We were lucky to catch up with Dwayna and Donna Williams and Morris recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Dwayna and Donna, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
The word “risk” was not something we always lived by in the beginning stages of our entrepreneurial journey. Throughout our five years in business, we’ve learned to live as 2 Corinthians 5:7 states, “For we live by faith, not by sight.”

Living by faith and taking risks has not been easy; however, the rewards of doing so have been overflowing, a significant chance we took as business partners were both coming into business full-time. During the first 3.5 years of business, Dwayna worked the business while taking some part-time freelance gigs. In contrast, Donna worked full-time in the office as a sales trainer for a notable security company in North Carolina. We knew we could only scale by operating the business as 50/50 partners. The transition from corporate to full-time entrepreneur was indeed a risk for Donna because it meant her leaving stability, benefits, and a steady source of income. When Donna became a full-time entrepreneur, Dwayna had to now share revenue 50/50 after seeing 100% of the profit from clients. Hence, this meant the company needed to make more income to sustain the lives of both partners.

The first year of Donna being in the business full-time was a risk for both parties, and it took a lot of faith to stick out the mission we were put on this earth to achieve. Leaving stability to be able to present mothers in our children’s lives was one of the most significant risks to date and also one of the most challenging things we’ve ever done in life. This transition meant making sure our morals aligned, and we had to rely on and push one another to show up 100% for ourselves and our business in the name of legacy. Taking this risk led us to understand our gifts truly, how we show up, and grow a rebranded business that serves mompreneurs and women-led businesses with lifestyle brands.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
TGND, which stands for “The Girls Next Door,” was founded in 2016. It started as a burning passion and is now our full-time career. We have always been creative. As children, we grew up in East Orange, New Jersey, and were active both in and after school. We can vividly remember us as cheerleaders, singers, and dancers. We even produced and starred in a video production that aired on our local school T.V. station. We loved and still love the arts.

Outside of being creative young ladies, we also enjoyed advocating for our peers and helping to create awareness around their stories. We did this through various events with the Boys and Girls Club, among other organizations. We were skilled at identifying our peers’ needs and assisting them in getting the required help or sharing their stories through the right channels. As present-day publicists, digital brand architects, and brand image architects, we do the same on a larger scale. It’s humbling to look back and see that there was always a connection between what came naturally to us back then and what we’re doing now.

TGND Consulting is a full-service public relations agency made to help women juggle motherhood and the challenges of running a business, be seen in spaces, and stand out from the competition through strategic brand development, media relations, image consulting, kick-ass public relations, and marketing tactics. Simply put – we turn emerging brands into influencers through innovative ideas. TGND’s mission is to cultivate a community of moms who have dreams beyond their at-home roles to be seen, their voices be heard, and define their identity beyond motherhood. Our vision is to help thousands of mompreneurs create magical brands through publicity, brand image strategy & style guides.

Read the full interview: https://boldjourney.com/news/meet-dwayna-and-donna-williams-and-morris/