March 23, 2022 • 12 mins
Umama returns to give us a deep dive about the difference between an influencer and a thought leader. She shares her best apps for engaging content for social media and the value of being your own cheerleader.
Host IG:@itstanyatime
Guest IG: @umamakibria
Join a team: Sweat Pack
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Welcome back, money Movers
to the Money Moves Podcast powered by Greenwood. We're joined
(00:22):
again by the incredible O Mama, who was getting ready
to dive in with us for our deep dive segment.
But before we begin, here's a reminder that our deep
dive is brought to you by our partners at MasterCard,
bridging the Wealth Gap together with Greenwood. All right, Mama,
we're back to you, and we're excited to pick your
brain a little bit more on your entrepreneurial journey and
(00:42):
maybe get a little sweaty in between. Um my first
question for you is how did you become a marketing
consultant to big brands like Nike, Adidas, under Armour and
so many more? Because I think this is something that
everybody wants to know. I think the most powerful to
is my personal brand. I've used it to show people
(01:04):
I know how to build a community. I'm a thought
leader in my space and that I genuinely care about
connecting brands and people together. I think there's a very
big difference between what I do and what influencers do. Therefore,
I'm able to actually kind of do this bait and
switch where people, these big brands will come to me
(01:24):
thinking that they want to work with me on content,
but I'm like, hey, instead, let's try this and pitch
them a whole content medium, events and swarch them over
to be Two be contracts. First, sweatpack. So that trusted
relationship has grown and definitely fueled by my amazing community.
That is really smart. I love that. So clearly you
(01:46):
are a very savvy social media user. What are four
quick tips that you have for anyone who wants to
use that platform to sell themselves and build a brand. Yeah.
Number one, figure out what medium you enjoy. If it's
TikTok and dances and creating quick tips beyond there, it
is the best viral platform right now, uh, Instagram, LinkedIn
(02:09):
all really great platforms. Two, take a social media detox.
I'm actually on one right now where I'm telling you
delete every single platform. Figure out what it is that
is unique about you, What is the value you offer
to the world, and what makes you special? And that's
(02:31):
the time where you kind of filter out any competition
and feeling like you need to look like somebody else
and you're focusing on your magic. Then three, use ephemeral content,
So I would say build on Instagram, stories or Twitter
or LinkedIn whatever. Um, build this content where you know
people aren't looking at your metrics, but you can show
(02:53):
up consistently. Build up that trust in yourself. Then four,
build up your content cadence. Figure out what are the
three values you can always deliver on Entertainment, education, or connection,
whatever that is, deliver on it. Create your content. Shoot days,
(03:13):
so you have two days a month. You figure everything
out and then schedule it out. You want to make
sure this doesn't interfere with your business, but if anything,
it is just a sales funnel into what you're already
doing with your work. Oh I love it. Those are
four actionable tips. Um. Now the social media hiatus. I
think you're gonna have people going, oh my gosh, they're
(03:34):
gonna start itching and twitching. But that is such great advice.
That is such great advice to sort of reset and
have a refocus on what you want to achieve. Are
there any software apps that you cannot live without? Oh
my god, Okay, let's talk about apps. My two apps
I would never live without is Mojo in Canada. So
(03:55):
Canada you can have on your desktop and of course
on your phone too, but Mojo, especially from my social
media agency clients, I'm building out content and like two
minutes and posting them out, So definitely recommend it look
super cool. Make your startup look way fancier than it
actually is. You, Mama. One thing you've highlighted in the
past is the importance of dating yourself. What does that
(04:19):
mean and look like and why is that so important? Yeah,
I discovered the concept of dating myself as a way
of getting comfortable getting uncomfortable. I know we hear this
phrase a lot, but as an entrepreneur, you realize the
path is very lonely at times. You have to do
(04:40):
a lot of uncomfortable things, make really quick judgments, and
really to be able to trust yourself is the number
one way to kind of get through all those challenges.
So I recommend people to schedule a once a week
totally selfish activity with yourself. I talked about this in
(05:01):
my two thousand twenty one or two twenty TED talk
where I state that you should be able to commit
to a once a week activity that's been aligned with
your goals and ambitions, but still in a new environment.
So if you like art, right, maybe it's you are
going to a gallery showcase once a week by yourself.
(05:25):
If you like hiking, you're discovering a new hike or
joining a hiking trail with a group. For me, it
was personally working out at a new gym every single week.
I just got comfortable with being uncomfortable in these new environments,
but learning that I can trust myself to be me,
(05:48):
to show up as me and do my own things,
stay straight in my own path, and activate my blinders.
The blinder's concept is so important specifically in the startup world.
You can because you can be kind of torn in
different ways seeing competition, seeing people win money, investments, grants,
(06:08):
and we can get off track absolutely with this one
so week commitment to yourself, you learn, hey, that's great,
you're doing that. But I'm on my own path and
I'm committing over and over again to that discipline. Oh
that's beautiful. I love that dating yourself. That's really really
great advice. So let's go back to talking about slat
(06:28):
pack and small and strong. What are the overall goals
for it is you move forward that you're setting for
yourself and the company's so sweat Packs goals. Right now,
we are definitely in very new startup mode and trying
to figure out what exactly is going to be the
best business model that is going to discruct We know
(06:48):
in the fitness industry the membership model has kind of
taken over in the last few years and credits and
passes things like that, but it's really gonna be this
new shift in UH group activities in the next few years.
We're going to see and so are disruptive business model
is what we really want to focus poorly on because
(07:09):
we know if we get that down, the value to
the consumer is real and then the retention is there.
The referral rates continue to pass on UM and hopefully
we'll be growing in the next five years on a
nationwide basis and rolling out these opportunities to other niches
and not just fitness UM and personally, for my personal brand,
(07:32):
it's really just to always vulnerably showcase the journey of entrepreneurship.
UM people know me on there is showing my very
very bad days and my very good days and celebrating
and growing with me. And I know the word vulnerability
gets passed on a lot now, but I think it's
more about the transparency of what are we going to
(07:53):
do about it together? And that's what I showcase. I
really love that and appreciate the vulnerability. There's this like
fun the expression in the startup technology world where it's
like when someone says, how are you doing? And there's
either you know, it's one of two things, either I'm
killing it or it's killing me. And I think that
is so real because there's days when you're like yes,
and then there's days when you just feel like you're drowning.
(08:15):
And just being able to share that with other entrepreneurs
is so inspiring because there's the ups and downs, and
entrepreneurship is seriously lonely at times. So we appreciate you absolutely.
And my one thing I've learned from that, especially with
the startup ecosystem in Atlanta, is our best mentors are
actually the ones beside us, people going through the same
(08:36):
journey as us, that can actually tackle these problems in
real time because they're going through similar challenges. But of
course important to have people above us that have been
through the path and for us to always mentor people
below us on the journey as well. Mama and your
ted talk, you mentioned that you don't see many Bengali
Muslim Americans in your field and that your family hasn't
(08:58):
always seen this as a positive thing. As you venture
into entrepreneurship, that perspective and that lack of representation can
have a really detrimental impact on anyone. How have you
maintained your determination and motivation? I think number one, it's
always remembering who you are. This is why I say
(09:18):
date yourself, learn to trust yourself, and become your own cheerleader.
Because when we learn what our own magical powers are,
then other people around us will see that we are
consistent and we are committed to it, and then they
will understand it is a part of our lifestyle. Especially
when we're talking about our parents, right, they only want
the best for us, and anything veering from the straight
(09:42):
path to success is of course a little bit um
can cause anxiety. My parents are first generation, well I'm
my first generation UM Bengali Muslim American, and they came
here with the goal to really just help us become
doctors and um in the business this world. But I
think it really comes down to finding your community of
(10:04):
other people that also are aligned with your goals and
support you. And then three is sharing your story, sharing
the struggles so that we can all come up together.
I know specifically, one of the biggest challenges I've rested
recently been going through is my journey with financial literacy.
That is something I was not very I was not
(10:25):
taught growing up, and it's been a journey that I've
been going through as an entrepreneur and as a female
founder in general. And so it's really been connecting with
myself and connecting with community that's helped bridge that gap.
And now my parents are celebrating with me, and they
have also come around to support me as well in
(10:46):
this journey. Mamma, thank you so much for sharing with
us today, and I totally understand that journey, being also
a first children, a child of a first generation immigrant.
They just truly want the best for you. And here
we are, We're blazing new trails and making them proud.
So continue to do that, and thank you so much.
It's been a pleasure speaking with you. You've not only
(11:06):
thrived in a space where the odds have not always
been in your favor, but you've managed to do it
during a time where literally the whole world was shut down.
So thank you so much for inspiring us and keeping
us looking fit and in shape at the same time. Well,
thank you guys, and you can feel free to always
connect with me. I'm your friend, Slide in my d
M anytime, tell us your mama where they can find
(11:27):
you on social media as well. Yeah, so LinkedIn ou
Mama Cibria, um on Instagram and Instagram, Small and Strong,
dot c o, and my TikTok is ou Mama Cibria.
But that's more for fun. Well, we'll be sure to
check out all of your platforms and thank you so
much for joining us. That's it for now, money Movers,
but make sure you keep it locked to the Money
(11:47):
Moves podcast powered by Greenwood. You won't want to miss
what's coming up next. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
recap of this episode, please go to the bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
Money Moves is an I heart radio podcast powered by
(12:08):
Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcasts
on I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from,
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Welcome back, money Movers
to the Money Moves Podcast powered by Greenwood. We're joined
(00:22):
again by the incredible O Mama, who was getting ready
to dive in with us for our deep dive segment.
But before we begin, here's a reminder that our deep
dive is brought to you by our partners at MasterCard,
bridging the Wealth Gap together with Greenwood. All right, Mama,
we're back to you, and we're excited to pick your
brain a little bit more on your entrepreneurial journey and
(00:42):
maybe get a little sweaty in between. Um my first
question for you is how did you become a marketing
consultant to big brands like Nike, Adidas, under Armour and
so many more? Because I think this is something that
everybody wants to know. I think the most powerful to
is my personal brand. I've used it to show people
(01:04):
I know how to build a community. I'm a thought
leader in my space and that I genuinely care about
connecting brands and people together. I think there's a very
big difference between what I do and what influencers do. Therefore,
I'm able to actually kind of do this bait and
switch where people, these big brands will come to me
(01:24):
thinking that they want to work with me on content,
but I'm like, hey, instead, let's try this and pitch
them a whole content medium, events and swarch them over
to be Two be contracts. First, sweatpack. So that trusted
relationship has grown and definitely fueled by my amazing community.
That is really smart. I love that. So clearly you
(01:46):
are a very savvy social media user. What are four
quick tips that you have for anyone who wants to
use that platform to sell themselves and build a brand. Yeah.
Number one, figure out what medium you enjoy. If it's
TikTok and dances and creating quick tips beyond there, it
is the best viral platform right now, uh, Instagram, LinkedIn
(02:09):
all really great platforms. Two, take a social media detox.
I'm actually on one right now where I'm telling you
delete every single platform. Figure out what it is that
is unique about you, What is the value you offer
to the world, and what makes you special? And that's
(02:31):
the time where you kind of filter out any competition
and feeling like you need to look like somebody else
and you're focusing on your magic. Then three, use ephemeral content,
So I would say build on Instagram, stories or Twitter
or LinkedIn whatever. Um, build this content where you know
people aren't looking at your metrics, but you can show
(02:53):
up consistently. Build up that trust in yourself. Then four,
build up your content cadence. Figure out what are the
three values you can always deliver on Entertainment, education, or connection,
whatever that is, deliver on it. Create your content. Shoot days,
(03:13):
so you have two days a month. You figure everything
out and then schedule it out. You want to make
sure this doesn't interfere with your business, but if anything,
it is just a sales funnel into what you're already
doing with your work. Oh I love it. Those are
four actionable tips. Um. Now the social media hiatus. I
think you're gonna have people going, oh my gosh, they're
(03:34):
gonna start itching and twitching. But that is such great advice.
That is such great advice to sort of reset and
have a refocus on what you want to achieve. Are
there any software apps that you cannot live without? Oh
my god, Okay, let's talk about apps. My two apps
I would never live without is Mojo in Canada. So
(03:55):
Canada you can have on your desktop and of course
on your phone too, but Mojo, especially from my social
media agency clients, I'm building out content and like two
minutes and posting them out, So definitely recommend it look
super cool. Make your startup look way fancier than it
actually is. You, Mama. One thing you've highlighted in the
past is the importance of dating yourself. What does that
(04:19):
mean and look like and why is that so important? Yeah,
I discovered the concept of dating myself as a way
of getting comfortable getting uncomfortable. I know we hear this
phrase a lot, but as an entrepreneur, you realize the
path is very lonely at times. You have to do
(04:40):
a lot of uncomfortable things, make really quick judgments, and
really to be able to trust yourself is the number
one way to kind of get through all those challenges.
So I recommend people to schedule a once a week
totally selfish activity with yourself. I talked about this in
(05:01):
my two thousand twenty one or two twenty TED talk
where I state that you should be able to commit
to a once a week activity that's been aligned with
your goals and ambitions, but still in a new environment.
So if you like art, right, maybe it's you are
going to a gallery showcase once a week by yourself.
(05:25):
If you like hiking, you're discovering a new hike or
joining a hiking trail with a group. For me, it
was personally working out at a new gym every single week.
I just got comfortable with being uncomfortable in these new environments,
but learning that I can trust myself to be me,
(05:48):
to show up as me and do my own things,
stay straight in my own path, and activate my blinders.
The blinder's concept is so important specifically in the startup world.
You can because you can be kind of torn in
different ways seeing competition, seeing people win money, investments, grants,
(06:08):
and we can get off track absolutely with this one
so week commitment to yourself, you learn, hey, that's great,
you're doing that. But I'm on my own path and
I'm committing over and over again to that discipline. Oh
that's beautiful. I love that dating yourself. That's really really
great advice. So let's go back to talking about slat
(06:28):
pack and small and strong. What are the overall goals
for it is you move forward that you're setting for
yourself and the company's so sweat Packs goals. Right now,
we are definitely in very new startup mode and trying
to figure out what exactly is going to be the
best business model that is going to discruct We know
(06:48):
in the fitness industry the membership model has kind of
taken over in the last few years and credits and
passes things like that, but it's really gonna be this
new shift in UH group activities in the next few years.
We're going to see and so are disruptive business model
is what we really want to focus poorly on because
(07:09):
we know if we get that down, the value to
the consumer is real and then the retention is there.
The referral rates continue to pass on UM and hopefully
we'll be growing in the next five years on a
nationwide basis and rolling out these opportunities to other niches
and not just fitness UM and personally, for my personal brand,
(07:32):
it's really just to always vulnerably showcase the journey of entrepreneurship.
UM people know me on there is showing my very
very bad days and my very good days and celebrating
and growing with me. And I know the word vulnerability
gets passed on a lot now, but I think it's
more about the transparency of what are we going to
(07:53):
do about it together? And that's what I showcase. I
really love that and appreciate the vulnerability. There's this like
fun the expression in the startup technology world where it's
like when someone says, how are you doing? And there's
either you know, it's one of two things, either I'm
killing it or it's killing me. And I think that
is so real because there's days when you're like yes,
and then there's days when you just feel like you're drowning.
(08:15):
And just being able to share that with other entrepreneurs
is so inspiring because there's the ups and downs, and
entrepreneurship is seriously lonely at times. So we appreciate you absolutely.
And my one thing I've learned from that, especially with
the startup ecosystem in Atlanta, is our best mentors are
actually the ones beside us, people going through the same
(08:36):
journey as us, that can actually tackle these problems in
real time because they're going through similar challenges. But of
course important to have people above us that have been
through the path and for us to always mentor people
below us on the journey as well. Mama and your
ted talk, you mentioned that you don't see many Bengali
Muslim Americans in your field and that your family hasn't
(08:58):
always seen this as a positive thing. As you venture
into entrepreneurship, that perspective and that lack of representation can
have a really detrimental impact on anyone. How have you
maintained your determination and motivation? I think number one, it's
always remembering who you are. This is why I say
(09:18):
date yourself, learn to trust yourself, and become your own cheerleader.
Because when we learn what our own magical powers are,
then other people around us will see that we are
consistent and we are committed to it, and then they
will understand it is a part of our lifestyle. Especially
when we're talking about our parents, right, they only want
the best for us, and anything veering from the straight
(09:42):
path to success is of course a little bit um
can cause anxiety. My parents are first generation, well I'm
my first generation UM Bengali Muslim American, and they came
here with the goal to really just help us become
doctors and um in the business this world. But I
think it really comes down to finding your community of
(10:04):
other people that also are aligned with your goals and
support you. And then three is sharing your story, sharing
the struggles so that we can all come up together.
I know specifically, one of the biggest challenges I've rested
recently been going through is my journey with financial literacy.
That is something I was not very I was not
(10:25):
taught growing up, and it's been a journey that I've
been going through as an entrepreneur and as a female
founder in general. And so it's really been connecting with
myself and connecting with community that's helped bridge that gap.
And now my parents are celebrating with me, and they
have also come around to support me as well in
(10:46):
this journey. Mamma, thank you so much for sharing with
us today, and I totally understand that journey, being also
a first children, a child of a first generation immigrant.
They just truly want the best for you. And here
we are, We're blazing new trails and making them proud.
So continue to do that, and thank you so much.
It's been a pleasure speaking with you. You've not only
(11:06):
thrived in a space where the odds have not always
been in your favor, but you've managed to do it
during a time where literally the whole world was shut down.
So thank you so much for inspiring us and keeping
us looking fit and in shape at the same time. Well,
thank you guys, and you can feel free to always
connect with me. I'm your friend, Slide in my d
M anytime, tell us your mama where they can find
(11:27):
you on social media as well. Yeah, so LinkedIn ou
Mama Cibria, um on Instagram and Instagram, Small and Strong,
dot c o, and my TikTok is ou Mama Cibria.
But that's more for fun. Well, we'll be sure to
check out all of your platforms and thank you so
much for joining us. That's it for now, money Movers,
but make sure you keep it locked to the Money
(11:47):
Moves podcast powered by Greenwood. You won't want to miss
what's coming up next. Thank you so much for tuning
in Money Moves audience. If you want more or a
recap of this episode, please go to the bank Greenwood
dot com and check out the Money Moves podcast blog.
Money Moves is an I heart radio podcast powered by
(12:08):
Greenwood Executive produced by Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcasts
on I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts from,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!