We were lucky to catch up with Arianna Cruz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Arianna, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission is who we are. I founded MORE Magazine with the mission of Making Opportunities Reachable for Everyone. Creating opportunities is only one piece of the puzzle. If people are unaware of the resources, support, and options available, it serves no one. My goal in building our business is to create accessibility and knowledge of what is available.

With this mission, we have built our whole business around Making Opportunities Reachable for Everyone. It starts with the content we curate on the podcast and for each issue, we want to educate, inspire, and call you to action. And your action might look different than the person beside you, and that’s okay because you might be in different places.

This goes into how we build our team. Our team is made up of interns, often first-year students because getting your first step in your career is the hardest one to place. It’s not just a job though. We talk about identity, personal and professional goals, and how you want to present yourself and advocate for yourself. The internship is an opportunity for growth, and we make it clear and achievable to grow with intention.

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?

MORE started in an in-between-home. I was working with two organizations to help prepare adults for continued education, pursuing their GEDs, preparing for job interviews, and looking for the next step to make their life move in the direction they wanted to see it go. As the program grew, my role no longer felt needed. I had helped to facilitate and realized that being a connector to resources and people had great impact.

As I realized my strengths in being a connector with loads of creativity, the magazine formed organically. I wanted to tell stories and hold space for voices. I think it’s often easier to connect and learn new information or understand unfamiliar experiences when it’s coming from a personal perspective. A majority of our articles are written in personal essay styles because of this. The feedback on the way we curate and storytell varies in beautiful ways — some feel so seen and no longer alone in their phase/feelings and others feel as though they’re able to understand this new perspective as if they were learning about it from a friend. At the end of the day, we are all human, and we seek to connect and understand one another.

While I am most proud of our internship program (with over 25 young students pursuing business and more have been served!), I am even more proud of the way we hold and create space. There is always room at our table and the tables we build to invite others. And we do it intentionally. We invite warmly, and when we say, “Come sit with us,” we’ll already pulling your chair out for you because we mean it.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

Funding a business is such a daunting ask. They say (and I wholeheartedly agree) that getting started is the hardest first step. But if you don’t get started, then you never get going.

My funding story is not exciting, but it got the job done and gave me space. As the magazine was coming together and it was time to pay for a website, domain, and upgrade so that I could take payments on my website, etc., I compiled the costs I needed and bargained with the sales support for a discount code then I used my tax refund to get the first investment into the business.

It was something that would have been “fun money” or a payment towards debt, etc. That money made the first investment of my business without forcing me to dip into savings or use credit I shouldn’t be. As the business continued, I grew in my freelance work and I used my freelance money to pay for what I needed it to pay for.

Looking back, it was a creative solution, and it’s made me think of other ways to make money work for me. That first investment from a tax refund has allowed me to pursue a mission my whole heart is in.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

“Managing” always feels like it fits for “time” or “projects” more in my mind. When it comes to a team, no matter your title, if you are responsible for a team, you are leading. You’re leading the direction, the way they grow, and their morale.

While I think building rapport and relationships with my team is *so* important, I think remaining a small distance is necessary. It’s especially necessary when it comes to maintaining high morale. The tone that a leader sets is the tone that carries through the team. There are a million sayings —

“People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.”
“People might not remember what you say, but they’ll remember how you made them feel.”

And many more. All of those sayings though put it on the way a leader leads, behaves, and ultimately exhibits behaviors through their words and actions. IF you want to maintain high moral, it’s on you as the leader of the team to bring high morale. Bring the energy, even when it feels like nobody is returning it, and as their confidence in you grows, so will the way they lean into the energy you are giving.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.moremagazine.org
• Instagram: @_moremagazine
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magazinemore/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingopportunitiesreachableforeveryone/
• Twitter: @_moremagazine (inactive)
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@_moremagazine
• Other: https://www.patreon.com/MOREMagazine

Image Credits

Lisa Lee Harbaugh
Leo Sofyer
Lauren Harlan