178: A Black Woman on a Mission, How to Build Online Community | Camille McCallum

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [00:00]

All of my favorite influencers are very polished. They could be models. It's very polished. It's very shiny, it's very bright. And I was like, I don't have the infrastructure to do bright, shiny content.

[MUSIC]

CAMILLE WALKER [00:27]

So, you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family, and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.

[MUSIC]

Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO. This is your host, Camille Walker. Today, we are talking about how we are improving empowerment and also how we are connecting through community. And I have an expert here, Camille McCallum who has built an incredible online community. She is also an author, an entrepreneur, and has a new clothing brand that is called the Black Woman on a Mission. Her book is called The Power of Infinite Potential.

And we actually connected on Threads recently, I don't know if you're familiar with Threads, it's through Instagram. It's like Twitter, now X, but better, I think because there's a lot of women supporting women. And if you look up that hashtag, you will find a lot of women chatting, new people talking, communities that are building. And so, so fun to talk to Camille here, because that's actually how we met. And a weird finding is that her maiden name is Camille Walker. So, basically, I'm talking to another form of myself, which is really exciting. No, she's very different and very amazing. And it's so good to have you, Camille. Thank you for being on the show.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [01:59]

Thank you so much. I really appreciate it and glad to connect from Threads to here.

CAMILLE WALKER [02:03]

Yeah, who would have thought? I feel like there are these social medias that pop up every now and again where you're like, is this going to stick? Like Periscope or different things like that, but I think this one's going to be around for a while because it is through Instagram. What are your thoughts on that?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [02:04]

I think it'll be around for a while just because it is through Instagram. And I don't think Instagram's going anywhere. Plus, who I follow on Threads and that population coming from Instagram versus X is totally different. So, I feel like the conversation is a lot better, fresher, more relevant on Threads, at least for me anyway.

CAMILLE WALKER [02:37]

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. I feel like even my Instagram handle that I've had forever feels dead in some ways. A lot of people aren't seeing my stories the way they used to, and the conversation's happening, but I feel like the people on Threads right now are a little more business-focused and a little more ready to get the engines going on whatever their new adventure is.

So, if you are in this space, which you are because you listen to this podcast, check out Threads and follow us both. You can find me @camillewalker.co and Camille's is @camilleviviana. Is that right? Am I saying that one right? Okay.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [03:14]

That's right.

CAMILLE WALKER [03:15]

Perfect. Today, we're talking about building community, which is something I'm familiar with and Camille is, too, and I'm so excited to hear your expertise on that and how especially you're doing this for women in the black community, which I always want to rally behind. So, please tell us your story and how this became a passion for you.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [03:33]

Absolutely. I started back in 2020. And at this time, my digital footprint was a lot smaller than it is now. I had about 3,000 followers on Instagram. And that was my main social media profile. But as we were all sitting at home during the pandemic, I started to think really critically about what I wanted to put out into the world and what was important to me. And honestly, I was just feeling aimless. I had a lot of talent and a lot to give, but I wasn't directing it anywhere that was meaningful.

And so, through that year, I started working on my book, The Power of Infinite Potential and the process of writing that and really figuring out my values and my belief system as I went through the process of writing that book led me to understand that I needed to be doing purposeful work. And I think that that can look different over the course of time. Certainly, it's changing as I've become a new mom, and the things that are important to me have really shifted, and it's funny how that happens. You get these little people introduced into your life. And suddenly, you're like, I am not the most important person in the room. That is great.

And so, I knew I wanted to work on a project that I was passionate, and Black Woman on a Mission is something that came to me in a dream, if you can believe that.

CAMILLE WALKER [05:06]

I do.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [05:06]

But I think that I was just feigning for something so badly and just praying and asking and thinking and just circling the wagon until I found something. And so, when I was hit with that dream, Black Woman on a Mission, I just woke up immediately and started working on it. It was like three o'clock in the morning, I gave myself no time. You know how dreams are, they're so fleeting.

CAMILLE WALKER [05:31]

I have chills all over. Yes, I'm like, do it. What's happening?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [05:36]

It was wonderful. And I was in a stage of my life where I was keeping paper and pen by my bedside, because I was like something is going to hit me. And I don't want to lose it when it does. And so, it was one of those things where everything really aligned to where there were no stumbling blocks to me creating this. I had built skills up over time, like learning how to build websites, and these types of things, and I had built different relationships through my nine-to-five job. That just made everything really seamless.

So, from the time I had that dream, it was probably not a month later before I was able to launch Black Woman on a Mission. And I launched it as a project, I didn't even launch it as a business, because I was like, maybe nobody will identify with this. And it's just for me, but I'm going to set it up and put it out there. And we'll see.

And like I said, at that time, I didn't have a huge following. So, I wasn't expecting thousands of orders or anything like that. But I got 100 orders in the first hour of my launch. And I was like, wow, I have something here. And so, I've just continued to build on it. And I think that is what has built the community, the fact that I didn't go in with a mindset of I'm telling anybody anything, or I'm directing you to where you need to go. I was like, here's the thing. Let's develop it together. Let's feel it out a little bit together.

So, I'm always asking questions to my audience. Even on the front of the sweatshirts, it says "resilient," and that was a word that the community chose. I was making Facebook statuses and Instagram polls, what word do you feel like describes Black women? And that was the overwhelming answer. So, that's how that ended up there. I didn't try to impose anything on my community to say, "This is what I think represents us." I asked them, "What do you think represents yourself?"

And so, I think because of that, it's been really well received because people are a part of it. And I've really done the difficult work of documenting the journey and being my own documentarian. And people love being along for the ride with you, I think it's such a great way to garner support, because they realize that you really are slogging it out. You're doing the hard work, you're doing the grunt work, and the behind-the-scenes stuff, there's no engine in the background making it work.

I am the engine, and I think people identify with that. And it gives them inspiration that they can do that for themselves as well. So, that has been a great joy. And over this time, I've been able to grow my social media following to over 250,000 people and share this journey with them, which is incredible.

CAMILLE WALKER [08:42]

Yeah, there's so much to unpack here. I love so much that you said I kept a notebook next to my bed. Because I feel like there is a magical time between wake and sleep that we are given messages. I believe they come from beyond. I believe there are angels and messengers and God, and I believe in that. So, the fact that you were able to open that channel and have that ready and accessible and that message was like, okay, go, and you just did it. That is so cool.

And as far as moving into having your audience involved where you were at 3,000. And now, you're at 250. Walk me through that. How did you get there? How did you increase your following? How did you garnish this community feel that was obviously so needed and communicated your mission so well?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [09:39]

Absolutely. I have to first think by book publisher, New Degree Press, because when I was starting out, and this was all around the same time, so I launched Black Woman on a Mission in October of 2020. And my book came out in December of 2020. So, I had been working on it, it all came out in tandem, but that just goes to show how when you're putting that creative energy for work, there really is a momentum to that. And so, I think you have to keep moving in that direction.

But my book publisher, I was in a program, I was in a book publishing program. And the publisher told everyone, "You have to sell $5,000 worth of copies of this book as a pre-order." And I was like, "Impossible. How am I supposed to do that?" And he was like, "You have to start posting every single day." And I was like, "Posting to who?" But he taught me crowdfunding through social media.

He taught me this concept of getting early adopters, early readers, make a Facebook status, ask people to get on your email list, send them your first chapter, send them this, send them that, so that you can involve people in your process. And then, when you ask them to buy a $30 pre-order of a paperback book, they're already in it. So, they're more likely to say yes.

And so, because I had gone through that process back in June of 2020, I decided to apply the same principles to Black Woman on a Mission. And so, that's what prompted me to start putting that Facebook status out there, putting those Instagram posts out there, asking people what word represented them. I didn't tell them where all this was going. I just said, "I'm doing some research, can you help me out with this?"

And so, as I started to involve people, they started to put those little pieces together of like, she asked us this. And now, we're seeing it here. I think Black Woman on a Mission was such a bold statement and so much so something that people could identify with, that it started to have that viral spread, because people were identifying with it. And then, of course, once they get the merchandise, it's a wearable advertisement.

And so, we started to grow from there. I branched out over into TikTok because during the pandemic, this was an app that was growing like wildfire. And I was like, I need to be a first mover, and I think even still 2020 was late. But I was like, I need to try to get on this app and figure it out. So, I probably spent six months on the app flailing around, trying to do trends and different things like that. And I think what I learned really specifically was that I have to lean into my unique voice, I have to lean into my talent, and put out there what I have, which is my ability to tell a story, my ability to use humor.

And so, that's what I started to do. And I started to put the brand out there. And once again, invite people on the journey. And what I found really worked on TikTok was inviting them into my problems, and those behind-the-scenes thing. So, if I had a whole shipment of inventory go wrong, I would show it to people. And I would be like, "This sucks. But what should I do next?" And give them an opportunity to help me. And that really brought people into the journey and helped me grow my following.

And over time, I realized that I could branch out into more and more topics that were relevant to Black women that will grow the following. And then, when they got there, I can introduce them to Black Woman on a Mission. Because I think sometimes in business, you can get really salesy. It's like, you've got an agenda, you've got a bottom line at a certain point that you want to meet. So, you're constantly like, how can I get the next sale, get the next sale, get the next sale?

But I think there's a lot to be said for nurturing your customer and your community, and not just viewing them as another sale. And so, for some women, they may follow me for two years before they buy anything, but I'm totally committed to giving to them. And so, I feel like as long as I take the aspect of giver in my social media community, then I'll continue to grow.

CAMILLE WALKER [14:01]

Yeah. I love that, being a giver in the community. Okay. So, a big question that I get from people that are wanting to grow online and wanting to build that community, but they let fear stop them,. I think that there's two big questions. It's the fear of getting over that, the embarrassment or the worry, or the what if I mess up, or whatever it is. And then, there's also the content wheel where you're like, how do I keep coming up with things to do? Can you walk us through those two and tell us how you handled both of those?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [14:37]

Absolutely. Number one, my mantra for 2024 is stop overthinking it and start overdoing it. So, I'm preaching that message as far and wide as I can. I think that so many people get stuck in analysis paralysis, and you're overthinking it, when the best thing that you can do is learn by doing and let trial and error be your teacher.

So, you just have to eliminate the fear at the end of the day. I think if people are worried about people from their hometown or what people may have to say, just remember that 99% of the negative comments that will ever be said about you in your life, you'll never hear them because people aren't going to say them to your face. So, why be worried about it?

I think you have to lean into the cringe, you have to lean into the embarrassment. For the longest time, I wouldn't watch my own videos. I hated hearing the sound of my own voice. But it's irrelevant because you're trying to accomplish something. So, you can't be in your own way. You know what I mean? A lot of times, you're your own worst critic in a lot of ways, because you're not even giving people anything to critique when you're stuck in analysis paralysis, you haven't put anything out there.

So, that's like one hurdle that I think you just have to jump, stop overthinking it, stop overthinking it. If you've got one piece of an idea, just put it out there. And it will continue to build on itself. I did a whole TikTok series, probably for six months, where I just used comments from the last video to make the next video.

CAMILLE WALKER [16:15]

I love that about TikTok. I love that about TikTok. Because if people engage at all, you can use that to create new content.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [16:23]

Absolutely. And once again, at that point, you're leaning into the community because somebody's asked a question, or they've sparked a thought. And now, we're going down their thought process and their train of thought. And we're able to give them more information on something that they were thinking about.

So, there goes your content right there. I think in that way, if you lean into that, you can never really run out of content. I may make a video about something totally different. And then, somebody will say, "How'd you get your hair like that?" And then, I'll make a video about my hair.

And I'll talk about maybe the same thing that I was talking about in the previous video over this hair tutorial. But it's like if this is something you want to see, I'll give it to you. But I'm still going to spread the message that's important to me at the same time.

CAMILLE WALKER [17:06]

Yeah, I love that.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [17:08]

So, I think if you lean into that, then you won't run out of content. And the second thing I think is that people think that they have to be at this pinnacle at the beginning, and I'm not really sure why we feel that way. You know what I mean? It's like people want to jump from kindergarten to high school graduation all in one day. And you have to understand it's okay to start at the ground floor and work your way up.

And I think people in a lot of ways, we do a lot of algorithm chasing and all these types of things, but I think the best key to content is common sense. Would you watch this video? When I look at all of my content, every single time I look at my content, and sometimes I go, boring, scroll. And I don't post that. If it couldn't keep my own attention, and I made the video that I'm like, that's not a good video. So, I really critique myself in that way. And I think that that helps.

Now, I don't over critique myself, because I've made some videos that I was like, I don't know if anybody's going to care about that. And it's like my most viral video. So, it's funny how that type of stuff happens. But you just have to lean into this concept of, I really do think in a lot of ways, quantity is better than quality, because quantity will give you quality eventually. It's like play a basketball. You need to shoot a thousand free throws before you can get to the line and know that it's going to go in every time. So, social media is the same way.

CAMILLE WALKER [18:44]

Yeah, I would agree with that. I think that it's interesting. It's very much that concept of, I don't know if you've heard this story, but there was a study done with a photography class. And the teacher split the class into two and said, "One group, I want you to create as much as you can, as many photos as you can. And to the other group, I want you to turn in one final assignment." You're nodding your head. So, I think you might have heard this one. And the people who put out as much content as possible had the best final project, where the one that stuck with that one idea and put it at the very end, it didn't go as well.

And I think that social media is very much that way. If we can get over ourselves. It's like get over yourself and just put the content. And I'm guilty of this. And I've been creating content online for 12 years. So, it's something that is good to remind yourself of and to have a support group that will help you and rally behind you when you feel down. Is that something that you have?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [19:41]

Absolutely. I totally agree. And I love that story. Yes, in a way. Yes, in a way. I think I have built an online community of women that I can talk to, and I actually love Threads for this because before on Twitter or X, I wasn't following any influencers. I wasn't following any of those people I wanted to be my peers in any way on that app.

On Threads, it's like all influencers, because people that I follow on Instagram. And so, I'm able to connect with them more about the behind the scenes of how they're thinking through their content, how they could do their deals, new things they want to put out there, their creative process. And that has really helped me to build a community because I feel like in my real life and with my friends, I'm like the one who does social media. A lot of my friends, you know what I mean? They're just not into it, they have other careers. So, that's totally fine.

And so, I built that online community, which I think is super helpful, because it also it gives me new ideas, as well as helped me negotiate better in my deals, helps me grow my business. So, I've learned so much from women online, even just with sharing softwares that they use.

I think the actual way that I first ran across you was you'd made a Pinterest article, or you made an article on your blog about how to start a podcast, but just on Pinterest. And this led me down this whole rabbit hole to finding you.

CAMILLE WALKER [21:11]

No way, that's cool.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [21:13]

Yeah. But see. stuff like that is like, you might have put that article out two years ago or three years ago, and you don't know what that article is doing. But I saw that, and now, we're on the phone. So, all of these little pieces that you put out there, they matter, and they do produce a return.

CAMILLE WALKER [21:34]

That's cool. Yeah, I started that or I put that post out there probably three years ago. I didn't know that's how you found me. That's really cool. I love hearing that. Okay, so let's share software. Let's get into that. What are some of your favorite apps, software, social media, video editing tools? What are some of your favorites?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [21:55]

Absolutely. Okay, number one is InShot. I'm like an InShot fanatic. And I think InShot, the pro version is like $6.99 or something like that. It's nothing crazy. It's not a subscription. So, you pay for it one time and you're done. But I do a lot of my video editing there. Now, I've recently gotten into CapCut for video editing as well. And CapCut is owned by the same people who own TikTok. So, those two pair really well together.

CAMILLE WALKER [22:01]

I didn't realize that. That makes more sense because you always see advertisements for CapCut on TikTok. Yeah.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [22:29]

Yep. It's all one conglomeration. And then, I think that's also why CapCut videos even though their templates do really well on TikTok because I think TikTok themselves is pushing it.

CAMILLE WALKER [22:42]

Makes sense.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [22:42]

But a little known one that I got from one of my influencer friends is a smaller company called Norby, which I use for my text messages. And so, I was looking for a text software that was user-friendly. And a lot of tech softwares, you probably know this, they're very bulky, and they're hard to use. And so, I was looking for something that was really seamless and really straightforward. And Norby really had that option. So, I really love working with them. They do landing pages, as well as Linktree type of pages. But the text messaging is what to me really makes them worthwhile. So, I love them.

CAMILLE WALKER [23:28]

Interesting. Is that how you text your customers? Is that what you're using it for?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [23:33]

Yes. I use that for my ambassador program, as well as my texts, my SMS marketing. So, I really love that. And then, I do have an ambassador program, which I run through another software called Tapfiliate. And I really enjoyed that software as well, because they take care of all of the payments. So, you just have a card on file, you can load all of your ambassadors onto there, they can load themselves onto there. And then, it keeps track of all of their sales that they're doing. And then, there's an automated payment once a month, so that everybody gets paid out. And it's great. So, those have been ones that I've really loved. And those have been the ones that I've had to really dig to find, if that makes sense.

CAMILLE WALKER [24:20]

This is gold, you guys. This is the stuff where you go to a women's conference and you're like, "Okay, what are you using? How does it work? Tell me the details." So, yes, thank you, I love that you're sharing this because you do have to dig to find the things that really work and are up and coming.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [24:36]

Absolutely, especially ones that are user-friendly. If I get on something and it takes me 30 minutes to figure out how to do something simple, I'm like, this is not the software for me. I don't have that kind of time. And maybe that's not a good thing about me, but I'm just like, I want a user-friendly software, I don't want a bulky software, I was not a Myspace girl, I'm not about to HTML this page together. I need something simple.

CAMILLE WALKER [25:09]

I love it. You're my people then because that's the same for me where I feel like technology, even with InShot, they have increased their ability so much, I started using it in 2018, 2019. And even just in the last year, they've added so many more features.

And so, it's cool to hear about ones that are working well and also adapting but also making it easier for you and adding captions without having to go to the captions app, which is one that I really like for adding captions that makes it you can brand it with coloring and make it look a specific font the way you want to, where I used to have to clip and cut and add captions through a different way of doing that. So, it's nice to see how as things improve, to have friends in this space so that you can say, what's new? What's working well? Because time is money, and we all know that. So, that's really helpful.

Are there any other apps that you love to keep your business and your orders in check? I don't have a product business. And so, that's one where I'm like the fulfillment of products is a lot to me, I've done products in the past. And one Christmas spent delivering coats from a late shipment from China got me off that ship. I'm like I'm never doing this again. So, tell me what's helped you in that arena?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [26:33]

Absolutely. I think if you're doing enough volume, then I would work with a fulfillment partner, which is what I did for probably most of 2023. And also, part of that was because I was in the midst of a twin pregnancy, which was a lot harder on my body than I could have ever imagined. I don't know what I thought being pregnant was. I thought that it was like really blissful and cute. And it wasn't at all.

CAMILLE WALKER [27:02]

Especially with twins, your first time, that's like extra demanding.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [27:07]

Yeah. It was a lot. And my body was just like, hey, you need to have a seat. And so, I just wasn't physically capable of doing a lot of things that I've done in the past. And just by virtue of me liking to run lean, I've always kept my products close, the amount of shipping and fulfillment, but I started working with a warehousing partner called Saltbox.

And they're in most major metropolitan cities in the US, but they were wonderful. It's small-box warehousing on month-to-month leases, they have fulfillment options. This is like a small business dream for warehousing. Because normally, people want you to rent out 10,000 square feet, and it's like, I don't need all of that. I'm doing like 200 square feet of work, not 10,000.

And Saltbox gives you that option. So. I started working with them to do my fulfillment, and that just cut my whole operation in half in terms of labor that it was taking. Now, it takes your costs up a little bit, but it's so worth it. So extremely worth it, especially in the situation that I was in.

So, in the past, it's been a slog, trying to put out 100 orders a week and do all this type of stuff by hand, I won't tell anybody that it's something easy to do. That it's something that's easy to do, because it's not, but worth it I think if you're into it. And like I said, using a fulfillment partner like Saltbox, really streamlining your processes to get things done. I started working locally only in the US.

So, everything I source is in the US, all my customization is done in the US. So, I'm never holding products over in that way, and that just totally changed the game on everything. Because even my sourcing partner has physical shops. So, I've flown to Baltimore to be like, "Hello, y'all are sold out of this online. I need it. Give me everything you have in stock." But see, that's the nature of a product-based business is you have to get in the weeds.

But from a software perspective, I use Squarespace. Don't be like me, I should be using Shopify. However, Squarespace is so much easier to set up on your own. And when I was setting this up in 2020, I was like, I know how to set up a Squarespace site. So, I set the sign up in 12 minutes versus a Shopify site that I was like, I'm going to have to hire somebody to help me with this. But it's been fine for me. And then, I use ShipStation for all of my shipping, and it's easy peasy.

CAMILLE WALKER [30:03]

That's awesome. And ShipStation is where you can print off the labels at home. Is that right?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [30:07]

Exactly.

CAMILLE WALKER [30:08]

Yeah, that's really cool. What I really love seeing during the pandemic and on TikTok is all the behind the scenes videos of small businesses packaging and prepping their orders. And those do really well on for engagement and with numbers. I don't know if you've seen that, I'm guessing you have. But it's so cool to see the behind the scenes of the business owner doing the things, getting in the mess of it, and making it happen.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [30:36]

Exactly. I think you can think of Instagram, to me anyway, as Instagram is the finished product. And then, TikTok is behind the scenes. So, I think that you can apply that to pretty much anything. So, it's like, on Instagram, you're going to see flowery photoshoots and product shots and all these types of things. And that's what we're going to really show there.

But on TikTok, it's like, we're in the weeds. We're in the warehouse. It's not cute, but it's real. And it's raw, and people really see you building a business. And I think that's inspirational and aspirational, because a lot of people want to build businesses themselves, and you're showing them like, it's not that hard, it is a little difficult. But if you get out of your own head and out of your own way, you can do it.

CAMILLE WALKER [31:19]

And put in the work, yeah. I think Instagram is trying to be like that. It's getting to that point, but I agree, TikTok is just different. It's a different space, which is really cool, because you can use both and see which one feels best for you and create that community. So, on Instagram, is that where you have your 250, or is that on TikTok?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [31:42]

I have my 250 on TikTok.

CAMILLE WALKER [31:44]

Okay. Awesome. That's really cool.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [31:46]

Yep. And I would say it's been really interesting because all of my favorite influencers are very polished. They can be models. It's very polished. It's very shiny, it's very bright. And I was like, I don't have the infrastructure to do bright, shiny content at this time. I think now, I could do it. But a lot of people that I've observed, it's like their boyfriend or their husband does photography or somebody close or this type of thing.

And I'm like, I have to hire a photographer, get a studio, I have to spend a lot of money every time I want to take a nice looking photo. And that is not sustainable. But I was like the real, the raw, talking, which also I think is becoming native to Instagram. But for a long time, Instagram was a silent app. We're not saying words on here. And I was like words is where I thrive.

So, I felt like it was easier for me to build on TikTok. And it was, that's just the truth. But it was easier for me to build on TikTok because people are listening to TikTok with the sound on, and I can capture people with my voice, which was harder to do with just my presence or with pictures, simply because of all the hurdles I had to jump through to get a nice photo.

CAMILLE WALKER [33:13]

Yeah, that's a good point. We need to be friends on TikTok, I'm over there too, @camillewalker.co. I have a little over 100,000 followers over there. But I've been quiet for a while because I was contracted with TikTok to make five to seven videos a week. And I was doing it very regularly while my kids were home during the pandemic, and it started to be a bit of a conflict with my time as a mom with them.

And one of my kids said, "Mom, are we doing this for fun, to be with us, or are you doing this for TikTok?" And that really was a gut punch a little bit. In fact, that's when I switched more of my content to be less about parent and kids and more about women in business. And so, that's when I got a little quiet on TikTok. So, I'm like, do they care? I've built this other community, and now, I'm switching the gears, and I just need to get back on there and be like, surprise. I've done a little bit since then, but not as much.

And so, I really want to see yours because I think the way you're talking to your audience is how I want to talk to my audience, not so much doing the kids finger activities and keto recipes, which is still good, but it's a different kind of audience. Yeah.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [34:27]

It's still fun. Yeah. Honestly, I have switched it up on TikTok a thousand times. If you go on my page, you'll be like, this girl talks about everything under the sun. But it gives you that opportunity. It's fine.

CAMILLE WALKER [34:41]

Okay, that's what I needed to hear. I needed to hear that. I appreciate it.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [34:45]

It's fine. I think as long as you have a through line and mine is Black Woman on a Mission, that's what I'm known for. That's what people know me for, and I can chop that into every single thing that I do. I'll talk about anything. I'll do fashion, hair, food, baby, I do it all.

CAMILLE WALKER [35:02]

Which is really fun and interesting. I think that's really cool. We're going to switch gears a little bit talking about motherhood, because we're moms here. And that's a piece of what we talk about with running business. How have you managed with tiny twins and the business?

You went in headfirst, you have this book, you have this business, social media, all the things. And now, you're a mom of twin five-month-olds, is that right? They're five months?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [35:28]

That's right. They're five months.

CAMILLE WALKER [35:29]

Oh, my gosh, I wish I could hold them. That's so freaky probably.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [35:33]

That's so sweet.

CAMILLE WALKER [35:34]

But what a fun age. They're not even crawling yet, right? So, you can still just snuggle them, which is also really demanding. I'm sure your nighttimes are very challenging. Tell us about how that's going.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [35:50]

Here's the thing, I have a ton of help. And without that, I would be, I don't know, probably needing some very strong medication to get through that. But I have a lot of help. And so, that makes things a lot easier. I just had my twins, I'm a new mom. They're my first, last, only children. And so, it has been a huge learning curve, because I don't have as many hours in the day.

I remember the first two months of their life, I was just like, I don't know how I'm going to get on top of anything. I don't have a free thought in my head. You know what I mean? It's like I literally cannot even think. I was like in a brain fog for two months. And that scared me. That scared me really badly.

CAMILLE WALKER [36:48]

It's a lot of things. Yeah. And it is scary.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [36:52]

The minute they started sleeping through the night, I was like, wow, I can rejoin the human race. This is amazing. So, I think that having a lot of help really is amazing. Even right now just to be able to be on this podcast, I have help. I don't have two babies in my lap or anything like that. So, that makes a huge difference.

But I think the other thing was that I had to start deciding what was important to me, what my values were, and how I was going to prioritize things. So, right at the three-month mark, I went back to work in the office, and I was working a job that I really liked. But my commute was an hour. And I was missing my kids terribly, and just feeling like there was going to come a time when they were going to hit pre-K or kindergarten, and from that point on, they were going to be spending more time with other people than they ever were going to spend with me again. And I didn't want to miss this small finite time that I could have with them.

And having built a side career on social media and having a business, I was like I have plenty of ways to replace this income, I can't replace this time. And so, I let go of my nine-to-five job recently. And I think that that has opened so many doors for me already. I've only been off the job since the end of January. And it's February 6. So, it hasn't been very long, but already I have new opportunities, already my brain is clear, already I'm happier. And I'm able to work harder and run harder for my business in less time.

A nine-to-five job really is trading time for money. And the type of career that I have now, a creative career is really not like that, at least not for me. And so, I'm just so much happier now. But it's really the help and the support, my husband being super supportive, and just saying like, "Okay, if that's what you want to do, you do it, girl." But that has made all the difference.

And so, I'm loving this time that I'm getting to spend with them. And the balance is not bad, because I don't have too many competing priorities now. When I was still going to work, I had too many competing priorities. And so, it was hard to have any balance because I felt bad if I was coming home and I was working on things. I hadn't seen them all day and that sort of thing. But now that I get to be here with them, they get to see me work. They'll grow up seeing that, and I like that about it.

CAMILLE WALKER [39:39]

Yeah, I can attest to that. That's why I built the program and the offerings that I have is teaching women how to build online business from home and also coaching people to do that as well because I've done that for 13 years now, and my kids, I have four children, and they're now 15, 13, 10, and seven. And they've been a part of it every step of the way. And it's such a gift that we have that capability to be able to be at home and create businesses that are successful. So, I know you'll do it. It makes me so happy to hear that you're able to do that and open up that possibility for yourself.

This has been so fun. I have loved talking to you so much, Camille. The time has just flown. I've laughed so much. The question I told you I was going to ask you is what are you watching, listening to, or reading? What are those three?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [40:42]

Right now, I'm breathing The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. And I'm loving it. It's not a traditional book in a sense. It's like poems and quips, some little essays, and different things. But it really talks about the creative process. And Rick Rubin, who's a music producer is a purist about the creative process. And he talks about art as an offering to God and art for art's sake and art that you feel in your soul that art isn't for the audience. And so, I think oftentimes I'm trying to strike a balance between creating things that I love that I'm passionate about, and that I think are true to my gifting as well as things that are income generating, because just being realistic, that's an important. The mortgage does not pay itself.

So, I've really enjoyed that book, because it's helped me think through my creative process in a way and bucket things into projects that I'm doing because I'm an artist and I love to create and the things I'm doing that I'm like, these are revenue-generating activities, because I'm a business lady. And so, I've really enjoyed that a lot.

CAMILLE WALKER [42:01]

I like that. Anything that you're listening to or watching?

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [42:06]

Currently, I'm not watching anything because I'm trying my best not to turn my children into iPad kids. So I'm like there are no screen. Crazy, no screen people. And my husband is like, "How long do you think we can keep this up?" I'm like, "I don't know. But we're going to try."

And then, what am I listening to lately? Honestly, I have been listening to Emma Chamberlain's podcast because Emma Chamberlain is the OG influencer YouTube girl. She created a lane on there that wasn't done before. And so, I'm just interested in what she has to say. I wasn't there for her YouTube era. But I watched her on another podcast and then went down a hole in the Chamberlain rabbit hole. So, currently, I'm listening to her podcast, and it's pretty interesting.

CAMILLE WALKER [43:04]

Yeah. That's a good idea. I have watched a few of her YouTube videos, and she's really creative. And that's a good one to check out again. This has been so wonderful. Please let us know where our audience can find you online, read your book, and also look into your clothing line.

CAMILLE MCCALLUM [43:22]

Absolutely. You can find me @camilleviviana on all social platforms. My website is www.blackwomanonamission.com. And if you're interested in buying my book, you can get it on www.blackwomanona mission.com or on Amazon. And again, the name of that book is The Power of Infinite Potential.

CAMILLE WALKER [43:40]

Awesome. Thank you so much. And I really appreciate all of you who are listening. Thank you to Camille for sharing so authentically, I feel like that we got so many good nuggets to write down. I know I took some notes, so we really appreciate it.

[MUSIC]

Thank you so much for tuning into this episode. Make sure that you are subscribed so that you never miss an episode. Also, if you are looking for my free Mom Balance Playbook, it is stocked full with recipes, approaches to blocktiming your time, also freebies with quick snack ideas. It's like your mom Bible for getting things done. It is for free at www.camillewalker.co where you can also have access to my coaching and my programs. Thank you so much for tuning in.

[MUSIC]

Hey, CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment and a 5-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram @callmeceopodcast. And remember, you are the boss!

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