We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amber Rhodes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amber, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Single motherhood is a common story. Whether an unexpected divorce or broken relationship, or even a death of a spouse – this new way of living rocks your world. However, my generation was brought up by single moms who basically survived. But I wanted to re-write the narrative of how we, especially in the African American community, single mom and how we can break generational curses and create generational blessings. I believe we are in a tough spot – unlearning how we were raised, learning a new normal and teaching that new normal to our kids. I want to reach the single moms, of one or even five, who needs that hope instead of the struggle. With God and and a little bit of selflessness, I believe we all can create generational blessings as solo moms.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started my blogging career in 2007 as a writer, basically writing about news topics, entertainment and venting about life. Sincerely, Amber came to mind as the final draft of my name – since we all conclude letters using the salutation “Sincerely”. But with the name Sincerely, Amber – my blogs became more and more transparent coming from a genuine space rather than a venting space. In 2012, my blog rebranded into a Christian blog and my road to changing my life. From then, I wrote about building a relationship with God, to marriage, to divorce, to single motherhood. In 2017, I started Vlogging, but finally was able to start publishing vlogs on YouTube in 2020. From there I created my Instagram and Facebook accounts. I want to reach the moms that are hopeless – and from the single mom support groups on Facebook, there are so many souls weary of being the sole provider for their children, and when the childs father does not help in any fashion, I want to show theres a better way than putting kids in the middles. I want to be in their corner in providing hope, life and encouragement when there seems to be none. I was there and I feel the pain of doing it alone. I just don’t want women to feel they have to wear the label because there is not another way to be. We can thrive in single motherhood.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
One thing I had to unlearn is that it’s ok to be vulnerable with your kids. Growing up, we knew what to and what not to say to adults. It was threatened out of us if we did anything deemed “disrespectful” to grown ups. But along the way, someone wise said, “If you cannot express your feelings now, it’s because you were not allowed to have them growing up.” I had to unlearn that self expression is a gift that shouldn’t be hindered. And it starts with our kids. So I unlearned this trait so I can teach my daughter to express herself, no matter how she think mom may feel. In this, I teach her disrespectful versus respectful and tactful ways to approach. Unlearning this is still a challenge. When my daughter shares things with me, my feelings get hurt sometimes, but I know it’s not her intent. So I am teaching myself through this process as well.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Unlike so many blogs and vlogs, I have to remind myself that “likes” and “follows” are not all I am seeking. Yes, do I want a bigger audience? Of course. But my goal is to get genuine follows and not forced follows. I am a firm believer God will make sure that all I am supposed to impact will know who I am. But, I have also learned that hashtags are your friend for more page / content views. Also being genuine – people want someone relatable and someone that is transparent. To show that I have the same feelings as a single parent as the next mom helps followers understand that we are not exempt from real feelings. But we are also called to a higher standard. Our parents, 9 times out of 10, would always want us to do better than they did. And it begins with whom we impact the most – our kids.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sincerelyamber.net
- Instagram: @_sincerelyAmberTheBlog
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SincerelyAmber1
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQyeqhvNgvxCJVqXdMZf5zg