If you look at Maghon Taylor today, you’ll see the confetti – she has built All She Wrote Notes from zero to a successful business with an amazingly loyal following, she is about to open a retail store, and she even has two books out – Betty Confetti and Happy Hand Lettering. She seems like the happiest person in the world, and she just might be. But according to Maghon, “I can be so happy now because I know what it’s like to be so sad.”
If you’re drinking along with us today, that means you have a Funfetti Martini!
Transcript
Maghon Taylor: I went through a divorce when I was 21 years old. I had tons of debt that I inherited from all that mess. And I had to pay a lawyer that I couldn’t afford to, to be able to get to, to save my life from a domestic violence situation. And when you survive something like that and you work so hard to chip away to get out of, you know, name, your name, your adventure, like whatever it is that that you’re proud that you’re not in anymore that you’ve overcome. I think that stays with you and that impacts like, I can be so happy now because I know what it’s like to be so sad.
Dana Kadwell: Welcome to Hustle and Gather; a podcast about inspiring the everyday entrepreneur to take the leap. I’m Dana.
Courtney Hopper: And I’m Courtney.
Dana Kadwell: And we are two sisters who love business. On this show, we talk about the ups and downs of the hustle and the reward at the end of the journey.
Courtney Hopper: And we know all of the challenges that come with starting a business. Between operating our wedding venue, doing speaking, and consulting, and starting our luxury wedding planning company, we wake up and hustle every day.
Dana Kadwell: But we love what we do. And today we’re talking with Maghon Taylor, an artist, author, speaker, and educator that takes a happy, whimsical, and fun approach to her business, All She Wrote Notes. Maghon, welcome to Hustle and Gather.
Maghon Taylor: Thank you so much for having me!
Dana Kadwell: We are so excited to have you.
Courtney Hopper: Yes. And by the way, for those of you that are listening, today, we are drinking a Funfetti Martini. You can find the recipe in our show notes. Funfetti everything!
Dana Kadwell: Funfetti.
Sounds delicious.
Courtney Hopper: Yeah. Well, it has sprinkles. So we thought it, you’re finding us a deal.
Dana Kadwell: It fully exudes you. Like, the sprinkles the happy, the joy. Like, this is so Maghon.
Maghon Taylor: I love it. Sprinkles make everything better. I’m convinced.
Dana Kadwell: So, um, your business started out as basically just calligraphy and it has grown into something– quite the empire, I would say.
Courtney Hopper: Yes. Dana Kadwell: So, we’d love to hear a little bit about your story. Kind of like the E!, true Hollywood story of how you got to where you are today. Maghon Taylor: I love it. I love it so much. And it’s so cool. It’s very full circle to come back here with y’all because I remember like, when I actually still was working a full-time job was when y’all opened the Bradford and I got to come out and do calligraphy at one of your events there. And so, that was just like, it seems like a hundred years ago, but it really wasn’t that long ago. But I am a lettering artist. I’m a calligrapher. I started, basically, on Etsy doing gift cards and gift tags, a lot of wedding and bridal calligraphy with envelopes. All those kinds of things that you expect when you hear calligraphy. But really my business took off when I started teaching. I started traveling all across the Southeast on a mission to spread happiness through my handwriting. It’s what I like to say. So, I wrote a book called Happy Hand Lettering in 2019. And continued to teach those classes. More than 10,000 people have taken the in-person classes plus the online version of the same class, but then COVID happened. And so, that has come to a halt for me in this season, but it gave me more time to shift and focus on the retail side of my business. I’ve operated this business from home for eight years and with the influx of more products coming in, especially with that shift during COVID, I’ve outgrown my space here. And so right now, kind of the newest adventure is I am renovating and restoring a building that I bought. I’m renovating and restoring everything with my dad. We’re kind of doing our own little version of Fixer Upper. That will eventually become my studio, where I will like, ship and pack everything from. I hope to have that as a home for classes one day and then of course, have retail space in the front for people to come in and pop in and buy gifts in person. And so, it’s been a long journey. It’s been awesome. It’s been far greater than anything I ever could’ve planned for or imagined. And I can’t wait to see what comes next. Dana Kadwell: How did you get to where you are? Like, it seems when you think about it, how does someone who writes on products now is able to buy a building? Right? Maghon Taylor: Yeah. Dana Kadwell: Renovate it? And have the space? Like, it seems like, kind of, I don’t know, like a, like an anomaly in a way. Courtney Hopper: That’s a lot of $1.50’s an envelope. Dana Kadwell: Yeah. Courtney Hopper: I don’t know how much calligraphy costs because it was $1.50 back in the day– Maghon Taylor: Yeah. I went from a $1.25 an envelope to, to now. And for me, it’s just been staying really lean. Like, I do not have a team. I do not have an employee. I do all of this from home, mostly all by myself. I recruit, I recruited my mom to come and help. She is always down to help pitch in to help packages now that she’s retired. And that’s all brand new. That just happened this year. And when I’m teaching calligraphy classes, that profit margin is quite high for me. It’s an exchange of my personal time. It’s something only I can do. But people are paying for a ticket and there’s not really a lot of overhead. You know, they’re getting the supplies, and then they’re getting my appearance and my attention. And so, I was able to really do a good job financially saving money during all those seasons. I never would have thought they would go away. I love teaching. I love traveling. And that was anywhere from eight to $10,000 a month that was coming in. And I would just save it. Like, it was with the money that I used to turn on and buy inventory. And I buy inventory in really small batches. Like, that’s grown over the years, but I would just buy exactly what I could afford and exactly what I could pay for. I never wanted to go into debt for All She Wrote Notes. And that is something that when, when your business is paper and pen, that’s pretty easy to do. Like, you can afford that. You can afford to buy, you know, cards. And I remember early on, I worked full time alongside my business for over two years before I quit and took my business full-time. And the classes were, were the linchpin there. That, that’s what made that possible for me. Because I could predict my revenue, I could plan out and book events going forward. But when all that came to a halt, I really had to make a big– a financial risk to take that money that I had saved and buy product with it. You know, there’s been scary changes and leaps to make. With the building, I was able to just buy the building. I mean, you’re talking about Fixer Upper. You, you’ve seen that show, y’all. Courtney Hopper: Yeah. Maghon Taylor: This is like, this is not a palace that we purchased, okay. It was, it was a doctor’s office that had been abandoned since 2017. It was a historical building. It had been in the town for more than 50 years. Kind of like a landmark. Like, people knew like where that was. I purchased the building for $35,000, like just wrote a check. And that was money that I had, I had in business savings. And so, I feel more, like, stretched financially than I ever have, but we’re just taking it one day at a time. Like, one Lowe’s trip, one Home Depot trip at a time. Courtney Hopper: Yeah. I feel like, to me, like when I’m listening to you, everybody has their story and the way that they got there. And I think that for you, uh, you say you weren’t patient or not a patient person, but it sounds like it took a lot of patience. But also, like, a really good understanding of what you’re comfortable with. And making sure that you are setting up your business in a way that allows you to be creatively free. Because I could imagine that for you personally, like having the financial burden of, say like a loan or the stress of that, just kind of with how you feel about it would not allow you to have that, the ability to pivot when you need to pivot. And shift when you need to shift. You would probably feel very much stuck in what you knew to be the bread and butter of your business and whatnot. And I think it really allowed you to make great creative decisions, just knowing what you’re comfortable with. Maghon Taylor: You’re exactly right. And I never, I never thought of it that way, but I think you’re exactly right. And it taps into like, I mean, there was a season in my life where I went through a divorce when I was 21 years old. I had tons of debt that I, that I inherited from all that mess. And I had to pay a lawyer that I couldn’t afford to, to be able to get to, to save my life from a domestic violence situation. And that’s over 10 years ago. But I think when you survive something like that and you work so hard to chip away to get out of, you know, name your, name, your adventure. Like, whatever it is that, that you’re, like, you’re proud that you’re not in anymore, that you’ve overcome. I think that stays with you and that impacts like, how you make other decisions going forward. And I never ever want to be in a place that I’m like, “You shouldn’t do this, or you shouldn’t do that.” Like never, ever. Like, this is what I had to do. It’s, I do feel creatively free and you, I never would have thought of that. Like, you know, you hit the nail on the head. Because I would feel so stressed and stifled if I had to worry about that. Courtney Hopper: Absolutely. So, kind of on the same vein, I think you are a perfect example of being completely yourself and your business. From your social media platforms, they’re creative and fun, and they have a huge following. What advice do you have for those that don’t even know where to start with marketing themselves? Or maybe are too afraid of like, judgment from others on social media? Because I think that’s like, fear is a big, like, hindrance for people just to even put themselves out there. Maghon Taylor: I love that. I don’t think you’ll ever feel like you made it. Like, I don’t think, I don’t. I’ll let you know if I ever, if I ever get there. I’ve been on a Hallmark channel. That was very cool. I don’t think that– Courtney Hopper: Oh, that is so cool. Maghon Taylor: –Like, you know, I don’t think that you’ll ever feel– No one’s going to like, give you a certificate that’s like, “You’re a business owner!” It’s not like a diploma, you know? It’s like, you have to kind of grant that to yourself. And if you take it seriously, other people will take it seriously. But if you treat it like a “jobby,” like, like a hobby that’s your job, other people in your life are going to do that too. For me, when I started, and it’s so cool because y’all knew me then, I mean, you knew me when, when I was just beginning this, I did take it seriously. I worked full time at Carolina. That was my dream job by the way. I went there, I loved it, it was so much fun. I was working in events. And this was just something that like, when I got off work, I would come home, but I did not go to happy hour. I did not go to dinner. I did not go out with friends. Like, I came home and like knocked it out. Like, I was so happy to fill these orders and to, just try to under-promise and over-deliver with these customers. I did not have a business plan. I did not have big goals or big dreams until much later into this. And I was just trying to enjoy it. Like I would, it was something that was fun for me. And I had always been like, “Well, if it’s not fun, then I won’t do it.” And it’s still fun. When I started, we were talking about me. I sound so cheap and so frugal, which is kind of funny. Because I mean, I had to be then. And now, I don’t have to be as much, but I kind of still am. I, I didn’t even have internet. Like, when I started, I was on the computer at work all day. And so, I did my business on my iPhone Four. And the very first set of note cards, I took a picture of them and then put them on Etsy. And so then when someone bought a set, I just made another set. Like, I didn’t even have inventory. I didn’t even have more of something. And I think my advice would be like, if you’re waiting for the perfect time to start, like, if you’re waiting until you have followers, or you’re waiting until you have a website, or you’re waiting until you have a logo and you feel like you have to pre-buy all those things, that isn’t the way that I would go. I would just say to start. Like, start telling your friends and your family start telling your Facebook friends that you’ve known since high school, tell them first. Tell them, tell your Instagram followers that you already have. Like, if you’re faithful with a little, you’ll be given a lot. And I think you just have to keep showing up even when you’re only talking to 12 people, if you scroll back to anybody’s followers, they started with one. I had one follower, which was me on my other account. Like, I grew one at a time. Even this long into it, even eight years into it, there’s never been a day where I grew by a thousand. Like, it’s been maybe a hundred? Like maybe 50? You know? Where I used to grow the most is when I would do a live event, I would ask those people like, “Hey, make sure you share about this.” Like, “Tell your friends,” like, that’s what I need you to do for me. And that’s free. It can be so defeating and discouraging if you’re comparing your beginning to somebody else’s eight years in, you know? Or even for me, if I look and see these followers that have hundreds of thousands or millions. Like, I would rather have 12 people that are real, then, you know, 2000 people that are not. More followers doesn’t mean more money. Like if, if every follower bought from me, I would be– Courtney Hopper: You wouldn’t be going to Lowes and Home Depot. Maghon Taylor: Right. They’d be coming to me! Courtney Hopper: That’s right. They’d be coming to you. Maghon Taylor: I would own a Lowes or Home Depot. Courtney Hopper: That’s right. Maghon Taylor: That just isn’t realistic. That’s not how it works. And I just tried to, like, those numbers are, it’s a game on your phone. Like that, that’s what that is. I actually really enjoy social media, like as a, as a part of my business. It’s like, I think it’s probably one of the most fun things that I get to do. And that I look at it through like, I’m an entertainment platform. Like, I’m trying to give. Like, I try to, to show up and like, it’s my own little reality TV show. Like, I’m trying to bring you in and, you know, tell you about our life and tell you about our family and like, the person that you see online, the only difference is that I say more bad words in real life then I say in person. Because my mom follows me, and I don’t want to get in trouble. And so, that’s the only difference that you would see. Dana Kadwell: I think one of the things that automatically drew me to you like, back, you know, six, seven years ago, was just how happy and positive you are. Like, you have like, the happiest vibes. And it’s really interesting. Like, you just– mentioning that you came out of a domestic violence situation. And I just find that to be so inspiring that that didn’t completely alter and change your life in a negative way. But I know that everything isn’t always rainbows and butterflies right? Was there a moment in the business where you were just like, we’d like to ask like, your, “Oh, shit” moment. Like, you were just like, “What did I get myself into?” Courtney Hopper: “How am I going to get myself out?” Dana Kadwell: Yeah. Maghon Taylor: It was when I was pregnant with Vance. I had HG (hyperemesis gravidarum) like, the same thing Kate Middleton had. Like, where I was sick. Like, I threw up every day, like, 10 times a day. Later, we figured out that I had prepartum depression. It wasn’t anything that was ever diagnosed. It wasn’t anything that was ever like, I didn’t really get the help that I needed then. But it, it took like, all the life and all the joy like, out of me. And what I loved so much about my business became like, so much anxiety and so much of a burden because bottom line, I thought I was going to puke. Like, in the middle of it, but I did, I had to run away and like, scamper into the back and like, throw up during events and it embarrassed me, it made me stress out, it made me worried. I couldn’t be excited or hopeful about the future because I was literally just trying to survive. And that was at such a point– it was such a turning point in my business. It was a year after I had gone full time, and we were moving into this house where we are now, and my business was just starting to kind of like, pick up. Like, I was starting to get more, more requests for classes. Like, they were selling out more live events; more licensing people coming at me. I was still doing weddings and I felt like I was letting people down like, left and right. And looking back, I don’t think I was, I think I was being harder on myself. But I knew that they weren’t getting the Maghon that like, I really am because they were getting sad, sick, like, barely-hanging-on Maghon. And she ain’t cute. And so, I worked through, I powered through. By the grace of God, I literally do not know how. I can’t, I can’t even look back at that time and tell you like, how I made it. But then he was born, and it was like a switch flipped. Anybody who’s ever gone through like a depression. Like, once you come out of that, once you’re better, it’s like you’re brand new. You’re a brand-new woman. Like, it’s just, you’re like, I don’t even know who that was. And I was like, afraid to come back. I think I almost had just like anxiousness and stress. Like, I had like a four-month maternity leave. I was dragging it out. I felt like I couldn’t get the wheels like, turning again. Like, I felt like I needed to, to truly recover. I worked up to the point, like y’all, I was having contractions and I like, called my mom and I was like, “I need to get these orders out.” Like, these need to go. Like, I mean, did not stop. And then it was like, once he was here, I was like, I just need a minute. And I spent all of the money that I had saved. I just kept dragging my feet on going back; kept dragging my feet on booking classes. I was afraid I was going to be irrelevant. By the time I came back. I felt like I hadn’t done an amazing job with my people when I was pregnant. I thought that people were going to leave me. Now, now I’m not single anymore. I’ve gotten married. Now I’m a mom. Like, ew, I didn’t know. Like, I didn’t know I was going to be welcomed in with open arms. I was so afraid that I was going to just, just kind of like, age myself out of the customers. But what I never could have known or like, predicted is they were going to grow with me. Like, duh. Like, we’re all aging at the same time. Like, we’re all in that season. Like, we’re all going forward and continuing on. And it was the loneliest time, like, in my life, but then in my business too. Because I do try to show up online and I do want to be real, but I want to be positive. And I didn’t feel like I was helping anybody by coming online and complaining because there’s so many people that would do anything to have a child. And I had friends that were going through infertility, friends that have lost babies. I felt like, “Who am I to complain about puking?” Like, it just, I felt like I had to keep that in, and I felt like I had to keep that a secret. And I think that ate away at me. During just that whole season I came back after maternity leave, “Oh, shit. I don’t have money.” Like, all of it’s gone. And what turned it around for me was that I hired a business coach. And for the very first time, like, I had done all of this all by myself. And I ended up instead of paying myself, I paid her. And that was literally, that was all that I had. And I was like, “Here, we’ll trade that off. I won’t take a salary for a few months.” And she helped me get, get my feet back under me. I feel like even when things are hard, like, I have the confidence that I’ve gone through harder things than this. Like, a lot harder things than this. And I think that helps me. Like, that really does give me like, a whole ‘nother perspective. Like, I can show up with positivity, I can show up and have a good day, or if I’m having a bad day, I can usually shake it up and turn it around and like, get it back on. Track. But at that comes from– I think I can be so happy now because I know what it’s like to be so sad. Courtney Hopper: Yeah. Dana Kadwell: I think it’s so interesting. Like, I was talking to one of my really good friends and she has three boys at home, and she is a teacher as well. So, she’s been teaching online, dealing with these three boys, and we were sitting and we’re talking, and she just broke down and she was just like, it’s so hard. One of her boys just got diagnosed with some learning disabilities and she’s like, and he’s just consuming it. And she looks at me and she’s like, “But I don’t know why I’m complaining.” Like, “Your whole life is upending.” And I was like, “No, just because someone in your mind perceives that they might have it worse doesn’t mean that you can’t feel awful and terrible and low. And it doesn’t invalidate your feelings.” And I think it’s so hard, especially as women, to allow ourselves to feel that emotion and say, “Is it valid?” Because you could, I could always say, I could always sit and have like, I’m having a bad day, but I could say, “Well, this person’s having a worse day. This person would kill for my life. This person would do whatever, therefore, I need to suck it up and get over it.” And sometimes just like you said. It like, eats away at you and it’s almost more damaging. Like, you almost can’t even get over it in a way that is healthy and quickly because you’re ashamed that you feel the way that you feel. Maghon Taylor: Yep. Dana Kadwell: It’s so, so powerful. Courtney Hopper: Yeah, we like, we joke about it too. It’s like, “Okay, we’re having first world problems.” You know what I mean? Maghon Taylor: Yes. Yes! Courtney Hopper: It feels like that. Like, it’s very trite. But yet, it’s what you’re experiencing and it’s hard and that’s legitimate. And like when you’re not even letting it be legitimate to yourself, I think it’s just so damaging. It’s almost like heaping shame on top of hardship, right? Like, why am I so upset about this? Maghon Taylor: You keep digging a hole. Courtney Hopper: Like, why is this so hard? Yeah. Like, I should be fine. Like, I have everything I need. But yet, it’s fine not to be fun. Maghon Taylor: I deal with that a lot. Like, just in general, like I, I’m an Enneagram seven. Like, I’m wired to be, like– yes! Like, life of the party. I don’t want to be sad. Like, get that out of here. Like, I don’t want any part of that. But it’s like, I, I do feel that, and I feel bad, like bringing that to somebody. I’m like, I don’t want you to carry that for me. Like, I’m okay. I find that I do make myself feel better a lot of times if I go and help somebody else. Like if I, I have more grace with other people than I do with myself, you know? And I certainly don’t think that. If a friend comes to me. Just like your friend, like, you are so allowed to have those feelings. You’re so allowed to have a moment or, you know, have a, a season or a day that is just rough. Like, that’s okay. But we’re hard, I think we’re just harder on ourselves than we are with, with people that we love. Courtney Hopper: Yeah. And I think that translates so much into business too. Like, I was talking to somebody and we’re having this great year, right? It’s just like 2018. And they’re like, “Oh my God, that’s so amazing.” I’m like, “It is, and I’m so happy for it.” But at the same time, I am terrified because we have to grow in a responsible way and a huge amount of business isn’t always the blessing that you need. If you don’t have the infrastructure and the employees and the ability, like, it just, it weighed on me for so long. And I, finally, someone said something like, “Oh, you must be so happy.” And I was like, “You know what? I’m not.” Dana Kadwell: I hate to be the Debbie Downer, but I’m not happy about this. Like, I, there’s too much, like, that I felt like we were doing kind of half-assed that, just to get through the amount of business that we had. It was unsettling to me. But I think, I think business is the same way. Like, it’s okay to be going through a really great time and also a hard time at the same time. Courtney Hopper: Yeah. So, kind of getting back to your trajectory, you just released Bettie Confetti. Maghon Taylor: Yes! Courtney Hopper: So, we wondered what led you to write Bettie Confetti and how has that book impacted your personal life and your business? Like, is it definitely like a high moment for you? Maghon Taylor: It is because I wanted it for so long. So, I have like, even back to being a child, I would swing on the porch with my dad and we would like, make up rhymes and like, make up songs. And so, I remember being in the third grade and winning like a young writer’s competition. And they like, published our book, which means they like, laminated it and like, bound in the library. Like, it wasn’t real. I think I just like, because my teachers back and told me I could, I believed I could. Like, I believed what they said. And that was not a dream. I told you, I was not like a really big dreamer like, at the beginning of this. I just was like, “Cool! I’m making some note cards.” Like, “Cool! Let’s do this!” Like, “Fun! That sounds cool.” This was something that I kind of kept pretty close to the vest. Like, I never like, said I really want to be a children’s book author or, I just, I felt like it was too big. I just, I didn’t want to say it and not make it happen. And I didn’t really know how that was going to come to be. I go to the Making Things Happen conference every year that Lara Casey and her, the whole Cultivate team put on. I’ve had the honor of being a speaker there for, for many years now. And a big part of my story is, is about confetti. And confetti, when you see that with me, like, it’s everywhere. Like, it’s part of my brand, it’s the license plate on my car. But I think what a lot of people don’t see is like, what the heart behind that is for me. It’s really a lot about my story. I make mistakes every day. Like, I’m a professional lettering artist and I spell stuff wrong. And I will sometimes write an ugly letter, or I’ll squiggle it out and dump it in the bin over there. And one day I got the idea to run all of my scrap paper, and there was a lot, through my office shredder. And out came the most beautiful confetti. I wasn’t trying to make confetti; I was trying to get rid of that paper. And then confetti happened. And I lit up. Like, if felt like something came alive in me. Like, I started sprinkling that in orders. Like, I started putting that like, out into the world. Like, I identified so much with it because it was trash. And now, it’s beautiful. And when it was trash, like, when other people cast it aside. Like, it’s the broken pieces, it’s the mistakes, it’s the scrap paper that wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t worthy, that nobody wanted. But then once it became confetti, it’s amazing. Like, it’s beautiful. People throw confetti at weddings, they, it falls down with the national championship. Like, people love to be happy and confetti makes people happy. And I feel like God used that to teach me that lesson, like about my life. That you have been through hard things. Like, you have been cast aside, you have been not chosen, you have been broken. But I can put it back together. I can make these broken pieces beautiful if you’ll let me. Like, if you’ll trust me. And so, I tell this confetti story. I’ll talk about like; you don’t have to be defined by your past. You don’t have to be defined by your mistakes. The hard seasons that you’ve gone through, it’s not, I’m teaching you about the ABCs and about lettering. And you’re getting frustrated about those mess ups, but those kinds of things happen in your life too. And I would watch grown women, I mean, I can’t tell you tell it to you without it, like catching in my throat. Like, I’m that passionate about it. I would watch, you know, grown women of all ages, like, get teary, like when I would talk about that. And growing up, I was a perfectionist. I wanted to get everything right. I wanted my parents to be proud of me. I didn’t even just want to make the team. I needed to be the captain. Like, to feel like I was good enough. And it wasn’t until all of these sorts of things started crashing down through college, through that relationship, like, through that failure, that I had to take a look and be like, “Okay, this isn’t perfect, but like, you’re still here.” Like, “You’re still okay. You’re still shining.” Like, you’re, you’re all right.” And I feel like that is the message that I wish I could have heard as a child. That I wrote that story because I wanted little girls like me to know that it’s okay to mess up that you do not have to be perfect at everything. That when you’re not perfect, God still loves you. Like, He’s going to fill in the gaps. Like that’s just not what He needs from you. And I grew up thinking that it was. And so, I think that that book has just really come with like, heaps of grace, like for everybody at, at this time. And I’m so thankful. I’m so thankful for the way that it worked out. It is just the greatest joy and honor that like, I’ve ever had to be able to, to make that book. And now I’m starting to dream again and now I’m starting to like, “Okay, well, if we keep going, what else can we do?” Like, could we have a doll? And could we have maybe a sequel. And could she have a Christmas book? And could there be a cartoon series? And so, they spring us like, “Okay, one thing at a time.” Courtney Hopper: Hey man, life’s a windy road. You don’t know where you’re going to end up. Dana Kadwell: That’s right. I love that. I feel like too, it’s such a testament that when you follow your heart and you follow the true desires of what you want, then it’s a whole like, Pandora’s box essentially. Right? Like it, then it just unleashes all these other thoughts inside of you and these wants, and these desires, and these streams. And it turns you into probably the person that maybe when you started your business was, like, just constantly looking towards the future and like, what can I do? How can I reach more? People? I think that’s so telling, because I think sometimes like, even when I get into that slump of business, I have to take a step back and realize it’s because I’m not doing exactly what I want to do. And it’s not like, because I don’t want to like balance a checkbook, want to do. It’s because my overall mission and goal, it’s not feeding me. Like, it’s not reaching the depths of my heart, that of what I always wanted to kind of put out there. So, I love that. I think that’s such a great, a really awesome story and a really great test of it to small business. Courtney Hopper: And I hope that other people listening to this can like, literally, like, feel your passion. And I don’t know if it’s cause I’m staring at you, but like, it’s just so authentic. And it really, when you’re talking about Bettie Confetti, it makes me feel like I’m kind of experiencing Maghon on that kind of spiritual level. Do you know what I mean? Like, that kismet level between people. Like, it feels that way. Dana Kadwell: I love it. Courtney Hopper: Like, so authentic and I’m like, feeling the vibe, you know? Maghon Taylor: That’s so cool! That’s cool to hear. I get like, hives. Like, I get like, so excited. Like, calm down, but it’s, it’s so cool. And just the way that they like, brought her to life and like, incorporated glitter, like, onto the– there’s like, real glitter on every single page. And they never once, you know, all my life I’ve been told, like, I’m too much. Like, you’re too loud, you’re too colorful, you’re too this, you’re too that. They never once tried to take any of that away from me. And I just think that when, when you have a dream that’s like, in your heart. Like, when that’s laid on your heart, when that is, you know, whether faith is important to you or not, I don’t think that is, that matters in this case. But I think that like, you have everything you need within you to, to carry that across the finish line. But you have to believe that before anybody else will believe that. And so many times I feel like people who want to start a business, I’m like, “Start a business!” Do it, like, make it happen, make the thing. If you want to be a photographer, take some pictures. If you want to be a calligrapher, write something. Like, write a letter, make an envelope. Like, you, you are the piece that has to make that action happen if you want to see the rest of that future like, unroll and, and reveal itself. I do, like the name of your podcast, like, Hustle and Gather. Like I hustle. I gather. I do the things that I need to do to be able to make that happen. I don’t just sit back and wait for that to fall into my lap. Courtney Hopper: Well, I love that as a culminating thought. Get out there. Hustle hard. Dana Kadwell: I agree. It has been so wonderful chatting with you today. Like, I have a whole page of things I have written down because I really feel like you have an amazing energy, you have an amazing story. I just, I think even knowing a little bit more about, you know, your history, like, I just, it’s, it’s so much more meaningful to me that you spread joy and happiness. Maghon Taylor: Thank you. Thank you all so much. It is an honor to be here. I appreciate you having me on. Dana Kadwell: Thanks everyone for gathering with us today to talk about the hustle. To learn more about Maghon Taylor, visit allshewrotenotes.com or follow her on Instagram @AllSheWroteNotes. Courtney Hopper: And to learn more about our hustle, visit canddevents.com, the bradfordnc.com, and hustleandgather.com. Or follow us on Instagram @CandDEvents, @TheBradfordNC, or @HustleandGather. And if you like the show, be sure to subscribe and leave us a rating and a review. This podcast is a production of Earfluence. I’m Courtney. Dana Kadwell: And I’m Dana. Courtney Hopper: And we’ll talk to you next time on Hustle and Gather.
Hustle and Gather is hosted by Courtney Hopper and Dana Kadwell, and is produced by Earfluence. Courtney and Dana’s hustles include C&D Events, Hustle and Gather, and The Bradford Wedding Venue.