I frequently cold email people and, when I’m lucky, cold emails turn into friendships. I stumbled across Mavenly and Co a few years ago and read dozens of their articles in one sitting. I noticed that they frequently posted articles by Reese Evans of Yes Supply Co and I quickly fell down a similar rabbit hole reading article after article. Two of my mottos have always been be collaborative, not competitive, and surround yourself with positive people. I cold emailed Kate Gremillion from Mavenly and Reese from Yes Supply and became instant friends. I even connected them to Emily Merrell of Six Degrees Society and it’s been so much fun to see them collaborate often! All this to say, surround yourself with like-minded people who care about your success and will be a cheerleader for you (and vice versa)! And also, read Reese’s story and advice.
What inspired you to start Yes Supply?
There are so many experiences in my life that intersected to bring me to the point where I knew I had to create yes supply.
I came up with the idea for Yes Sfupply when I was working in a job where I absolutely could not go another day. The company seemed to feel like their employees were nothing more than a number. I could not go another day doing the same repetitive thing, feeling undervalued and overworked, and knowing that my creativity was flowing down the drain.
After years of job hunting and not finding a way out, and months of being in tears whilst getting ready for work there was one particularly awful day where I knew enough was enough.
After a shift that ended at 3 am, where the company would not even spring for cabs to ensure their staff got home safely, I questioned who I was doing all this for.
The next day I had an epiphany moment “If no one was going to give me the opportunity I wanted, I had to create my own”
I remember saying “If I can’t find a job I want, I’ll create it” and with that, I started scribbling down all the things I enjoyed doing, that I never got to do in my daily routine. Writing, women’s empowerment, blogging, drawing, taking pictures, and technology.
It was in that brainstorming session that I came up with my original idea for Yes Supply.
Looking back, I realize that a rut isn’t always a bad thing. I needed to be in that rut to put me in a state of mind where I made my Plan A my only option, and all the other plans and excuses obsolete.
I thought back to my past experiences and the people in my life who wanted to create something more but didn’t know where to start. There needed to be a place that was focused on helping women who had come to a point in their life where they knew they needed a big change, but didn’t know how to take their first steps, and didn’t know if success and living a life they’re obsessed with was possible for them.
The Yes Supply collective is full of motivation and inspiration needed to create the mindset and confidence needed to build a life of yes, plus real actionable business advice and tools to take the steps to make it happen.
There are so many areas of my personal experiences that intersected to make Yes Supply the way it is, but I know that even if you have all the strategies to create a successful business if you don’t have the right mindset, and you are trapped in negative self-talk, you won’t be able to push forward and put everything you have learned into action.
I aim to help women become their most empowered selves, as well as give them the tools straight from inspiring female mentors who have done it, to help them create the steps to success. I remember years ago, I really wanted to be a fashion stylist. I spent hours scouring the internet looking for real advice from people who had done it, and I came up with nothing. When I did find interviews, they were from successful women whose only advice they had to share on landing a dream career was “I just fell into this job.” I knew there had to be more to it, and I wanted to create a way for women who were just starting out on their journey to get actionable advice to help them find their way.
I think I had a lot of things driving me to start Yes Supply. It was something I really needed to do and now that I’m doing it, I realize that it’s more than an online business or a platform, it aligns with my life’s purpose.
What is Yes Supply’s mission and how do you achieve it?
Yes Supply’s mission is to empower females to only take yes for an answer in life and business. I realized that there’s more to helping women live their best life than just giving them business advice, or just motivation and mindset. We combine both because while you’re an entrepreneur you’re still a human too with fears, doubts, worries and sometimes negative self-talk. It’s important to have the community and inspiration from people who had already created their yes, combined with actionable tools to help them get there.
What were the first logistical steps you took to start a business?
I wouldn’t say my start to Yes Supply was the most logistical. It was a passion project that ended up with a happily ever after. A passion project that I now am lucky enough to do full time, and help other women do the same and take their own passions full time.
I started Yes Supply as a blog. In fact, it even had a different name and had a completely different platform and feel than it does now- but the mission and purpose stayed the same. I started Yes Supply by interviewing women who had created their yes in life and getting them to share their secrets, their strategies, their tips, and most importantly the obstacles that they had to overcome to get there.
One important aspect that I was trying to combat when I started yes supply was the fact that a lot of successful people gloss over the obstacles and struggle of entrepreneurship and when interviewed end up responding to questions about how they created their dream job with answers like “I just fell into this job.”
For someone who is just starting out who has little resources, little time, and no network to hear that somebody with their dream job had it just fall into their lap doesn’t give them any real tools to get there, and doesn’t prepare them for the fact that you’re sure to hit many road bumps on the journey to becoming an entrepreneur.
It makes budding entrepreneurs feel like the first time they hit an obstacle they should give up. That’s just not true. In fact, I believe that the obstacles are put there to help the people who really want it push through and learn important lessons along the way. If it was easy everyone would do it.
As I interviewed more and more people who had created their yes in life my sneaking suspicion was proved true. Most people who accomplish their goals are just the same as every single girl who follows Yes Supply. The main difference is that when an obstacle or a struggle pops up instead of giving up or backing down they push forward stronger and they have an unwavering tenacity. They get things done no matter what the cost. When that message is shared it helps more people who want to start off on a path to a fulfilling life realize that you have the power to create whatever you want in life. It helps people realize that if they want it, they can have it. Of course, it takes work, but that makes it more worth it in the end.
It doesn’t matter your background, your education level, all your resources. When you have that vision in mind don’t take your eyes off the goal and you will find a way to make it work. I did.
After I had been running Yes Supply for a few months as a blog I was lucky enough to have built a really amazing loyal following of ambitious creative women. I was so in love with everything that I was doing, and the impact I was having on women, that I knew I had to find a way that I could do it all the time.
The impact I was having on people was apparent and I felt like by splitting my time between a job and Yes Supply I was not able to give everything I wanted to my community and the women who needed it. So I decided on a plan to monetize my first product that I sold was a social media calendar. I thought that helping women with their social media would be a great place to start. To this day I still help women with their social media and although the calendars were great at that point I hadn’t found a sustainable way to sell them and bring in enough income
At this point, I had a lot of people asking how I got so much done while balancing a full-time job, and how I had created Yes Supply so quickly. It all came down to my personal morning ritual and starting my day with intention. I used to wake up being SO negative to myself “I hate my hair” “I don’t have anything to wear.”
I didn’t realize how toxic that was until I changed my morning routine and opted to set morning intentions and goals rather than scroll through social media. My entire life changed when I focused on where I wanted to go, instead of starting my day in comparison mode on social media.
Since I had so many people asking about it, I had this idea to start sharing the morning ritual that kept me focused and on track, so I started sharing it with a subscription service, my Good Morning Beautiful daily morning email. I remember not being sure if anyone would like it or be receptive to it. I knew my morning ritual had MAJORLY helped me stay focused, but I was shy about it and wasn’t sure if anyone else would be interested or see the value in it.
But then on the first day, I put up my promotion page for the daily morning emails, YES mornings, someone actually made a purchase! I hadn’t even sent any traffic to that page but somehow someone had found it and made a purchase. It’s just one of those times when the universe sends you a signal that you’re on the right path. For a few weeks, I was writing emails for only one person, that first client.
It seems crazy and it was a lot of work but before long I had more people signed up for the Good Morning Beautiful emails and they were loving them. They were reading them every morning and sharing with me their experiences that they were having from waking up positively instead of just checking social media.
I’ve now created the “Take back your mornings” campaign, where any woman who wants to improve her morning routine and start a ritual where she is focused on her goals can sign up for a month of good mornings. The link to the free month of good morning is here: www.yessupply.co/goodmorningbeautiful.
Before long the good morning beautiful emails transitioned into the collective so I could create trainings and content on all the other questions that women had for me on boosting their mindset, feeling empowered, and even growing their own blogs and online presence.
I created the collective as a place where I could offer mentorship and also bring in other mentors who could help lead women on their way to the Yes Supply life. Yes Supply Collective is the only place that I know where you can get access to mentorship from successful women that will actually push you and give you the strategies that you need to succeed.
Every month, we have a new exciting masterclass on a different area of starting a business from your passions and we let the women in the community ask the real questions that they have – it’s proving to be a big success. Women are so much stronger when we stand together, and the collective connects ambitious women to the successful women who they look up to so they can receive real-time coaching and mentorship to create their dream lives.
What is a day as Reese like? Please walk me through a day!
A day in the life of Reese always starts with opening up my good morning beautiful email and doing my morning ritual. For most women, we wake up and the first thing that we do is check social media. When I was in one of the lowest points in my life I realized that waking up and checking Instagram was doing damage on my mindset and psychology. And that was creating a lack of focus in more areas of my life. I was starting a day looking at people who seem to have a perfect life and feeling like my life was inadequate.
Every morning a Good Morning Beautiful email with my daily ritual will include:
- A positive quote to help me get in the right mindset to take on my day
- A visualization, meditation, yoga pose,
- Add journaling exercise like a gratitude list, an accomplishment list, eternally exercise, a list of reasons to be happy, or a plan or recap of the week
- A reminder to set my intention or goal for the day
- Morning Mantra – affirmation that I say to myself to practice positive self-talk
- Improve my life, step outside my comfort zone, challenge me or make a positive impact in someone’s life
Once my Good Morning Beautiful routine is done. I’m ready to start my day.
After that, most days I will head to the gym to get in my workout. I’ve realized that when I start my day with a gym session I’m more focused, motivated, and energized.
What tips do you have for other people who want to turn their side hustles into full-time jobs?
I’ve done the side hustle while managing a new business and it is a lot.
If you’re preparing for your side hustle, be prepared for some late nights, early mornings, and working on your lunch break. Be prepared to go a little crazy sometimes because you’re finishing that report at your job, but all you can think about is your business. But if you really want it. Don’t give up. There were times I felt confused, lost, but I always tried to bring myself back to why I was doing this and it made it all worth it.
Another thing you need to do is prioritize. When you are side hustling, you have to do the job of a full-time entrepreneur in a quarter of the time. That means if you don’t have good time management skills, it’s important to learn how to prioritize your time, and ensure you’re not getting sucked into doing busy work. Every moment matters when you’re side hustling.
It’s not hard. First look at all of the projects you need to run your business. Look at everything you do and then break down what tasks will have the biggest impact. You need to focus on what brings the most impact into your business if you want to get it off the ground. That means if you’re selling a product and you know that you make 10 times more sales on Facebook than on Instagram then it means that you have to dedicate more time to Facebook until you can get your business off the ground.
Once you quit your job that opens up more free time and then you can dedicate more time to the other things that you want to get done. But while your side hustling you really have to be strict be disciplined and stay focus on what makes the most impact.
A great thing to learn early is how to delegate. In my business, Yes Supply, I found that I had a lot of tasks that were quite time-consuming but repetitive. Again I realized that as someone who was side hustling I only had a finite amount of time so I had to find unique and creative ways to create more time in my life and for me, that was hiring a virtual assistant.
While I was at work making the income to fuel my passion project, I had a virtual assistant who was doing the tasks that I was unable to do. That meant scheduling and formatting blog posts, scheduling pre-created social media posts, scheduling emails, and other behind-the-scenes tasks that would usually take up a lot of time period. I share exactly how to do this in some of my Yes Supply courses. If you want to get your business off the ground you need to think outside the box of how you can create more time and more money so that you can get to your end goal.
Look to women who you admire, and see how they have created success in their lives and business. They’ll often have the keys to how to be successful too. Definitely look for mentors wherever you can who can help you and support you on your way to your goals.
Most importantly, never give up. This is your life, and you owe it to yourself to go after what you want, and make your dream a reality,
What has been the proudest moment from your career so far?
I have a few, and they all involve the women who Yes Supply has helped.
The first time I received a message from a new entrepreneur saying that what I’ve created has changed her life was a super proud moment for me. I had to fight so many inner demons to get the confidence to put myself out there and go after what I wanted to create. But when I get messages like that, it shows how important it is to stretch outside of your comfort zone, and that it’s always worth it. Also, reading testimonials from women who have been reading my daily morning ritual emails, Good Morning Beautiful, and how it’s helped them take charge of their lives, and go after what they really want. And lastly, just last week, at a public speaking event I did for a women’s charity. There was a girl who stood up at the end of my talk to share her story. She had been plagued with acne and searched for years for a solution. Finally, she decided to use her background in nutrition and science to formulate her own solution- and it worked. This girl has beautiful skin.
She shared with the packed room of women that after she had created her skincare, she was plagued with self-doubt, thinking thoughts that it had already been done, that no one else would like it, and faced the fear that she would fall flat on her face.
She said that she discovered Yes Supply, and it gave her the bravery to share her work and go on to help other people. At the time of the event, her line was four months old, and she was already selling it in four stores. It’s an incredible feeling to know that because I shared my story, and followed my heart, I’ve inspired women to change their own lives and ask for the own yes. There’s really no better feeling.
Because I was brave enough to fight through my shyness, a background of extremely low self-worth, eating disorders, going through traumatic teenage with my mom fighting cancer, and an abusive relationship I overcame a huge lack of confidence to create my dream life. I’ve created an example for other women to do the same no matter what their circumstances. It wasn’t always easy, but I felt so compelled to create something that I wish existed when I was growing up.
What have you learned about yourself since founding Yes Supply?
One big thing that I’ve learned about myself since I’ve founded and Yes Supply is that I’m not as much of an introvert as I thought it was.
I’ve struggled with serious self-confidence issues ever since I was a teenager. I struggled with unhealthy eating habits trying to meet the standards of what the fashion industry tries to make us think beautiful is, to debilitating confidence issues that affected me in social situations.
But now after running this business for a year, I find myself so much more confident to talk to people, to meet new people, and to feel powerful enough to share my advice and feedback with those around me. I’m starting to realize that maybe I’m not as much of an introvert as I thought I was, but instead my self-confidence was so low that I used to keep to myself because it felt safer. I think a big thing that helped me was a mixture of starting something that was so close to my heart and having people outside just my friends and family understand it, love it, support it, and actually be inspired by it.
Also after a year of daily positive affirmations through my daily good morning beautiful emails, my brain has started to rewire in a different way. Positive affirmations have the power to help you resort to positive thoughts, rather than the typical negative ones that often hold us back. I never used to understand the power of mindset, but now I realize that when you have the right mindset, you can get out of your own way and stop holding yourself back.
The things that used to affect me and make me listen to the negative voices in my head that told me I wasn’t good enough vanished and without them, I now live a happier life. I think clearer and have the motivation to make my ideas and dreams a reality without facing the regular self-doubt that plagues so many women. That’s why I share my morning rituals because I truly want to help more women do the same, and believe that they can live the life they want.
What has been the biggest challenge and, on the flip side, the biggest reward of starting Yes Supply?
The biggest challenge is knowing where to learn what I need to know to do next. When you’re first starting out on a new business, there is so much information out there, and you can get everything you need to grow. But once you reach a certain level, good quality education is really hard to come by.
You get to a point where you need a mentor or help. I’m so lucky that my business bestie is one of the most inspiring people I know. She’s a go-getter and I learn so much from her. I’m always looking for people who I can learn from, and I’m always investing in myself to get the best knowledge so I can make sure I’m creating something amazing for the members of my community.
The biggest reward is seeing the women in the Collective succeed and go from having a hazy business idea to quitting their jobs and making their dream business full time. Every time one of the women I’m coaching reaches a new height in her business, or when girls in the collective tell me that they’ve learned so much that they’re quitting their jobs that they hate to run their own businesses that help them live their life to the fullest I know I’m reaching my potential and making the impact I’m meant to make.
When people email me to tell me that the Good Morning Beautiful emails are changing their life, helping their confidence, helping them overcome depression, or getting the focus and self-worth needed to look inwards for the answers, instead of outwards, I just feel so happy that I took a leap and followed my intuition.
A thought that kept me motivated when I was first starting Yes Supply was the thought that maybe sharing my own story could help one person. Now we’ve helped thousands, and my goal is to help a million women around the world.
What is the most important characteristic for entrepreneurs to have?
I think vision and the lack of a need for external validation. Here’s why. When you first start on a project, you might feel excited to share it with your friends, or family members But at the beginning, there’s not a high chance that they’ll ‘get it’. It’s really important to remember that when you first start your new business or project the only person who will have the vision as you. In the beginning, don’t worry so much if everyone else understands or gets your idea. As long as it’s something that you’re passionate about and you keep putting work and energy into it eventually a fire will spread.
My first customer of the Good Morning Beautiful emails was in Australia. I didn’t wait for the people around me to understand what I was doing or why I was doing it. I just put what I wanted to create out there what I thought was going to make a positive impact and luckily because I put it out there, the right person found it, and ‘boom’ I had a viable product.
What is one thing that you wish you had known when you were starting out your career?
That people are so much kinder and generous than you expect.
I’m always in awe of how many people have gone out of their way to help me grow Yes Supply to where it is. People taking time out of their day to introduce me to someone I should meet, my dear tech friends who literally helps me every single time something weird is happening with my site and I don’t know what to do. The amazing contributors on the site who are so smart and accomplished and literally pour their hearts (and amazing advice) into every single article because they’re just as passionate about empowering women and helping them achieve their goals as I am.
And my amazing community. They support, tell their friends about Yes Supply, share our posts. They’re so incredible. They’re why I feel confident calling Yes Supply a collective. It’s as true as the definition of collective as you can get. They’re a group of women who are after the support, empowerment, and uplifting of females as a whole. I see them going out of their way every single day in our community to lend a hand, give advice, share tips, or even just give encouragement when someone is having a down day.
I have this thing with asking for help. I’m not good at asking for help. I usually feel bad so I don’t ask. But in this journey, I’ve learned that when you ask for help, people really want to help and support you as best they can. It makes sense when you bring it all together- I go out of my way all the time to help the people in my life, but for some reason for the longest time I never saw why anyone would want to help me.
But I’m so lucky that I have amazing people in my life that want to help, support, and believe in the mission of Yes Supply.
What is on your desk right now?
My candles from Diptyque. My Canon camera. My cute cacti plant. My bando notebook. And probably about 50 Post-its with scribbles about stuff I want to share with my community on Instagram or write about.
I find I come up with my best ideas when I’m not in front of a screen. A lot of my ideas come to me if I’m just doing my hair in the morning, or hanging up laundry. I keep post-it notes on me like my artillery, I don’t want to let a good idea or story to share get away.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
The secret to getting ahead is getting started. I printed out this quote that the talented Jasmine Dowling hand wrote and had it around me while I was building up the courage to start yes supply, and creating my first few posts.
I’m so glad I had it. It was a daily reminder that it didn’t have to be perfect, I just had to get started and see where it took me. I think it’s important to remember that it’s as much about the journey as where you plan on ending up.
Time is going to pass anyway, might as well work on something you’re excited about. Don’t let perfection stop your progress.
What are you reading right now?
I’m switching between The Magic of Thinking Big and The Seat of the Soul: 25th Anniversary Edition with a Study Guide. The Magic of Thinking Big is actually on extended loan from a friend (sorry, Val) and I really think that every girl should have this book at her bedside. It’s a reminder that the four walls that surround you don’t have to always be there, and you have the ability to think bigger than the box you’re currently in. It challenges you to question the norms you’ve grown up with, and start to think in a way that guides you to bigger possibilities.
Seat Of The Soul by Gary Zukav. Seat of the Soul was recommended to me by one of my friends that I have those deep conversations with. You know those friends who you know the universe aligned to connect you, and all you talk about is magic, and things happening as they should, and the possibilities of the unknown. Everyone needs a friend like that. This is the book that apparently changed Oprah’s life. It discusses the difference between being a multi-sensory being (which we all can be, but don’t always realize) and being a 5-sensory being, someone who doesn’t look beyond their five senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. It talks about how when we look beyond what we can see in the physical world in front of us, we can create things in our lives beyond our wildest dreams.
When I was growing up, I always knew I had a guardian angel, and I sensed her close to me. I was manifesting before I even knew I was- I was infamous at my elementary school for consistently winning prizes in the school raffles. I had a strong affinity for Matilda and I thought one day I would have the powers she has. Although I haven’t moved any furniture with my eyes (yet) I really let my intuition guide me in my business decisions, my relationship, and it shows me things that I would never see had I not learned how to listen with something more than my ears.
What is your career advice for other young professional women?
Speak up! Say what’s on your mind.
It’s so much better to say what’s on your mind and impact the room, the people around you, your company, your career. You may be impressed with how smart you really are and how much people love to hear your point of view, despite that voice in your head that’s full of fear. It’s by speaking up and sharing my opinion that led me to be constantly promoted faster than a lot of co-workers and gave me the push to start yes supply. Don’t let the thought of someone disagreeing with you scare you into silence! As women, we’ve progressed too far to let our thoughts stop us from standing up for our thoughts and beliefs. The world needs more women who speak up. Who believe in the validity of their thoughts and ideas, and who are willing to stand up to bullies and make a change. I think women often fear that if they speak up, someone won’t like them. If they disagree, someone won’t like them. I find myself drawn to the people who take a little risk, are a little controversial, and have a point of view.
Why be boring?
