Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tiffany McFarlane. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

This is a great question as this month marks our 1-year anniversary! The idea of The Connector Club came from a vivid dream I had last November actually.

Last year was a lesson in itself as I was navigating postpartum, pivoting in my craft business, and overcoming an unfortunate experience with a former associate that took over a community group I grew and work a lot for.

Needless to say, my dream confirmed reality – I wasn’t the ONLY mom going through this. When something is on my mind where I know I need to take action on it, I don’t hesitate to simply put the work required into it. I quickly worked on a stock website, created flyers for our first event, and promoted it in a few local community groups. It gathered some interest, but you never know the results until the event, right? Precisely.

November 21st was our first meet up at KRATE in The Grove – and 3 moms with their children showed up. Grateful for those moms, we took a picture to capture the moment and I shared the experience on social media which if I didn’t take action on that idea, The Connector Club wouldn’t be what it is today.

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 Tiffany and I’m from the Midwest where my background is in fashion marketing where I specialized in apparel and textiles. For almost a decade, I’ve worked in social media marketing for well-known, prestigious brands before committing full-time into The Connector Club.

I believe in connections as you never know who you’ll connect with. Also, you never know who knows someone else that can help you or vice versa. Whether I’m connecting people to resources or people, that’s what the events I host help solve. I don’t know everything, but I may know someone or something that can help.

I enjoy meeting people and connecting people together.

When I was college, before switching majors, I coordinated a fashion show that taught me how to build my confidence talking to people I didn’t know, but it also helped me write proposals to local businesses. Although I was nervous, that experience is what kickstarted my journey of planning events. Without being a fashion major at that moment; I put on a fashion show with over 1,000 attendees, 50 models, 12 stylists and designers, and 2 performers. It showed me what I’m capable of executing.

This year – 11 years later, I was able to rebuild my confidence by hosting our organization’s largest event to date – Barbie Family Fun Day bringing in thousands of local families together to support over 50+ local and small businesses the event. It took a lot of work, but when you’re determined and consistent, hard work will pay off.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

This is another good question because as someone that has worked in social media and now has a community of business women, a lot of people have asked “How did you grow your group this fast?” My answer is the same:

Consistency.

I post everywhere I can and I try to ensure my content relates to my target audience which are moms. Marketing has a lot to do with relationship building which takes time. Of course you want to be authentic, educate people on what you do, and sell your product or service, but you can’t grow or reach your audience if you don’t show up. You have to build systems, be disciplined, and remain consistent.

For those starting and may not have the capital to invest in a social media manager yet, a helpful way to stay consistent is scheduling your content. If you’re bummed about missing your posting day, cut yourself some slack. We’re all human and we can miss a day or two. My advice is to take the time to block content creation in your schedule so you can create and schedule out your content for the week or two (even a month).

And also, don’t give up or discouraged at slow growth. As with plants taking time to grow, your business and social media presence will take time, but building consistent habits can put you in the right direction.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Absolutely! I went from hosting homeschool events to teaching crafts and Zumba Kids classes and now I’ve pivoted to hosting events for professional business moms that are on the journey of juggling motherhood and entrepreneurship.

As I said in the beginning, the homeschool group abruptly ended as with any business, you can have “partners” that don’t want to work together anymore so that was an unexpected change that did hurt as I truly loved the children, but it was a lesson learned of who to do business with.

I then used my Zumba certification to teach children Zumba Kids and hosted diy craft classes for younger children, but I still thought that I was missing the links. It was until I began doing what I currently do and I’m loving this journey. I’m still learning and growing to value myself on this journey – and I’m grateful I can do it with other moms.

We’re more than just a networking group, we get to the core of meeting people and genuinely getting to know them vs trying to sell them. We all hear people buy from those they like and trust. They also refer those they can give experience on their character and business. It’s okay to pivot.

Life is a rollercoaster that changes. Find what makes you happy to get up and do what you’re passionate about.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theconnectorclub.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theconnectorclub
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/theconnectorclub
• Other: Facebook Community for Mompreneurs www.Facebook.com/groups/theconnectorclub

Image Credits
Big Pixel Creations Liza Olivia Photography Mo Jaxx Photography Distinguished Reflexions