Today we’d like to introduce you to Teia Blackshear Collier.
Teia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story. Well, I’m the daughter of educators that took a roundabout path and ended up finding another outlet for teaching. Looking back, I can see that I’ve always been a teacher. I’m the eldest of five and have always had my hands in one project or five. I decided to start blogging after I had just had my daughter, Zenora. I started writing about the things that we were doing, places we had discovered, cool people that crossed our path, random tidbits of life and reviewing the stuff that I had bought. That turned into a blog and concierge service, Capitol Moms, back in 2006 that ended up getting from front page coverage on the Washington Post due to a story about how my concierge service had fast become a resource for busy parents in the Beltway. Fast forward some time, I kept blogging while working for a school system and launched a couple more sites, had my Solomon and experimented with different fields because I believe every woman should have a side hustle or two. While there, I got a taste for civic engagement, and the bug for it and blogging never left.
When the time came to get divorced, I went back to my strengths, decided to come home to Texas to raise my children and was determined to create a new chapter. I came back to as a corporate wellness coach and City Editor of the national digital lifestyle magazine, Ask Miss A, due to the help of another fabulous woman, Andrea Rogers, that was leading the charge to change the world in her own way. We reached more than a million readers monthly by covering the intersection of charity and lifestyle much to my delight. It gave me the chance to see what news could be if we wanted it to be. I learned that news and influence could be something fun, life-affirming and beautiful. I also learned that we can do so much good with our words. It also landed me squarely in the middle of many of my loves and introduced me to many lifelong friends.
I had my son, Noah, prematurely, and my life once again changed. I learned a lot about the healthcare system, getting plugged into my community, why community engagement matters and how important using my voice is. All the pieces were exactly what I needed at that time, though if you had told me then, I wouldn’t have believed it.
My story at Dallas Single Mom began when I crossed paths with Heather Buen, the founder of Dallas Single Mom, almost five years ago. I freelanced and co-wrote several pieces. Then, when Heather got engaged, she decided to pursue other endeavors, reached out and I took the opportunity and ran with it. It is still growing, but my vision for Dallas Single Mom is to shape a vibrant framework that connects parents to the awesome in their lives by opening doors to the resources, services and experiences that exist. The ultimate goal is to change the conversation about the role, lives, and gifts of being a single parent with more of a focus on where you are going and what are you doing now rather than where you have been.
Of course, my hands are in more than one pie. They have always been. I’m writing my first book and am active in my local community, historic preservation, community planning, and education are hot buttons of mine. I find myself giving into them more and more. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Has it been a smooth road?
I’m not sure any road is ever an entirely smooth road. I’m also not sure that I would want it to be. I probably wouldn’t trust it. There are always adventures, pitfalls and some really fabulous highs.
I would say – count your blessings and decide what you want to do immediately next. Don’t be afraid to be and do more than one thing. You can be mom + ________. You get to decide whatever will be on that line.
Believe in yourself and your dream, but be willing to pivot, seek the advice and talents of experts and reshape that dream if needed.
For instance, Dallas Single Mom has been a blessing and a massive learning curve from the jump. Site migration, learning how to trust myself, learning to love the chapter that I am in, figuring out how to prioritize my time, deciding what to makes sense to be outsourced and navigating the dance of public versus private life. It’s been a journey that I am thankful for.
My best advice is: be true to yourself and recognize that exactly what you are is exactly what someone else, namely your audience, needs and is looking for. As for those starting a blog — pick a problem and find the answer or find people that know the answer and share the wisdom — that will be your framework and lens to operate from.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
My work! I’ve been all over the place, picked up a couple of degrees and certifications along the way — thank goodness — If I’ve learned anything, is that you can do anything and attitude is 90% of the process. Work is what you make it, try to have a good time and make all your numbers line up.
At Dallas Single Mom, I wear a lot of hats. Some are more glamorous than others, but I am most proud of serving as a Connector. I connect parents with the products, services, resources, stories, and community to help them live their best lives right now. Our website and growing facebook community serve as access points for information, but we also offer individualized lifestyle management services and host small events to help meet the needs of the community that we serve.
What am I known for? Hopefully, being positive, helpful, creative and resourceful. Because of my background, I believe that absolutely anything is possible and that impossible is quite frankly irrelevant. It boils down to, “Are you willing to do the work and help some people along the way?” If yes, then go do it.
What am I most proud of? My children and the story that is being created with my life and theirs. I am a walking living breathing testament to what God can do with a person and in life. I firmly believe that we were sent here to change the world in the day to day and simply because we are here and where we chose to be and the connections that we forge and communities we create. I’ve been blessed enough to see many of my pet projects go from dream to life and am looking forward to seeing the ones that come next — I’ve got a pretty journal full of ideas — we’ve got so much more to do.
What sets me apart? I’m me. I’m a dreamer and a doer. I’m also a black, single mom in Dallas that has had the privilege of working with some of the most amazing personalities and companies on the planet. It’s a good life.
We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
Barriers?
Women need to stand up, say ‘yes’ to leadership, support each other in the process and recognize that we are natural leaders alongside our male counterparts. Some of the barriers to leadership are self-inflicted and that “woman-to-woman kneecapping” happens when we judge and create these unattainable standards for other women that would never be created for men. I also believe that outdated mindsets and traditional modes of operating must be set aside.
As far as blogging and social journalism are concerned, women are heavily represented, but in traditional media and mainstream media, women still constantly and consistently have to prove their worth, their validity, their ability to maintain work-life balance and they prove their ability to lead. This is an outdated concept whose time has come and gone.
Today, women are leading households, managing companies, shaping communities and are in charge of their own destinies, it is time that our infrastructure, political framework, communities, and social constructs represent this as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://dallassinglemom.com
- Phone: 4695092815
- Email: teiacollier@dallassinglemom.
com - Instagram: instagram.com/teiacollier
- Facebook: facebook.com/
DallasSingleParents - Twitter: twitter.com/DFWSingleMom
Image Credit:
Devon Tabor Photography, Teia Collier
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