Mia LaMotte (she/her): Amanda. Welcome to the brand disruptors. Podcast how are you today?
Amanda M: Hey? Good! How are you? Awesome!
Mia LaMotte (she/her): I I am doing well, too. I'm doing well. So let girl, let's just get into it like we've already had a conversation. And so I want to talk about
Mia LaMotte (she/her): your decision to leave family and move to the other side of the world or the other side of the United States to to start your life again. Let's talk about that first.st
Amanda M: Sure. Yeah. So at the young age of, I believe, 22 years old, I found myself with a 1 year old son, and going through a separation from his father, who I was married to. So I made that decision that it would be better that I choose myself and my son as a single parent, and one day I drove to work.
Amanda M: and I let my boss at the time know that I was going to move to Texas
Amanda M: turn in my keys, and I drove to Texas with $300
Amanda M: a carton of formula in my son, and I started my life over. So I moved from Baton Rouge to Austin, Texas.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Showed up at my brother's house and was like, Hi!
Amanda M: I'm home.
Amanda M: Oh.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So, of course, your brother welcomed you with omen, arms.
Amanda M: Yes, yes, and he had no idea I was on my way.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Wow. Okay.
Amanda M: So thankfully he was home. Yeah. And so I showed up. And I was just like, Hey, here's your nephew. Here I am.
Amanda M: I'm not leaving.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Like, let's figure this thing out.
Amanda M: Yeah. And so then, you know, I relocated back to Austin, Texas, and then I started my journey in in government, and so I was still employed in government 19 years. And
Amanda M: it's getting right there to retirement. But but yeah. So then I stayed in Austin for about 7 years finished my education, started my master's program, and then I had an opportunity to visit a friend who lived in Seattle, and she was like, you have to come out here. It's you're going to do so much better, and you know I was like plagued with fear.
Amanda M: I was like I I don't know. All I know is the South, like you know the way of life. There I have my family here. I have my support system, you know. It makes life so much easier. But then I was also in a job that did not serve me.
Amanda M: And as I got my education, I started realizing my worth.
Amanda M: And so I said, You know what? Okay.
Amanda M: let me apply for this job.
Amanda M: and I beat out 400 applicants.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Wow!
Amanda M: Yeah, I flew.
Amanda M: I ended my shift. I was working shift work.
Amanda M: I flew overnight, interviewed, and flew home like a 24 h situation.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda M: And I beat out 400 applicants, and they offered me within the same week.
Amanda M: And then I ran what I call an online garage sale on Facebook at the time, and all of my friends in Austin came through and bought all of my stuff.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh, that's so awesome!
Amanda M: You know, and they were like, we're so proud of you. We support you, and
Amanda M: I bought a 1-way ticket to Seattle.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Wow! So you and your son.
Amanda M: My son. And I, right? Yeah. So when I say me, it's really we.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay. Always alright. Got it.
Amanda M: Yeah, yeah. So I I have a bad habit, because I like to keep him very private. And not share him with the world, which is.
Amanda M: you know, he's an adult now. But you know, when he was younger, like, I kind of got weirded out about like.
Amanda M: you know, minors and the Internet and and things like that. And so when I say me, it's always gonna be a we, because we're a package deal but yeah. So him and I
Amanda M: flew to Seattle. My brother came as well because he was like, I need to check out like where you're going this neighborhood, because, you know, Seattle isn't, you know, one of the most safest cities to a lot of people. It's actually like what I would consider a real city like it has, like real issues, real crime. Whereas Austin, you know they did. But I feel like it was still kind of country enough to where you could like, navigate it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Seattle, you know, like you just have to know where to go and be aware. You know I love, but I love love Seattle best city I could have chosen to restart life in. So anyways, yeah, we relocated here, and I actually live on Seattle's East Side. So people get a little up in arms about saying, if you live in Seattle versus the East Side, and things like that, I just want to clarify if there's any Seattle lights tuning in.
Amanda M: That I am on the East Side cause. It is a thing. It's like a whole argument. It's really.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So what does it mean to be on the East Side like? Do you really live in Seattle? If you live on the East Side or no?
Amanda M: So it's it's a suburb of Seattle.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: So I live across the bridge. So you just cross a body of water to get to Seattle proper. Yeah.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It was like Irwinville or Port Allen, and.
Amanda M: Exactly. Yeah, yeah, it's like, yeah, it's exact. Same thing. It's kind of like an island on its own. Basically, you have to cross a floating bridge to get to it. And it's you know, where the upper bracket
Amanda M: kind of tend to move the the tech boomies like things like that. And it's just like family families established here. I chose this area because the school districts were 10 out of 10, and I wanted to, you know. Give my son the best foot forward and advantage. And I did that. You know he's building his first.st Actually, he's on his 3rd app that he's building right now.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: Yeah, and he's in college, you know. So he did it. Yeah, he did it. But yeah, you know, moving here, I rolled the dice, sold everything, came with 2 suitcases, and and furnished my place that I've been in for 11 years.
Amanda M: You know. I just restarted life, got my Master's Degree got licensures and got certified to teach. And all these different, really cool courses. And that's when I 1st started my business. One of my many businesses that I started.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah. So tell us about the the biggest business that you have, the one where you're taking things, and you're reselling it on the Internet. So tell us about that.
Amanda M: All right. Yeah. So I am a online reseller. And I also buy and flip estate sales. And so how that started was probably about a decade ago, so short after I moved here, I
Amanda M: started realizing like I had too much stuff. And I also remembered, like I did so well, selling stuff on Facebook to my buddies. Why not try to sell, you know, online? And so at the time the front runner that I used was a website called Poshmark, and I listed all of my plus size clothing on there.
Amanda M: And I'm talking about stuff I got from the target clearance rag, old Navy, not high end brands. Just basic staples. And I sold them for asking price.
Amanda M: And I started selling like higher volume, higher volume, higher volume. And I was like, Oh, my gosh! People like Buy used clothing. I had no idea, because that was never something that I did when I was younger I never thrifted. I never, you know, did secondhand clothes. Not that I'm opposed to it. It just wasn't part of my family's unit to shop or thrift.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: So then
Amanda M: I did so well with Poshmark. They reached out, and they they offered me paid opportunities to start hosting and public speaking.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: Because I became one of the front runners back in the day I'll see
Amanda M: and so then they we started doing these things called coffee, coffee meetups, basically. And so then I built my community
Amanda M: and people started seeing me gain traction on Instagram under my handle. 3,206, which is my business name, and on Facebook, and just like me, just documenting, being transparent with friends and family of what I was doing
Amanda M: right. And it became interesting to whoever was watching. And so I was able to build community and network. And first, st it started with 2 people. I showed up at a Starbucks, and 2 people walked in, and I was like, Hey, my Southern charm, you know, and I welcomed them in. Then the next week. I wasn't. I wasn't defeated. I was like, that's okay. At least I wasn't here by myself.
Amanda M: The next week it was 10 people.
Amanda M: 15 people, 30 people it became. I had to start looking at spaces.
Amanda M: you know, because we were outgrowing where we were meeting, and then I had to start putting a cap on. Who could come
Amanda M: because people were just wanting to like, meet and greet me and talk to me. And I was like, I don't do anything like this is like, because I would give people tips and tricks. I would show them the game I'd like. This is how you need to list your items, and then, you know, just by by doing it every single day, rinse and repeat.
Amanda M: I built this Empire and didn't even realize it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right.
Amanda M: And I started outperforming my day job.
Amanda M: And and so again, you know, a lot of people have asked me like, Do you have help.
Amanda M: I don't. I'm a 1 woman show on all of my businesses, and a lot of people are like time is money, you know. You know, you need to look at. You know how you can offset your time and bring someone on to manage that. But for me.
Amanda M: I feel like I still love it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: And I want to be involved in it, and I enjoy it.
Amanda M: And so I have not gotten to the point where I feel like it's necessary to bring on, you know, an assistant.
Amanda M: and I also just don't trust the process because I
Amanda M: I have a certain way that IA certain aesthetic everything.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It's cat!
Amanda M: Log ready.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Everything is is symmetrical, centered catalog ready. My lighting is on point, you know, and I sell on several different websites.
Amanda M: and they sell daily.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: Don't even have to do anything anymore.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So then let's talk about like the people who were coming to you for advice. Are you monetizing that as well.
Amanda M: I did it for free.
Amanda M: and I continue to do it for free, because I just believe in energy. I believe in universe. But you know, as I have gotten bigger and busier, I don't have time to solicit free advice right? And I have learned throughout the years that although they value me as a seller, and they value me as a successful businesswoman. They don't value the advice that I give them.
Amanda M: especially when it's free, because they don't take it, and they don't follow it right. And so, therefore I feel like you need to pay me to talk to me, and and if you want to waste your money by not taking on my advice. That's on you, right, you know. And so I actually still get a lot of solicitation, and I decline it.
Amanda M: I just I just say, Hey, I'm you know I'm not in a position to to offer advice at this point, you know.
Amanda M: And I just politely decline it.
Amanda M: I just I just don't feel like there's anything after trials and tribulations that I went through of being the nice person helping whatever right?
Amanda M: It's just not. It's just not something that is valuable.
Amanda M: For me at this point, you know, based off of, you know, prior relationships and time wasted.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Do you think that at 1 point maybe you'll do a course, or you know some kind of
Mia LaMotte (she/her): maybe workshop for folks who want to get into it and and have them pay to do that.
Amanda M: Yeah, I mean, I'm always always looking for an additional stream of income. You know. I am always looking at that, and I am pivoting into doing workshops. Because in my current role that I'm at and I have. I'm a senior trainer for my department now.
Amanda M: And so it was like a trial run of like. Let's see how I do it. Presenting.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yes.
Amanda M: I love it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah. And then you know all the material. So it's like.
Amanda M: Exactly.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It'd be exactly yeah.
Amanda M: Well, the thing is is
Amanda M: you know I never had the opportunity to work in Powerpoint to present, to work in teams, to do virtual meetings, things like that, and with my current position it has given me the opportunity to be creative, to present, to stand and command a room which I love, you know, like I love walking into a room and welcoming people and making them feel like, even if you don't know when you leave, you do.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. Well, I'm gonna encourage you to get those workshops together, because I think that's gonna be amazing. Because also you'll be getting the energy back that you're put, that you've been putting out right.
Amanda M: Yes.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, alright. So let's so let's talk about. Let's talk about that. Let's talk about the energy like you. You and I were talking before we started recording.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): And you basically do follow the energy. And there was something about you getting into Seattle. And today is very different from the last 10 years from when you've been there, or last 11 years, you've been there right about like where you are today and
Mia LaMotte (she/her): how you got to this point.
Amanda M: For sure. So you know, 11 years ago I showed up.
Amanda M: Think in my thirties I don't remember how old I am.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): But it's like, wait a minute, let me.
Amanda M: I know I'm like I don't. I think I was in my young thirties at this point. And you know I moved to a big city didn't know anybody. 11 years ago I moved to a brand new city with no vehicle.
Amanda M: and I walked to work. Every day when I worked in the city that I live in. Now and then I went to a different organization that was 22 miles away, so I had to get on the bus.
Amanda M: transfer 3 buses and walk 16 blocks, and I did that for 2 years while I saved up enough money to buy my 1st car here.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: And so so that happened, and I just stayed the course.
Amanda M: and I was able to to handle my business, and
Amanda M: I began promoting up in my organization got my Master's degree, which led me to start doing different type of teaching workshops. Things like that Covid happened. I pivot into like throwing everything into my reselling business. And then, you know, Covid ends. I go through a life transition out of a relationship. And during that time, during Covid I think we all kind of started realizing.
Amanda M: Where are we.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh!
Amanda M: In life.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yes, yes.
Amanda M: Why, like like, what have I been doing all of this time? And was it even worth it?
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It's almost like waking up right like.
Amanda M: Yes, it was an awakening right, and it was just like, what is the purpose for me being in this job?
Amanda M: What is the purpose for me being in a relationship.
Amanda M: you know. And so I like to joke around. And I and I have my own podcast. As well, and and it talks about the journey of
Amanda M: healing, healing through that breakup. And I start to realize that you know, I was in the relationship for about 10 years, 9 or 10 years. I don't remember at this point. We've been split for about 2 now, but anyways, you know, I started kind of like peeling off layers. And when I 1st moved to Seattle 11 years ago, I was
Amanda M: at the weight that I'm at now.
Amanda M: Throughout my journey of living here, life stressors, incompatibility, unhappiness, stress, mental health.
Amanda M: you know, struggling. Being financially independent, I gained a hundred pounds.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Wow!
Amanda M: And you know, a couple summers ago I had to split my my time between Louisiana and and Seattle because my father was ill.
Amanda M: and he was just chronically ill. So I was finding myself in Louisiana almost every other month it seemed like, and then I took like 3 months, and I went down and rehabbed him, and then at 1 point I took one month, and it was July of 2023. I was 270 pounds
Amanda M: in Louisiana.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): In the summertime.
Amanda M: Right.
Amanda M: And and I was like
Amanda M: I didn't realize how uncomfortable I was in my skin and no shade to anybody who is plus size, because I love myself at 270, and I love myself at 190. However.
Amanda M: it was rough, and so, anyways, I was, you know, stressed out because I had to perform basically nursing care for my father and I needed a release. So we were staying with a family member at the time, and she has this beautiful home in the country that has a long driveway.
Amanda M: And I said, You know what I'm going to start walking.
Amanda M: because I'm too heavy to do anything else. It's uncomfortable. So every day I would walk up and down that driveway I started 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, and then I started feeling really good because I suffered with like inflammation some hormonal stuff and and my doctor had prescribed me a weight loss shot called Mongero.
Amanda M: and this was when the boom of ozempic and all that stuff was going on, and you couldn't get access to it, because, you know, it also is a.
Amanda M: you know, diabetic related medication as well, and so there was a shortage. I had gotten prescribed it in December of 2022, but I didn't get access to it until May of 2023.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Wow!
Amanda M: Oprah talked about it on her little.
Amanda M: Oh, I don't. Yeah, I'm not I. I don't. Yeah, I didn't. I don't really follow that. So I'm not. I'm not too sure but it was in the height of media, right? So I I bought it, and I was paying $1,100 a month for it, because insurance would not cover it. But I said, You know what I said. I eat and drink more than $1,100 a month.
Amanda M: I do like I am social. I can blow that out the water like anybody's business. But I said, You know what I'm going to make a lifestyle change, and I'm going to forfeit
Amanda M: my social life, my eating habits, and my alcohol for this medication.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: So I paid for it out of pocket for a couple of months. Then I started exercising, and then I came back home, and I joined a gym because I was still heavier, but I felt comfortable enough in my own skin where it wasn't painful moving to start
Amanda M: doing Cardio. So somehow. One day my brain clicked and was like you should try to jog.
Amanda M: So I started at 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and now I can do a full 20 min with my mouth closed.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay. Girlfriend.
Amanda M: You know, and I mean, you know, coming from somebody who could barely move and tie their shoes to running for 20 min straight without breathing through their mouth or breaking. That's huge.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: What I'm getting at with this is my consistency, like, I am all in.
Amanda M: Yeah, if
Amanda M: anybody knows Amanda, they know consistency is next to it. Once I say that I'm all in, I want to do it.
Amanda M: There's there's nothing that's going to stop it. Once I make my mind up.
Amanda M: So then
Amanda M: you know, I start shedding weight, and I like I like it because I did it slowly but surely.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: And so then they came out with Monjaro. I was paying $1,100 a month. Then, when I was in Louisiana. I was like, you know what? Let me just Google. So then I realized that they had a compounded form of it called Terzepatide.
Amanda M: And so that was 300 a month. So I was like, yeah, I was like, I don't know what this is. I don't know who makes this, but you know what like. I don't even know what I'm shooting in my body now, right? And so I made the decision to switch to the compounded version.
Amanda M: and my my body responded even better
Amanda M: to the compounded medication. And so I've been taking the compounded medication for about 15 months. At this point.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: And that has. So that has led me into my Instagram journey solo in Seattle, and that is doing, traveling, eating by yourself events, adventures documenting my weight loss daily.
Amanda M: I do stories probably 4 days a week. If I don't have an event or an adventure of me just doing my little jogging, and that has spearheaded people being motivated to show up every day as well.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: And I get direct messages from people that I know people that I don't know. And they're like, How do you have so much energy. How are you always doing stuff? You're always busy. You don't sit down, you know, but everything in my life has a time slot.
Amanda M: And so I'm highly organized. Number one.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Ridiculously.
Amanda M: Yeah, ridiculously organized, like everything literally has a time slot in my life. And and everything is pretty methodical in the way that I present it
Amanda M: because I like alignment. I like energy. I like positivity, and I like putting things out there. And so, although I don't have this large
Amanda M: following yet right? I do get like 20,000 views in a month.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So let's talk about that, because this is something that I did not know. You mentioned that you have, like
Mia LaMotte (she/her): people would consider a low following right? How many people do you have following you on Instagram right now.
Amanda M: Like mid 500 s.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay?
Mia LaMotte (she/her): And with the mid 500 you have how many views a month, though you just said.
Amanda M: 2020,020 to 22,000.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): And this is right, and those views are the reasons why you get these brand deals. So let's talk about the brand deals.
Amanda M: Yes. So because I, for whatever reason, started doing these running stories like, I just do a 20 second
Amanda M: clip of me running on the treadmill.
Amanda M: I started getting emails from Glp one providers, and they're like, we like your organic content.
Amanda M: And we want to offer you gifted deals.
Amanda M: We'll give you 3 months supply of our glp, one medication
Amanda M: in lieu of you posting how you post.
Amanda M: So then I was like, well, if I can get this?
Amanda M: What else can I get.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right, right.
Amanda M: So most recently, I've been doing like videos of me meal prepping videos of me making smoothies. You know, just whatever I whatever's true to me, and what and what I use is my target market. I don't. I don't want to do pantyhose and things like that, or whatever the case is that's nonsensical unless they're like.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Really cute. But anyways right?
Amanda M: Yeah, you know, but, like most recently, which I thought was interesting, was, I tagged Ninja, the Blender Company.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yes.
Amanda M: And they've responded to every single video.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): I love that.
Amanda M: Out of millions of people that you could choose to interact with.
Amanda M: You responded to me. And they're always so encouraging. And they're like, you know, great recipe. Keep it going, etc, etc. And so I figure if I start tagging them every day, and I get familiar to them, then, eventually, that's going to lead to them, offering me a partnership.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Sure.
Amanda M: Because a lot of times these partnerships have come to me 1st through my email that I have on my bio. And they're like random, and they always seem to happen when
Amanda M: the 2 and a half month mark reaches with a supplier.
Amanda M: And so I started getting brand deals, probably
Amanda M: in the fall of last year. With this company with what this is my 3rd brand deal company that I've had in 90 days.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): This is awesome.
Amanda M: Yeah. And so it's it's been. It's been wild. So I'm like, Okay, well, everything that I paid for out of my pocket. I would like to see if I can get.
Amanda M: You know, something moving forward because I use these products. I use them daily. Matter of fact, the body health, perfect amino that you recommended to me. What 2 years ago, when I was on my 1st leg of my journey, like I did a video like that, I still based off of your recommendation? Right? I still use that protein vitamin. And I'm like, this is amazing. If you can't get your proteins in, because protein is so important to weight, loss.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh, my God, yes, I wish more people knew that like. Stop with that low, fat.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): fake stuff and go get you some daygum protein.
Amanda M: Yes, and you know I always giggle to myself because I'm like I didn't change my diet. I changed my portion size.
Amanda M: And through and through the glp. One medication. It has turned me completely off from most days of eating sugar, grazing any type of those things like, I actually reject fried food
Amanda M: like I.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Look at that! I'm.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah. And that's like half the battle, like people don't understand how addictive sugar is.
Amanda M: Yeah.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Like, it's as addictive as cocaine. And to have you know that the same receptor. Yeah.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): right? And to have that medication actually help you not have those cravings? It's amazing.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): I played around. I've went on and off the injection, and it has sustained.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: You know. So it's not like it's something that you know, I feel like I need anymore at this point, because I've lost almost 100 pounds guys.
Amanda M: you know, and it's
Amanda M: like for me, it's no longer a crutch, I feel like, because I've learned the tools.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right.
Amanda M: I've trained my brain essentially of being able to say I don't need to hold on to comfort food or things that I know, or even, you know.
Amanda M: don't waste your food concept.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh, God, yeah, that.
Amanda M: You know, and so, and like we're all ingrained as children. Right? Eat everything on your plate, or you know your auntie or your uncle, your mom, or your dad over serves you.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right hand you this pile of food, and you're expected to eat it, and it's like.
Amanda M: No.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Amanda M: You know. And so, you know, with this journey. It has also helped my mental health, you know, because.
Amanda M: you know, I hadn't always been pleasant, you know. I was always like I felt like I was like irritable, you know. I was always just angry, you know, and a lot of that had to do with like
Amanda M: environment, you know. A lot of that had to do with frustration circumstances, you know. And when I just kind of got over all of that, you know. I kind of resolved myself to saying, you know what I no longer want to be at unhealthy body weight, because I can't function.
Amanda M: you know, and then the co-occurring, you know, health things that were happening, the inflammation. I was getting hives, I was, you know, having hormonal situations, hair growth on my face. And that's another thing is like I can't. I can't mention certain things, but I've gotten a lot of beauty collabs as well.
Amanda M: Okay.
Amanda M: and I don't want to. I don't want to share, like, you know, partnerships and things like that, but a ton of different beauty collabs with different vendors and things like that. Because.
Amanda M: like this is, this is no makeup, you know, and it's like a palette. And people, you know
Amanda M: and I share kind of like I'm like, oh, my gosh! I have a goatee, you know, like my, you know my brows are like overgrown, and
Amanda M: all of those things. And somehow I got a following for beauty as well. And you know people are always like, Come, visit, you know. And I'm like, Okay.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It's really about you, like sharing authentically and being super transparent and.
Amanda M: Transparent.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): And this is how you build a brand right? And.
Amanda M: Yeah. And let me just also be transparent.
Amanda M: I don't have perfect lighting.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): I don't edit.
Amanda M: I literally like, do a series of videos. And I might like shorten them. Just so that way I catch your attention span. But I don't do the frills. I don't do any of that stuff. I don't. You know I don't.
Amanda M: We don't have fancy equipment.
Amanda M: I don't. I don't care.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Videographer Fo-, following you around.
Amanda M: Yeah, no, I mean, I just.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Professional photo shoots.
Amanda M: Yeah, you know. And I went, and I get invited. I do have the luxury, I will say.
Amanda M: of having a lot of high profile influencer buddies in the Seattle area.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Okay.
Amanda M: And I am coined as everyone's favorite plus one, because I always go.
Amanda M: You know.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yes, a lot.
Amanda M: Yes, you know, and it is selfish
Amanda M: for me, too, because I'm like, so I can create content.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Selfishness is underrated, you know.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, yeah.
Amanda M: And so, you know, they know they could call me like matter of fact, a friend of mine called me last night at 4 o'clock, and was like, Hey, I can't go to this reservation. Can you make it by 5?
Amanda M: And I was like, say less.
Amanda M: you know, and I did. I showed up, and I had a wonderful experience at a 5 Star Boutique Hotel last night, and everything was conked.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Well, let's talk about that. Let's talk about how you built the brand solo in Seattle, and how you're doing all of these things
Mia LaMotte (she/her): by yourself, like you're not waiting for your friends to be like. Oh, we can come, or whatever like you're going. And you're doing these things by yourself. Let's talk about that.
Amanda M: Yeah. Yeah. So solo in Seattle was born from the breakup.
Amanda M: Because I was in a relationship in Seattle
Amanda M: for 9 years. And it was a wonderful relationship like it was amicable. The breakup, you know? We just decided.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Good for you, good for you. I'm glad that happened that way, because everybody doesn't have that experience.
Amanda M: Right like him, and I sat down one day and we were like, Do you? Are we in love
Amanda M: or not?
Amanda M: Were like you're my homie? No, you know. And so, you know, in a gist right like I mean, there was very, very long conversations that were full of tears, and they were. It was emotional because it's like you built your life with somebody, and then you realize that.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Not really compatible. And it's you're not.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You're working. You're not fulfilled. Yeah.
Amanda M: Yeah, you know. And so I also realized I am social.
Amanda M: I forgot how social I was.
Amanda M: and when I let go of him, and that the world opened for me.
Amanda M: It was wild, so I had always had a partnership with Yelp
Amanda M: because I write a lot of food reviews, and I do a lot of food critic stuff, and I built. I built a brand with yelp. And so I always get invited to these events where you get hosted, and you get to eat and drink and be merry. And so I was like, you know what? I'm going to start my social media based off of that.
Amanda M: you know, and and not plugging yelp per se, but using the events to be able to create content.
Amanda M: That I showed up
Amanda M: by myself. I didn't wait. I didn't call a friend. I didn't say, Hey, do you want to go with me? I said. You know what
Amanda M: I like being by myself, like I really, truly.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Their own company.
Amanda M: And so I have no problem with sitting in a restaurant alone. Yeah, going? Get? Yeah? Like I, there's just something about the piece
Amanda M: of not having to talk to someone.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Yeah, you know, and I just
Amanda M: I don't know. And so, anyway. So I started. So I started doing the yelp stuff. And then I started meeting different people within that niche that were influencers
Amanda M: and my energy. It's a vibe, you know. Super positive.
Amanda M: I you know I'm always down
Amanda M: like if you're like, Hey, let's go here.
Amanda M: and so, anyways. So then I started hanging out in these Mega influencing circles, and I started being friends with friends of friends, and they were like, Hey, do you want to be my plus one? Yes.
Amanda M: hey? I have this event that I can't make it to. Can you stand in for me? Absolutely, you know. And so that's how I built my name in the city of Seattle, kind of as your go-to girl.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: You know, and and a lot of people. You know.
Amanda M: I'm not gonna say know who I am per se, because I'm like, not like
Amanda M: a celebrity or whatever, but people like
Amanda M: like. For example, I went to a random nail shop the other day, and me and the Nail Tech followed each other, and she's like, Oh, my gosh! My daughter follows you, and I was like what I was like. That's
Amanda M: like, that's cool. Who's your, you know, and then I was like, Who's your daughter? And I was like, I don't know her daughters, but you know anyways right like, but I also have built mutuals and mutuals right? And in these circles have come full circle, and they're like we can trust her because we know she's authentic. Amanda's not going to play with you. Amanda's not, gonna you know, hype something up that is not something that she's gonna do. I've been like that my whole life.
Amanda M: like, you know I am a trusted source
Amanda M: when you come to me like I'm not about to just go along
Amanda M: with anything which kind of leads to your, you know, brand disruptor right? Because I will push back. I will buck a system. I will stand up. I will speak up, you know, like we went to this High End restaurant. It was all of these like influencer gals, right? And I mean, I'm talking about 60, 70, 80,000 followers right? And we were at a brunch
Amanda M: and the host is someone who is like celebrity status, basically. And she
Amanda M: was upset at how everything kind of was arranged, but she didn't want to speak up.
Amanda M: I was like, girl, I got you give me that receipt
Amanda M: like this is not gonna work, because
Amanda M: the business that will catapult. After this event.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Absolutely.
Amanda M: Word of mouth.
Amanda M: And I got a big mouth. Yeah.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You know it's so much.
Amanda M: Far important.
Amanda M: Then these attached fees and random things that you try to slide in here
Amanda M: on this receipt. So I'm gonna need you to remove all of that and fix this.
Amanda M: and she was just like taken aback.
Amanda M: I was like calling shots. I was like, - where's the DM,
Amanda M: I was like, not you manager.
Amanda M: get someone who knows how to manage this.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right? Because.
Amanda M: We need some. We need some damage control here.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: You know. And so, anyway. So you know, just me stepping in for her, standing up for her, you know, just saying it's okay for you to not agree with something, but you do it in a way that's not, like, you know, abusive to relationships. Right? You approach it. You approach it in a way with with, you know, class and grace, and you get your point across.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Right.
Amanda M: Know, and I mean I.
Amanda M: I am a master, a master at
Amanda M: eloquent speaking, and letting you know.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, getting getting you told. But you don't even know that you've.
Amanda M: You don't even know, you know, because one thing about me is I laugh.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: You know, and and it's not laughing at you.
Amanda M: It's just. It's amusing to me, like, you know.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Well, let's talk about the other stuff that you do. Solo you
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You've been doing some solo travel.
Amanda M: I did so I waited till my son turned 18, and I went to Jamaica for 10 days.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You went without him.
Amanda M: I did.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So tell me about that international travel. There's nothing like it. 1st of all, there's nothing like international travel, but when you do it alone.
Amanda M: Yes, so.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So liberating about that.
Amanda M: There is. So I got a call from a long time. Friend of mine.
Amanda M: March, of 2023, and she was like, Do you want to go to Jamaica?
Amanda M: And I was like, yeah.
Amanda M: So 3 weeks later, I am in Jamaica.
Amanda M: I didn't know that you're supposed to
Amanda M: like, do something with your cell phone service right to where you could have
Amanda M: cell phone service. So I'm in another country. The only time I could use my phone is on Wi-fi.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh no!
Amanda M: 1st mistake.
Amanda M: Second mistake is I stared at. I stayed in an airbnb in. Where did I go?
Amanda M: Ocho!
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Ocho, rios. Okay.
Amanda M: Yes, yes, and I stayed in what was considered a
Amanda M: what do they call it? A gated community? Basically a country club is what they call it.
Amanda M: It's not.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It's Jamaica. But yeah,
Amanda M: But not like American country like the houses were nice, right for Jamaica. However, they bamboozle you because it's like a gated community which is like armed security.
Amanda M: I didn't have cell phone service, so I'm supposed to call the host and let her know every time I'm coming in and out.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yep. Yep.
Amanda M: You know, and but I can't. So me and the host end up getting into it because I'm like yo.
Amanda M: I don't know what I'm doing here. This is my, this is literally my 1st time I've been out of the country, you know, and you are not being
Amanda M: compliant with 90% of this contract. So I ended up staying in
Amanda M: this place. And then I hired a driver because I was like, I don't. I don't know where I'm at. I don't know what I'm doing.
Amanda M: And I booked like 15 excursions over 10 days.
Amanda M: Okay? So I had a price.
Amanda M: a driver which doubled as security
Amanda M: cause. That's what they do over there, and he like took me
Amanda M: around the whole ocho! And it was crazy. I zip lined. I went on boat tours. I went on food tours. I tried everything. I had local beer, I had oxtail I had for breakfast, and I was like what, and I had also hired a private chef, and so, because I was like, I
Amanda M: I don't know like they have Kfc. There, but.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): What I'm doing out here. So let me let me just be safe.
Amanda M: Yes, so like I. I had, like the whole itinerary. I had my place to stay. I had a driver, I had a private chef. I had all these tours booked, you know, and so. But I didn't have cell phone service because I didn't know that you're supposed to have an international plan. So that was mistake number one.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): For sure.
Amanda M: And then I went. For 10 days, had the time of my life.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Good. I'm so.
Amanda M: It was so beautiful and and you know, was I scared? I wasn't wasn't scared.
Amanda M: I was just cautious, yeah, you know, but I think that I had put in those extra layer of protections, of feeling safe.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Or what I thought as an American would be safe. Yeah, because you don't really know what you're getting into specifically in Jamaica.
Amanda M: But it ended up being
Amanda M: amazing. I'm here. So I made it and then last year one of my cousins, one of my favorite cousins text me and was like, Hey, do you want to go to Thailand?
Amanda M: And I was like, Yes.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Find out!
Amanda M: Yes, and so they actually are in Louisiana, and I'm in Washington. So I flew 15 h by myself to Thailand.
Amanda M: and we ended up meeting in the airport by chance.
Amanda M: Oh, wow.
Amanda M: yeah. And so we had an itinerary. We stayed there for 10 days as well. Some of the stuff we did together some of the stuff we did separately, but same thing. We stayed in luxury resort. We had a guided tour, we did every excursion imaginable. It was just so beautiful. I will say
Amanda M: Thailand was the pivot of my life.
Amanda M: like I don't know if it was being in the temples, and just reaching that solace of saying, You know what, Amanda, you made it
Amanda M: like. Girl you are. Gonna be okay.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Because the trials, the tribulations, the naysayers.
Amanda M: Well, I'm not gonna say naysayers, but the people in your circle, your family.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): The question.
Amanda M: That. Yes, that don't really understand, because they've never had the opportunity to take a leap, a leap of faith right
Amanda M: that are just
Amanda M: talking out of fear, right, you know, even from like when I 1st started my my reselling business, you know. That's rude of you to post what you get it for and sell it, for it's no different than a major corporation.
Amanda M: You think Walmart gets it for what you pay, and they're just breaking even.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: Like get out of here, you know, or you know, and I got a lot of flack of like, oh, how's your little business doing. I was like, how's your little income coming in, you know, like.
Amanda M: anyways, the transparency of it all right. But when I was in Thailand
Amanda M: I was like. You know what, Amanda, your heart is pure, your soul is golden.
Amanda M: You're ready.
Amanda M: You're ready to just be okay.
Amanda M: you know. And I was probably 6 months into the breakup, crying every day.
Amanda M: oh, actually, I went on a cruise. I forgot
Amanda M: the week of the week of my breakup I went to Alaska with the same favorite cousin.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): That's awesome. I love that.
Amanda M: Yeah. So I forgot about Alaska. So I went to Jamaica in 2023 of March in 2023. And then I went on a 7 day cruise to Alaska, and I brought my son on that one and we and that was during the breakup. That's when I realized, like I had come back from taking care of my dad. In July 23 went to Alaska in August of 23 came home, had the hard conversation. He moved out. A week later.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Hmm.
Amanda M: All. August of 2023. So then fast forward to march of 2024, we I go to Thailand for 10 days solo.
Amanda M: and being able to just navigate travel airports.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Absolutely.
Amanda M: Customs.
Amanda M: Different languages. There's just something about it that like, if you can manage that, and you can do that, you you are doing good.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You know.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, like you also left home and started over twice.
Amanda M: Twice.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): In 2 new cities. You've done the solo travel. You've opened up these businesses, and it's really about just stepping out into those thing is stepping out into the unknown.
Amanda M: Yes.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): 7 out into the unknown. So what's like? What? What has been your biggest lesson in all of this.
Amanda M: Not to be so trusting.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Oh, trusting of others.
Amanda M: Trusting of others, trusting of what you think is a process you have to vet yourself
Amanda M: and your business and your plans.
Amanda M: There's so much stuff that's out there that is misleading and misaligning, and
Amanda M: my biggest takeaway is, I think I do so well because I believe in it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, absolutely. You got it.
Amanda M: And then if you believe in it, and you see the vision, and you figure out how to kind of navigate that vision.
Amanda M: You're gonna you're gonna do just fine, because it's your level of commitment.
Amanda M: Where I kind of fell short and have learned from is taking advice
Amanda M: from others on social media and watching countless videos and things like that. What I like to do is I like to look at brands
Amanda M: that are of value, you know long standing
Amanda M: brand loyalty brands, and like. For example, I watched how Nordstrom was built.
Amanda M: And I aligned my business with. I would like to have the same simple classic aesthetic as this. This is how they do their flat lays. This is how they model their stuff. This is how they market. And so I would just kind of research that way versus watching somebody who's digging in the same trash bin as me, and listing.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, yeah.
Amanda M: And so you know, just being
Amanda M: being careful on who you trust.
Amanda M: who you take advice from.
Amanda M: and who you give information to.
Amanda M: because everybody is not for you.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Absolutely not.
Amanda M: You know. And me just being kind of like, go with the flow. Yeah. You know, I'm just doing this for fun.
Amanda M: You know, I had the flexibility of not taking loss.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Sure.
Amanda M: Because I had no capital investment.
Amanda M: What I made is what I returned, and then I started doubling that right. And so I built my business with 0 capital every single time.
Amanda M: You know, I used what I earned and rolled that into my businesses and then built on that.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So you kept reinvesting whatever you made. You just kept reinvesting, reinvesting, reinvest, and a lot of people don't do that
Mia LaMotte (she/her): right.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, they try to take some money from the business.
Amanda M: Right. And so for me. Because I am a single mother like I have to be very mindful of my spending. Yeah, like I can take a risk.
Amanda M: But it's gonna be like really small until I see the return on investment.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: And then, if I can see the return on investment, I have the finesse.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah.
Amanda M: I can make it work.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Chat.
Amanda M: You know. But yeah, I I you know that's 1 thing that I didn't get into was business debt.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, well, we can. We can quickly get into business dead. And and you can tell the folks like
Mia LaMotte (she/her): your philosophy on that.
Amanda M: You know for me it's personal choice, right? If you borrow.
Amanda M: make sure you don't over borrow, take what you need and take what you can return back in 60 to 90 days. If you can't see that in 60 to 90 days returning, don't do it because it's like college, like everybody knows when you went to college and you were given student loans. They asked you if you wanted to borrow the Max.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): You borrowed that.
Amanda M: Some people did. And now we have people who have 6 figure student, loan, debt.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, right, yeah.
Amanda M: You know. But anyways it's all about what you can manage and how fast you can get your return. That's that's a business.
Amanda M: you know, and and that's that's just kind of my my, take on it.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): So how do the people get to follow you? Where are you on Instagram? What's your what's your handle? And for both like the solo part, and the and for the thrifting part.
Amanda M: Yeah. So Instagram is going to be solo. SOLO. Underscore in Seattle. And then there's thrifty 2 0. 6,
Amanda M: and Instagram is my front runner. I actually deleted the Tiktok app. So I don't have access to it anymore, because you can't redownload it.
Amanda M: So so yeah, so Instagram is.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Is it.
Amanda M: Where I land.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah, thank you so much for coming today. This has been so interesting.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): It's a good conversation, too.
Amanda M: I mean, anytime. I love talking to others, interacting with others, you know.
Amanda M: talking about all of all of the good stuff, right? How we travel through our lives and and land where we're at.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Yeah. Might have you do some other stuff, too. So, thanks for coming, I appreciate it.
Amanda M: Okay, thanks for the invite.
Mia LaMotte (she/her): Absolutely.
Amanda M: Alright, bye.
