From One MJ To Another (I)

What do you do when in Nashville? You meet with someone you've looked up to for years for brunch, sip some coffee, and have a conversation on following your passion, moving numerous states away from home, how God made His path clear, and His faithfulness even when He doesn't. These are just some of the topics I covered with photographer, author, blogger, and now podcast host, Mady Jade. 

When planning this trip to Nashville, it seemed like the perfect time to have someone featured on this blog. That idea turned into a brainstorm, which then turned into action, and then finally resulted in a brunch meeting. Of course Mady Fischelli should be my first ever feature. It was a no-brainer. Her authenticity and transparency are magnetic to her work. Although she considers herself a "micro-influencer", her light draws people to her work and to the Lord, which is so unique in how people use their platform. She is not afraid to show her vulnerable side and be direct about the ups and downs of being a businesswoman. Grab a cup of coffee (vanilla lattes in our case!), and sit down with us for brunch. Without further ado, "let's be real", as Mady puts it. 

Disclaimer: some of the audio cut out so some will be my narration from notes I took, and part of it will be direct quotes from her. 

What was the process to do social media and start your own business?

Mady explained how she found her passion in photography by taking an elective early on in high school. She graduated and went on to college to get a degree in Fine Arts so she could further this passion, but anyone who has a passion combined with an independence, this was not where she felt she needed to be. She went on to start her small, yet rampantly growing, business- By Mady Jade- instead. "I wanted to start getting going because I don't want to waste time being an employee of someone else. Or spend my time and money when I could just go up and do it on my own. Around age 20 I [said], peace out, let's just do the thing."

I love the way she worded this because this is a real and raw feeling of anyone who knows what they want to do with their career. Answering your calling to be your own boss right away will take you further than sitting around and waiting for it to be the right timing.

How do you balance work and free time? 

This part of the conversation started with us discussing our enneagrams (which I love). Mady is a 7w8 and I am an 8w7, which is probably why this conversation had such a good balance and flow to it. For anyone who does not know about enneagrams, here is a basic run down. The 8 is "the challenger". They are determined and go for what they want, regardless of the circumstances. They strive for control but also love helping people. The 7 is the "the enthusiast", meaning they are also go-getters, they are centered around growth, are spontaneous, and are very goal-oriented. They strive to be content. A 7w8 is "the realist" and an 8w7 is the "the maverick".

Our enneagrams were brought up because Mady explains how her type 7 comes out when it comes to quality time with friends. I think we can all agree that it is hard to balance fun time and work time. "I had to tell myself, 'if you want to be successful, you actually have to put in the time and not do the bare minimum." This statement is so powerful because I feel as though there is a stigma around working from home or working on social media. It is not an easy breezy task. The social media world is constantly changing so Mady was absolutely spot on in explaining how you have to go way beyond the bare minimum to prove yourself in this industry, along with any other. 

"Obviously, my schedule is different everyday. But I do my best to spend six to eight hours a day for work. A normal workday is about eight to nine, but I say about six or eight on my computer and then if I have a shoot usually that's what I do. And then at some point in the day you can have time for yourself, whether it is in the morning, which is ideal, or busy at night and you're journaling...or whatever it is, such as having friend time. You can reward yourself each day with something different. If it's a self care night at home or hanging out with your roommates, whatever it is you can have this to look forward to. But know that you will have to make time at what expense. 

I don't want to get into my day then realize I haven't done anything,  I don't deserve this. It sounds harsh on myself, but I don't deserve to be relaxing when I've done nothing with my day. I want to know, big or small, I've made some progress in my business (like answering emails)." We then talked about how even doing small daily goals will make progress, and how if we push things off with the "oh, I'll do it tomorrow" mindset, tomorrow could end up getting filled with another task. We also discussed how if we are planning on going out with someone or a group of friends, it is more relaxing knowing that you have spent that morning or evening being productive, then rewarding yourself with being able to spend quality time with those people. Time blocking and planning ahead, then actually sticking to that plan can save so much time and energy.

What do female entrepreneurs/business women need more of?

"To be taken seriously. Boundaries. Backbone. The music industry is run by men. It is mostly male dominated. If a girl is an artist, or manager, or whatever it is. It's not necessarily that they are not taken as seriously, but something is off about [the dynamic]." We furthered this conversation by saying how our opportunities to work business could be a guy's opportunity to ask us out. We are in a wave of women who want and have earned, just like anyone, to be taken seriously, but there is sometimes a disconnect.

Mady explained how she worked with an artist, Jordan Rager, and his manager, and she felt comfortable in that work setting with them. Later that weekend after this interview, I ended up meeting with Jordan's manager, Andrew, and we talked about this same topic. I applauded him for being intentional in making Mady feel welcomed and included, and for keeping it strictly professional, while maintaining the friendliness that is often found in country music. 

Process to move to Nashville?

"I'll just say for a few years I wanted to move and I was asking, 'God, why haven't you let me move? You know I want to do this. I'm ready' and God [said] "you're not ready" and you know, it's just, I never heard audibly, which I do believe that can happen, but I didn't hear just sort of a "Yes, do it" but when you pay attention to how God is rearranging your life it's crazy how you can have a peace to know that this what you're supposed to do. In January I visited here and I [knew I wanted] to move but I was honestly in the midst of a lot of struggles in life where I would not have been a fan of it [at the moment], and I ended up feeling led to have someone take over my lease so I moved out of my studio and I was [wondering] 'what am I doing? This is my apartment. I shouldn't have to' and God [said] 'have someone take it over.' And so I put it on Facebook marketplace and someone took it over and that's so hard to find, so I was like, okay, no permits, I moved home. Now that I think about it, this is actually really crazy, but I didn't have any photography bookings past the end of April. I moved here on May 11. I actually had a wedding to shoot on May 9th, which was the weekend before. That actually got canceled, which at the time I [thought] it was awful, but it was weird. That was the one thing in May I had and it got canceled. It's such a God thing and normally I'd be booked up past the fall. [I wondered]  'why am I not booking things? Maybe something's coming.' So, in the spring when it came around, the roommate situation worked out, which was a whole thing I was worried about. And I have friends here. Okay, everything is just pointing yes and all the doors are opening, and it's just when you can see doors opening, or even see some closing and parts of your life you're like okay. Aright, God, let's just do it."

I really don't think there is anything I can add to this section in response to her answer, simply because it is so powerful. I have briefly shared my story regarding similar events, and I felt the same way Mady did. I was frustrated at myself, God, and the timing, but God knows best. He wanted Mady to be rooted where she is then grow out of Dallas and expand in Nashville (can someone please que Wildflowers by Dolly, Linda, and Emmylou please??) . Retrospective faith is so powerful and this story proves that God's timing ultimately will win every time. 

While I would love to continue, this will wrap up part 1. Part 2 will go in depth on where to find inspiration, a normal day to day schedule of being your own boss, along with the struggles.

​If you have any questions on this first post, Mady and I will be more than happy to answer them either in the comments or through the contact form. Hope you all enjoyed part 1! See ya soon for the rest of the series.

Get in touch:

Instagram: @madyfischelli & @bymadyjade

Youtube: Mady Jade Fischelli

Podcast: Let's Be Real

Website: madyjade.com