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

Taylor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

I love numbers and processes! At a very young age while working with my dad , is when I learned the importance of processes! It’s almost like having your daily routine locked in! You know the outcome based on certain steps you take throughout the day, and by the end of the day I find myself asking “What did you do today that’s INCOME PRODUCING?”

Well I became obsessed with this concept and ever since college, I knew I wanted to be the brains and driver behind meaningful brands! I didn’t know at the time I would begin to own my own creative agency, let alone work for some of the biggest companies out there! To name a few: Fashion Nova, Beautycon, 911 For Kids, and my present job Sloomoo Institute where I work full time as their Brand Strategist and Influencer Manager… So basically my entire life evolves around strategies and processes lol!

During college, I knew I would be a forensic psychologist until one day my new counselor pulled me in the office to let me know that my previous counselor had me taking classes towards the wrong major the entire time! So at that time I was already 4 years in and just wanted to get out. I told my counselor “Put me in any major that will get me out of here the fastest!”… that major ended up being in Media Studies with a concentration in social media.

By the end of my senior year of college, I had written an entire book on The Evolution of Marketing, got offered to be head of Marketing at Fashion Nova, and fell completely in love with my accidental career! From 2016 to even now, my company Our Sisters Our Time kind of fell into my lap with all of the creative requests coming in personally, so I just decided to make a legal company out of it!

I learned most of my lessons just by setting up my own company. For example, do I want to be an LLC, incorporated, or a nonprofit, and what does that look like in the long run? Well I chose to be incorporated because I knew Our Sisters would eventually have sister companies tagged along to it. But the hard lesson with this was the tax filing and the bookkeeping. I now know that if I financially do not have a cash flow then it’s probably best I wait to incorporate my company as it’s not cheap to maintain!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Sacramento then moved to Los Angeles California for college, and currently reside in Brooklyn New York. I am a Media Studies graduate from Marymount California University who has a forward, yet creative, thinking approach to media and design infrastructure. I am a professional whose experience in business-to-business marketing techniques and strategic planning, has allowed me to travel the world reporting on industry trends happening with our culture.

To name a few of my accomplishments, I currently holds the title of, Miss Black Teen Sacramento 2009, Miss Black Talented Teen California 2010, Miss Miracle Mile USA 2018 and more!

Leveraging my unique experiences in leadership, media, and public relations, I intend to use my experiences to continue a path forward with marketing as my stronghold.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

Owning your own business is the ugly part of it all! I remember a time that I had 3 women on payroll and I was paying them through my 9-5 job until we received funding. Well, layoffs began at my job and I was one of them! So I took my very last check, and paid all of my employees with what was left between that and what was in my account. I wanted to ensure Our Sisters’ writers and operations team had a buffer check while looking for new gigs in the meantime.

Why did I give them my last instead of looking out for myself? Because I valued the relationships I established with my team and wanted every single one of them to return to my company the moment I had new cash flow!

Working in corporate, I’ve been laid off so many times with no REAL explanation, no heads up, and no final check to help us get through the next week or so…it never feels good being left behind so my goal is to never let my team feel that way!

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

I won’t name the person or company but, there was a time that I left one of the establishments I worked for in the past (I mentioned them previously) due to feeling like my growth was stunted and no signs of me moving up. By this time, my company Our Sisters Our Time was only a side hustle but it was booming with clients! As a result, I didn’t jump back into a 9-5 right away but instead, consulted businesses like the one I had left, as my influence was growing in the industry.

During my time of pure freelance and no job, I had at least 3 clients tell me that the owner of my previous employer was sending Cease and Desists to these brands! I never signed an NDA or any form of contract in order for this employer to make these actions but it scared my clients anyways. One even out of business!

Nevertheless, I kept doing me and doing what I do best! Brand strategy for any and every client who mirrors the same values as myself. It may have scared some of my previous clients away but I stand even taller and stronger than I did four years ago.

As of today in 2022 I am signed to a firms that uses me as their consultant for 500 fortune companies called GLG Research Firm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oursistersourtime.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesistersorority/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/taymnells/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-nelson-56345a54/
• Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/oursisters_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCezuCBtm7mkdx9acbTMtMDA/featured