March 25, 2025 • 36 mins
Are you a freelancer struggling to find consistent work, feel isolated, or wonder how to scale without sacrificing independence? In this episode of Spark & Ignite Your Marketing, host Beverly Cornell sits down with Nadia Says, founder of Your Mom’s Agency, a creative collective helping freelancers thrive. For over 12 years, Nadia has been revolutionizing the way independent artists and creatives collaborate, helping them gain recognition, secure high-paying gigs, and navigate the challenges of self-employment. Tune in now to learn how creatives can build thriving careers through collaboration while staying independent.
Three Key Topics Discussed:
- Why Creative Freelancers Need Community to Thrive: Many solopreneurs struggle with isolation and inconsistent income. Nadia shares how joining a collective can increase credibility, secure bigger opportunities, and provide support, without losing the freedom of being your own boss.
- Marketing for Artists: Staying Authentic While Growing Your Audience: Nadia recounts how she helped a techno artist in Berlin rebuild her brand during COVID by embracing authenticity and social media storytelling—leading to more gigs and a bigger audience post-pandemic.
- Balancing Grassroots Authenticity with Financial Success: Many creatives fear "selling out" while trying to make a living. Nadia reveals how her collective helps artists find ethical partnerships, monetize their work, and stay true to their values without sacrificing financial security.
Follow Nadia:
Your Mom's Agency | Instagram
Your Mom's Agency | Facebook
Your Mom's Agency | Website
DIF-EV | Website
P.S. Ready to spark your unique opportunities and ignite your marketing? Here are three ways to work with us.
1. 📞 Schedule a Complimentary 15-minute Call and let’s delve into your goals and answer any questions you may have.
2. 📘 Read Beverly’s book Marketing for Entrepreneurs a quick guide filled with actionable steps to help make your brand and business shine even brighter. 🎙️ Listen to Beverly’s Marketing Podcast where she interviews entrepreneurs to get inspired and gain new business and marketing insights.
3. 🎓 Learn more about marketing and Enroll in Our Marketing Courses designed to bring clarity to your business efforts. They’re easy-to-understand and self-paced, perfect for busy entrepreneurs like you.
P.S. Take the first step (will only take you 3 minutes) to awaken your brand magic with our personalized Brand Clarity Quiz
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Beverly (00:00):
Did you know that more than 70% of freelancers say
(00:02):
finding consistent work is theirbiggest challenge?
The creative industry can feellike a constant hustle, juggling
gigs, chasing payments, andnavigating it all alone.
But what if there was a betterway, a way to stay independent
while getting the power of acollective?
Welcome to another episode ofthe Spark and Ignite your
(00:23):
marketing podcast.
I'm your host Beverly Cornell,and today we are diving into new
community collaboration andcreative storytelling can change
the way freelancers do business.
Our guest today is Nadia Says,the visionary behind Your Mom's
Agency, a freelancer drivencreative collective that has
been making waves For 12 years.
(00:46):
Nadia has built a thrivingnetwork that empowers creatives
to land big opportunitieswithout losing their
independence.
Nadia, I'm so excited to haveyou on the show.
Welcome.
Nadia (00:58):
Oh, thank you so much.
I'm excited to be here.
Beverly (01:00):
So you launched your mob's agency on 12/12/12 what a
great day.
It's an iconic day.
Talk about why that day and whythis particular business.
Talk about your origin story andthe sparks that kind of ignited
it all.
Nadia (01:15):
12, 12, 12.
It was a lucky coincidence.
We were about to launch and Isaw this date was coming up and
I was like, okay we just have todo it on that day.
It's just really special.
And the spark is because I wasalready doing the work I'm doing
now with the agency, but on myown and for different clients,
so not under a platform, a name,a logo, et cetera.
(01:38):
It was hard to get recognitionfor my work and for the work of
others, mostly artists.
It was a little bit painful andsad to see that artists were not
being treated properly in manyplaces.
So I wanted to do a projectwhere, first off, the artist
would be centric.
So centric artist, artisticplatform where it's not about
(02:01):
the money or the mainstreamfirst, it's about the vision of
the artist and showing what theartist wants to do and to share
with the world.
And the other thing is Iactually like to be independent.
I don't necessarily want towork, in a company.
And it's the same for manypeople, but at the same time,
like you were explaining exactlya couple of minutes ago, it's
(02:24):
hard that, okay, we're going tocome up together under the
umbrella with a name, a website,a logo.
And suddenly it was magicalpeople took us seriously.
Beverly (02:34):
So many solopreneurs, whether they're in the creative
space or not, feel completelyalone.
And having a collective of yourgroup of supporters and people
to cheer you on and to help youthrough challenges or help with
ideation or feedback that's soimportant as a entrepreneur and
an artist especially.
I feel like we can really selfisolate and if and having that
(02:57):
group of people can keep us, Idon't know, I guess supported
and energized.
So I love this concept so much.
Because I felt really alone atthe beginning.
I was an accidental entrepreneurand I didn't have a plan.
I didn't know what I was doing.
I would just figured it out andmade tons of mistakes in the
process.
So having someone there to guideyou, like a mom is pretty cool.
(03:21):
I love that so much.
So how do you support them?
Talk about that.
What are the things that you doto help them be supported but
yet maintain this idea ofindependence?
What are some things that you dofor them?
Nadia (03:33):
Mainly two things.
One is observe.
So observe what they do, howthey manage their marketing,
social media, their interactionwith their own clients who might
be labels venues, festivals, etcetera.
And in parallel, listen to them.
Sometimes there's a discrepancybetween what they're doing and
what they think they are doing.
(03:55):
And I can see that with how thepeople, crowd, companies, the
audience, respond to what theyputting out in the world.
So first step, observing,listening, and then letting them
know, oh, did you know that whenyou do this, the outcome is not
this as you think it is, theoutcome is that, are you
comfortable with that?
(04:16):
Did you want to change it?
So it's not about me tellingthem what to do because again,
the artist is the center of thebusiness.
It's about me asking them ifwhat they're doing right now is
actually what they want to do.
Are they reaching their goals?
Do they need tools and tips tobetter reach their goals in a
(04:36):
way that is more genuine organic
Beverly (04:39):
so what are the artists, what are the creative
community?
What is their biggest fears andobstacles, and how has working
with you transformed them?
Give me a story of how you'vehelped support someone and
helped them really flourish.
Nadia (04:52):
I do have successfully with one artist who's American,
but lives in Berlin.
She's the queen of modulartechno.
So it's techno music played inclubs at night.
But on this modular sensitizer,it's the since with all the
buttons you have to turn and youhave to plug all the cables.
So that's what she does.
Beverly (05:11):
Okay.
Nadia (05:12):
And so during covid, as you can imagine, without
gigging, without producingyourself in front of the
audience, you loseself-confidence.
You dunno why you're doing whatyou're doing anymore.
So she was among this artist whofelt like, oh, will I ever come
back from this?
And one of the ways to stayafloat when there was the
lockdown, or at all at anymoment is to be present on
(05:34):
social media.
However, how do you presentyourself on social media?
When you are miserable, stuck athome, not able to perform.
And she was like, yeah, I don'twant movement where people
pretend they are happy andlearning every day, when
actually we are all miserable athome.
And I told her, definitely donot pretend to be happy.
That's toxic to yourself and toothers.
(05:55):
Never pretend anything but showthings that you like that are
interesting to you because yourfans love you for you, not for
your fake happiness.
She loves to do her nails, andas you can imagine, when she
does her nails and it's on themodular sense, it looks amazing.
So I was like, why don't youshow yourself doing your nails
(06:17):
on Instagram?
People want to know how you doyour amazing nails.
Also, I know you keep onbuilding your studio all the
time and you receive all thisequipment, open the equipment,
open the boxes, show your joy,opening the box to your
audience.
And so she was like, okay, I'mgonna try.
I'm gonna try.
And she did it little by littleat her own pace and her
(06:40):
Instagram is now really big.
And when gigs came back, she gotlots of gigs because thanks to
Instagram, nobody forgot abouther.
And she actually came backbigger than she was before.
Beverly (06:52):
I think what's so powerful about what you shared
with her and what you empoweredwith her was this idea of, yes,
life is hard, but to reallyfocus on those moments of joy.
But still stay so true to you.
And a lot of entrepreneurs thatwe work with, we actually talk
about like some of thefrustrations and some of that
it's okay to share, like it'sokay to share, but there's also
(07:14):
the positivity in it you need toshare too.
So that's the real stuff.
I agree with her.
Like I don't wanna put out thisthere's no problems.
Because being a creative, beinga business owner, being a human
is full of challenges, likelegit challenges.
And Covid presented some realchallenges for our mental health
(07:34):
and our purpose.
Like not being able to live outour purpose.
And is so hard to squash thatdesire to do what we're supposed
to do and meant to do.
We talked a lot about with ourclients, like you just have to
stay there so that you are topof mind when things open up
again.
So this was exactly that.
You made sure she stayed thereand relevant and made her even
(07:55):
more in demand afterwards.
That's an ideal situation with ahorrible situation.
Made the best of it anyway.
Made the best of it.
So what are some of theunexpected challenges of running
like a freelancer collective andhow have you tackled it?
What are some of the things thatyou struggle with?
Nadia (08:12):
I'm maybe a little bit sentimental, but when I work
with people, I like to work withthem forever.
Unless something very badhappens, but otherwise, it's not
oh, we have one project andthen, we never see each other.
So it's been 12 years and thereare some people who have moved
on either they moved to anothercity, some even changed careers.
(08:34):
And that's completely fine, ofcourse, but sometimes I feel a
little bit sad and I wish wecould stay more connected.
However, it's true, people havethe family, their friends, they
travel, they have to work allthe time.
We all have to work all thetime.
Health issues, maybe, politicalsociety, et cetera.
Things happen and sometimes youlose touch.
(08:55):
And yeah, I find that a bitdifficult, a bit sad, and it's a
challenge I give to myself to.
Once or twice a year, lookthrough my address book and just
send a little note.
Hey, how you doing?
What's up?
Don't be a stranger, even if wedon't really have anything to do
together for work, but let'sjust, say hi to each other and
(09:15):
see what happens in the future.
Beverly (09:17):
Gosh I really resonate with this, Nadia because I think
people who really do what theylove to do, they get all
invested, right?
We're all into their success andwe're all into helping support
them.
And it's like building a baby insome way.
We are very invested in how itmatures.
My very first client is still aclient.
(09:38):
I started my business around thesame time.
December of 2011, so not too faroff of where you were a year or
so.
But having those couple of keyclients that have stayed with me
all those years, gosh, I am allin.
'cause I've seen them go fromreally small spaces to huge
spaces to having deliveryservices and multiple locations
(10:00):
and all kinds of things.
And I feel like I'm just sohonored to be on that journey
with them to help them achievesome level of success for the
thing that they wanna do, doingthe thing that I love to do.
It's really rewarding, but alsoreally hard when people leave.
And like you said, it's normaland natural and sometimes things
change, but you're right.
(10:20):
I love that you're so committedto once or twice a year reaching
out and just saying, as a human,I like you and I wanna stay in
touch and just connect with you.
You're very good.
I am not so good at that.
I'm an introvert a little bit,so it's harder for me.
But I do genuinely care and Ifollow them on social media and
I'll cheer them on along the wayand things like that.
But I love that you actuallyspend some time reaching out.
(10:41):
I may have to do that Nadiaafter talking to you, so it's a
great tip for sure.
So 12 years is not a smallamount of time to do something.
What do you think has been thebiggest evolution that you've
had as a business owner over thelast 12 years?
Nadia (10:57):
On a personal level, when I read my emails from 12 years
ago and I read my emails.
Of now, the style, the writingstyle is very different.
I am way more polite and nicernow than I was.
I was very business, and now I'mmore like into the human side of
things.
I think that's good.
But in terms of business, Iwould say Your Mom's agency has
(11:20):
been four or five agencies inone, because we started mostly
with booking and after a yearand a half it became obvious.
We were never going to makemoney from that.
Not enough money.
Then we did PR.
Which was enough money, but Iwasn't so comfortable with that
because when you do PR forsomeone, you have to charge them
(11:41):
whether it worked or not.
And when it doesn't work, it'snobody's fault.
So I was like actually I'm notso comfortable with this
business model.
Then we decided to doindependent events that we
commissioned ourselves for, andthis was the most challenging
and the most fun.
Also the time where maybe in twoyears gained 10 years because it
(12:04):
was physical hard work.
And then I was like, okay, weall love this, but first it's
not so much money and also weare going to burn out and this
is when we did what we are doingmore now, which is going a
little bit into corporate.
So still be.
Independent and grassroots anddiverse and all the things we
love, but finding corporations,companies where we get along
(12:28):
with these values and we can dowork for them where we work in a
decent condition and get decentpayment form.
Beverly (12:35):
I love this question for so many reasons, but it's so
interesting to see how peopleevolve over time and this idea
of burnout is so powerful in somany people's journeys.
They wanna do the thing theylove and they end up like
burning the candle at both endsand trying all these different
things I don't know if you hadhave had a point, but I've had a
(12:55):
point where I almost said I'mdone.
I started a business to havefreedom, but I feel the most
stressed and the craziest I'veever been and I'm not sure this
is what I was supposed to do.
Those moments are so powerfulthough, to figure out and maybe
switch gears a little bit of, isthis really working for me and
being very real with yourself?
And the best thing, Nadia, thatI love is that we get to create
(13:17):
the exact business that we want.
So we can evolve and we canshift and we can do all of that
as a business.
Such good insight in that Nadia,for those of you who are
listening that have found thisto be really powerful, this idea
of shifting that and whatNadia's saying, I would love for
you to screenshot this episodeand share it on social media and
(13:38):
tag us.
Let us know your biggesttakeaway in that.
Have you been burned out?
Is that something that you havefelt?
Have you changed direction andfound more purpose and passion
and profit by doing some otherthings?
So if you're loving thisconversation, leave us a review.
We love it.
It helps other people discoverthe magic of this podcast and
(13:58):
interviews like Nadia's.
Thank you so much.
So this season's biggestquestion, Nadia, is how did you
awaken your brand magic?
Was there a moment whereeverything aligned and you saw
the unique magic you bring tothe table?
Nadia (14:15):
It was little moments, and I have to say in my personal
life, I always want to seemyself with my own eyes.
But in the business, it camefrom other people giving me
feedback on what I was doingbecause of course, you always do
what you feel is best, right?
But how do you know unlesssomeone tells you don't know?
(14:35):
So there were all these littlemoments where people told me.
What they thought I was doing.
And turned out it was exactlywhat I was trying to do.
I felt very validated and I feltthat I was achieving something
in the correct manner.
It was little moments and thislittle moments keep on
(14:56):
happening.
For example, the logo.
So at the beginning we had alogo and I was looking at the
logo, looking at the logo, andafter a year I was like, I'm so
sorry.
I know we have the logo, but wehave to change it.
And I know it's weird to changethe logo and it's not
recommended, but I think we willbe better off with a new logo
because I want this to last, ifit's just a two year project,
(15:19):
okay, keep the same logo,whatever, but I want this to
last.
And so we changed the logo,changed a bit of website.
It was a lot of work, but in theend.
We got something that could lastanother 11 years instead of
becoming ugly and dated after acouple of years.
So sometimes, you have to take aleap of faith and be like, okay,
(15:40):
it's not what people expect meto do, but I'm going to do it.
And then there are times wherepeople are like, yeah, you're
doing exactly what you'resupposed to do.
And you're like, oh, okay.
All is good now.
And I found my place and mygoals and it's all good.
Beverly (15:55):
I love that you did like the breath of I'm doing
what I was supposed to be doingand everything's good, there's
something really validating infeeling that sense of calm and
peace and comfort.
Before we get on, you saidsomething to me that like almost
made me tear up about that it'sdoing good.
These interviews are doing goodthings, like it's spreading good
in the world and gosh, like thatresonated so strongly with me
(16:18):
and gave me that little Oh,thank you.
That's like reaffirming andvalidation for all the hard
work.
I've said this before onprevious episodes, but if
there's someone or somethingthat you really connect with
that the person is impactingyour life, or if it's a podcast
or it's a business or something,tell them because it's
validation that they're doingwhat they're supposed to be
(16:40):
doing.
Be free in that, giving thataway because people work so hard
and to hear that is soimportant.
That breath was everything,Nadia, like that.
Yeah.
This is the right place.
I love that.
I love that so much.
It's really powerful.
So what's been the hardest thingabout marketing for you with the
(17:02):
collective?
What's the hardest challengeyou've encountered with
marketing?
Nadia (17:06):
I there's been a few challenges.
First challenge is how do youconvey the idea that you are a
collective, not a registeredcompany, but that everyone is
independent.
We all work with each other, butwe also have other projects.
So I think nowadays peopleunderstand, but 12 years ago
people thought it was verybizarre, so we had to market
(17:27):
this, and we still neededclients to trust us because
we're like, oh, you're not areal company.
What happens if you dissolve inthe next six months or
something?
So we had to build trust withclients.
Yeah.
Another challenge is how do youremain independent, little bit
underground, grassroots, butstill make money?
(17:47):
Yes, we want to be grassroots.
It doesn't mean we don't have topay rent.
Everyone needs to make cash tolive.
We want to be paid in a decentmanner, but we also don't want
to sell our souls for it.
You have to advertise thatthere's a line to walk and we
know what this line is, and wehelp our clients understand what
that line is.
(18:08):
And then something connected tothis.
For some artists, they areunderground and then they reach
certain level when they have tomake a decision.
How mainstream or non-mainstreamdo I go to keep on making a
living with my career?
And right now I'm working with aduo from Belgium and they are a
fantastic example of how you canstill be underground in
(18:31):
grassroots and make a fantasticliving and have a huge audience
without sending out to any majorcorporation.
So you just have to put a lot ofthought into it, understand the
market, and make sure that youraudience understand as well, so
they keep on following you.
Even if you don't go to this biggiant machines where all the
(18:53):
other famous artists go.
Beverly (18:55):
Do you think that's evolved a little bit, Nadia?
I feel like with theproliferation of TikTok and some
of these other platforms, I feelartists specifically have more
reach outside of the corporationthan they've ever had, which
gives them some power andautonomy in their art.
Do you think that has been a bigfactor in them having some of
(19:16):
that grassroots still and nothaving to give to sell out to
the man
Nadia (19:20):
Definitely, yes.
And I think it's possiblenowadays to have a big enough
audience.
The question remains, how do youmonetize how your audience love
you?
Because when your audience lovesyou on TikTok, Spotify, you
can't make a living of that.
Unfortunately.
So the question remains of,okay, I'm big, I'm famous ish, I
(19:42):
have enough followers, but howcan this followers support me
financially because.
When they listen to my music onSpotify, Spotify makes money,
but I don't so it's about alsobeing a good business person and
informing your audience that.
Thank you so much for listeningto my music on Spotify, but just
so you know, I make no moneyfrom that.
(20:04):
So if you wish to support me,there's other ways, like concert
patrons, merchandise and so onand so forth.
Beverly (20:09):
The word famous ish is so good.
Nadia, I'm famous ish.
But even for this podcast, wedon't monetize it and I think we
put out great content all thetime.
So the way that people canreally support the work is by
sharing it or giving reviews somore people can reach it so that
we can make more connections andpossibly do business with
(20:31):
people, right?
That's the whole goal at the endof the day.
And yeah, like there's veryclear ways that you can help
support an artist so that theycan continue to do what they're
doing.
That's all part of it.
Nadia famous ish is not gonnapay the bills, not gonna feed
the kids, that's for sure.
Okay, so I have a magic hatround.
It's purple, it's got sparkles.
(20:53):
It's really super fun.
I used to call it the lightninground, but I really like this
better.
There's lots of questions inhere.
I'm gonna pull'em and we'regonna see where the conversation
goes, but these are more rapidfire type questions.
Okay, so first question, if yourbrand had a theme song, what
would it be and why?
Nadia (21:10):
Oh I work in music so very difficult to make a choice.
But okay.
You know the song Orient, that'sme standing in the corner.
That's mean, the spotlight.
This is exactly artists.
A lot of artists have thisduality of being in the shadow
and wanting to be in thespotlight.
So I think that would be thesong.
Beverly (21:28):
Beautiful answer.
I love that.
It's a great song too.
Tell us about a time when youhad to pivot and what did you
learn?
Nadia (21:35):
So I already talked about this and I learned that as much
as you love something and you'vedone it if it doesn't work, you
have to move on, otherwise yourbusiness dies.
Beverly (21:45):
So we're in the process of rebranding right now.
When you talked about the logochange, like I'm feeling that.
But I think when we talk aboutawakening your magic, right?
And I think this new logoactually is more of our magic.
So it's like we are compelled tochange it.
Even though it's hard, lots ofwork and all those things, I
feel like we're finally steppinginto where we're supposed to
actually be.
(22:07):
And oftentimes marketers don'tgive ourselves the attention we
give to other people.
And we have to take the time andthe energy to really do
ourselves justice too.
How has running your businesschanged you as a person?
Nadia (22:20):
Funny.
I think it made me morecompassionate.
Usually when people go intobusiness they become tougher.
For me, it's been the oppositebecause I work with a lot of
different human beings and lifehappens.
Sometimes you are sick, you'retired, you're sad, you can't
work.
And I have to manage thisbecause I'm usually the person
at the end of the process wherethings get done or not.
(22:42):
So when someone is not able todo their work, it's not about me
shouting at them to get it done.
It's about me trying to supportthem on an emotional level and
see if they can do it.
And if they cannot do it, belike, it's okay, it happens.
You will do it next time and getsomeone else to do the work.
So yeah, I think it's made memore compassionate.
Beverly (23:03):
I think I'm much more empathetic because I've been on
the journey and I know how hardit's.
And so for me, I understandwhere when we push a client to
do something, like to step infront of their brand when
they've been hiding behind itfor so long, I've had to do the
same thing.
So I understand, I feel it at amuch deeper level than if I had
never gone through all thatstuff.
So I think it's made me muchmore empathetic and
(23:23):
compassionate as well.
What's the hardest to knowyou've ever had to say in
business and why?
Nadia (23:30):
It's funny, I was thinking about this just last
night.
It's been, I would say threetimes that someone an agency
bigger than mine set me down andoffered me to go into
partnership.
And it's very tempting becauseit's Ooh, they have big offices,
they have means they haveclients.
And I said, no each time becauseI was like, you know what, maybe
(23:52):
I will be more comfortable forone or two years and then I will
miss my independence.
And each time I had to say no.
Beverly (23:59):
So the internal struggle of that security
blanket?
I think it's perceived securitytoo.
'cause they could change theirmind at any moment, right?
That's not really security anddoing the thing that you want to
do.
That's a very real struggle.
What fear have you had toovercome to grow your business?
Nadia (24:19):
You were just talking about people having to put
themselves in front of theirbrand.
At the beginning it was anagreement between all of us.
No one would even tell our namesto anyone.
So it would just be Your Moms.
And at some point it becameclear when we were applying for
funding, for example that weactually needed some internal
(24:41):
star power.
So some people had to bepresented as experts or
whatever, public speakers.
Otherwise we would not getaccess to some funding, some
sponsoring, some opportunities.
So I had to put myself forward.
I did not enjoy it at thebeginning,'cause I'm quite of a
private person, but then I waslike, okay, for the business.
(25:02):
And also as a racialized queerwoman I think it's good, people
see me.
Hopefully it inspires them tocome to the front as well.
Beverly (25:10):
You're doing some really tough work by being the
front of it.
I think you carry a heavier loadthan most.
So I'm appreciative of peoplewho step in front of their brand
as a minority and fully embraceit.
That's very powerful, but alsoreally hard.
Bravo.
Share a fun fact about yourbusiness that even your most
(25:33):
dedicated clients might not knowabout you and your business.
Nadia (25:36):
The way we came up with the name of the agency, Your
Mom's, so now we can make senseof it and explain it in a really
nice way in a proper marketingway.
But the truth is, this name camebecause in French, when you say
your mom to someone, it meanspiss off.
And people kept on bothering mewith the name and at some point
(25:58):
I just said, Tamir your mom.
And then we were like, oh yes,that's, it's that, and that's
how we found the name.
Beverly (26:08):
I love it.
What is something in yourbusiness that brings you pure
joy?
Nadia (26:14):
When an artist succeeds in doing what they wanted to do,
which can be releasing a mix, analbum, a video, getting funding,
getting a sponsor, whatever goalwe're working towards.
And usually, it's tough.
It's a lot of physical work,emotional work, logistics work,
et cetera.
And then to get it it's theultimate validation.
(26:35):
It's like we've done everythingright and it was good to pursue
it and not give up and believein the project and in the
artist.
Beverly (26:44):
I think when you see people succeed, it's again,
another validation level ofvalidation.
That is the end of our magic hatround.
I love those questions so much.
And I loved your answers somuch.
I do have a magic wand and Ilove to use it and we use it to
time travel, so I'm gonna wavethe magic wand and we're gonna
go back to Nadia when yougraduated high school, so
(27:08):
18-year-old.
Nadia what are your pronouns?
Nadia (27:12):
She or they either
Beverly (27:13):
okay.
I wanna make sure I use yourcorrect pronouns.
So what would you tell her whatadvice would you give her to
help you now that you didn'thave then?
Nadia (27:22):
I would tell my younger self that I'm smarter than I
think I am, and I can do morethan I think I can.
When you are 18 you're not sure,even if you're good at school
and your parents encourage you,you always oh, am I good enough
for that?
Should I invest in this?
Should I take the easier route?
Also, because you want to party,'cause you're 18.
(27:43):
So I would tell myself, take onmore challenges because you can
do it.
Beverly (27:47):
18 year olds have an unbelievable amount of.
Confidence, but yet they don'tlike, it's a very interesting
dichotomy.
They know everything, but yetthey don't know everything.
So it's interesting.
So if you were talking to youryounger self and she could see
you now, what would she say toyou?
Nadia (28:07):
I think she would find me very strange because the way I
envisioned myself at 18 wasalways traveling and I still
travel a bit, but not as much.
I also envision myself doingsome not serious work.
So not budget, not logistics.
Not legal stuff, only fun stuff,artistic stuff.
(28:31):
So I think my younger self belike, why are you doing all this
budgeting in Excel spreadsheets?
Beverly (28:37):
Because we have to, not because you wanna, I feel the
same.
It's like the, I like the storythat the budgets and the Excel
sheets tell me, but I don'twanna do all that.
I totally agree with you.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave my wandagain, Nadia, we're gonna go far
into the future.
When you have passed away whatdo you want people to remember
most about working with you?
(28:57):
What would your eulogy say andwhat do you think your most
significant legacy or impactwill be?
Nadia (29:02):
Hopefully people will say that even if sometimes I was
tough, I was always fair and Igot things done and that they
felt supported.
And my legacy.
It's very hard for independentartists at the moment because of
all the financial, economical,societal situation.
(29:22):
If you come from a lower orworking class, being an artist
is really difficult.
So I make it one of my missionsto make sure that artists from
the middle class still exists.
It's not only people born withmoney who keep on making art.
So hopefully that will be mylegacy.
Beverly (29:41):
I feel like people who aren't, this might be a
generalization and forgive me ifI'm not in the industry, so
maybe I'm making somegeneralizations and if I am,
correct me, but I feel like artis not something you should own
from a money perspective andthat people who come from less,
actually their struggle createsmuch more interesting art.
Nadia (30:00):
I generally speaking I agree.
If you are given everything on asilver plate, it's hard to
express what society might belooking for as a message, if you
have financial means, you canalso struggle and you will have
something to express.
But someone who has a very easy,satisfying life that they don't
(30:23):
have to work for is less likelyto express anything interesting.
Beverly (30:29):
Agreed.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave my magicwand one more time and we're
gonna come back to the presenttime.
Hope you enjoyed the journeyfrom the past into the future.
A little brief glimpse of youngNadia and the legacy.
I think it's important, all thethings that we do every day
today and impact our legacy.
That vision is very interestingand important as an
(30:49):
entrepreneur.
So the last little thing I wantto ask you is small business
owners and aspiringentrepreneurs I would love for
you to give one strategy orthing that they can put into
action right now today that willhelp them awaken their brand
magic what is something that youwould give as an advice to help
(31:09):
them do that?
Nadia (31:11):
It's about self-confidence.
You should always double andtriple check your work, but you
should not second guessyourself.
You have to listen to yourobservation, imagination your
gut, your inspiration.
And sometimes it's difficultbecause when you have unique
thoughts, you think, oh, there'snothing out there like this.
Maybe it's not good, but that'sexactly why it's important you
(31:33):
put it out there.
So be confident check all yourwork.
It has to be very good work.
But don't doubt yourself and putwhat you have to put out there.
Beverly (31:44):
We say clarity brings unicorn like confidence when
you're really clear on yourmission and who you serve and
what you do, and how you helppeople.
Your confidence.
That self-confidence factor is ahuge thing.
It helps you stand in front ofthe brand.
It helps you do all those otherthings.
Plus it helps you just show upas a guide for your customer,
(32:05):
like your clients and yourcustomers, right?
That confidence helps otherpeople.
I've been there, I know how todo this thing, and I wanna help
you get to the other side ofwhatever it is that you want for
you and your business.
So yes, confidence is huge, butyou need some clarity first, to
really get there, like you said,doing the work, putting the time
(32:25):
in.
So before we wrap up, tellpeople where they can find more
about you and Your Mom's agency,which I wanna say is like now a
really bad word.
I love the double meaning inFrench.
How can people get in touch withyou?
Nadia (32:39):
So we are your mom's agency on Twitter or X as people
call it now.
Also your mom's Berlin onInstagram, your mom's
agency.com, the website.
And if you are interested in theintersections of culture and
diversity, equity inclusion, wealso have a sister, NGO called
(33:01):
DIF-EV, DIF dash e v.org.
So that's also now the newbranch we have to take care of
di values connected to culture.
Beverly (33:14):
Interesting.
We're thinking about starting anonprofit as well.
So I love that.
I might have to pick your brainabout that process.
Such wonderful things.
Thank you so much, Nadia, forsharing all of this today.
It's been so fun learning moreabout you, your journey, what
lights you up, all of thethings.
I am so excited for the workyou're doing and I'm so thankful
(33:35):
that Saskia introduced us.
So thank you so much.
Nadia (33:37):
Yeah.
Big thanks to Saskia and foreverything she's done for me and
for the community.
Thank you for your really funquestions.
And as I was saying, it's apleasure watching the
interviews.
It's very uplifting.
Beverly (33:48):
Thank you so much, Nadia.
I really hope that everyone elsefound this as inspiring as I
did.
I know that our listeners aregonna walk away feeling that
their journey isn't alone and sounique that everybody has these
same struggles and successes.
I'm so grateful for your timetoday and the impact that you're
making on the world.
Such an incredible episode.
I hope that today's episode litlittle bit of a fire on you and
(34:10):
gave you some ideas and most ofall, inspired you all to take
some action because here's thething, your message matters.
Your work matters, and the worldneeds to hear what you have to
say.
Marketing isn't just aboutvisibility, it's also about
impact.
It's about connecting the rightpeople in a way that feels true
to you.
So keep showing up, keep sharingyour brilliance and keep making
(34:32):
magic in the world.
And hey, if you ever get stuckyou don't have to do this alone.
So we're here to help you turnthat spark into a fire.
Until next time, keep sparkingand igniting.
Did you know that more than 70% of freelancers say
(00:02):
finding consistent work is theirbiggest challenge?
The creative industry can feellike a constant hustle, juggling
gigs, chasing payments, andnavigating it all alone.
But what if there was a betterway, a way to stay independent
while getting the power of acollective?
Welcome to another episode ofthe Spark and Ignite your
(00:23):
marketing podcast.
I'm your host Beverly Cornell,and today we are diving into new
community collaboration andcreative storytelling can change
the way freelancers do business.
Our guest today is Nadia Says,the visionary behind Your Mom's
Agency, a freelancer drivencreative collective that has
been making waves For 12 years.
(00:46):
Nadia has built a thrivingnetwork that empowers creatives
to land big opportunitieswithout losing their
independence.
Nadia, I'm so excited to haveyou on the show.
Welcome.
Nadia (00:58):
Oh, thank you so much.
I'm excited to be here.
Beverly (01:00):
So you launched your mob's agency on 12/12/12 what a
great day.
It's an iconic day.
Talk about why that day and whythis particular business.
Talk about your origin story andthe sparks that kind of ignited
it all.
Nadia (01:15):
12, 12, 12.
It was a lucky coincidence.
We were about to launch and Isaw this date was coming up and
I was like, okay we just have todo it on that day.
It's just really special.
And the spark is because I wasalready doing the work I'm doing
now with the agency, but on myown and for different clients,
so not under a platform, a name,a logo, et cetera.
(01:38):
It was hard to get recognitionfor my work and for the work of
others, mostly artists.
It was a little bit painful andsad to see that artists were not
being treated properly in manyplaces.
So I wanted to do a projectwhere, first off, the artist
would be centric.
So centric artist, artisticplatform where it's not about
(02:01):
the money or the mainstreamfirst, it's about the vision of
the artist and showing what theartist wants to do and to share
with the world.
And the other thing is Iactually like to be independent.
I don't necessarily want towork, in a company.
And it's the same for manypeople, but at the same time,
like you were explaining exactlya couple of minutes ago, it's
(02:24):
hard that, okay, we're going tocome up together under the
umbrella with a name, a website,a logo.
And suddenly it was magicalpeople took us seriously.
Beverly (02:34):
So many solopreneurs, whether they're in the creative
space or not, feel completelyalone.
And having a collective of yourgroup of supporters and people
to cheer you on and to help youthrough challenges or help with
ideation or feedback that's soimportant as a entrepreneur and
an artist especially.
I feel like we can really selfisolate and if and having that
(02:57):
group of people can keep us, Idon't know, I guess supported
and energized.
So I love this concept so much.
Because I felt really alone atthe beginning.
I was an accidental entrepreneurand I didn't have a plan.
I didn't know what I was doing.
I would just figured it out andmade tons of mistakes in the
process.
So having someone there to guideyou, like a mom is pretty cool.
(03:21):
I love that so much.
So how do you support them?
Talk about that.
What are the things that you doto help them be supported but
yet maintain this idea ofindependence?
What are some things that you dofor them?
Nadia (03:33):
Mainly two things.
One is observe.
So observe what they do, howthey manage their marketing,
social media, their interactionwith their own clients who might
be labels venues, festivals, etcetera.
And in parallel, listen to them.
Sometimes there's a discrepancybetween what they're doing and
what they think they are doing.
(03:55):
And I can see that with how thepeople, crowd, companies, the
audience, respond to what theyputting out in the world.
So first step, observing,listening, and then letting them
know, oh, did you know that whenyou do this, the outcome is not
this as you think it is, theoutcome is that, are you
comfortable with that?
(04:16):
Did you want to change it?
So it's not about me tellingthem what to do because again,
the artist is the center of thebusiness.
It's about me asking them ifwhat they're doing right now is
actually what they want to do.
Are they reaching their goals?
Do they need tools and tips tobetter reach their goals in a
(04:36):
way that is more genuine organic
Beverly (04:39):
so what are the artists, what are the creative
community?
What is their biggest fears andobstacles, and how has working
with you transformed them?
Give me a story of how you'vehelped support someone and
helped them really flourish.
Nadia (04:52):
I do have successfully with one artist who's American,
but lives in Berlin.
She's the queen of modulartechno.
So it's techno music played inclubs at night.
But on this modular sensitizer,it's the since with all the
buttons you have to turn and youhave to plug all the cables.
So that's what she does.
Beverly (05:11):
Okay.
Nadia (05:12):
And so during covid, as you can imagine, without
gigging, without producingyourself in front of the
audience, you loseself-confidence.
You dunno why you're doing whatyou're doing anymore.
So she was among this artist whofelt like, oh, will I ever come
back from this?
And one of the ways to stayafloat when there was the
lockdown, or at all at anymoment is to be present on
(05:34):
social media.
However, how do you presentyourself on social media?
When you are miserable, stuck athome, not able to perform.
And she was like, yeah, I don'twant movement where people
pretend they are happy andlearning every day, when
actually we are all miserable athome.
And I told her, definitely donot pretend to be happy.
That's toxic to yourself and toothers.
(05:55):
Never pretend anything but showthings that you like that are
interesting to you because yourfans love you for you, not for
your fake happiness.
She loves to do her nails, andas you can imagine, when she
does her nails and it's on themodular sense, it looks amazing.
So I was like, why don't youshow yourself doing your nails
(06:17):
on Instagram?
People want to know how you doyour amazing nails.
Also, I know you keep onbuilding your studio all the
time and you receive all thisequipment, open the equipment,
open the boxes, show your joy,opening the box to your
audience.
And so she was like, okay, I'mgonna try.
I'm gonna try.
And she did it little by littleat her own pace and her
(06:40):
Instagram is now really big.
And when gigs came back, she gotlots of gigs because thanks to
Instagram, nobody forgot abouther.
And she actually came backbigger than she was before.
Beverly (06:52):
I think what's so powerful about what you shared
with her and what you empoweredwith her was this idea of, yes,
life is hard, but to reallyfocus on those moments of joy.
But still stay so true to you.
And a lot of entrepreneurs thatwe work with, we actually talk
about like some of thefrustrations and some of that
it's okay to share, like it'sokay to share, but there's also
(07:14):
the positivity in it you need toshare too.
So that's the real stuff.
I agree with her.
Like I don't wanna put out thisthere's no problems.
Because being a creative, beinga business owner, being a human
is full of challenges, likelegit challenges.
And Covid presented some realchallenges for our mental health
(07:34):
and our purpose.
Like not being able to live outour purpose.
And is so hard to squash thatdesire to do what we're supposed
to do and meant to do.
We talked a lot about with ourclients, like you just have to
stay there so that you are topof mind when things open up
again.
So this was exactly that.
You made sure she stayed thereand relevant and made her even
(07:55):
more in demand afterwards.
That's an ideal situation with ahorrible situation.
Made the best of it anyway.
Made the best of it.
So what are some of theunexpected challenges of running
like a freelancer collective andhow have you tackled it?
What are some of the things thatyou struggle with?
Nadia (08:12):
I'm maybe a little bit sentimental, but when I work
with people, I like to work withthem forever.
Unless something very badhappens, but otherwise, it's not
oh, we have one project andthen, we never see each other.
So it's been 12 years and thereare some people who have moved
on either they moved to anothercity, some even changed careers.
(08:34):
And that's completely fine, ofcourse, but sometimes I feel a
little bit sad and I wish wecould stay more connected.
However, it's true, people havethe family, their friends, they
travel, they have to work allthe time.
We all have to work all thetime.
Health issues, maybe, politicalsociety, et cetera.
Things happen and sometimes youlose touch.
(08:55):
And yeah, I find that a bitdifficult, a bit sad, and it's a
challenge I give to myself to.
Once or twice a year, lookthrough my address book and just
send a little note.
Hey, how you doing?
What's up?
Don't be a stranger, even if wedon't really have anything to do
together for work, but let'sjust, say hi to each other and
(09:15):
see what happens in the future.
Beverly (09:17):
Gosh I really resonate with this, Nadia because I think
people who really do what theylove to do, they get all
invested, right?
We're all into their success andwe're all into helping support
them.
And it's like building a baby insome way.
We are very invested in how itmatures.
My very first client is still aclient.
(09:38):
I started my business around thesame time.
December of 2011, so not too faroff of where you were a year or
so.
But having those couple of keyclients that have stayed with me
all those years, gosh, I am allin.
'cause I've seen them go fromreally small spaces to huge
spaces to having deliveryservices and multiple locations
(10:00):
and all kinds of things.
And I feel like I'm just sohonored to be on that journey
with them to help them achievesome level of success for the
thing that they wanna do, doingthe thing that I love to do.
It's really rewarding, but alsoreally hard when people leave.
And like you said, it's normaland natural and sometimes things
change, but you're right.
(10:20):
I love that you're so committedto once or twice a year reaching
out and just saying, as a human,I like you and I wanna stay in
touch and just connect with you.
You're very good.
I am not so good at that.
I'm an introvert a little bit,so it's harder for me.
But I do genuinely care and Ifollow them on social media and
I'll cheer them on along the wayand things like that.
But I love that you actuallyspend some time reaching out.
(10:41):
I may have to do that Nadiaafter talking to you, so it's a
great tip for sure.
So 12 years is not a smallamount of time to do something.
What do you think has been thebiggest evolution that you've
had as a business owner over thelast 12 years?
Nadia (10:57):
On a personal level, when I read my emails from 12 years
ago and I read my emails.
Of now, the style, the writingstyle is very different.
I am way more polite and nicernow than I was.
I was very business, and now I'mmore like into the human side of
things.
I think that's good.
But in terms of business, Iwould say Your Mom's agency has
(11:20):
been four or five agencies inone, because we started mostly
with booking and after a yearand a half it became obvious.
We were never going to makemoney from that.
Not enough money.
Then we did PR.
Which was enough money, but Iwasn't so comfortable with that
because when you do PR forsomeone, you have to charge them
(11:41):
whether it worked or not.
And when it doesn't work, it'snobody's fault.
So I was like actually I'm notso comfortable with this
business model.
Then we decided to doindependent events that we
commissioned ourselves for, andthis was the most challenging
and the most fun.
Also the time where maybe in twoyears gained 10 years because it
(12:04):
was physical hard work.
And then I was like, okay, weall love this, but first it's
not so much money and also weare going to burn out and this
is when we did what we are doingmore now, which is going a
little bit into corporate.
So still be.
Independent and grassroots anddiverse and all the things we
love, but finding corporations,companies where we get along
(12:28):
with these values and we can dowork for them where we work in a
decent condition and get decentpayment form.
Beverly (12:35):
I love this question for so many reasons, but it's so
interesting to see how peopleevolve over time and this idea
of burnout is so powerful in somany people's journeys.
They wanna do the thing theylove and they end up like
burning the candle at both endsand trying all these different
things I don't know if you hadhave had a point, but I've had a
(12:55):
point where I almost said I'mdone.
I started a business to havefreedom, but I feel the most
stressed and the craziest I'veever been and I'm not sure this
is what I was supposed to do.
Those moments are so powerfulthough, to figure out and maybe
switch gears a little bit of, isthis really working for me and
being very real with yourself?
And the best thing, Nadia, thatI love is that we get to create
(13:17):
the exact business that we want.
So we can evolve and we canshift and we can do all of that
as a business.
Such good insight in that Nadia,for those of you who are
listening that have found thisto be really powerful, this idea
of shifting that and whatNadia's saying, I would love for
you to screenshot this episodeand share it on social media and
(13:38):
tag us.
Let us know your biggesttakeaway in that.
Have you been burned out?
Is that something that you havefelt?
Have you changed direction andfound more purpose and passion
and profit by doing some otherthings?
So if you're loving thisconversation, leave us a review.
We love it.
It helps other people discoverthe magic of this podcast and
(13:58):
interviews like Nadia's.
Thank you so much.
So this season's biggestquestion, Nadia, is how did you
awaken your brand magic?
Was there a moment whereeverything aligned and you saw
the unique magic you bring tothe table?
Nadia (14:15):
It was little moments, and I have to say in my personal
life, I always want to seemyself with my own eyes.
But in the business, it camefrom other people giving me
feedback on what I was doingbecause of course, you always do
what you feel is best, right?
But how do you know unlesssomeone tells you don't know?
(14:35):
So there were all these littlemoments where people told me.
What they thought I was doing.
And turned out it was exactlywhat I was trying to do.
I felt very validated and I feltthat I was achieving something
in the correct manner.
It was little moments and thislittle moments keep on
(14:56):
happening.
For example, the logo.
So at the beginning we had alogo and I was looking at the
logo, looking at the logo, andafter a year I was like, I'm so
sorry.
I know we have the logo, but wehave to change it.
And I know it's weird to changethe logo and it's not
recommended, but I think we willbe better off with a new logo
because I want this to last, ifit's just a two year project,
(15:19):
okay, keep the same logo,whatever, but I want this to
last.
And so we changed the logo,changed a bit of website.
It was a lot of work, but in theend.
We got something that could lastanother 11 years instead of
becoming ugly and dated after acouple of years.
So sometimes, you have to take aleap of faith and be like, okay,
(15:40):
it's not what people expect meto do, but I'm going to do it.
And then there are times wherepeople are like, yeah, you're
doing exactly what you'resupposed to do.
And you're like, oh, okay.
All is good now.
And I found my place and mygoals and it's all good.
Beverly (15:55):
I love that you did like the breath of I'm doing
what I was supposed to be doingand everything's good, there's
something really validating infeeling that sense of calm and
peace and comfort.
Before we get on, you saidsomething to me that like almost
made me tear up about that it'sdoing good.
These interviews are doing goodthings, like it's spreading good
in the world and gosh, like thatresonated so strongly with me
(16:18):
and gave me that little Oh,thank you.
That's like reaffirming andvalidation for all the hard
work.
I've said this before onprevious episodes, but if
there's someone or somethingthat you really connect with
that the person is impactingyour life, or if it's a podcast
or it's a business or something,tell them because it's
validation that they're doingwhat they're supposed to be
(16:40):
doing.
Be free in that, giving thataway because people work so hard
and to hear that is soimportant.
That breath was everything,Nadia, like that.
Yeah.
This is the right place.
I love that.
I love that so much.
It's really powerful.
So what's been the hardest thingabout marketing for you with the
(17:02):
collective?
What's the hardest challengeyou've encountered with
marketing?
Nadia (17:06):
I there's been a few challenges.
First challenge is how do youconvey the idea that you are a
collective, not a registeredcompany, but that everyone is
independent.
We all work with each other, butwe also have other projects.
So I think nowadays peopleunderstand, but 12 years ago
people thought it was verybizarre, so we had to market
(17:27):
this, and we still neededclients to trust us because
we're like, oh, you're not areal company.
What happens if you dissolve inthe next six months or
something?
So we had to build trust withclients.
Yeah.
Another challenge is how do youremain independent, little bit
underground, grassroots, butstill make money?
(17:47):
Yes, we want to be grassroots.
It doesn't mean we don't have topay rent.
Everyone needs to make cash tolive.
We want to be paid in a decentmanner, but we also don't want
to sell our souls for it.
You have to advertise thatthere's a line to walk and we
know what this line is, and wehelp our clients understand what
that line is.
(18:08):
And then something connected tothis.
For some artists, they areunderground and then they reach
certain level when they have tomake a decision.
How mainstream or non-mainstreamdo I go to keep on making a
living with my career?
And right now I'm working with aduo from Belgium and they are a
fantastic example of how you canstill be underground in
(18:31):
grassroots and make a fantasticliving and have a huge audience
without sending out to any majorcorporation.
So you just have to put a lot ofthought into it, understand the
market, and make sure that youraudience understand as well, so
they keep on following you.
Even if you don't go to this biggiant machines where all the
(18:53):
other famous artists go.
Beverly (18:55):
Do you think that's evolved a little bit, Nadia?
I feel like with theproliferation of TikTok and some
of these other platforms, I feelartists specifically have more
reach outside of the corporationthan they've ever had, which
gives them some power andautonomy in their art.
Do you think that has been a bigfactor in them having some of
(19:16):
that grassroots still and nothaving to give to sell out to
the man
Nadia (19:20):
Definitely, yes.
And I think it's possiblenowadays to have a big enough
audience.
The question remains, how do youmonetize how your audience love
you?
Because when your audience lovesyou on TikTok, Spotify, you
can't make a living of that.
Unfortunately.
So the question remains of,okay, I'm big, I'm famous ish, I
(19:42):
have enough followers, but howcan this followers support me
financially because.
When they listen to my music onSpotify, Spotify makes money,
but I don't so it's about alsobeing a good business person and
informing your audience that.
Thank you so much for listeningto my music on Spotify, but just
so you know, I make no moneyfrom that.
(20:04):
So if you wish to support me,there's other ways, like concert
patrons, merchandise and so onand so forth.
Beverly (20:09):
The word famous ish is so good.
Nadia, I'm famous ish.
But even for this podcast, wedon't monetize it and I think we
put out great content all thetime.
So the way that people canreally support the work is by
sharing it or giving reviews somore people can reach it so that
we can make more connections andpossibly do business with
(20:31):
people, right?
That's the whole goal at the endof the day.
And yeah, like there's veryclear ways that you can help
support an artist so that theycan continue to do what they're
doing.
That's all part of it.
Nadia famous ish is not gonnapay the bills, not gonna feed
the kids, that's for sure.
Okay, so I have a magic hatround.
It's purple, it's got sparkles.
(20:53):
It's really super fun.
I used to call it the lightninground, but I really like this
better.
There's lots of questions inhere.
I'm gonna pull'em and we'regonna see where the conversation
goes, but these are more rapidfire type questions.
Okay, so first question, if yourbrand had a theme song, what
would it be and why?
Nadia (21:10):
Oh I work in music so very difficult to make a choice.
But okay.
You know the song Orient, that'sme standing in the corner.
That's mean, the spotlight.
This is exactly artists.
A lot of artists have thisduality of being in the shadow
and wanting to be in thespotlight.
So I think that would be thesong.
Beverly (21:28):
Beautiful answer.
I love that.
It's a great song too.
Tell us about a time when youhad to pivot and what did you
learn?
Nadia (21:35):
So I already talked about this and I learned that as much
as you love something and you'vedone it if it doesn't work, you
have to move on, otherwise yourbusiness dies.
Beverly (21:45):
So we're in the process of rebranding right now.
When you talked about the logochange, like I'm feeling that.
But I think when we talk aboutawakening your magic, right?
And I think this new logoactually is more of our magic.
So it's like we are compelled tochange it.
Even though it's hard, lots ofwork and all those things, I
feel like we're finally steppinginto where we're supposed to
actually be.
(22:07):
And oftentimes marketers don'tgive ourselves the attention we
give to other people.
And we have to take the time andthe energy to really do
ourselves justice too.
How has running your businesschanged you as a person?
Nadia (22:20):
Funny.
I think it made me morecompassionate.
Usually when people go intobusiness they become tougher.
For me, it's been the oppositebecause I work with a lot of
different human beings and lifehappens.
Sometimes you are sick, you'retired, you're sad, you can't
work.
And I have to manage thisbecause I'm usually the person
at the end of the process wherethings get done or not.
(22:42):
So when someone is not able todo their work, it's not about me
shouting at them to get it done.
It's about me trying to supportthem on an emotional level and
see if they can do it.
And if they cannot do it, belike, it's okay, it happens.
You will do it next time and getsomeone else to do the work.
So yeah, I think it's made memore compassionate.
Beverly (23:03):
I think I'm much more empathetic because I've been on
the journey and I know how hardit's.
And so for me, I understandwhere when we push a client to
do something, like to step infront of their brand when
they've been hiding behind itfor so long, I've had to do the
same thing.
So I understand, I feel it at amuch deeper level than if I had
never gone through all thatstuff.
So I think it's made me muchmore empathetic and
(23:23):
compassionate as well.
What's the hardest to knowyou've ever had to say in
business and why?
Nadia (23:30):
It's funny, I was thinking about this just last
night.
It's been, I would say threetimes that someone an agency
bigger than mine set me down andoffered me to go into
partnership.
And it's very tempting becauseit's Ooh, they have big offices,
they have means they haveclients.
And I said, no each time becauseI was like, you know what, maybe
(23:52):
I will be more comfortable forone or two years and then I will
miss my independence.
And each time I had to say no.
Beverly (23:59):
So the internal struggle of that security
blanket?
I think it's perceived securitytoo.
'cause they could change theirmind at any moment, right?
That's not really security anddoing the thing that you want to
do.
That's a very real struggle.
What fear have you had toovercome to grow your business?
Nadia (24:19):
You were just talking about people having to put
themselves in front of theirbrand.
At the beginning it was anagreement between all of us.
No one would even tell our namesto anyone.
So it would just be Your Moms.
And at some point it becameclear when we were applying for
funding, for example that weactually needed some internal
(24:41):
star power.
So some people had to bepresented as experts or
whatever, public speakers.
Otherwise we would not getaccess to some funding, some
sponsoring, some opportunities.
So I had to put myself forward.
I did not enjoy it at thebeginning,'cause I'm quite of a
private person, but then I waslike, okay, for the business.
(25:02):
And also as a racialized queerwoman I think it's good, people
see me.
Hopefully it inspires them tocome to the front as well.
Beverly (25:10):
You're doing some really tough work by being the
front of it.
I think you carry a heavier loadthan most.
So I'm appreciative of peoplewho step in front of their brand
as a minority and fully embraceit.
That's very powerful, but alsoreally hard.
Bravo.
Share a fun fact about yourbusiness that even your most
(25:33):
dedicated clients might not knowabout you and your business.
Nadia (25:36):
The way we came up with the name of the agency, Your
Mom's, so now we can make senseof it and explain it in a really
nice way in a proper marketingway.
But the truth is, this name camebecause in French, when you say
your mom to someone, it meanspiss off.
And people kept on bothering mewith the name and at some point
(25:58):
I just said, Tamir your mom.
And then we were like, oh yes,that's, it's that, and that's
how we found the name.
Beverly (26:08):
I love it.
What is something in yourbusiness that brings you pure
joy?
Nadia (26:14):
When an artist succeeds in doing what they wanted to do,
which can be releasing a mix, analbum, a video, getting funding,
getting a sponsor, whatever goalwe're working towards.
And usually, it's tough.
It's a lot of physical work,emotional work, logistics work,
et cetera.
And then to get it it's theultimate validation.
(26:35):
It's like we've done everythingright and it was good to pursue
it and not give up and believein the project and in the
artist.
Beverly (26:44):
I think when you see people succeed, it's again,
another validation level ofvalidation.
That is the end of our magic hatround.
I love those questions so much.
And I loved your answers somuch.
I do have a magic wand and Ilove to use it and we use it to
time travel, so I'm gonna wavethe magic wand and we're gonna
go back to Nadia when yougraduated high school, so
(27:08):
18-year-old.
Nadia what are your pronouns?
Nadia (27:12):
She or they either
Beverly (27:13):
okay.
I wanna make sure I use yourcorrect pronouns.
So what would you tell her whatadvice would you give her to
help you now that you didn'thave then?
Nadia (27:22):
I would tell my younger self that I'm smarter than I
think I am, and I can do morethan I think I can.
When you are 18 you're not sure,even if you're good at school
and your parents encourage you,you always oh, am I good enough
for that?
Should I invest in this?
Should I take the easier route?
Also, because you want to party,'cause you're 18.
(27:43):
So I would tell myself, take onmore challenges because you can
do it.
Beverly (27:47):
18 year olds have an unbelievable amount of.
Confidence, but yet they don'tlike, it's a very interesting
dichotomy.
They know everything, but yetthey don't know everything.
So it's interesting.
So if you were talking to youryounger self and she could see
you now, what would she say toyou?
Nadia (28:07):
I think she would find me very strange because the way I
envisioned myself at 18 wasalways traveling and I still
travel a bit, but not as much.
I also envision myself doingsome not serious work.
So not budget, not logistics.
Not legal stuff, only fun stuff,artistic stuff.
(28:31):
So I think my younger self belike, why are you doing all this
budgeting in Excel spreadsheets?
Beverly (28:37):
Because we have to, not because you wanna, I feel the
same.
It's like the, I like the storythat the budgets and the Excel
sheets tell me, but I don'twanna do all that.
I totally agree with you.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave my wandagain, Nadia, we're gonna go far
into the future.
When you have passed away whatdo you want people to remember
most about working with you?
(28:57):
What would your eulogy say andwhat do you think your most
significant legacy or impactwill be?
Nadia (29:02):
Hopefully people will say that even if sometimes I was
tough, I was always fair and Igot things done and that they
felt supported.
And my legacy.
It's very hard for independentartists at the moment because of
all the financial, economical,societal situation.
(29:22):
If you come from a lower orworking class, being an artist
is really difficult.
So I make it one of my missionsto make sure that artists from
the middle class still exists.
It's not only people born withmoney who keep on making art.
So hopefully that will be mylegacy.
Beverly (29:41):
I feel like people who aren't, this might be a
generalization and forgive me ifI'm not in the industry, so
maybe I'm making somegeneralizations and if I am,
correct me, but I feel like artis not something you should own
from a money perspective andthat people who come from less,
actually their struggle createsmuch more interesting art.
Nadia (30:00):
I generally speaking I agree.
If you are given everything on asilver plate, it's hard to
express what society might belooking for as a message, if you
have financial means, you canalso struggle and you will have
something to express.
But someone who has a very easy,satisfying life that they don't
(30:23):
have to work for is less likelyto express anything interesting.
Beverly (30:29):
Agreed.
Okay, so I'm gonna wave my magicwand one more time and we're
gonna come back to the presenttime.
Hope you enjoyed the journeyfrom the past into the future.
A little brief glimpse of youngNadia and the legacy.
I think it's important, all thethings that we do every day
today and impact our legacy.
That vision is very interestingand important as an
(30:49):
entrepreneur.
So the last little thing I wantto ask you is small business
owners and aspiringentrepreneurs I would love for
you to give one strategy orthing that they can put into
action right now today that willhelp them awaken their brand
magic what is something that youwould give as an advice to help
(31:09):
them do that?
Nadia (31:11):
It's about self-confidence.
You should always double andtriple check your work, but you
should not second guessyourself.
You have to listen to yourobservation, imagination your
gut, your inspiration.
And sometimes it's difficultbecause when you have unique
thoughts, you think, oh, there'snothing out there like this.
Maybe it's not good, but that'sexactly why it's important you
(31:33):
put it out there.
So be confident check all yourwork.
It has to be very good work.
But don't doubt yourself and putwhat you have to put out there.
Beverly (31:44):
We say clarity brings unicorn like confidence when
you're really clear on yourmission and who you serve and
what you do, and how you helppeople.
Your confidence.
That self-confidence factor is ahuge thing.
It helps you stand in front ofthe brand.
It helps you do all those otherthings.
Plus it helps you just show upas a guide for your customer,
(32:05):
like your clients and yourcustomers, right?
That confidence helps otherpeople.
I've been there, I know how todo this thing, and I wanna help
you get to the other side ofwhatever it is that you want for
you and your business.
So yes, confidence is huge, butyou need some clarity first, to
really get there, like you said,doing the work, putting the time
(32:25):
in.
So before we wrap up, tellpeople where they can find more
about you and Your Mom's agency,which I wanna say is like now a
really bad word.
I love the double meaning inFrench.
How can people get in touch withyou?
Nadia (32:39):
So we are your mom's agency on Twitter or X as people
call it now.
Also your mom's Berlin onInstagram, your mom's
agency.com, the website.
And if you are interested in theintersections of culture and
diversity, equity inclusion, wealso have a sister, NGO called
(33:01):
DIF-EV, DIF dash e v.org.
So that's also now the newbranch we have to take care of
di values connected to culture.
Beverly (33:14):
Interesting.
We're thinking about starting anonprofit as well.
So I love that.
I might have to pick your brainabout that process.
Such wonderful things.
Thank you so much, Nadia, forsharing all of this today.
It's been so fun learning moreabout you, your journey, what
lights you up, all of thethings.
I am so excited for the workyou're doing and I'm so thankful
(33:35):
that Saskia introduced us.
So thank you so much.
Nadia (33:37):
Yeah.
Big thanks to Saskia and foreverything she's done for me and
for the community.
Thank you for your really funquestions.
And as I was saying, it's apleasure watching the
interviews.
It's very uplifting.
Beverly (33:48):
Thank you so much, Nadia.
I really hope that everyone elsefound this as inspiring as I
did.
I know that our listeners aregonna walk away feeling that
their journey isn't alone and sounique that everybody has these
same struggles and successes.
I'm so grateful for your timetoday and the impact that you're
making on the world.
Such an incredible episode.
I hope that today's episode litlittle bit of a fire on you and
(34:10):
gave you some ideas and most ofall, inspired you all to take
some action because here's thething, your message matters.
Your work matters, and the worldneeds to hear what you have to
say.
Marketing isn't just aboutvisibility, it's also about
impact.
It's about connecting the rightpeople in a way that feels true
to you.
So keep showing up, keep sharingyour brilliance and keep making
(34:32):
magic in the world.
And hey, if you ever get stuckyou don't have to do this alone.
So we're here to help you turnthat spark into a fire.
Until next time, keep sparkingand igniting.
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