BOY MEETS GIRL^® BLOG — entrepreneurs

1) Occupation/ Location: 

"Founder/CCO, jack of all trades lol/Chicago born and always in my heart living in NYC since 1999 #NEWYORKSTRONG!"

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you? 

"This year we watched the first female become the Vice President of America. Do you believe it has taken us this long!? International Women’s Day means recognizing the incredible leaders who got us here today by using their voices to pave us closer to change. We still have a lot of work to do but together we are getting there. IWD also means celebrating all the incredible women around us and this should be every single day! Gathering together with these incredible women on this shoot and around the world was about uplifting us together and celebrating life. We all need a cheerleader to keep rooting for us so turn to the women next to you and tell them they are doing a great job." 

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you? 

"You know me I like a lot of quotes. It is hard to narrow one down. But here is one I wrote: 'Don’t be distracted by the noise. Believe in yourself and your ability to forge ahead.'"

4) What advice would you give other women?  

This applies to everyone:

I got this from a fortune cookie and it fits in so well here: “Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.”

My 5 Tips to Happiness:

1. Think. Say. Do.

2. Keep Calm and Breathe.

3. Music calms the soul.

4. Appreciate every day and everyone around you, especially those who support and love you, as life moves fast – way too fast!

5. Last, but not least... BELIEVE! I quickly learned the importance of hard work and customer service. There are a lot of amazingly talented people in this world. As noted above, while you may not always be the most creative, charming or brilliant person in the room, you can be the hardest working and most dedicated – that is something that is totally within your own control. By working hard, my bosses took notice at my earlier jobs and my employees take notice now. It's leadership by example and I think it fosters loyalty and camaraderie.

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day?

I have a very eclectic hype-up track lately it's been:

Forever Young - Jay-Z

Empire State of Mind - Jay Z & Alicia Keys

Conqueror - Estelle

I’m Yours - Justine Skye

Lost Angels - Leah Labelle

Best Thing - Lily Lane

July - Noah Cyrus & Leon Bridges 

Seasons of Love - Rent 

Fight for your Light - Sean Bradford 

24kGold - Mood ft Iann Dior 

Drivers License - Olivia Rodrigo (ok aren’t we all lol)

Feature: Stacy Igel

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Shop the mask Stacy is wearing here & below.

1) Occupation / Location:

"I’m a full time content creator and a stay at home mom/CT."

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you?

"IWD means a lot to me because I was raised by strong powerful women and because of that I’m proud of the woman I am today! I love when March comes around because not only do I get to celebrate my birthday (March 9th) I also get to celebrate being a woman."

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you?  

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13

4) What advice would you give other women interested in your field?

"Just start! I know it’s easier said than done. But it’s very important to start where you are because if you don’t, you’re going to still wish you did!"

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day?

“You will win”- Jekalyn Carr and “Winning Right Now”- Agent Sasco

Feature: Niesha Walcott-Reid

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Shop the mask Neisha is wearing here & below.

1) Occupation / Location:

Ayanna Stephens is a full time HR Executive at a Fortune 500 company and a part-time mompreneur.  Ayanna is the founder and CEO of Rehtom Lifestyle, a lifestyle brand for on-the-go moms and Designs by Ayanna, an event planning and design company based in New Jersey. 

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you?

"International Women’s Day means an opportunity to celebrate the impressive accomplishments and advancements that have resulted for the work of women.  For me it’s also about acknowledging both the celebrated accomplishments as well as those that happen behind closed doors."

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you?

"I never lose, I either win or learn." ~ Nelson Mandela

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day? 

"Keys to the Kingdom - Beyonce Ft. Tiwa Savage and Mr. Eazi."

Feature: Ayanna Stephens

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

1) Occupation / Location:

Caravan Social Club / NYC.

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you?

"The power and strength of women coming together and feeling the inspiration and the opportunity to break those ceilings."

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you?

“Don’t Weaken” – Mike DeSola

4) What advice would you give other women interested in your field?

"For those still in school – Intern! Learn, Grow, Experience as much as possible while in school & for other entrepreneurs – Take those Chances – Carpe Diem."

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day? 

"Right now we listen to a lot of music for my son with a twist. But have to be honest on repeat in the morning is Alvin and the chipmunks Get your groove thing and the Chipmunk at the Gas Pump by Laurie Berkner which has a cute story about how she met a friend and he was innovative to start electric charging stations and he gave her a job… so cute how you can meet someone and maybe network and get a job out of it….. and of course anything U2 – I am also digging Confetti by AJ SMITH."

Feature: Claudine DeSola

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Shop the mask Claudine is wearing here & below.

Peta-Gaye Daniel is the founder of My Cruising Family, LLC, and has been featured in NBC News, Mogul, SELF Magazine, Travel Pulse, and The Disney Wedding Podcast. 

Encouraging women through travel & lifestyle conversation, Peta-Gaye is that mommy friend who shares, listens, and encourages. She is that mommy friend who'll almost always say go ahead and book the trip with the family or without, and will also encourage you to treat yourself. 

Peta-Gaye created the My Cruising Family blog & social media space to primarily talk travel, but with the huge pause in travel due to the pandemic in 2020, the My Cruising Family blog and social media space has pivoted into a place to inspire others as we all take life one step at a time.

1) Occupation / Location:

"I am an attorney, blogger, and content creator, presently based in New York City." 

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you?

"To me, International Women’s Day means celebrating the strides women have made despite adversity, and while being inspired, being also an inspiration. For me, this year’s International Women’s Day is especially special because the U.S.A. celebrates its first female Vice President, and she is a woman of color with Jamaican heritage, and an attorney. I am a Jamaican woman who is also an attorney, so you KNOW I’m inspired. That said, I am here, walking and living in my purpose after having open-heart surgery to fix a leaky heart valve in June 2020! Thankful to my cardiologist at Mount Sinai Doctors, the great team at Mount Sinai Hospital, and in particular, Mount Sinai’s Mitral Valve Repair Unit. It was during recovery from heart surgery that my calling to inspire through content creation and influencing via social media really started to become clear."

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you?

"The entire poem, “Don’t Quit.” I am not sure who the original poet is/was, and I have seen varying versions of it, but certain lines stand out to me:"

“Don't give up though the pace seems slow

You may succeed with another blow […]

Often the struggler has given up

When he might have captured the victor’s cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown […]

Success is failure turned inside out […]

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit

It's when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.”

4) What advice would you give other women interested in your field?

"If it’s the field of law, I suggest being clear that that’s the path you want to take, which means even if you have to take time off from school to decide on it, then do that. I went to law school directly after college, and felt burnout throughout. I don’t regret it, but I do note that many of my classmates who were older and had taken time to work and figure out interests after college before going to law school seemed a lot more mature and happier than I did during our time in law school." 

"If it’s the field of blogging/content creation, my advice is to jump in and do it! This is one of those things that some people hesitate to do because they feel as though they have to do more research on or buy fancy equipment for before getting started, but it is quite the opposite. Blogging and content creation is an area to be studied, yes, but the best way to study and learn it is to do it while learning through research, etc. Soak up information from the gurus at this. There are top influencers, bloggers, and content creators who are like open books, willing to share their craft and helpful tips on how they’ve created thriving businesses in influencing, blogging, and content creation. Since it is Women’s History Month, I’ll take this opportunity to suggest following and learning from a wonderfully successful woman in the business, Mattie James, @themattiejames and https://blog.mattiejames.com, who has been a wonderful inspiration and source of information along this influencing, blogging, and content creation journey."

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day?

Honestly, I’m not tied to one… four actually come to mind, and I can probably think of more:

•         Good Day, by J. Moss

•         Afraid, by J. Moss

•         Empire State of Mind, by Jay-Z & Alicia Keys

•         Girl on Fire, by Alicia Keys

Feature: Peta-Gaye

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Shop the mask Peta-Gaye is wearing here & below.

1) Occupation / Location? 

Provider Relations Coordinator/Content Creator + Influencer/New Jersey

2) What does International Women's Day mean to you? 

"International Women's Day means highlighting the power of women. Power that women have within them, power that many women don't even know that they have yet. One thing that breaks my heart is to see women who are stunted, hidden, unaware of their own beauty and worth because society has told them that they were less than and not enough. We are a force to be reckoned with and my hope is that as we celebrate women all over the world on this day, many will recognize the light that is within them and shine."

3) What is your favorite quote to refer back to that motivates you?

"When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."

- Audre Lorde

4) What advice would you give other women? 

"This is for anyone: Be authentic. One of the hardest things to sustain is a facade that isn't true to who you truly are. One way to be purposeful if you are struggling to figure out your purpose in life is to find a need within your community and fill that need." 

5) Lastly, what is your hype-up track of choice when getting ready for a busy day?

"I'll play anything from Rihanna (still waiting on her new album lol)."

Feature: Michele Rose

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Shop the mask she is wearing here & below. 

#WomensHistoryMonth⁠
⁠
As a female-founded brand, women have always inspired me. This month, I wanted to celebrate all women. I was fortunate to come together with an incredible group of women some I knew and others we had just met for the first time. We all wore masks and socially distanced ourselves and got to know one another. We were so thrilled to have this meet-up as for many of us it was our first outing meeting new people in a year! Hard to believe it was a year ago when all our worlds changed. This week I am featuring incredibly bold women in all different professions who are inspiring, strong, and confident!⁠
⁠
Thank you to all the ladies who are now my new friends. ⁠
⁠
The funny fact we found out on set is that we are all #BOYMOMS raising boys who respect WOMEN! ⁠
⁠
Stay tuned for the interviews throughout this week with @mycruisingfam, @profashional_junkie, @caravannycgirl, @madamefleurim, & @absolutelyayanna on this blog. All ladies are rocking masks by BMG: https://bit.ly/BMGMasksSiteCollection
⁠
Also, join me at 11:00 AM EST LIVE for IGTV with @caravannycgirl @caravannyc for International Women's Day. ⁠

Features:

Stacy Igel

Michele Rose 

Claudine DeSola 

Ayanna 

Niesha 

Peta-Gaye

Photography Credit: Tom Concordia

Also a part of this amazing campaign [Instagram Handles below]:⁠

Toronto

@stylewithsherma

Los Angeles 

@xgaray20

Dallas

@fashncurious

@afrostylicity

@tiakirby

@mycurlyadventures_

Charlotte

@a_queensstory

D.C.

@tokestakeonstyle

@espressofied

@travelladyshops

@yanabstyle

@espressofied

Alberta

@blackess

@love.afrykah

@ladiestakenotes

@queenarewami

@t.e.m.m.i.y

@violetluxe

New York

@mycruisingfam

@caravangirlnyc

@profashional_junkie

@absolutelyayanna

@stacyigel

@madamefleurim

Houston

@courthousecouture

Birmingham

@candidlyclaudia

Montreal

@sharifasamora

Ontario

@Bimmbooor

Shop all masks rocked by these lovely ladies below:

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