We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elizabeth Rago. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elizabeth below.
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
From 2010 – 2013, my family went through a series of events that left us broken, not only mentally, but physically and financially. This rough season had me embarrassed and feeling almost like an outcast as I looked for resources from mental health practitioners and lawyers to bankruptcy support and access to free food.
Broken, I didn’t want to look for support using a Google search. My condition and circumstance needed a referral from someone I trusted rather than blindly picking a professional from a list my insurance carrier provided.
When you fear daily how you are going to feed your kids, buy diapers, and put gas in your car, life becomes daunting.
Our family and a few friends were overwhelmingly kind and helped us in any way they could. But with their own families to provide for, guilt quickly set in that these wonderful people were scraping the bottom of their own barrels to help us.
By day, I worked as a writer encouraging people to buy luxury handbags and remodel their kitchens with upscale appliances. At night, I faced my own mess of life battling hourly calls from credit agencies, an increasingly taxed relationship with my husband, chronic illness, and mounds of anxiety.
I looked to self-help books to lift me out of my “funk.” I listened to inspirational speakers that told me to “hustle” more and frankly, I was sick of hustling. I had no more hustle to give – the hustle was KILLING ME.
I was looking for an element of support that nobody was really talking about in typical lifestyle publications.
Real-life support.
I was desperate to find out if anyone else was feeling the way I was – drowning and weary. I reasoned if I was going through this hell in my seemingly delightful middle-class life, there had to be other women out there just like me, pretending to have it all together, yet drowning behind closed doors.
At the time, The Modern Domestic Woman was a lifestyle platform that focused on DIYs, gardening hacks, beauty tips, and fashion trends.
As I came out of my rough season, I didn’t want anyone else to feel the way I felt, lost and full of fear and guilt. From then on I was on a mission to help women from all walks of life – no matter what they’ve been through.
Why? Because The Modern Domestic Woman is an extension of me.
I spent those years gathering positive referrals and discovered women who didn’t show up in the first few pages of an internet search. I reasoned other women needed to know about all the amazing local people who were also on a mission to help others.
Supporting women from all walks of life, the Modern Domestic Woman (MDW) thrives on providing a local directory of practical resources for women in any capacity needed. From legal help and social services like temporary housing and food to positive female support groups and communities, mental health, and well-being organizations, MDW is on a mission to round up a list of services and support to get you started on a path to peaceful living.
MDW focuses on 3 pillars of living:
Mental Health – MDW is a support community of women rooted in making mental health a priority instead of an afterthought. Because nobody can pour from an empty cup.
Lifestyle – MDW focuses on creating safe spaces; at home and in the body you call home. We encourage a healthy lifestyle that meets you where you’re at. Not where someone else wants you to be.
Advocacy – At MDW, we go out into our communities and support women in crisis. Helping them create safe spaces to live and thrive. We actively partner with organizations that support the rights, recovery, and well-being of women.
Of course, life continues to throw stress at me, but what’s changed is my response to the mania. And while I can’t make the insanity of life go away, I can encourage other women who are going through hell and give them a glimpse of hope through a launch pad of positive professional resources.
Elizabeth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a mama, wife, writer, and founder/editor of The Modern Domestic Woman. I have been a professional writer for 17 years and came upon starting my own platform when I went through my own rough season in life searching for professional resources.
I aim to provide women in my community with positive professional resources and a safe space to explore their lives with the support of like-minded women.
What problems do I solve? I want to help solve problems in the lives of women through tangible solutions like professional referrals, job opportunities, financial and legal support, support groups, and community events that focus on mental health topics.
What sets me apart? I see myself as a “mental health concierge” bringing people together. I listen to the needs of my readers and followers (most message me privately for referrals) and help guide them in the right direction toward support.
I am the proudest of the women I serve and the women who serve in my community. It takes a brave heart to reach out for help, and a compassionate heart to uplift and guide the lives of women in crisis.
I want people to know that reaching out to me for help through MDW is completely FREE. Most of our events are free as well and there is a purpose behind that. I know the reality of living penny to penny. Where you’re so stressed about feeding your kids, you can’t fathom “extras.” I don’t want women to think they can’t come to a support group because they have to pay.
I do have a Venmo account where people can give a goodwill donation, but that is never expected. Plus, all money collected from those donations goes right back into MDW for room rentals and speaker fees.
In 2023 I am working to file as a non-profit so I can apply for grants and grow the MDW community.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The lesson I had to unlearn: I need to be true to myself. In life and in business.
MDW started as a lifestyle space and column called “The Circular Home” hosted by an editorial partner of the Chicago Tribune called Inside Shopper.
After the Tribune went bankrupt and Inside Shopper fizzled out, I rebranded and became The Modern Domestic Woman.
Since 2014, I shifted my focus from DIY projects and home decor to mental health topics and sought out professional resources of support for women. During my time as a lifestyle columnist and in the early stages of MDW, I worked to emulate all of my favorite magazines and domestic experts in my content.
While I loved looking at pretty home remodels and makeup tutorials all day, I didn’t feel comfortable putting all of this focus and the importance of perfecting the external elements of life when my mental health (and my own house!) was a mess.
I scaled back the focus on the perfect lifestyle and focused more on providing positive resources and dismantling the shame and stigma surrounding mental health.
However, I couldn’t talk about these heavy topics 24/7 so I started posting a #morningpretty on my social feeds to help my own mental health. I sought out anything that made me smile or inspired me.
Since MDW is an extension of me, I like to weave local shops and fashion/beauty trends throughout my messaging, to give us a break from the heavy topics. I feature a Holiday Gift Guide each year and a Spring and Fashion Guide to satisfy the editorial gal in me.
The bottom line is – stay true to yourself. Listen to your gut. If you don’t have peace about what you’re doing, pause and reflect on your motive for doing whatever it is you want to do.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I think being transparent in my storytelling and using myself as an example to dismantle the stigma behind mental health has helped build my reputation as a helper in my market. I am not embarrassed by my shortcomings and the best way I have gained trust with people is to show them my vulnerabilities.
I also like to seek out a variety of people to interview that come from different backgrounds. There are some people in my community who think there is not a lot of diversity in our area, but I don’t agree. There are amazing people all around us every day. We just choose not to see them, engage with them, or hear their stories. It’s my job as a writer and advocate for women to tell their stories.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mdwcares.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themoderndomesticwoman/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheModernDomesticWoman/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-rago-8409388/
- Other: I just launched an online shop today! All proceeds help fund MDW events like the Moms Support Group, Saturday Expert Series, and advocacy groups in our community. https://the-modern-domestic-woman.myshopify.com/