We were lucky to catch up with Stephanie Flies recently and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
At City Mom Collective, we believe community is an essential part of every motherhood journey.
Back in 2009, when I was a young mom, I quickly discovered that being a mom is one of the most challenging jobs out there, and it can often feel lonely and overwhelming. Early in my motherhood journey, I realized the necessity of doing life with other moms and the importance of community.
That’s why I started City Mom Collective, a community-focused website for parents in my city, and recruited other moms to help write content and share ideas. As our website and business grew, soon moms in other areas caught on to this vision, and City Mom Collective was born.
Now with over 50 members, we have the honor of reaching more than a million moms every month with encouragement and support for their motherhood journey! Our network does this by helping parents find information and perspectives unique to their area while also creating meaningful partnerships between brands and hyperlocal audiences.
And just like motherhood, we believe business ownership shouldn’t be done alone. As the aphorism goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Our community of entrepreneurs is actively engaged with one another regularly to share ideas, cheer one another on, and support other women in the growth of their businesses.
Through this network effect, the work of City Mom Collective increases the asset base of communities across the country as a whole by not only offering an opportunity for moms to own their own businesses and provide for their families (and do so with a flexible work schedule, allowing for the prioritization of their families to be their top priority) but also by encouraging all parents in their community with content and connection on their websites and other platforms.
In five years, our goal is to continue doing the work we do best and reach 1 billion moms with resources and local connections by supporting hundreds of hyperlocal businesses worldwide, which transforms tens of thousands of lives
Stephanie, 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?
Shortly after I had my first daughter, Nora, in 2009, I was desperate to find a community of moms to do life alongside. Living in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the time, I wasn’t finding the resources I desired, so I created Scottsdale Moms Blog to gather and connect moms by providing hyperlocal resources and support, as well as hosting events in partnership with local businesses.
Now, over 10 years in, I have the privilege of serving as CEO of City Mom Collective (CMC), a network of over 50 hyperlocal sister sites reaching moms in various stages of motherhood across the U.S.
City Mom Collective’s mission is to empower, connect, and inspire moms through our media agency and membership community, providing the resources, networking, and support they need to succeed in entrepreneurship while nurturing their roles as mothers.
Motherhood isn’t meant to be alone. We are meant to do life and community and City Mom Collective helps moms do just that by coming alongside them to build their online businesses and support them in their entrepreneurial adventures.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
While I realize that analyzing the competition is an important part of a majority of business planning efforts, I’ve always believed in the power of staying true to my strengths and concentrating on what only I can uniquely bring to the table, rather than getting caught up in the noise of competition.
By maintaining this approach, I’ve found great satisfaction in my work and I believe that it’s allowed me to do my work with excellence and as a result, our brand reputation has grown more positively each year.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
We recently walked through a tremendously difficult season as a business.
Due to market and economic headwinds, we had to evaluate all of our systems, processes, and expenses and ultimately restructure the business.
The lessons learned from this season and the restructuring of the business were transformative. We emerged from the crisis with resilience and adaptability.
As we move forward, I believe that the lessons learned in this season will serve us well into the next season of our business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.momcollective.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/citymomcollective
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CityMomCollective/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-flies-a506b11/
Image Credits
Nealy Lanzen Photography: https://photographybynealy.com/ Dream Photography Studio : https://www.dreamphotographystudio.com/