We use the month of May to celebrate our love for mothers so when MoMa went on a search for our next Mega-Manifestor, Michelle Dempsey was the OBVIOUS choice! This girl-gang enthusiast is pure inspiration to us all! Michelle is a published writer, speaker, the founder of Very Well-Written Marketing, and supermom! You’ll quickly fall in love with this mega-boss in heels!
We describe manifesting as creating something from nothing. What is your earliest memory of creating something in your mind and turning it into your reality?
Summer of 2012. I had just finished recovering from a car accident that kept me in bed for over 4 months. I was sick of New York, and couldn't imagine another winter on Long Island. The idea of living in Miami had been floating around in my brain for years but I was never brave enough to take the leap. I woke up one morning in late August, told myself I was ready to pull the trigger, and within 5 weeks was on a flight to Miami with a one-way ticket. I knew there was a life waiting for me here - I just didn't know how or why. And I was right - really, really right.
What are some of your daily rituals that help you to keep accomplishing your goals?
Every morning, I check emails and then read over my to-do list for the day as my 3-year-old flops into bed with me for morning cuddles. The long list of tasks related to my clients and their businesses, coupled with the fact that I'm caring for this teeny princess on my own is motivation enough to keep going after everything I want, every single day.
What/who gave you the courage to pursue your dreams?
My daughter. The second I looked at her, I knew I was about to change drastically. She was only 9 months old when I made the leap into entrepreneurship, but as little as she was, for some reason she had this great power over me. It was like her existence held all the power and confidence I had been searching for my whole life. I still feel this every time I look at her - like she was given to me to make me realize that I had this strength all along. It was scary to leave a full-time career to be my own boss and try to succeed - but I was determined to make it work, for her to be able to say "My mom is a badass." It was even scarier to leave a marriage at 33-years-old, when she was only 2 and my business was blossoming, but I figured - if anyone can do it, I can, and she deserves to see her Mommy really, really happy.
What were the affirmations you said to yourself and books you read to turn your dreams of owning your own business into a reality?
I'm a writer, so reading never happens as much as I'd like it to. Free time always goes to the keyboard. When I was healing from my car accident, years before I started my own business and I actually had time to read, I read The Secret - and it did something to my soul. Now that I'm swamped and rely on podcasts and articles to keep me entertained, there are a few people who I have followed and watched and listened to and stalked for hours on the internet: Tony Robbins Gary Vee Marie Forleo
What do you do to avoid negative thoughts and fears when it comes to manifesting (creating this huge business and all its success)? Negative thoughts and fears are totally normal in life. This is what I tell myself when I have a day that brings me down. The only way to not let these negative thoughts and fears consume you, is to welcome them in briefly, acknowledge what's driving that fear and negativity, make peace with these feelings, and then let them go. There's way too much to be happy about in my life to let a bad day bring me down. Remember: a bad day is not the same as a bad life.
Tell us about Very Well-Written Marketing and how it came to life. My favorite question! After I had my daughter and I was consumed with anxiety about having to go back to work as a teacher, I found an outlet in writing. Having always been a strong writer (I was a journalism major in college), writing became therapy for me, which then led me to start my motherhood blog, The Trusted Mama. Little by little, my work started getting picked up by large publications as my work got shared across Facebook. This prompted friends of mine with businesses of their own to ask me for help with writing their blogs and web content, and insisted on paying me. And just like that, Very Well-Written Marketing was born. My focus in the beginning was primarily helping businesses blog, but we quickly branched out to cover all of the other marketing aspects that people were beginning to use in order to reach their target markets: email marketing, social media, brand strategy. I'm proud to say that two years later, we are now a full-scale marketing company, offering everything from web design and SEO to brand consulting, social media management, blogging, email marketing and influencer/event marketing.
What is your biggest accomplishment that you credit to the power of manifestation? Bella and my business. Neither would have happened if I hadn't manifested this life for myself, almost overnight, down here in Miami. It's like the first 29 years of my life were a rehearsal for what was to come next, a learning lesson to make me understand who and what I needed to be - and this is it. And I couldn't be happier, more fulfilled, or more grateful for each day that I wake up and get to be this amazing babe's mom while I manage my business and watch it continue to thrive.
Being a single mom and owning your own company must be quite a challenge! Do you have any tips for single moms trying to start their own business? What are your best tips for maintaining balance between work and family life?
Being a single mom and owning your own company is exactly that: a challenge. I think because I started my business a year before I got separated, I was a bit over-confident, thinking that I would have this balance locked down. Well, I was wrong. One week into my separation, my daughter got the flu and had to be home from school all week. I had to cancel all of my meetings and appearances. She wasn't sleeping at night, and there was only me there to take care of her. No sleep, not a second of free time for a week, and a pile of deadlines approaching was not exactly the best welcome into single mom life. But just like anything else, I got through it. Clients understood that meetings had to be rescheduled. My daughter got all the mommy time she needed. And no one died from a missed deadline. In hindsight, I realize this harsh start to my single mom life was nothing more than a test that helped me prove to myself two things: how capable I am, and who comes first, no matter what: my daughter. I get a lot of emails and messages from strangers asking me how I "do it all." The truth is, I don't do it all. Some days I do the mom thing much better than I do the business thing, and vice versa. But that's life. You have to be willing to accept that not everything can have your full attention all of the time, go with the flow, and take each challenge as they come. Lean on your village when you need to, say no to everything that isn't worth your time, and always remember that self-care is a necessity, not a luxury. This has made single mompreneur life pretty amazing, if you ask me.