We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Micalah Matthews. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Micalah below.

Hi Micalah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

Asking friends and family to support your business can be tricky. Although you’d love for your close circle to be first in line for your dreams, it doesn’t always turn out that way. I personally find that in my line of work it’s much easier to “show and prove” than ask for support outright, which initially was frustrating I’ll admit. But as time has gone on, I realize that it’s more important that I have the support of those that believe in my work, not for who I am, but for what I can do. I feel like friends and family also have the ability to abuse your skills if you let them, it being much easier to get a discount or handout from you than others. Standing firm in knowing your worth is essential to making sure you always feel appreciated in your work.

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?

My name is Micalah and I initially started what would become Triple M Marketing as a hobby. As a middle schooler I was very into things that sparked creativity, working with my hands, drawing, music, writing.. you name it I was into it. As I grew older and the digital age became more intense, my love for computers and creativity merged. As a college student at Michigan State University I was quite fascinated with the idea of journalism but I felt it was too restrictive, which led me to major in communications. Through my academic journey I found that I was really intrigued by how things were perceived, more specifically how digital media was perceived by the masses. Brands, commercials, press releases and their respective audiences captured my attention. I began to spend time learning about these things and it quickly turned into me guiding fellow peers in launching their own brands, building businesses and images that could make an impact. I specialize in marketing and branding aspects such as logos, websites, social media content, event flyers and offer a vast variety of services catered to both big and small businesses. I take visions and bring them to life by way of design and execution, helping those who aren’t quite tech savvy to have digital presence that can bring them the clients they deserve. I pride myself in providing a simplistic process for the everyday business owner, so easy and so painless that you are sure to come back! One thing you can be sure of is that I pride myself in giving every client an experience they won’t soon forget. The satisfaction of those I serve is above all else, because I want to treat your business just as well as I treat my own.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

During the last decade while I was growing my business and learning my craft, I was more than just a business owner, I was a daughter. As an only child to my mother, she was very protective and like most mothers hoping I would make decisions that could aid me in being the best version of myself as I could be. What she didn’t expect is that I would become not only a daughter, or a business owner – but a full time caregiver. In 2020, my mother was officially listed for double lung transplant from Cleveland Clinic. Over her medical trials, I would stand as her medical advocate, transportation, personal chef and much more – all while continuing work full time and business as usual. Now for most, it would become a lot to juggle, but against her advice I continued to do “way too much at once” for months to come. After her transplant, this would continue for another two years until her health took a decline. Taking the news with grace, we continued to do what we did best, taking care of one another as only we could. Unfortunately my mother, turned angel passed away in November of 2022.

Now generally speaking this should mean that business stops, because I feel like everything else in my world did. But in what was the worst time of my life, my business continued, this time to design and execute the biggest job yet, an obituary for the woman who pushed me to be nothing short of great in everything I did. I couldn’t imagine a greater honor than honoring the woman who showed me the way. And so, my mother ushered me into an unknown territory of obituary and memorial design, one that would become a place to serve in a new way. Since then, it has become one of the most rewarding things I can offer because I know the pain of missing a loved one and wanting them to be remembered in a way that only we know. Without the journey (and the support) of my mom, I don’t know if I could be half as successful, but through it I have learned that resilience is key both personally and professionally, because victory is always on the other side.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Social media has been essential in building my clientele as well as helping my portfolio be seen in new places. Word of mouth is always a sure way to gain business but social media can multiply and spread that word like wildfire. With instagram and Facebook I’m able to be accessible to my clients and they are able to view my work at a moments notice. Recommendations are always better than going into something blind, and in the world of instant gratification, it’s helpful to have a brand at your fingertips. From my instagram you can find examples, contact info, pricing, sales, and more… which for me is essential in becoming a client. Social media makes all that possible without too much fuss.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Triplemmarketingllc
• Facebook: Triple M Marketing
• Other: [email protected]