
Speaker 2: Absolutely.

00:26:44
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:26:44
Speaker 1: So that when you said that, it reminded me of that. I was like, it is. It's an insult to God, Like, how dare you not dream that big?

00:26:49
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:26:50
Speaker 3: You know, and I always say too, What's another insult to God is that when you don't fulfill your dream. God has attached so many people to your dream, and when you don't fulfill your dream, you're disappointing the people who He's assigned to your gift, and you're calling and you're not being obedient to him, and you're insulting him because you're not being obedient to the gifts and the talents and the purpose that he has put you on this earth to Accomplishence.

00:27:16
Speaker 1: Yes, and you're holding everybody else up or their way, like sometimes it's you that's holding everybody else up.

00:27:22
Speaker 3: Yes, I think about like we have over three hundred employees, and some of the employees that we employ probably would have never been able to have the position that they had at Mayel because of credentials. We always believe in giving people an opportunity, a chance.

00:27:39
Speaker 2: We put people in.

00:27:40
Speaker 3: Sometimes we put people in positions that are probably too high for them, but you know, we wanted to provide opportunity.

00:27:46
Speaker 2: So we've been able to give opportunity to.

00:27:49
Speaker 3: So many people, and experience to so many people, and exposure that they may not have had if I didn't follow my dream.

00:27:55
Speaker 1: Yes, that's so true. In your book, you had a chapter called Finding Your Person and you and your husband Melvin were at high school sweethearts. Yes, that's crazy. I only know one other. Well, I know a few people, but I know de Valenkadeen were like they met in high school and yeah, are still together to this day. But you don't hear that happening a lot. At what point did you know, like in high school? Did you know then or y'all was just like boyfriend and girlfriend? Did you see it then? Like this is the person I'm gonna be with for the rest of my life.

00:28:25
Speaker 3: So when I was in high school, I always saw something in him, like he had great qualities, great characteristics. Yeah, and I saw myself like having kids with him and like having a life with him, even at a young age. You know, I just didn't know like how it would all like come together, but he just had. He was just different from other guys in the neighborhood where we grew up. And I know that I was also different for him, and so I always joke with him like you got lucky because you got a rare one. Okay, you don't find them, like they don't make them like me. No, But I was always confident in that. And you know, I talk about this in the book. My mom instilled in me, like you know, if a man wants you, he's going to have to court you, Like you don't just give it away for free, Like what you have is precious, you know, your soul, your energy, everything that you possess as a woman. It is precious and every man is not deserving of that. So you got to make him work true and I did that, and you know, we had some rocky moments, you know, in the very beginning, but all in all, like he knew that if he wanted to be with me, he was going to have to put in the work.

00:29:36
Speaker 1: Yes, I know that's right. I love that you are really big on your faith and so is he. How has faith played a role into where you guys are in your business partners y'all do everything together? From what I see, how is that played a role even when you said it was rocky at certain points, Like, how did that faith play a role through your relationship?

00:29:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, faith is holding on to things that we hope for that we can't see.

00:29:59
Speaker 2: And faith is everything. It's like our anchor.

00:30:02
Speaker 3: Faith is what keeps us grounded because when you enter into uncharted territory, it can be very intimidating, like you don't know what's going to happen. You're walking into the unknown, and you have to trust and have faith in God that if he gave me this vision, that He's going to equip me with everything I needs to be successful in my calling and it's not for me to figure out how all the pieces are going to come together just yet. It's for me to take a little step watch God do his work, right, because that's how he works. Like you take that step, he'll open up some doors. He'll reveal to you his power. And then you're like, oh, okay, God, let me take another step, right, and then he'll open up some more doors. He'll reveal his power. And that is literally a faith walk, Like you're just ta climbing some stairs. And we don't climb stairs to go from the bottom of the staircase to the top of the skit staircase. There are just very small steps that we have to take to get to the ultimate top. Right, And that's how I look at my faith journey. And it's a lifelong journey, right, because you will have moments that you will doubt yourself. You will have moments where you're like, you're questioning your faith, and that's normal, Like we're human. He blessed us with emotions for a reason, right, But when we do have moments of when we feel down in despair, like that's when we have to lean on him even more for his strength. Like he doesn't want us to run away from him. And even if you have ran away from God, like, He's still always right there waiting for us to just come back to him.

00:31:32
Speaker 1: Always.

00:31:33
Speaker 3: You have to trust that. And the only way that you can trust that and have a true relationship with God is by knowing his word. Right. If we want to have a relationship together as friends, we have to get to know each other. God is no different. God is saying like, I want you to have a relationship with me. But in order for us to have this relationship, you have to know my word because my word speaks to my character right and my promises. And once we know his character and his promises, we can stand on that and his word does not lie and a lit I mean willing testimony that what God says and his word will come to pass right and we can hold God accountable to his word. And that has been what has manifested in my life.

00:32:10
Speaker 1: I love that now you guys work together. I know for me like I like my Space, so I like to be able to go. But y'all, I feel like you guys, was there any moments as you're building this huge brand that it is today where y'all were like bumping heads or was it always just like, no, we're on the same page, it's smooth.

00:32:28
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely not.

00:32:29
Speaker 3: No, like we bump hits, Yeah, and we bump heads quite a bit, but you know, it's at the end of the day, like we see the big picture. I think it's normal to have conflict, yes, And I teach my kids that. And sometimes we may bump heads in front of our kids because I want them to see the back and forth bickering, but I also want them to see how do you solve conflict? Because life is is not the absence of conflict. It's just it's how you respond to it. And so that's what we focus on because we know that we're not going to always agree, and we know that conflict can be healthy and it's how you work through it. So because we we are aligned with the big picture, we're aligned with our vision, our goals, we're aligned with our legacy that we want to leave for our family, and we realize that no matter what we argue over or bigger about, like it's not even important, right, it's when you look at the big picture, is it worth messing up what we've built, what we've created, the legacy that we're leaving, and nine times out of ten, it's really not.

00:33:33
Speaker 2: It's so minor, it's so minute.

00:33:36
Speaker 3: But we do understand that we have to have our own individual lives outside of being a wife and a husband, and that's important for us. So, like you know, I am a mom, a CEO, a wife, but I have to have my girl girlfriend time.

00:33:51
Speaker 1: You do that very well too. Yeah.

00:33:53
Speaker 3: I try to high level balance because you need your girlfriends, right, You need your support group that you can share things that you can't necessarily share with your husband, Like my husband can't relate on like female things. So you have to have the balance of like your your friends, your inner circle. And he has to have that for himself. He can go on golf trips, I can go on my girl trips because when we come back, you want to miss each other. Yes, I think that's important for you all.

00:34:23
Speaker 1: Yes, yes.

00:34:24
Speaker 2: And even when we.

00:34:25
Speaker 3: Worked in the in the warehouse, in the office, his office, we intentionally made his office way on the opposite side of the warehouse and minds was over here, and that was because I don't we work together, but I don't have to see you all day, Like I still want to miss you, and sometimes we will be in the office and not see each other until we go home, and then we still talk about our day, Like you know, we work in two separate entities that we're actually together, so you have to give each other time to like have their space and miss each other, because I think that's important because you are a person outside of you know, who you are to your spouse.

00:35:00
Speaker 1: In building my organics, What was the moment where you both realize we got something and this is a hit.

00:35:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a day that we launched. I realized that this is something special because when I did all of the other direct sell business, nothing never took off, Like I couldn't sell something to save my life. And then when MAYEO took off, and then I had all these orders coming in, I was like, oh, this is different, you know, this is like this is like God ordained because I had no clue that it would sell the way that it sold. And I remember my husband jumping in on board because you know, he has the logistical background, operations, that's what he focuses on, and I'm the visionary of the creator. So I created this product, I created this brand, and then once we started selling, I'm like, oh, now we got to ship it out to people like the customers. So I have no idea how that works logistically. So he jumped on board with his logistical engineering background and set up a whole process and system. So we were like very organized. We had a two man shop in our in our basement at the time, and we were just shipping out orders and.

00:36:15
Speaker 1: We were a team.

00:36:17
Speaker 3: And yeah, we just came together and I knew, like, this is something special and if we put a thousand percent into this, we can really make this thing big.

00:36:24
Speaker 1: Yeah. And when did you decide that we're going to go into the big stores? Like what was that moment? So, but you couldn't handle it from the basement anymore.

00:36:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, So we went from our basement to the garage. So we had a three card garage.

00:36:37
Speaker 1: I remember the garage, Yeah, I think I remember like put y'all posting that. Yes, yes, yeah, So we.

00:36:42
Speaker 3: Had all we had a time clock in the garage. We had a pumping system where my husband was like he put this contraption together and we would pump out the bubbasu deep conditioner and I would package it and label it. We had a whole operation and when we had the call to go into retail Like it wasn't because we chose to go into retail. We were just focused on building and the company. And we got the call from sally Beauty, that was our first retail partner. And when we got the call, so, Sally's headquarters is in Denton, Texas, and we happened to be there in Dallas for my daughter's gymnastic competition and they called us like, hey.

00:37:27
Speaker 2: We want to meet with you.

00:37:28
Speaker 1: Guys.

00:37:28
Speaker 2: We're interested in bringing into our stores.

00:37:31
Speaker 3: And I'm like, Texas. What are the odds that number one, we're in Texas? And number two Like, I wasn't even thinking about retail. I had put Sally's on my vision board to go into retail year five because you know textbook how they say, oh, once you hit five years, you have a viable business.

00:37:47
Speaker 1: Yo.

00:37:48
Speaker 3: I was following with the book and that was my vision. So guys said exceedingly abundantly. And when we got the call, we told them no because we had our kids with us and we're like, well, we don't a babysitter, We're not from Texas. They're like, bring your kids to the meeting. And that was another like god moment where I'm like, oh, yeah, this is a serious word.

00:38:07
Speaker 1: Yeah.

00:38:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, we launched into retail, we had the meeting with them, we launched a following planning ground reset, which is which was February of twenty twenty, twenty sixteen, and then when we launched, we sewed out in every store that we launched in come So it was like the retail came after us, and once that retailer had the success that they garnered, other retailers started knocking because they're like, oh, well, we want to have a piece of that pie too. So it wasn't that we were searching for retailer. The retailers came to us, which is a blessing, a.

00:38:41
Speaker 1: Huge blessing because most of the time people are pitching their products to the retail Yeah, that's amazing.

00:38:47
Speaker 3: We barely had to pitch, like it was so effortlessly like us going we didn't even have a former presentation.

00:38:53
Speaker 2: We met with Sally's. It was like, hey, this is the brand.

00:38:56
Speaker 3: Our kids were sitting at the round table and it was so informal, but that's how bad they wanted us into their stores.

00:39:04
Speaker 1: Wow, that is incredible. Yeah, so you're on this journey of just the rise of my l organics. What was that journey like, so I know, as you're going up, you're gonna because people always think that like once you hit make it quote unquote that like I was just smooth sailing, It's easy. What were some of the bumps that you guys hit along the way as you continue to rise?

00:39:23
Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, it gets more challenging because bigger you are. You know, they always say more money, more problems, right, and that has some truth to it because there are more eyeballs on you, the more challenges are gonna come, the more roadblocks. And we experienced a lot of different roadblocks and obstacles, and I talk about a lot of our challenges in the book. At one point we were not profitable, and at one point I did not know if Mayel would make it right. We were on the brinks of like, you know, the bank's gonna come after us if we don't pay them their money back. So it was a very challenge in time that people on the outside didn't know because the brand was doing extremely well, like the sales were through the roof, so on the outside people are like, oh, this brand is amazing, But on the underneath, when you look at our financials, it was horrible. Wow, And we went through this process of having to turn our business around and we needed funding, yes, right, because at that point we had overspent, which is a common mistake a lot of entrepreneurs make.

00:40:33
Speaker 2: But we felt that we had such great.

00:40:37
Speaker 3: Conviction that what we were building was still so great that we still had to show up with a smile on our face. We still had to serve our community, We still had to serve our employees. At one point, we were not paying ourselves so people can come to work, and still they don't hear that, right, Like we were not making any money. We had to sacrifice a lot to maintain face because we didn't want our employees to know what was going on, because what they have the same level of enthusiasm to show up and work if they knew that the company was like suffering on the back yend, right, So those are the moments like people don't see. And then once we were able to garner funding, we got a lot of no's and I talk about one big no that stuck out to me as a part of this journey. The investors wanted forty percent of our company and it was a bad deal and we had to walk away. From that knowing that even though they were giving us some money that we needed, we were not willing to sacrifice and give that much of our company away because we knew how valuable our company was and as we were building.

00:41:43
Speaker 2: And I think.

00:41:44
Speaker 3: That's a huge key on it for entrepreneurs is that we can't be so quick to take our money from investors because that is a whole another animal. It is a relationship, It is a marriage with whoever you're partnering with, and you want to make the right choice. And I tell people like, don't dilute your shares early on, because what you're building can be so valuable, so you can have the largest exit ever for a black, female.

00:42:13
Speaker 2: Or male entrepreneur.

00:42:14
Speaker 3: The reason why we had the largest exit was because I didn't dilute my shares early on. We sacrificed a lot to not take on that money that they wanted forty percent, right, So we had to just be patient and wait it out until we met the right investors that were willing to invest in us. And patience is the key, right because that patience is pruning you.

00:42:35
Speaker 2: It's building cares, it's building.

00:42:36
Speaker 3: Resilience, it's building like that tenacious spirit that we need as entrepreneurs. It's building a new level of wisdom and knowledge that you need to carry on into your next venture or project. Right, And so those are some lessons that I wanted to share because it's so easy for someone to say, hey, we're going to give you two million dollars, but what comes with that two million.

00:42:58
Speaker 1: Dollars left with?

00:43:01
Speaker 3: Exactly? Exactly. So I just also caution people to be very careful with picking investors, being students of life and always learning and asking questions. You know, I was very big on raising my hand and finding the people that had the successful exit. How can I learn from you? Yes, that was key, right, because in order to be a champion tomorrow, you have to be teachable today. And I have always been very teachable and coachable. And that was one of the reasons why Berkshire, which was our private equity partner, who was a great partner, by the way, that's why.

00:43:38
Speaker 2: They invested in us because they said, you and Melbourne are very coachable.

00:43:42
Speaker 1: I love it. I love that. So we get to the point where it's time for the biggest exit and your approach with hey, we want to buy your company. As an entrepreneur, when do you know it is time to sell or to say, hey, no, we don't want to sell, we want to keep it. May did you guys say this is time?

00:44:01
Speaker 3: So that's a good question because you really don't know, you don't know when it's the right time.

00:44:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's I guess that's when that fearless faith comes in. Exactly.

00:44:11
Speaker 3: Didn't really have to have faith because we did question like is it time? Is it not time? And I will tell you, looking back in hindsight, I am so glad we did it.

00:44:22
Speaker 2: When we did it, Oh good.

00:44:24
Speaker 3: Right, And it's there's no right way to time it. And we were having this conversation with our investor Berkshire and we recently just had dinner with them a few weeks ago, and we were talking about the same thing, like we couldn't have timed it perfectly, but there's no way to predict how to time it. So our model was slow and steady wins the race, but strike while the iron is hot. You know, we had taken the company to new heights. We had taken it to a new level of profitability. And when we looked at our financials, we looked at where we were as a company, we looked at, you know, our distribution, our customer base. It was like all the stars were aligning right and the interest. We had so many inbound interests from strategic companies, and the thing is like, you don't know if they're going to be interested in you tomorrow, because they may have something else that comes in hot, and they may go to the next one, and then you've missed your opportunity or missed your value ryes. So, because we were getting so many inbound interests and the stars were aligning, we said, as a team, we're going to just test the market. We're going to see what it comes back in. We're going to just see what we're valued at. And we had to know that once we put our stuff out there in the market for a potential sale, it's harder to put yourself out and then take it back.

00:45:51
Speaker 2: So we had to have faith that.

00:45:54
Speaker 3: We were going to get the value or close to the value that we were hoping for, and have faith that it was just going to come back. Once we put our bid out to the market and it came back, and I remember our investor told us, she said, if it doesn't come back to what you guys want, there's no turning back. So we have to be okay with whatever people bid that. It's something that we have to be okay with as a team. Wow, and we're going to have to just roll with it.

00:46:26
Speaker 1: So okay. So you're saying once you put it out there, there's no saying, oh, we don't want to sell it now like real estate, like how you can take your house off the market, can you?

00:46:34
Speaker 2: And it's just not a good look.

00:46:36
Speaker 3: It's just not a good look because the time and effort to prepare to package the brandy, to put it out in the market for strategics or investors to bid on it. That's a lot of heavy lifting. It's a lot of work. And so you're working with investor investment bankers, you're working with our investing team. So all the time and energy that people are going to put in, Like if you put it out there and say, oh no, it's not time yet.

00:47:04
Speaker 2: It's just not like it just doesn't look good.

00:47:07
Speaker 3: And then to my point earlier, if you go back out there later, you may not get the same type of value because they may say, well, you came out here before it, are you.

00:47:16
Speaker 2: Going to pull it back?

00:47:17
Speaker 3: Are you not going to be serious with your sell So it's like a it's literally a faithfulk You really just have to have faith. It's scary, yeah, because we knew that we were just gonna put ourselves out there. So thankfully, once we did put ourselves out there, we had some really great valuations and we said we're just going to go for it because we don't know what the outlook of the world and the economy looks like, you know, in the future, and we see what it was going on. Now, that's why I said, it couldn't have been better timing. So we just said that we were going to stick with what the values came back with and we were just going to enter into the process and start dating strategic partners and find who is the right partner for Mael.

00:47:59
Speaker 1: And then you ended up with there's a Procter and gam Gamble, which is a very world renowned company in the beauty space. They do so many different things. But so we've all your faithful buyers and customers here that you sold to Protein Gamble, which is what it's business. You know, it's business. But there was so much backlash from that, like, oh she sold out, or oh she like sold out to the white man. Or whatever the people say. When you're at home and you're hearing these things and reading these things, but knowing that this is the business decision that I made and I'm standing on it. Did how did that feel when you're reading and hearing all these things that people are saying.

00:48:41
Speaker 3: Well, Number one, it was the business decision that God put in me because of what people don't know is the prayers and the journaling that me and God sat down and had this conversation right right, So before I sold to PNG, before we entered into the process we entered into of August of twenty two, I journaled had a conversation with God, and I kid you not, I have the journaling to prove it. In may I wrote down, MAYO will be acquired by PNG. Wow. Had no idea that P and G would enter into the process. Didn't know that we were even going to have a conversation with them. But that was a vision that came from God, and I wrote it down. He says, write the vision and make it plain. And so when we entered into process, P and G ended up becoming one of the ones that was in the running, and we were in the thick of negotiations we went to church. We called our pastor. It was like ten o'clock at night, and we said we need prayer because we were in negotiations on Zoom late at night.

00:49:43
Speaker 2: And we asked him, can we have a breather? Can we take a break?

00:49:45
Speaker 3: We went to our church, had our pastor pray, and our pastor said, it's something about P and G that's jumping out in my spirit. So this was confirmation from my pastor. Mind you, I forgot that I wrote that down. Oh okay, that is a crazy so I forgot I wrote it down confirmation for my pastor. We come back, get back on a zoom. We made the decision, we're going to go with PG. Right, we do all the documents, we close. I go back into my closet because that's why our journal, and I'm flicking through my journal pages because I'm getting ready to write down this process of what happened. Right, I'm flicking through my journal pages and my thumb lands on the journal entry that I made in may saying that Mayo will be acquired by PNG. When I tell you the chills that I received because I'm like God has confirmed this word. I am going in the right directory ordering my steps.

00:50:34
Speaker 2: I had to run.

00:50:35
Speaker 3: I get chills talking about this. I had to run and fine, mel but and I don't know where he was at. I was like, Helvin, look at look at what I wrote down. And mind you, this wasn't the first time that I wrote something down that I prayed over and God answered my prayers. And I pointed to I said look what I wrote down, and he was just like wow, Wow.

00:50:52
Speaker 1: It's like wow, yeah.

00:50:54
Speaker 2: Right.

00:50:54
Speaker 3: So when you talk about the critics, I'm saying all that to say is when people criticize me for the decisions that I'm making, it's really not my decisions. These are decisions that I pray so that God has revealed to me. So when you are criticizing me, you are ultimately criticizing the one who put me on this earth to accomplish the purpose and calling that He has placed on my life.

00:51:15
Speaker 2: And no one knows the conversations that me.

00:51:17
Speaker 3: And and that's why you can't share your dreams and your visions with everyone else, because it's not for everyone else to know what you and God talked about. So I can sleep well at night because I know that I operate with integrity. I know I operate with the utmost respect and confidence and servantry for my community and my people, and I know that I've done what I'm supposed to do, so the criticism does not bother me. I've been through worse, and I pray for them because I know that it's internal projection of their own insecurities and their lack of courage to walk in my shoes and to do what I'm doing, or they don't have the courage or belief system to even think that they can accomplish what I have accomplished. And they can if they take the same energy from criticizing people and turn them on to something positive. Right, That's really what it is. Because I never went on something on social media to criticize them. I may have thought it right. I think we all think something right, but I'm not going to actually verbalize it and say it because I don't have the time or energy and I don't want to block my blessing by doing that. No, So I just, you know, I take it with the granted. So I embrace it because they pushed me to go harder and to keep showing up, and I feel that, you know, it's also a testament that you know God is reminding everyone that sees anyone that's facing adversity to stay sa fast in the moment of adversity because the grace and the poise that you carry and possess why you're facing adversity is inspiring someone else that's watching you. Yes, so I focus on the people that support me, not the ones that don't. Right.

00:52:53
Speaker 1: I love it. That is so good. It's crazy because when you are building and grinding, everybody's cheering you on. But as soon as you become the one, that's when all the haters and they say, it's just I'm literally come out the woodworks like little cockroaches. Yes, like they just.

00:53:07
Speaker 3: That's exactly like the pastor Jamal Brian said, when the LIFs turn on, the cockroaches come out right.

00:53:14
Speaker 1: Literally literally. There was a big viral moment where people were coming out saying that they were losing their hair from using one of your products. And I'm going to say, I got a head full of hair and I've been using your products for years saying and they lost none of it, you know, like besides the hair that falls out on a day day basis just naturally, you know. And I was just like I cannot believe that, like somebody's going to this these links, you know, to try to take down another black woman. And it was just so disheartening and I can only imagine, and I would like for you to share, like in those moments in your closet, because I see you in your prayer closet praying with other women. What were those conversations like with God when you saw somebody really trying to attack your brand? This is like your baby, you know, yeah.

00:53:56
Speaker 3: Yeah, Well those conversations with God was I know that you're You're not gonna let one what you have built. No man can take that down, right, So that truth, because this is just one person, one troll that decided to be negative, and she can't stop the favor of God, right, she can't stop what God has blessing ordained. No man can take that away. And the sad thing about it is that truth it conflicts with lies to the point where lies can be perceived as true. And I feel that because Mael is such a great brand, and when people can't find anything negative about the brand or about myself, they make things up. And I know that it comes with the territory.

00:54:49
Speaker 1: The bigger you.

00:54:50
Speaker 3: Are and The crazy thing is mostly all the big brands have been attacked on last say, so I really knew that my time was coming right wait for it seriously, and it's sad, but it happens with every big brand. So it was confirmation that why I actually have done something really great. Yes, that people want to take the time out of their day to try to tear me down and nitpick about every single thing. And the people that already haven't made up in their mind that they want to misunderstand you, it's nothing you can do or say to try to prove them wrong. So I'm the type of person I am not afraid. I will address it head on, but I'm only gonna do it one time, yep. And I'm going to address it because of the people that do support, that do use the product, just to reassure them that, like the formulas haven't changed, the products are still the same. You can still use the products. They're safe and effective to use. There's still the same products that we had before the acquisition. Nothing has changed. Look at the labels, and that's what was so like baffling about is because like people, if you actually read the labels, you will see that the formula is still the same in twenty twenty versus today. So it's the fact that like people didn't even take the time to like educate themselves. They just want to run with the false narrative because it's.

00:56:08
Speaker 2: Like I knew it couldn't be that good. It's too good to be true.

00:56:12
Speaker 3: So let me try to like create this false narrative because this is just too good, right, And if you just take the time to educate yourself, and I try to educate the community, and I feel that the people that want to be educated hear you, they will hear me absolutely, because ignorance is a choice. We live in an error of so much access to information, and if you choose to still be ignorant when you have the information being presented in front of you, then you're choosing to be ignorant. And that is quite all right. You can stay right where you're at, yes, But I owe me over here. I'm gonna keep moving, I'm gonna keep elevating. Yes, So you just gotta like do what you can, but focus on what's important and not the nay sayers.

00:56:50
Speaker 1: I will and I will say that you handle it with such grace because I can't imagine like being in the position you are and working as hard as you have to get to where you are and then be hit with something like that. And I was like, my girl is handles thing.

00:57:01
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:57:02
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm not gonna lie and say that it's hurt because it's something I built, right, That's exactly.

00:57:06
Speaker 2: But it's like, at the end of the day.

00:57:08
Speaker 3: My confidence is in God, so I have to stand on his word. I have to lean on my faith again. That's where my faith comes in. He keeps me grounded. And I do know that this social media world, people will find a topic, they'll jump on it, be real loud about it, and then then we'll go on to something else.

00:57:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, and they're definitely on to something else. Now, Yeah, that is so true when it comes to empowering others. There are so many people who want to be entrepreneurs. What is some advice that you would give? And I think you've given a lot of nuggets today, just even to me. I'm taking mental notes and I'm going to go back and rewatch this because I'm building a brand and I have some other brands I want to do, and You've given me so many things to think about. Yes, thank you. But if there's just any like tip that you could give anybody who really wants to get into their piece of advice, what would you give them?

00:57:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I would say.

00:57:57
Speaker 3: Authenticity is key, Like no one can be you and being you, And I think that you do a really great job of just being yourself. And I do know that's why what you're doing your brand when you do eventually start something, whatever brand you want to venture off into, it's going to go well because people are attracted to your authenticity. And people don't want to do business with who they feel is fake or it's a facade or a perception. They really want to connect with you as a person, right. They want to do business with who they feel like, they know, who they like, and who they trust.

00:58:28
Speaker 2: It is a relationship.

00:58:29
Speaker 3: It's not a transaction, even though we look at it as a cell is a product is purchased, a.

00:58:35
Speaker 2: Cell comes in, we get money in exchange for that. That's a transaction.

00:58:40
Speaker 3: But I really focus on how do I build relationships with my customers, how do I date my customers? Because I want my customers to feel connected and engage because especially in the beauty space with hair care, it's such an emotional connection and what we put on our hair. I feel like it's absorbing our spirit and our energy, and I always want to put out good vibes and good energy as I'm building and meeting people from all across the country to let them know, like you can trust me with the products that are being produced with your hair. You can trust that if something is wrong that I'm going to be an advocate to try to fix it and make it better to perform because I'm using the products too, my kids are using the products. Set I'm not going to put anything out there that is not healthy or that's causing issues. You know, I'm going to do my due diligence and do all the proper testing to make sure that it is a great product before I put my name on it. Right, And so you have to be able to build that trust with people. But the only way you can do that is by being your authentic self and dating and building relationships with your clients.

00:59:39
Speaker 1: I love that. I love that leaving a legacy behind. You spoke about you're building a legacy. What is the thing that you want to leave behind when it's all said and done.

00:59:50
Speaker 3: What I want to leave Well, first of I feel like your legacy is something that you can build while you're still living, breathing on this earth.

00:59:56
Speaker 2: Because it's about impact.

00:59:58
Speaker 3: And I want to impact to others by way of helping them be inspired, building their faith, teaching them a spirit of resilience.

01:00:07
Speaker 2: Resilience.

01:00:07
Speaker 3: I want my kids to look at me and say, wow, like my mom, she built this successful company and not only does she build, but she gave back to the community that served her, the community that purchased products. She always made sure that she gave back to the people that supported her. And I also want people to just be encouraged to continue dreaming big because it's never too late. Your dreams don't have an expiration date. There's no limits that you can put on God. So I want people to just increase their faith in God, bring them closer to God, because I think that's why we're all here on earth, to be vessels to bring people to His kingdom and to know that we serve a limitless God. He does not put any limits on us. And when you operate from that position of abundance and not lack, you can accomplish anything in this or that you want to accomplish. And that's the legacy that I want to leave behind. I want to create more. Monique Rodriguez is, I want to normalize this conversation, so we're not sitting down and saying, so, why did your community criticize you for being acquired? Now this will be a normal conversation. Like girl, girl, I just get an acquisition.

01:01:17
Speaker 1: Who to you like?

01:01:19
Speaker 3: Tell us how much it was.

01:01:20
Speaker 2: Then let's get.

01:01:21
Speaker 3: Tea and let's celebrate you. Create more people to do this and celebrate this as a community because we're celebrated when Kim Kardashian does it, but when somebody that looks like us does it, it's not need to sell out. It's a sellout, but it's normal for somebody that looks like them. We got to stop thinking like that real that is so good.

01:01:39
Speaker 1: I love it. So before we get out of here, what is next for Monique Rodriguez?

01:01:43
Speaker 3: Oh? So what is next? I'm always like I have like a million ideas and my brain is racing. It goes from one idea to the next idea. But I really want to focus on, like, you know, building up the next generation because they are our future. So my daughter, she's getting into content creation. I want to help build her career or her platform and help her be an influencer to the kingdom as well. And just help my kids really pursue and nourish their gifts and their dreams because they're becoming young ladies and adults and they I did what I did so they can have their freedom and flexibility to pursue whatever dreams and passions they want to do. And continuing to impact my community with things like you know, this book, this is my gifts to my community. And you know I have some other key initiatives that I'm doing with Mayel that you know it's coming down the pipeline. But yeah, just continue to be great and live with intention and positivity.

01:02:33
Speaker 2: Keep it positive, sweetie.

01:02:35
Speaker 1: And you're doing it. I am so inspired, I really am. Before we get out, we're going to do something that we call positive Outcomes. This is where our listeners write in and ask us a question and then we give them advice. You down, yes, all right? So this comes from Krigan Buck and she says, what advice would you give to a woman that's struggling with differentiating between a positive and supportive life versus a doormat?

01:03:04
Speaker 3: So and you know I talk about this in the book of not having yes people around. One of my mentors would tell me she would always say yes people will get you killed. So you don't want to have doormats that you can just walk all over and they're just saying.

01:03:19
Speaker 2: Yes to everything that you're presenting to them.

01:03:22
Speaker 3: You want to have people around you that are loving, supportive, but hold you accountable. Yes, right. And the way that you differentiate is when you have someone that's holding you accountable, they're doing it from a place of love. If it's coming from a place of ill motives or hates, it's probably not a positive you know, accountability partner, right, It's probably someone that's envious of you your life. So I always look at it as like, how are they giving me this information? Yes? Is it coming from a place of love? Is a god aligning is a God ordain And if you're unsure, also go to mentors that I feel are spiritual mentors. I have a lot of spiritual mentors in my life. I have a lot of believers in my life that will give me sound advice from a biblical perspective. And I'll tell one of my closest friends, I tell her all the time, like, tell me if I'm wrong, and tell me from a biblical perspective, don't even tell me from your own. With them, pray, We're gonna pray first. I want you to get a download from God, and I want you to give me advice from that. So you have to be real with yourself too and ask how you're asking for advice from the people that are around you, and if you're asking in a way where they become a doormat and they're just telling you what you want to hear versus what you really need to hear, and that's the truth.

01:04:41
Speaker 1: I love that.

01:04:42
Speaker 3: The truth will set you free and you will be much more You would just get her much more wisdom and you'll be on a better trajectory if people sit you down and tell you the truth.

01:04:52
Speaker 2: Would love no, for sure.

01:04:54
Speaker 1: I love that, and Cary and I would add to that a lot of times, when you're trying to make sure you're not being too supportive or being on the borderline of being a doormat, I would also say set healthy boundaries. Yeah, you know a lot of times we lack boundaries where we do become If you're on the opposite side of that, where you're the one that's being taken advantage of it being the doormat because you're always yes, yes, yes, whatever you need, I got you. And then it comes to the point where, wait, are they taking advantage of me? That's when I feel like you also have to have set healthy boundaries.

01:05:24
Speaker 3: So was she saying that she was a doormat or she's having people that are dormats around.

01:05:28
Speaker 1: She's trying to differentiate, like she being a supportive lady or a doormat. Oh okay, but no question.

01:05:35
Speaker 2: But that was a good perspective.

01:05:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, because that what you said is like a great perspective on it.

01:05:40
Speaker 3: Yeah.

01:05:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I would say. That's good. Yeah, that's really good money.

01:05:44
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you.

01:05:45
Speaker 1: I am seriously I'm so inspired. I cannot wait to introduce this book to everyone so we can all read it together.

01:05:51
Speaker 3: Yes, you are so inspiring. Thank you so much.

01:05:55
Speaker 1: And so are you.

01:05:55
Speaker 2: I tell you this all the time, so that's nothing new.

01:05:58
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. I can't wait to hang out with you outside of this And thanks for making time.

01:06:03
Speaker 2: You're welcome, appreciate it.

01:06:06
Speaker 1: Right, This is good, guys, there was a great conversation. I hope you all received the message on leading fearlessly with faith. My takeaway from this was that any decision Monique makes, she does not make it without talking to God first. Thank you guys so much for tuning into another episode of the Keep It Positive Sweetie Show. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who could use a little positivity today. And it's always stay blessed, stay encouraged, and remember to keep it positive, Sweetie. I'll see you guys next time.