Friends, I am so excited to launch a brand new, recurrent feature and I couldn’t be happier than to do so with the individual that sparked this idea in the first place.

Welcome to “Taken Flight” ~ an opportunity for me to showcase individuals who have turned their biggest, boldest ideas and passions into businesses, creative projects, and other initiatives. Over the coming weeks and months I plan to introduce you to entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, clinicians, writers, photographers, community organizers, and just all around badass people out there doing exactly what they set out to do.

I have been fortunate to find myself surrounded by inspiriting humans, and I am thrilled to be sharing their stories with you!

Up first, and the individual that sparked this entire concept, is Amanda Schwarz of Mended Digital.

An entire lifetime ago, Amanda, her then-boyfriend Mark, and I all went to college together. We met as djs at our college radio station and I am continuously grateful to still be in contact with them, even from afar. Recently, Amanda shared the details of her new business launch. The idea of this blog series came to my mind that night, as I brushed my teeth before bed, and wondered if there was a story behind her unique and fun company name: Mended Digital.

I decided to ask her ~ and in doing so, realized all entrepreneurs and creatives have a story to tell. How did we end up here? Why is it that people walk away from salaried, benefitted positions (as I did) or forego those all together, to pursue a dream, a goal, a passion. And thus, Taken Flight was born. Here’s an opportunity to hear those stories, firsthand.

Without further ado: a brief Q&A with the brilliant, dynamic, and talented Amanda.

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your passion project. 

At cruising altitude I’m a white, cisgender 43-year-old female who is married with two kids. A little closer, I’m a native Long Islander who loves to create and explore. My favorite outlets are writing, photography and crafting. I also run, but mostly because I want to get in 10,000 steps a day without spending all day doing it!

I own a business called Mended Digital, and I specialize in helping my clients feel more confident in the way they represent their “real world” work online. I design and fix websites on WordPress, Squarespace and other platforms, advise on digital marketing strategy, support clients on social media platforms, and design as well as write and implement digital ads & emails.

The work I do through Mended Digital allows me to be curious about people around me and learn about the work they do. Then I can use what I’ve learned through this exploration along with talents I’ve developed in the marketing and tech sectors to help them represent themselves confidently and authentically.

How did you get started in this field? 

This is a good time to take a bathroom break and grab a snack. It’s a long story but it’s all tied together. Ready?

After leaving Graduate School for Speech Pathology in 2001, my world was thrown into a tailspin – I thought I had found my path, but each day and each class had been a struggle. I was miserable and also carrying a fresh $20,000 in additional student debt, with nothing to show for it. A few years prior, a former colleague told me about a certificate program he was pursuing in Visual Communications. When I looked at his work I quietly thought “I could totally do that! And I’d like to do that!” 

Visual Communications would be a departure from my undergraduate work in Philosophy & Speech Communication, but I was curious. Something about it spoke to me. I have always loved art but had never considered myself a practitioner. Without marketable skills beyond office administration, I knew I had to continue my education down a new path. This was a big risk to take, but I jumped.

So I earned a certificate from Gibbs College (questionable, but let’s keep going) which gave me a solid background in composition and design, experience with design software, as well as a foothold into the concepts and language used in the field. I loved each and every class. I finished the program with a 4.0 GPA, but I still wasn’t completely confident in my skills. I got a job at a marketing agency and quickly moved up the ranks from office admin to traffic coordinator to account exec, but there was no creativity expected or desired from my bosses. I did, however, get along very well with the graphic designers and writers. I left and moved on to become an online “Tea Expert” and customer service manager for a successful online tea company, where I learned more about the digital space and e-commerce. 

Me and my husband then moved out of state (goodbye tea gig) and ended up in Baltimore. Out of work, I decided that since we lived down the road from an office park there must be something there for me. I began working for a local digital advertising company that was then owned by one of the largest digital service & content providers in the world, in an entry-level traffic coordinator roll.  The next year and a half was a difficult “baptism by fire” period where I swam my way through data entry and code, but I got good -I became one of my team’s top troubleshooters. Coupling this new skill with my experience in marketing and digital customer service made me a good fit for their New Product Development team as a product manager.

Here’s the Cliff’s notes to the next 4 years:

• I became pregnant. 

• My father passed away during my first trimester.

• Company has massive layoff, but I “survive”

• My department is dissolved. 

• I’m moved to new department. 

• I come back from maternity leave.

• New department was a terrible match. 

• I’m fired. 

• Hired by tech start-up working in Marketing & Affiliate Account Management.

• We’re having another baby! 

• Had baby. 

• Fired again. 

Being a mom in tech can be hell. Days missed due to flaky childcare, school schedules and kid sickness coupled with being a woman with an opinion? There’s the employment death nail. I was learning that with my experience I was building business acumen. And being a woman who spoke up wasn’t what companies were looking for. I wasn’t supposed to think. I was supposed to execute and be grateful for a job.

I also don’t want to skip the impact of my father’s passing here, because it changed my worldview. Many things meant more to me than ever. And even more, much which I had once cared about no longer had meaning. The days of playing corporate games & politics was over.

This long story calms down when I thought I’d found my place in Arts Marketing. I was able to use all of the talents honed along this path to project manage and guide our state’s official theater through a digital rebrand, website redesign and CRM migration & implementation. It was a fantastic experience which I loved, but once the project was over, I would only be creating web pages & e-blasts. There was no budget for continuing site or tech development. Knowing my nature, I knew frustration would eventually kick in. They would either hand me a drink or hand me a box. This time, I chose the drink and left of my own accord – which came with a chance to breathe and care for my then 2-year old son full-time, and better support my 6-year-old daughter.

Did I mention throughout this entire story my boyfriend, later husband, was traveling about 1/4th to 1/3rd of the year?

So back to your initial question. I got into this line of work by the grace of the universe, while guided by my own understanding of what I do well. I was bounced out when the fit wasn’t right (gratefully). But 3 years ago when I made the choice to step back rather than let the universe make the choice for me, I gained some control.

I promise the rest of my answers will be shorter.

Does your project have an “origin story”? 

I will say my company’s name does – my mother is an extremely talented crafter & artist and my father was a 2nd generation upholsterer – a meticulous one at that. By nature I’m a fixer. “Mended” speaks to my family’s history with needle & thread, and my desire to pull together people’s digital confidence.

I also like how “Mended” evokes a feeling of handcraft. The digital sphere can seem very cold and impersonal. I want my clients to know I’ll take time in creating a tailored plan that will evolve from listening, thought and care.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your business and how did you overcome them? 

Some of my deepest challenges are extremely personal, and I continue to work them out with self-reflection and a fantastic therapist. I think more people should share that they do this kind of work, even though it’s uncomfortable to say.

But in terms of what I feel comfortable sharing is taking my work from “Oh, I can help you. I’d love to help you” to “Oh, I can help you. Let’s meet and I’ll draft a proposal.” Also a fear of taking on too much or too little – finding the right balance. My desire is to create great work, but I am also deeply invested in the work I do as a mother. I think I overcome these challenges every day, by pushing through, positive self-talk and yes, help from my therapist.

How do you define success and what would you say are your most significant successes? 

Success is being able to show up as your authentic self, wherever you are. Period. When I am in a situation where I can leave “the mask” somewhere else and place that energy back into my work I feel that success.

What advice would you give to someone with a passion project in mind but who is not sure how to begin? 

Baby steps. It’s what we’re given. We think back on our lives in grand moments, but sometimes forget that throughout those moments we’ve had to brush our teeth, go to the bathroom, wipe our kid’s butts – the daily stuff that doesn’t stop because we have a dream or a goal. We can’t do everything at once. The big stuff takes time. And there’s a ton of it we simply can’t control. 

What goals lie ahead for you? 

• Scale gracefully and manage growing pains the best I can

• Grow the business so I can hire and support talented moms

• Create a legacy for my kids. Maybe it’s sharing my work with them someday by way of a partnership. Maybe it’s being an example of someone who builds something for themselves. Hopefully in their eyes it’s a legacy that’s gilded with kindness and honesty. That’s all I can hope for.

What else would you want us to know about you, professionally or personally? 

I’ve led many professional lives. I suspect this will not be the last one. But for now, this one feels right. It didn’t just fall in my lap and it still requires lots of work and choices every day. But it’s worth it. We have to spend our time on the planet somehow, right? Let’s do the kind of work we love, if we can help it.

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Feeling inspired?? I sure am. And I love that I now know how Amanda came up with her business name and that it’s such a meaningful and sweet tie-in.

You can find Amanda online at Mended Digital and on Facebook.

Everything I’ve ever done professionally has been driven by an urge to learn more about what makes people tick. I am grateful to Amanda for sharing her story and I am looking forward to sharing more soon! Stay tuned!