We recently connected with Jody Vitali and have shared our conversation below.

Jody, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Running a multi-layered business, one in which we provide resources for parents as well as advertising for local businesses, can be challenging because some people or businesses may automatically think “mom blog” and not realize or understand the true nature of what our business, and other ones like it, actually do. This general lack of understanding can lead to undermining the time and energy a business such as ours puts into our work and as a result, challenges profitability.

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?

Charleston Moms is the go-to parenting resource for Lowcountry families. It’s a multi-faceted resource that includes parenting articles, local guides, in-person events, and social media content. We also provide digital advertising services for local and national brands. We know that parents are busy and we provide them with easily digestible content and resources to help make their lives easier. Moms make the majority of household buying decisions and that’s why our advertising partners know that working with us will help put their brand and business in front of thousands of Lowcountry parents. Our readers trust us and we don’t ever want to steer them wrong.

Life can take you in all different directions and owning my own business was never something I had in mind. After having a miscarriage between my two daughters, I started to find my love for writing again and a newfound interest in website creation. This eventually led me to become a contributing writer for Charleston Moms and when the opportunity arose to buy the business, it felt like the next right step.

One thing that sets us apart is that Charleston Moms is written by moms in all stages of motherhood and with all different experiences. Everyone’s parenting journey is different and our mission is to help connect moms to each other and their community and to let them know that they aren’t alone.

There are so many things that make me a proud business owner, but if I had to pick what I am most proud of it is that our team of writers share the good, the bad, and the ugly of motherhood and of life. From mental illness to postpartum depression, chronic illness, divorce, and everything in between, they share these stories in the hopes of helping others going through something similar. I feel so honored that they are trusting Charleston Moms, and our readers, with these very personal stories. Our business is a true labor of love, from the stories to the advertising. Our advertising partners know that we understand their target audience because we are their target audience and we take a lot of pride in the work that we do.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The pandemic brought pivots in life and in business for everyone, Charleston Moms included. We were used to having in-person events and giving our audience that face-to-face connection. One event that we host annually, Bloom, is for new and expecting moms and in 2020 we had to shift from having that in-person to a virtual event. Bloom is an especially intimate event as it’s celebrating our local moms in one of the most exciting, and nervewracking, times in their lives. It was challenging to figure out how to create that same level of connection through a virtual event, but in the end, we were able to do it. The pandemic also really forced us to work even harder to create those connections among moms through our online platforms.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Charleston is chock full of so many amazing women-led entrepreneurial resources and businesses and I have gleaned so much helpful information through them. Hilary Johnson of Hatch Tribe was someone that I met early on in business ownership and I learned so much about burnout and understanding your why in business from her. Women Entrepreneurs Inc. is another amazing woman-led platform that provides so many wonderful resources for business owners.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://charleston.momcollective.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheCharlestonMoms/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCharlestonMoms
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCHSMoms

Image Credits
Belly to Baby Photography, Jennifer Lavelle Photography, Lea Austen Photography