Connect
To Top

Conversations with the Inspiring Megan Stephen

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Stephen.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Our story started when we, my husband Jhurell and I, moved to Texas with my first child Kaila. I was a stay at home mom, but I still wanted to find a way to contribute monetarily. Jhurell was in the Air Force and I happily left my life in California to be with him. Before marriage, I worked two jobs to put myself through college. I have always had a work hard and hustle mindset. I kept being told by friends and family that I should have Kaila model, so I started to do some research. I found out that there were small shop reps. I had no idea what this fully entailed, but it sounded like something fun we could do together. The idea of getting clothes at a discount and taking pictures of Kaila, which I was already doing, seemed to be the perfect scenario for me. So, I started entering small shop rep searches. We ended up landing more and more small shop rep positions. More than I expected. We had an absolute blast working with the shops. Fast forward a few years and the Lord blessed us with identical twin girls. This came as a huge shock to us as twins do not run in our family. So, of course, when they were born they went straight into being small shop models just like their big sister. We had so much fun doing this and our followers were starting to grow. I noticed that some of my brand rep friends were transitioning into becoming content creators so I started to do more research. I decided that it was time to transition into becoming a social media content creator and even add my ‘face’ into the feed. This was hard for me because I am not a huge fan of being in front of the camera, but the possibility of contributing monetarily was enough for me to make the appropriate mindset changes. We have only been doing this type of content creation for about a year now and I am loving every second of it. It allows us to bond together and it is so much fun creating with my girls and advertising for brands that we believe in and support.

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 road has been far from smooth. One of my biggest struggles is finding the time to balance work and family time. Now that the twins are older, they are much more mobile and my time has become very limited when it comes to working. I have learned that I need to really value that small amount of time when they go to sleep and work hard in order to accomplish the goals that I have set for myself. Another struggle I have is getting the kids to be interested in taking pictures. Some days, they are just not in the mood and do not understand why it has to be done right now. They have no concept of time. I have to be aware of this and make the proper adjustments and that is why I often give myself a few extra days in case the first day does not work out the way I had hoped. I am sure any other content creator with children will tell you that you will have good days and bad days. I would always recommend having more than one plan for content in case the first does not pan out. The best advice I can give is to learn from your struggles and not be afraid of having them. Take it one day at a time and make sure to give yourself goals and cross them off as you meet them. Always utilize your time wisely and of course, enjoy the ride.

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a brand, organization or service provider? What sets you apart from others?
First, I absolutely love what I do. I love taking pictures and creating content for brands. If I could give myself a specialty I would say it is ‘lifestyle’. I do a little bit of everything and I like it that way. We post about what inspires us, our day-to-day adventures, fashion, food, fun and parenting advice is peppered in as well. I am the proudest of the fact that we do not try to change who we are to compete with others. We are upfront about who we are, that we love the Lord and that we love what we do. I really think Arie, Layla, and Kaila set us apart from others. They are beautiful mixed children who love to be behind the camera and are full of personality. I am driven and focused and I will always give my best to each brand that we work with and I think that is huge in this industry too. I have long-term relationships that I have built with quite a few brands because they know exactly what they are getting when they ask me to work with them. We value each other and that is so important in order to be successful in this business.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
The biggest opportunity for women that I see right now is not having to sacrifice our individual goals for being a mom/being at home. Many are not able to be at home for a variety of reasons – but I am blessed through social media to provide services to companies, to help develop brands and to communicate about products I believe in -it is an amazing opportunity. It requires commitment, goal setting and follow through. Also, customer service is a very high priority for me. I feel like this market has so much room for growth and that brands are really seeking out moms for their campaigns. I also think that brands are looking for women who are independent and not afraid to show who they really are to their audience. This means being open about personal matters in order to speak to someone who may be going through the same thing but may not feel as comfortable talking about it. This opens up a door to inspire them to speak up or even to make them feel like they are not alone in the matter. There are tons of opportunities out there, but you have to take the first step and not be afraid to fail. Failure will only build your character and make you more relatable to your audience. Embrace it and you will only continue to grow.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in