Conversations with the Inspiring Dawn Chisholm

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Chisholm.

Dawn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We are a family-owned clothing line MBTees clothes. We initially started to bring awareness to the power of thinking positive after our middle daughter was bullied. We took that opportunity to tell her that what she thinks of herself is more important than what people who don’t know her think of her. We are now working to promote self-confidence and positive thinking through various outlets. Our anti-bullying campaign brings awareness to all forms of bullying, but specifically with children. We recently started the development of a non-profit called Community Mission Youth and Family Services. It will focus on five specific areas. Health (Nutrition and Wellness), fine arts, education (bully awareness and prevention) fitness, life skills and social awareness. We want to inspire people to Think Positive about their lives and their purpose in life.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey has definitely been interesting. Even the idea of thinking positive isn’t always easy to do. The year we started our business, I was laid off my corporate America job. That was how we were funding our business so we had to make adjustments. Honestly, thinking positive was hard. I had to constantly remind myself better days are ahead of us. One piece of advice I would offer to young women who are just starting their journey is to stay focused on your goal. In life, things will always come up that will try to steal your attention away from your dream, but you have to remain focused. Learn how to take risks.  Understand there may be failures, but keep moving forward. Even if it’s not the pace you were hoping for. Any forward movement is getting you closer to the ultimate goal. I would also say this is where it is beneficial to use positive language and positive thoughts. You have to tell yourself that you have everything inside of you to fulfill your purpose even when circumstances may not reflect that. I don’t believe you can have a dream in your heart that you aren’t capable of fulfilling. If you can dream it you can do it. You have to place action behind your dreams in order to make them happen. So, dream it, say it and then do it!

What should we know about MbteesClothes? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What I want people to know about our company is that our goal is to encourage people to make a conscious decision to think, speak and live a positive life. One of the things we do best is making it a family business. I am proud that our daughter’s have ownership in the brand. They get so excited to tell people about what it means to think positive and bully prevention.

One of the things that we have done that sets us apart from others is we also do workshops for youth to help them build self-confidence. We have designed a curriculum to bring awareness to bullying and we have also partnered with other organizations to spread awareness.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
The biggest barriers women in leadership is to take care of yourself first and ask for help when needed.  A lot of times we take on so much in general family, work, friends, etc. then we add entrepreneurship and life gets hectic. Also, it’s important to know your business and research it to make sure that it can be successful and sustainable.

Things I do to keep myself motivated is I reading devotionals and motivational books. Two that come to mind that I read within the last year are Purpose Awakening by Toure Roberts and Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mbtees.com
• Email: info@mbtees.com
• Instagram: Mbteesclothes
• Facebook: Mbteesclothes
• Twitter: Mbteesclothes

Image Credit:
Maarcus Hall, Aaron Chisholm

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