Mother, Author, and Entrepreneur, Tiffany Monique Shares Her Story

Tiffany Monique is a mother to a beautiful one-year-old baby girl, author, philanthropist, and portfolio entrepreneur who was born in Manhattan, NY, and raised in South Eastern Virginia. She is a well-rounded mix of Virginia’s Southern sweetness, New York’s Northern urban edge, and universal yet purely unique artistic light. Her entrepreneurial journey has taken her to a place where her vision has flourished beyond her expectations. As the Founder and CEO of Women Funding Women and CEO of Pretty Fortune LLC, she has been afforded the luxury of creating and sustaining brands that add value to the lives of entrepreneurial women across the world. Because she believes that her life’s purpose revolves around empowering women by summoning their confidence, promoting essential balance in their lives, and supporting their journey, it is her mission to create the solutions every woman needs, desires, and deserves.

In September of 2019, Tiffany launched an Initiative “Women Funding Women” to support and empower American women entrepreneurs by establishing, sustaining, and scaling a consistent funding force that gets them involved in the change.

 

Christina: What is your SwagHer? What makes Tiffany, Tiffany?

Tiffany: Great question! I think I am multifaceted as most people (women especially) tend to be. If I had to sum me up, I would say my “SwagHer” is transparency and vulnerability. I take pride in feeling people and being felt in a way that sharing your authentic self with the world provides. Which is actually a lot easier said than done. 

Christina: Define confidence in your own words.

Tiffany: To me, confidence is having had the strength and bravery to face your own insecurities and deeming yourself worthy of everything this life has to offer you regardless of them. It’s not perfection or the delusion of it. It’s embracing all the little parts of you and deciding that they are everything beautiful means to you, regardless of what they may mean to other people.

Christina: You are starting a new initiative to send entrepreneurs to therapy and provide funds for their business and educational needs. Can you give some more information on it? 

Tiffany: The Women Funding Women Initiative was created last year, but officially launched on Women’s Day of this year. We’re actually in the process of building the board and transitioning into a non-profit organization as we speak, which is exciting! I never really imagined the initiative would grow in this way in such a short amount of time, but women entrepreneurs from all across the world have shown their support. We want to normalize mental and emotional wellness in women while encouraging and empowering them to create solutions, follow their dreams, and support each other on their way to the top. We will achieve this by doing our part to make sure the necessary services, products, and professionals are more accessible, like grants that cover traditional business and educational expenses as well as therapy, coaching, licensing, and certifications. We are also looking forward to the exciting and non-traditional approach to the grant process that breathes new life into funding options for America’s women entrepreneurs. You can find more information about the initiative and stay up to date with our journey at www.womenfundingwomen.org.

Christina: I love that you are so passionate about helping other women. What prompted you to first begin your initiatives?

Tiffany: I wanted to be the solution I needed when I was searching what seemed like the entire world for support. For answers. I imagine the success I could’ve reached if there was an organization that cared about my mental and emotional health enough to pay for therapy sessions and not just the tools I need to do what I do professionally. I realized that I became a better businesswoman and that my business made more sense to me when I became a better, healthier, more conscious, and confident woman in general. When I decided to heal and got tired of brokenness being my norm. The woman that you pour into your dreams, your intentions, the things you bring to your business -whether positive or negative- will impact your outcomes. I’m doing everything in my power to be sure women aren’t neglecting the fact that they are their brands and businesses, so if they want to be successful, they have to take care of themselves and each other.

Christina: Have you always wanted to be an entrepreneur? If not, what happened to cause you to make that decision? 

Tiffany: I honestly didn’t know what an entrepreneur was growing up. I didn’t have any examples of people running their own businesses in my immediate circle, so I always imagined myself as a secretary or clerical assistant in my youngest ambitions. In high school, I was the friend people called to do their hair, so I honestly thought I was meant to be a cosmetologist. I was good at it although it wasn’t my favorite thing to do and it bought in an income…and that was the only requirement. It wasn’t until I had my daughter (June 23rd, 2019) that I was in a place where I could align my ambition with my passion. I didn’t want to spend another day just surviving. I had just carried, nurtured, and gave birth to another human life. If I could do that, I could do whatever I needed to do to live this life authentically. My business and other endeavors included. So, while I’ve been on my entrepreneurial journey for ten years, it’s been a little over a year now that I decided to do it right, and it happened because in figuring out and embracing who I was, I figured out what I was supposed to be doing.

Christina: You have a magazine as well, Her Hustle Magazine. Tell our readers more about it. How did you get started with that? 

Tiffany: Yes, I do! Her Hustle Magazine is a brand new project created to support the Women Funding Women Initiative. We’ve connected with over (150 and counting) female entrepreneurs across the world to share their experiences, skills, and most valuable lessons. 40% of the proceeds will be donated to the initiative’s mission to support and empower America’s women in business. We are working on our 3rd issue entitled “Confidence,” which will be released on August 20th. You can check out herhustlemag.com for more information. Speaking of which, I’d love the chance to flip this scene and tell Fancy’s story in HHM! But we can talk about that later. 

Christina: What advice would you give to the Tiffany you were ten years ago now that you have accomplished this much? 

Tiffany: Another great question. My advice for 23-year-old Tiffany would be, “Be patient with yourself and the process baby girl. This part is important”. I remember wanting to rush to the part where I had it all together and knew what I was meant to do without any doubt. And because I couldn’t answer those hard “purpose yielding” questions, I felt like I had no purpose. The truth is, the journey is just as important, if not more important than the destination, because, without it, you’re not prepared. 

Christina: You do a lot of different things, Tiffany. How do you manage it all? How do you practice self-care? 

Tiffany: GOOD PEOPLE! I could not do all that I do without good people who share my passion for supporting women at my side. Caliah of Caliah Jinaye Enterprises, the editor of Her Hustle Magazine and Tammy of Visionary Minds PR, our acting PR specialist help me keep the publication going and the mission at the forefront of it all.

I look forward to having the board of directors for Women Funding Women at my side to support the mission as the Initiative grows. I have a partner, Leesa, that works with me to manage my wedding and event planning business. I also have an assistant who helps with the things I want to keep close and need to delegate for one reason or another. 

That is a big part of self-care for me! Outsourcing. It took ten years for me to get to a point where I was secure enough in my vision and purpose to know that I didn’t have to do everything alone. Writing is also a go-to when I need a release. The publishing of my latest book project, “But Sis, You’re Powerful…”, was legitimately therapeutic for me because I had never been so transparent in such a public way. It was a personally liberating experience.  I enjoy long candlelit baths, meditation, prayer, journaling, and a healthy mix of audio and traditional books regularly. Most recently, I take a personal 1-day vacation every three months to be alone and re-center. 

Christina: Where can our readers go to donate to your initiatives? 

Tiffany:  There are several ways to get involved with the mission! You can support by purchasing, contributing content to, or purchasing ads inside of Her Hustle Magazine www.herhustlemag.com. You can donate any relevant products or services that are relevant to women entrepreneurs such as online therapy, coaching, counseling, training, journals, and more to our tribe or join for access to these benefits via the Inspired Women Entrepreneurs Association www.inspiredwomenentrepreneurs.com  Or you can simply spread the word about our causes and our mission. For more information, you can visit www.womenfundingwomen.org. Feel free to contact us directly with your questions.

Christina: Would you like to share anything else?

Tiffany: Yes! To get a copy of my book “But Sis, You’re Powerful…” visit www.tiffanymoniquewrites.com.

Christina: Do you have upcoming events or projects you would like to share?

Tiffany: We have a Virtual Women’s Empowerment Symposium in the works for this Fall. We’re taking our time to make sure it’s exciting and interactive as possible. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on that by joining the Her Hustle Magazine or Women Funding Women mailing lists. I also have a Self-Love journal being published on September 1st  (www.tiffanymoniquewrites.com) that takes you through the proposed stages of falling in love – but this time with yourself. I think it’ll be a great addition to every woman’s self-care days. 

Thank you so much for allowing me to share on this platform!

 

Connect with Tiffany:

Website: www.tiffanymoniquewrites.com

Instagram: @her.hustle.magazine

Facebook: Her.Hustle.Magazine

Linked In: Author Tiffany Monique