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

Alright, Mia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I have taken was starting my podcast and marketing agency. Which is ironic because that is what this interview is solely about.

I was timid on starting both due to the fact that I am in college, and my sole purpose at that given time in my life was to go to school, get internships and hopefully secure a job post grad, but I knew that I wanted to create something that I have sole responsibility and ownership over. I did not want it attached to the university I went to, nor be a co-founder. It was challenging because I knew NOTHING about entrepreneurship at that given time. It was such a risk to share it with the general public because what if it failed?

Fast forward to now, they are doing well. I am ecstatic to have started both and I’ve met amazing people in the process! People such as individuals who have written for Forbes and Dazed, and clients that were featured in Vogue. It’s a blessing in the end, and I am happy that I stuck it out.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into marketing because of my area of study. I minored in marketing, however my major was New Media and Digital Design with a Commerce Concentration. I originally came to university as an International Political Economy major, with a minor in fashion studies, however through the courses I have found myself in, the people in the industry I surrounded myself with, and the mentors I have gained through my earlier years in college, I switched to NMDD + Marketing.
With MOZZA Creative and Project 6, they were born of my studies. MOZZA Creative is a marketing agency that specializes in social media marketing, brand storytelling, creative and art direction. I created MOZZA to produce viable outcomes for small business owners across major cities. MOZZA is proud to have clients in New York, the DMV, as well as Paris, France at this given moment. While the agency was created to produce analytics for its clients, it was also created as a place for small businesses to get a stepping stone into controlling the marketability of their products in a fun and creative way, through social media curation, and artistic photoshoot concepts.
Project 6, my beloved podcast, is such an interesting business. The podcast is only streamed on Spotify and it details the world of fashion, beauty and lifestyle, in my own lenses. For example, I have lived in both London and Morocco, from there, I created episodes titled, “The Beauty of Study Abroad: Morocco’s Impact on Fashion,” and, “The Complexies of London and NYC Fashion.” Both of these episodes, and more detailed real world articles, studies and my own viable research into fashion that directly affects me and the current state of my life/where I am living. With P6, each episode is accomplished by an episode rollout that is similar to those of Miu Miu, Jacqemus etc. What I wanted to achieve for each episode is the chance for the viewer to explicitly view the podcast as a,” fashion brand.” It is a concept that popped into my head as a differentiator from other fashion podcasts that I have listened to/seen on their social media. Obviously, I am still in the early stages of it, thus meaning that I do not have the $50 million dollar budget to produce top-notch campaigns. However it is in the works, god willing. In the meantime, I am planning to either expand Project 6 podcast Substack Blog that accompanies the topics on each episode, or create a whole new venture on Substack for Art called You:Exhibitions. I adore Substack so this was a no brainer to me!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Honestly, social media. My Instagram and Tiktok know me so well! But if anyone wants to reach out to me my email is 100% open!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Oh gosh, that’s such a tough one, but I’d say books about spirituality/self help really do help. Such as the Power of Now and The 48 Laws of Power. They keep you grounded and protected from negative energy. Spirituality and entrepreneurship truly do go hand in hand. If you’re not spiritually clean and protected, you better do it before you start a business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mozzaagency/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhmia-simmons-77347b210/

Image Credits

Image 1 Mila Grgas (FLASH MAGAZINE)
Image 2 (Meron Studio)
Image 4 Arielle Estoria
Image 5-8 (Meron Studio and Ruth Tesla)