Morgan Palmer: Turning Her Passion into a Business

Morgan Palmer is a 3rd year Management Information System student from Henry County, GA. She is the reigning Miss Black and Gold for The Zeta PI Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, INC and is the owner of her own fashion company, Styled By Mo. 

JH: What is your career goal?

MP: My goal initially upon graduation is to work as an IT project manager, however my ultimate goal is to become an intro to programming professor at Spelman College. 

JH: What are you involved with on campus? 

MP: I currently serve on UGA’s NAACP chapter as secretary, I’m a member of Minorities in Technology, Women in Business and the Society for Management Information Systems.

JH: What made you choose UGA? 

MP: I toured a lot of schools in high school, especially in Florida because that’s where I’m originally from, it wasn’t until I toured UGA that I felt like I was really ‘at home’. That’s why I chose UGA. 

JH: You participated in the Miss Black and Gold pageant back in November and were crowned Miss Black and Gold. What was that experience like? 

MP: Miss Black and Gold was an amazing experience, I think a lot about actually participating in this and if I could go back in time to tell myself that one day I’d be a pageant queen I would never believe it. I’ve always considered myself a tom-boy so participating in Miss Black and Gold really took me out of my element – which is something I wanted, a sort of challenge to try something new. Participating in Miss Black and Gold also allowed me to truly do some soul searching on things that were important to me and actually lit a spark inside of me to push harder for things that I believe are important. 

JH: What are some highlights of being the 2016-2017 Miss Black and Gold? 

MP: My favorite highlight of being Miss Black and Gold and participating was hands down performing a karate demonstration in front of the crowd, I haven’t done karate in years and being able to do something that I was so good at again was so much fun for me. Special occasions where I do wear my crown and sash to are also always fun, I love for people to ask more about the pageant because it gives me a chance to be a shameless plug for the upcoming pageant and shed some light that you don’t have to be the girliest-girl to win a pageant. 

JH: Miss Black and Gold is coming up soon. What advice do you have for girls who want to go for the crown? 

MP: In one way or the other, winning any sort of title adds visibility to your name and who you are, what you choose to do with this visibility is completely up to you. For some people, the crown can change you in negative ways (thinking you’re better than others, etc.), but I personally see it as an opportunity for more people to see who you truly are and what you represent. It’s important to handle that with responsibility while also upholding the title of Miss Black and Gold, but no matter what the pageant you participate in I believe that it’s important to conduct yourself as someone who represents that pageant’s organization in everything you do in the public eye. 

JH: So tell me about Styled by Mo? How did the business come about? 

MP: Styled By Mo is something that started in my dorm room last March, I told my friends by the end of the summer I’d be a business owner and I was going to make sure that happened. One of my passions has always been fashion, this is something that was passed down from my mother to me. Having a mom who sewed her own wedding dress, I’ve always been around creativity so last March I figured since manipulating fashion trends into my own style has always been a thing for me I’m going to find a way to market it to other people and see how that turns out – thus, Styled by Mo was born. 

JH: Do you struggle with being a full-time student and an business owner? How do you make sure that you do not get burnt out? 

MP: Going to school full-time and having any other major responsibility is always going to be hard, whether it’s working full time to having your own business. It’s manageable so long as I set aside my time in the most efficient ways for my schoolwork and for working on denim slides and designing different pieces of apparel. While business was really booming this summer I was blessed to have my mom help with a lot of the process: I could tell her my idea for a design from exactly how I wanted it to look and she’d be able to create it while I had tests for my summer classes, then when I had the time she’d show me how she made it so I could do the same when I had the actual time. The key to not getting burnt out is working at a realistic pace, not setting unrealistic time for clients and again, managing your time well. 

JH: What advice do you have for students who want to start their own business? 

MP: For any peers that are interested in starting your own business the best advice I could give is to start on it as soon as you can! Before I even had ideas on what Styled By Mo would showcase I was creating logos, brainstorming ideas on how I wanted my website to look and because I was proactive I had motivation to actually create something that had the possibility to be successful. The issue for so many people is that we tend to think about things a lot more than we actually do things, and great ideas remain just that… ideas. No matter your circumstance, the best thing you can do is cast your bucket down now, start where you are and everything you need will come to you in due time.

You can shop now at: http://styledbymo.bigcartel.com