Mom Boss Macy

I conducted this interview at the beginning of 2019. Now, after a 2-year hiatus, I present to you…

Macy Calderon – a mom of two, and owner of emme jewelry – connecting mamas to their full potential and the real joy of being themselves.

 

How We Met

It was December 2018. I was just a baby blogger going to my first ever South Florida Mom Blogger event at the Miami City Ballet. I met so many amazing women that day, but one, in particular, made a lasting impression on me – Macy.

She was dressed all in black, accessorized with a pair of white, pointy-toed shoes with round wooden balls in place of kitten heels. She explained that she would never wear all black clothing, but she had a black and white party to go to later that day – after she picked her kids up from their activities – and she wanted to be ready. I told her that wearing all black was my preferred aesthetic, and she looked absolutely fabulous. I admired how well put together and stylish she appeared, and after interviewing her for this series, I found that her outside matches her inside.   

 

About Mom Boss Macy

Macy studied architecture and has an MBA in Marketing. Half of her time in her corporate career, she worked in marketing. And the other half, she spent in marketing research. 

Some of the time she spent in marketing focused on selling software to small business owners. She also did marketing for the retail industry, where she learned what happens when you sell to customers. 

The time she spent at a marketing research agency taught her how to communicate with customers. 

And 15 years ago, she started silversmithing as a hobby.

Macy sees emme as the culmination of all of her experiences. She brought all her studies and experience into emme, and has been able to build a successful online jewelry store.

But, her entrepreneurial journey wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies…

 

How Mom Boss Macy Started Her Business

Macy first stepped into an entrepreneurial role in 2016 with a self-named brand of sculptural, one-of-a-kind, and pricey pieces. She soon realized that her creations weren’t accessible to the women she really wanted to serve – moms. And so, the idea for emme began simmering. 

She said, “Your first business is like your baby, but with later businesses, you bring in what you know and treat it like a business to make money. Otherwise, it’s a hobby.” 

So, after working hard to develop pieces that were easy to replicate, could be sold for much less, and were more attainable for moms like her, she officially launched emme in March of 2018. 

emme was more than a business to her though. It was Macy’s way of getting out of her postpartum depression, and seeing that there was more to life than raising kids. 

 

What Was Starting a Business Like for Mom Boss Macy?

Macy described starting her business like being caught in a tornado. One you have to feed in many places simultaneously to get it to spin, but if she had to break it down into steps, she would break it down like this:

1. Register your company and figure out all of the legalities.
2. Develop a brand.
3. Design pieces/your product/your service.
4. Find help. In her case, help came in the form of finding someone to help her replicate the pieces that she designs. But she recommends that you bring in help with aspects of your business that you may not be good at managing yourself. 

 

“If you’re not good at staying organized, bring in someone who can help you stay organized.”

-Macy Calderon

Mom Boss Macy’s Business Now

Now, most of emme’s profits go back into the business, but Macy separates a percentage of the sales of certain pieces to help individual moms in the community. For example, she gave a percentage of her sales to a mom who was paying her way through medical school, and she is currently giving to a mom who is being treated for breast cancer. It is very important for her to give back and support mothers who could use the help.

 

The Future of Mom Boss Macy’s Business

In one year, she wants to be more established as a jewelry brand, and continue direct retail.

3 to 5 years down the road, she wants to develop a business plan that will bring in women who want to make an extra income selling her jewelry, in order to give stay-at-home moms financial freedom and flexibility.

In 10 years, she wants to develop a personal brand that will incorporate more than jewelry.

 

What Helped Mom Boss Macy Build Her Business?

Macy said, “Being organized is 1000% important [in running my business].” And as organized as she is, she feels she still has to be even more so. She has to have a system with her inventory, accountability, and working hours. To her, organization is the most important trait of being an entrepreneur. If you have difficulty staying organized, she recommends having someone on your team who can help you stay organized.

She credits her customers for a huge part of her business’ success. Macy’s customers are moms who understand that life is not all about raising kids, and are ready to take care of themselves. She visualizes herself as a new mom – taking off their pajamas, getting dressed, and doing something for herself – that’s who her customer is. 

 

Macy’s Mom Boss Challenges

Her biggest challenge in starting her business was getting out of her comfort zone. She said, “How do you convince people that you know what you are doing without prior experience?” That impostor syndrome gets us all at some point, and Macy acknowledges that this was one of her biggest challenges in starting her business.

Her biggest business challenges now are balancing being a mom and a business owner. She’s a stay-at-home mom, and wants to continue to be that way, but she also wants to grow her business. 

She plans on carefully evaluating what she wants in 2020, and shaping her life accordingly. She has made a conscious decision to keep her business small, so she can continue to be a stay-at-home mom to her two young children. 

In the future, probably when her children are in their teens, she plans on hiring someone who shares her values for healthy eating and physical activity, to help her with certain daily tasks – like taking her kids to soccer or dance.

 

Her Motivations and Dreams

Macy started her business because she realized that her purpose in life is to learn how to love herself, and to help others love themselves. When she first became a mom, she wasn’t living in the moment, but when you’re a mom, you have to. You also have to mother from a place of love. Mothers are the foundation of society, and she hopes that her jewelry will make them feel as they truly are – important and beautiful.

 

How a Mom Boss Sees Herself

Macy can be very creative and out of the box, but she can also be very structured. She loves making plans and a well-organized spreadsheet. She’s persistent – knows what she wants and keeps going and working hard until she gets it. 

 

In summary, Macy is:

• Organized
• Structured
• Creative (out of the box thinker)
• Persistent
• Hardworking

 

Advice for Other Mom Bosses

Macy’s advice to mom bosses is: 

• Know what you want, and don’t stop until you get it. 
• Know the numbers (e.g., What price should you designate to your product? Can you afford to give a discount or have a sale?) 
• If you don’t want to do any aspect of your business, hire someone who will do it for you.

 

Mom Boss Takeaways

The main takeaways from Mom Boss Macy are:

1. Organization is key.
2. You are so much more than a mom.
3. Use your experience to your advantage.

 

How She Helped Me

Much like when Macy started emme, when I interviewed Macy, I was still in my postpartum depression and mind fog. I couldn’t conceive of using a calendar, and was even a little judgy of moms who used them. But after talking to Macy, and seeing how much she was able to accomplish while being a stay-at-home mom, I very quickly changed my tune. I started scheduling coffees and meeting with people to discuss collaborations and business ideas, or just get to know people I wanted to connect with. 

You know what happened? I started to blossom. I found who I was outside of my child’s mother, and I got in touch with me again. Through getting to know others, and building my business, I built myself up too.

And, wow, did I struggle with Impostor Syndrome. When Macy said, “How do you convince people that you know what you are doing without prior experience?” That is exactly the reason I began writing as Ellane, and not Odalys. How could a psychologist convince people that she’s a skilled and capable writer and copywriter? 

But with the inspiration from Mom Boss Madeline to “keep showing up”, and Mom Boss Macy’s words of wisdom to “be organized,” I was able to show up in an intentional way to build a business that is fulfilling and authentic to me as a person and #mompreneur.

 

Lovely, thank you so much for reading!

 

I hope Macy’s story and mine, help you on your mompreneur journey!

 

Love,