We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maya Gray a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

Dreams and aspirations are commonly considered unrealistic milestones or figments of our imagination. However, I stand to prove that both of those assumptions are simply not true. A dream, in the sense of aspiration, is an idea that has yet to come to fruition.

​Many natural-born leaders avoid taking the steps necessary to begin building their idea of success or happiness because they have never found a tangible resource that motivates them to consider it worthwhile.

When Day Dream began 5 years ago, our services were focused on providing a la carte graphic design projects to motivate and inspire entrepreneurs. Although we created beautiful business cards, logos, flyers, and everything in between, as the company grew I noticed a gap between the motivational starting point and overall transformation in our clients’ lives. I believed there had to be a way in the design world to create a lasting change in how businesses grew sustainable brands beyond temporary solutions.

In order to establish a foundation for generational wealth, I have structured our services to identify the underlying causes of a brand’s weaknesses and then create a plan of action to create a lasting impact on present and future generations.

Every day I wake up, I wake up for my children; I wake up for their children and their children’s children. For every client I accept, I step up not only as an expert but as someone who is vested in their life, not only for them but most importantly for their legacy.

I know my legacy will be known for making a generational difference in the lives of others.

Arkansas can be a very unforgiving state when considering the color of one’s skin or the demographic of one’s gender. However, Arkansas is my home, I was born and raised in the state capital. I refuse to run from a location due to the understated and unacknowledged barriers that are hindered by people in powerful roles. I dare and stand to successfully jump the hurdles, no matter how many mistakes I make along the way, to pave a path for every other black woman in my home state who harnesses the courage to prosper beyond superficial limitations.

My legacy will exude an impact that won’t be tied to my name but tied to the success stories of those who come after me and those who pass it on.

Maya, 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 an Arkansas native; born in Little Rock. Although I have a business administration background, I started my Branding Company, Day Dream Design Firm, in 2018. My artistic talent combined with my love for technology strengthened my ability to excel within the marketing industry.
When I was 17 years old, my church needed exposure but couldn’t afford to hire a graphic designer or a marketing team. We wanted to attract new people to the church and increase enrollment. Unfortunately, I was unable to assist my church at the time. However, this motivated me to pursue a career in brand development. I resonate the most with women or men looking to create change, not only for themselves or their families but those who genuinely are passionate about having a part in changing the lives of others. Those who, like me, want to have something sustainable and long-lasting to leave to their children or family. ​

​As a single mom at an early age, I decided I wanted to give my son a strong starting point. Since my 9-5 wouldn’t allow me to create that future, I turned my passion into my profession, which grew into Day Dream Design Firm. In 2018, I doubled up on building my business and working full-time. Now, four years later, here I am, assisting my clients with securing the foundation of their brand and the growth of their business so they may also strengthen and expand their legacy.

Day Dream Design Firm is a progressive branding firm that offers brand development, website development, and social media branding services, nationwide for published coaches and consultants. In addition, we also provide brand consulting and planning services to aspiring entrepreneurs who are just beginning their coaching and consulting businesses.

We educate our clients — we analyze their business’s position in the market and then apply research and data to evaluate areas for long-term improvement. We equip our clients — we develop their strategic visual and verbal brand identity to achieve effective and cohesive communication between them and their prospective clients. We empower our clients — we determine a current and future plan of action to refocus their marketing efforts on what matters most. Our signature framework provides a plan of action without costing our clients 6 figures as their company pursues long-term objectives.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest issues that I’m seeing others run into as new and seasoned business owners is a lack of professional boundaries. Implementing strategies and methods of reasonable interventions to lead the client or customer in a direction that will mutually benefit both parties was a crucial concept to grasp early in my business structure. It’s not often that you come across someone who tells you to incorporate boundaries, let alone the best practices of how to implement them. I had to pay significantly to receive the information about gaining control within my firm and my personal life. Starting out, so many of us aspiring entrepreneurs think that we have to accommodate and bend over backward for everyone and everything that the consumer requests and that’s simply not true. People will only do what you allow them to do whether in your personal life or your professional environment. As a business owner, you are in a position to lead. Good leaders set boundaries. Good leaders set a tone for streamlined success — even without a team. Even if you are a solopreneur, every facet of your business should be run and structured as though you have departments that need thorough management and order. There should be processes documented and executed at any stage in every company. Processes are often challenged by clients who don’t like to adhere to a timeline or to regulations, but those are the very ones that have to constantly be redirected; which can cause several factors of backend chaos for your company. If you don’t want your business open on the weekends, don’t create business hours to accommodate weekend schedules. If clients are messaging you after business hours, don’t respond. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, they will be just fine, and 98% of the time they answer their own question by the time you decide to respond to them. Life goes on and it’s perfectly acceptable for you to do what good leaders do and state your terms. The truth has proven to be that the majority of the types of people you actually love to work with value and respect your boundaries. Those same individuals are delighted with your professionalism and ability to follow through with what you establish. The best part is that the types of individuals who aren’t very pleasant to work with are automatically weeded out and don’t reach out to waste or potentially disrespect your time. It becomes a very beautiful symmetry.

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

Although I started my business in 2018, additionally, I worked full-time as a Production Graphic Design Artist for a local print shop that I commuted an hour back and forth every day. Unjust situations within the company and among leadership kept unfolding in obvious ways that prompted me to make a pivotal decision in 2021. By then I had a business mentor who was helping to guide me through the right time to quit my job and under ideally financially healthy circumstances. In January 2021, with no savings to my name, I quit my job, shortly after purchasing my first home in December 2020, with a wedding coming up in May of 2021. Of course, my fiance and I were together but we both led very separate financial lives at the time so all decisions involving money fell on my shoulders. I was confident in my decision and wasn’t sure where the next client was coming from but I believed in myself, I trusted God, and made the leap. When I stepped out on faith, I made a 12-month investment in March of 2021 and tripled my revenue from the previous year. In 2021, I made more money than I ever have at any job that I had ever worked in my 28 years of existence. No, it wasn’t easy, at all, but it was worth every tear, every worry, every doubt, and every struggle that I experienced and overcame.

Contact Info:

• Website: daydreamdesignfirm.com
• Instagram: @daydreamdesignfirm
• Facebook: @daydreamdesignfirm
• Linkedin: @daydreamdesignfirm

Image Credits
Lily Prince