Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dwayna and Donna Williams and Morris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Dwayna and Donna thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Becoming full-time mompreneurs is challenging, mainly because we have little ones and a family to help take care of. Taking risks, having faith, and trusting God is the only way we have been able to maintain the life we desire to live. The word “risk” was not something we always lived by in the beginning stages of our entrepreneurial journey. Throughout our five years in business, we’ve learned to live as 2 Corinthians 5:7 states, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” Living by faith and taking risks has not been easy; however, the rewards of doing so have been overflowing, and we look forward to the fruits it will continuously bring.

In the first couple of years of business, there were significant transitions that we needed to make as business owners. We created an LLC and spoke of ourselves as business owners but had much to learn about risks, boundaries, team, and mindset. For the past five years, we have experienced significant life changes, such as having children, being and becoming wives, and navigating the transition from freelancer and corporate worker to full-time business owners. These beautiful roles and responsibilities have warranted us to take risks that we necessarily did not always want to take.

A significant risk we took as business partners were both coming into business full-time. During the first 3.5 years of business, Dwayna worked the business while taking some part-time freelance gigs. In contrast, Donna worked full-time in the office as a sales trainer for a notable security company in North Carolina. We knew we could only scale by operating the business as 50/50 partners. The transition from corporate to full-time entrepreneur was indeed a risk for Donna because it meant her leaving stability, benefits, and a steady source of income.

When Donna became a full-time entrepreneur, Dwayna had to now share income 50/50 after seeing 100%of the profit from clients. Hence, this meant the company needed to make more income to sustain the lives of both partners. The first year of Donna being in the business full-time was a risk for both parties, and it took a lot of faith to stick out the mission we were put on this earth to achieve. Leaving stability to be able to present mothers in our children’s lives was one of the most significant risks to date and also one of the most challenging things we’ve ever done in life. This transition meant making sure each of our morals aligned, and we had to rely on and push one another to show up 100% for ourselves and our business in the name of legacy. Taking this risk led us to understand our gifts truly, how we show up, and grow a rebranded business that serves mompreneurs and women-led businesses with lifestyle brands.

Dwayna and Donna, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Founded in 2016, TGND, which stands for “The Girls Next Door ” is the passion project turned full-time career of Dwayna Williams and twin sister Donna Morris. Together the duo have over 10 years of experience in sales and marketing, public relations, media relations, social media management, image consulting, and strategic brand development; earning their clients features in nationally recognized and syndicated media outlets such as NBC, FOX, ABC, CBS, iHeart Radio, Tom Joyner Morning Show, and more.

We have always been creative. As children, we grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and were active both in school and after school. We can vividly remember us as cheerleaders, singers, and dancers. We even produced and starred in a video production that aired on our local school T.V. station. We absolutely loved and still love the arts.

Outside of being creative kids, we also enjoyed advocating for our peers and helping to create awareness around their stories. We did this through various events with the Boys and Girls Club, among other organizations. We were skilled at identifying our peers’ needs and assisting them in either getting the help required or sharing their stories through the right channels. As present-day publicists, digital brand architects, and brand image architects, we do the same thing, just on a larger scale. It’s humbling to look back and see that there was always a connection between what came naturally to us back then, and what we’re doing now.

TGND Consulting is a full-service PR agency with the goal of helping women juggling motherhood and the challenges of running a business, be seen in spaces and stand out from the competition through strategic brand development, media relations, image consulting, and kick-ass public relations and marketing tactics. Simply put – we turn emerging brands into influencers through innovative ideas.

TGND’s mission is to cultivate a community of moms who have dreams beyond their at-home roles to be able to be seen, voices be heard, and define their identity beyond motherhood. Our vision is to help thousands of mompreneurs create magical brands through publicity, brand image strategy & style guides.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In February 2022, we had to take a step back and rebrand TGND Consulting. The pivot came into play when we realized that we needed to utilize our gifts more efficiently and effectively as business partners. With this pivot, we decided to realign our gifts with the services we were providing, the niche we were targeting, and focus on creating digital products so that we did not always have to trade our hours for dollars. It’s a scary feeling to start over, but we know that it is necessary for the growth of our business. Since the pivot, we have become more straightforward on offerings and experience growth internally as business partners.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

WOM, referrals, public relations, and social media have significantly built our brand reputation. Being able to use client case studies and testimonials is a true game changer. Showing up authentically on social media has allowed us to connect and engage with moms and women who are also business owners. Social media has been an excellent tool for networking and creating synergy with women bosses like us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tgndconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tgndconsulting/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TGNDConsulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tgnd-consulting/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tgndconsulting

Image Credits
MaxRes Photography