Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mayree Edwards. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mayree, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Mayree, Thee Solutionist emerged from a need to pivot rather than pause at the onset of the pandemic that plagued 2020. At the time, I was working as a freelance event curator, crafter, and resume writer which stemmed from my social media and blog personality, SingleWoman Joan.

Facebook friends who were fans of my sense of humor, candid commentary, and relatable posts, became clients and supporters of me as a business consultant. I was able to demonstrate my ability to solve problems, market and promote, as well as develop and improve operational processes by building relationships with local small business owners.

I was inspired by my passion for helping small Black-owned businesses improve their overall customer experience as well as scale. In my experience, Black-owned businesses do not always have access to the resources and/or knowledge afforded to larger corporations. So, I set out to help those in my community develop and improve.

Mayree, 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?

Being the go-to friend for advice in college was the impetus that foreshadowed my preoccupation with business consulting. Friends would often bring me their ideas and I would ask questions and then provide feedback to help cultivate their creative endeavors. It was then, that I developed a gift for outlining operational procedures, strategizing, and designing business models as well as writing business plans. Additionally, I began working at a Black family-owned restaurant in Memphis, TN, which gave me the experience of becoming a skilled relationship builder and process improver.

My continued work experience across various industries from social work, banking, and mobile device sales & repair, to real estate, helped me gain more knowledge of how to manage time, money, people, and sell products effectively. Because of my varied work history and abilities, I gained the moniker the “Jill of Many Skills.” That name became popular at the onset of the pandemic when Facebook friends began to refer me to their friends & colleagues as a resume writer and custom t-shirt designer.

During that time, I also began working as a cashier and event coordinator at another Black family-owned restaurant, this time, in the neighborhood where I grew up. It was there that I realized my knack for marketing, promotion, and my ability to influence my community. It was an opportunity that showed both me and the owners that I was capable of more than I thought!

Working with that brand was the confidence boost I needed to immerse myself in the next few projects that would come my way. In May 2020, my blog, singlewomanjoan.com, began to gain more traction due to the t-shirts I created based on signs from protests across the country following the death of George Floyd. During that time, I also worked with small women-owned businesses to curate virtual and COVID-19-friendly events.

After that, I partnered with a friend who brought me their concept for a unique boutique retail and event venue located in the Germantown neighborhood of Nashville, TN. It was the perfect location and concept to both promote SingleWoman Joan as a safe space for me to cultivate my platform for women to network across & build genuine relationships as well as solidify myself as an experienced business consultant. The overall idea for me was to utilize my work with the store as an official launching pad and proof of concept for Mayree, Thee Solutionist.

I was able to develop and implement that brand’s business model, create several signature events, coordinate the launch, as well as temporarily operate as a content creator/social media manager, general manager, and event coordinator while leveraging my online audience to market and promote the brick-and-mortar location as well as their online platforms.

Since then, I have gone on to provide similar services for other local brands as well as partner with national food and beauty brands for event curation. I am most proud of my collaborations with Sephora (Green Hills Mall, Nashville, TN), Prince’s Hot Chicken (Assembly Food Hall, Nashville, TN), and Massage Chair Tours.

I partnered with a local Sephora store to conceptualize, plan, and host their inaugural Juneteenth event, “Freedom Stories: Celebrating Juneteenth (2021),” and “Freedom Stories: Celebrating Black History Month (2022).” Prince’s Hot Chicken and Peace of Cake Concierge sponsored my signature event, “Content + Confidence,” a content creation workshop + networking event. The Massage Chair Tour Bus sponsored a tour around Nashville for SingleWoman Joan VIP members.

So far, these have been the highlights of the last two years, in addition to providing operational consulting and coordinating several event concepts for a Nashville-based event and lifestyle brand.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building my audience on social media has always been about authenticity, or as I like to say, “acting like people know you in real life.” That means, I don’t pretend to be someone I’m not, because there are people who know me offline.

As SingleWoman Joan, I relate to my audience whom I sometimes affectionately refer to as my “Innanet Homegirls,” through memes, live chats, and relatable commentary about business & relationships. While, that persona has a friendly down-to-earth vibe, Mayree, Thee Solutionist has more of an authoritative, business-conscious voice. The latter audience is not specific to women unlike the former.

My audience has grown over the years because of my ability to appear transparent while also maintaining some mystery. People tend to feel as though I am their “Innanent Homegirl,” that they can share their stories with, seek advice from, and be encouraged through content that promotes radical self-care & personal accountability.

As Mayree, Thee Solutionist, I often tell my clients, “people buy people.” My advice is to be consistent, know who your audience is, engage with them, and be yourself!

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

Having a community of advocates on Facebook is one of the major bricks in the foundation of building my reputation. My online friends are responsible for positioning me as a go-to resume writer through tagging my business, sharing my ads, online reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals. It began with providing a great customer experience, listening to and applying feedback, and being consistent in the quality I provide.

After a while, I began getting tagged on posts in search of services that I did not even offer. My audience just believed that I could, so I honed my skills and expanded my business consulting services because of their belief that I could!

More than anything I have proven that I GET RESULTS and that EVERYTHING I TOUCH TURNS TO GOLD!

Being able to show social proof has been another important brick in the foundation of my reputation. The SingleWoman Joan signature events (“Let’s L!nk Brunch, Innanet Homegirl Dinner, Content + Confidence”), national brand collaborations, local brand ambassadorships, as well as a number of amazing clients have all contributed to building and maintaining reputable brands.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.singlewomanjoan.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singlewomanjoan/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MayreeTheeSolutionist

Image Credits
Autumn Chanel Photography, K. Renee Studios, 1Lite Studio