We recently connected with Maryam Miller and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Maryam, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

Currently, I manage Covered by Maryam’s social media pages. The company is small, and I am focusing on developing the company before outsourcing. Our social media, specifically Instagram is how we directly attract and communicate with our customers, so I am not ready to outsource this yet. One thing that I am working on is posting consistently. That is truly the key to growth. Consistent, good-quality content has allowed our following to grow over 10k within the first two years. I’ve taken some time away from social media the last year and a half to focus on attending in-person vending events, but I am planning to return to content creation next year.

One recommendation that I have regarding social media is partnerships. If you are able to partner with people whose audience is similar to your target customer base, then you will grow in followers and sales. A good partnership is invaluable, and the shared audience base is key. For example, my product is scarves, so I look for people who have posted and had good engagement on posts of them wearing a scarf. That shows that their audience appreciates that item. If someone’s audience is not interested in your product, then that partnership might not have the best results.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, my name is Maryam Miller I was born in Atlanta, Ga and currently live in Los Angeles Ca with my husband and two children. My husband and I, both born and raised in Atlanta, craved change and a challenge, so we moved to LA in March 2021 and haven’t looked back since.

The creation of Covered by Maryam results from several events that unfolded years before its creation. Graduating college with no true plan during an economic crisis left very few options in terms of professional opportunities. I worked a job paying $10/hr with no chance of advancement. I constantly applied and interviewed for new opportunities and never received one. Never doubting who I was, I intentionally sought out a marketable skill: baking. I interned at a local bakery for six months. Once I was confident in my skillset, I began taking orders for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. My first business, MarYumms, was born. This was during Instagram’s infancy, so I used Facebook for my advertising and quickly became booked and busy. Although I enjoyed the business, I did not love that my baked goods were full of sugar and butter, and I didn’t love how long it took to make the cakes. So, I slowly stopped taking orders, but I knew that wouldn’t be the end of my entrepreneurial journey.

Around that time, one of my friends launched a hair extension company and asked if I could ship the orders. It seemed simple enough, and for a little while, it was. I would type the shipping labels,  fill out insurance slips by hand, and work around my work schedule. What felt like overnight, the business grew. I went from shipping a couple of orders a couple of days a week to overseeing the entire online department of a multi-million dollar company. Through this experience, I saw the power of collaborations and social media, having a product ready to ship (aside from quality control), how consistent you must be to grow, and how a small team can make big results.

I am a Muslim woman who covers; I’ve worn a scarf for as long as I can remember. I fully embrace a fashionable modest dress, and I absolutely love it. I know that I am not the only person like me who exists and I also know there is a gap in the fashion world regarding women like me. While reflecting on my frustrations, I came up with another item (not scarves; I haven’t launched it yet; the prototype has been in my closet for three years) that I know is needed. When seeing how large of a task it would be to launch the product, I broke it down to a more attainable item targeting the same demographic…scarves. Initially, I wanted to create the scarves. I found a seamstress, went to fabric stores, and had samples made, but after a couple of tries, I knew there had to be a better way. After more research, I discovered wholesalers. Then, I had to decide the styles I wanted to offer and get samples from suppliers. While doing this,  I created the business structure and IG page. I started reaching out to collaborators so that Covered by Maryam would have a following when we launched.

Covered by Maryam launched on February 13, 2020.

No one saw 2020 coming; at least, I didn’t. But honestly, the pandemic and quarantine was the most productive period for the business. The only thing I could do was create content and fulfill orders. During this time there was a push for supporting small black businesses, so although it didn’t feel like it, I launched the business at the perfect time. When I launched, I thought I would be outside vending at local events, but I had to pivot and fully utilize Instagram. I was very nervous about putting my face out there and creating fashionable content to capture people’s attention. However, the positive feedback I received regarding my posts and my business has quickly dispelled those insecurities. Last year, I began doing the in-person vending events I envisioned before launching, and in the future, I plan to utilize both opportunities fully.

If you visit Covered by Maryam’s Instagram page, you will be met with clean, sleek photos of beautiful women who are like me. There are endless tutorials for styling options and a following of loyal regular supporters. I am very proud of what I’ve created. I believe that once we enter the working world, we ignore our natural gifts, talents, and creativity. So, I get a huge sense of joy and accomplishment for seeing something that once lived inside of my brain come to life.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

To build your audience, you have to know who your audience is. I utilize IG ads and partnerships with up-and-coming influencers for growth. IG ads allow you to enter identifiers for your customers, so you have to know who your audience is to create a successful ad.

I’ve been fortunate to partner with some really amazing women. They can create the content that I am unable to do. Their followers become my followers, and vice versa. Personally, I prefer this route because we are growing and elevating together.

With both, consistency is truly key to any growth. When I am consistent, I have steady growth, and when I take breaks, it shows.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am constantly pivoting. I love change and embrace all the new opportunities I am presented with. I often think about how we tend to make a life plan when we are teenagers, before any real-life experiences, and then spend the rest of our lives trying to fulfill those plans.

I’ve pivoted professionally. I have a bachelor’s in Psychology and a master’s in Counseling; I was on track to get a Ph.D. and stopped when I realized that just because I enjoy talking to people, it does not mean I have to dedicate my life to fixing people. Today, I am a Senior Account Manager for an insurance company with a goal of becoming an Account Executive (while building a successful business).

When I launched my business a key part of my business model was to attend in-person vending events. But launching at the beginning of the pandemic made me pivot my business plan because there were no vending opportunities. I had to find a lane of content creation that I did well in and was comfortable doing. When I look back on that time, I don’t know how I created all of the content I did. I haven’t been able to return to that level of momentum, but I am mentally preparing for a return in 2024.

My family pivoted when we decided to pick up and move across the country, not for a job but because we wanted to live and not merely exist. Many people did not understand us doing something simply because we wanted to do it, which is okay.

Life is change, change is growth, embrace the pivot.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coveredbymaryam.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/coveredbymaryam
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/coveredbymaryam