We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Taylor Moxey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Taylor , thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
My business idea came to life out of a simple wanting to buy a Barbie doll. Every Sunday my parents and I would go to target after church and they would buy me a doll. One Sunday, I asked my dad for the doll and he said “No!,.. I want you to come up with a way to earn your own money and buy your toys” Being seven years old at the time this was a shocker for me. But thinking quick, I asked my dad “Can I sell cupcakes!” The desire to bake cupcakes was based on my love for watching lots of cooking and baking shows on tv. My parents both gave me a loan (yep!.. a loan) of forty dollars and my dad wrote a simple contract on a napkin and had me sign it. Nothing fancy, just a promise that I would pay myself and my mom back the money that allow me to buy the ingredients to bake. That Saturday I got busy baking cookies and cupcakes to sell a church the following Sunday. I took the cupcakes to church and they sold out within 15 minutes of me announcing that I was selling them. After we counted the money I realize that I made $75. Much more than the $10 required to buy the door I wanted I quickly realize after a conversation with my parents that if I kept selling my treats, I can make more money, which in turn would lead to me buying much more toys. I asked my dad if I could buy business cards and he said yes. I passed my business cards out to every person I came in contact with. This led to more orders. Weeks later The concierge in our building entered my name into a contest that was actually for professional chefs in the area. Because my business card said “Taylor the chef” unqualified to enter the contest. Is luck would have it I won the contest over many professional chefs who own their own restaurant in our neighborhood. This led to me winning a check for $200 and a billboard that would feature my business selling cupcakes in Midtown Miami. This was huge! One day Constance Jones from channel 10 news contacted my parents and asked to put me on TV after she saw my billboard in Midtown Miami. After the episode aired at Sunday calls from all around the world came flooding in for interviews, orders, and people genuinely just curious about who Taylor Moxey was. In our building on the floor above us was a professional NBA player who played for the Miami Heat. He saw me on TV that Sunday while we were both downstairs in the lobby on Monday morning yes to place an order for some cupcakes. With so much excitement in my eyes I said yes! A day later I filled the order and delivered it to him. He shared it with some of his friends who play sports and like they say the rest is history.
Taylor , 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?
Taylor Moxey is an internationally known entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. At eight-years old, Taylor turned a forty-dollar loan into the growing enterprise: Taylor Moxey, LLC.
Taylor’s legacy began with the start-up of her cupcake company: ‘Taylor the Chef’. The success of her cupcake company inspired her to write her best-selling book The Adventures of Taylor the Chef. As she continued to develop her personal brand, Taylor knew she wanted to inspire and motivate others. Her desire to inspire, led her to create a collection of daily mantra cards called ‘Moxivation’, which ultimately led her to launch the ‘Taylor Moxey Foundation’. The ‘Taylor Moxey Foundation’ is her standing commitment to fulfill her mission to ‘inspire the younger generation to become social entrepreneurs while using education to endow and empower.’
Overall, Taylor’s successes as a philanthropist along with establishing the ‘Taylor Moxey Foundation’, earned her the 2019 Outstanding Youth Humanitarian Award by Mayor Judy Paul and the Town of Davie, Fl., the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Miami’s 2018 Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award, the 2018 Woman of the Year Award, the 2017 Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the 2016 President Barack H. Obama President’s Volunteer Service Award, the class of 2016 President George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award, the 2015 President’s Voluntary Service Award and a median (17th Street and Biscayne Blvd in Miami, FL.) adopted and named in honor of the the Taylor Moxey Foundation. Alongside these accomplishments, Taylor received the honor of August 18th being proclaimed as “Taylor Moxey Day” in Miami-Dade County.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My story started when I asked my parents, Vernon and Fabia Moxey, for a doll I liked at the store and was met with the challenge to come up with a way to earn money myself to purchase the doll. And so I did! That weekend I baked and sold brownies and cookies at church, and I made $175. From there (instead of buying the toy), I paid the $40.00 loan, given to me by my parents, back and invested into my business by purchasing business cards and supplies for baking. I am 16 years old now and having fun expanding my business. I’ve made so much more money, but most importantly all the life lessons I’ve learned along the way. I’ll share one with you now. One story that illustrates or shows my resilience, is the newest TAYLOR MOXEY library we built on a remote island island of Haiti named Lle-a -vache. We call it the KAY PROJECT.
The KAY PROJECT is an arts and literary educational center that was brought to life by two South Florida Not for Profit organizations, My Taylor Moxey Foundation and Flying High 4 Haiti. Our motto for this project is “Arts and Education Gives Life”.
The KAY PROJECT was conceived by me, teenage entrepreneur and philanthropist, Taylor Moxey and educator and community organizer, Inez Lozano. Both both of us share a passion for changing the lives of young children on the island of Haiti.
After setting our sights on the expansion of Ecole du Village, a school that hosts 135 children, we began to map out a plan for a learning and arts center where children can be educated, creative and feel happy and safe, hence the name KAY, which means HOME in the Haitian Creole language. The goal was to build a viable and super functional building that Educates, Encourages and Empowers the students which in turn empowers the community. Everything had to be brought to the island using wooden boats. I mean EVERYTHING !! Knowing that this island is known for mudslides, we choose a location where the carefully. Lockdowns we had to manage this whole project via video cam and trust . This library brought new life to this sleepy village where so many were unemployed.
How did you build your audience on social media?
We have never paid a company for marketing of any kind. I remember my parents and I sat down one day and said , if we’re going to do this work and get the word out about it, let’s go about it organically. I took advantage of our social media connections and asked them all to help us spread the word. When your project has a purpose, people will be willing to help. My dad would email TV stations and tell the producers what our organization was up to and invite them to check it out. No strings attached. Years Lester, those friendships and working relationships are still strong. We’ve nurtured these over the years. Keeping stations in the loop of our projects through social media, emails and the occasional phone calls. We’re learned that Not Everything that Matters can be Measured. Some things are media worthy and some may not be the right fit for a segment. My point is, do the work!.. Those who love or appreciate it will come alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.taylormoxeyllc.com/
- Instagram: @taylor_Moxey. @taylormoxeyFoundation
- Facebook: Taylor Moxey LLC
- Linkedin: Taylor Moxey LLC
- Twitter: Taylor Moxey
- Youtube: Taylor Moxey, LLC
Image Credits
All photos are property of the Moxey family.