How Young Entreprenuers Founded A Magazine

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Magazine founders Amanda Nicole Abrams on the left, Fatiah Rebbekkah far right, with a friend in the middle

The Black Star News speaks with the two founders of The Morgan Magazine. The official launch date is September 20 at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club.

BSN: Tell us your story: when, why and how did your business get started?

Amanda: Ever since I was a little girl, in the 4th grade to be exact, I wanted to own and run my own magazine. I will never forget, it was a class assignment to write an essay to tell your story, about your parents, siblings and what you do outside of school.

So, my mom, who helped me with all my projects, helped me because I came up with the bright idea to put my essay in the form of a magazine. I had so much fun doing that project, it was then that I decided I want to have my own magazine when I grow up.

Fatiah: When I was a teen I became one of Teen Vogues IT Girls, in taking part in that I knew one day that I wanted to be an Editor of a Publication. Shortly after I became an intern at different Fashion Brands and soon after a Celeb Stylist which fell into Creative Directing, in hopes that one day I will earn the title of an Editor in Chief of a publication if I work hard enough. In working with other publications it kind of pushed me to want to make that dream a reality sooner. I became annoyed and nearly fed up with how some publications functioned also I hated how they treated me.

I wanted to kind of show people that I was ready to take on that title even if I give it to myself.

Fatiah: I walked inside from a shoot with a publication I worked so hard for, let’s not forget to mention it was a favor to help them grow which means I was not being paid. They totally threw me under the bus and left me out to dry almost making me look beyond unprofessional. That for me was the last straw I am known for being great at what I do as a Stylist I couldn’t allow this to be something that would happen again so I walked in pissed telling my mom how I want to start my own publication, ranting on and on about how I keep making others great and not doing more for myself.

Amanda: It just so happen that, I walked in making my big announcement on how the doors are officially closed on a business I ran for the past 8 years. I was ready to embark upon a new journey, and that is when it dawned on me my dream of running a publication for all these years, and now it was finally time. I knew with the right people by my side this could work. As I was ranting on and on, my mother rudely cut me off to tell me, that my sister and I will do this together, yes. She said we will, it was not a question but a command. So it was then, April of 2014 that Fatiah and I brainstormed all night about the name, the content, the team etc.

BSN: Tell us about The Morgan Magazine

Amanda: Well The Morgan Magazine, has put together an amazing, and dynamic team of professionals. We have all put our minds and resources together to create issue number one. The Morgan Magazine’s first issue is almost more than we dreamed of. We are set to launch September 20th at 40/40 Club in NYC. We already have taken part in other businesses overseas making sure to spread the brand as far as possible. Things have taken off and we can say that this is just the beginning.

BSN: What is the mission of your business?

Amanda: At the core of The Morgan is creativity and self expression, individuals must know the importance in self expression, it is not only a need it is a must. The core qualities of The Morgan is, Self Expression and Individuality.
 
Our mission and vision is not only to be a successful publication, but to communicate artistry and individuality to our peers to be a living testimony that age does not define when to begin something new. The Morgan Magazine values Human Rights and people not being defined by age. We also as young woman are active supporters of Girl Scouts, we do not consider ourselves as role models but a living testament of being true to who you are. Also that you do not have to be a product of where you are from.

BSN: How do you embody your brand in your business every day?

Faith: We always make sure to shine a light on young men and woman who are achieving their goals and dreams to set as an example that age does not define success.

BSN: How do you communicate your brand visually? Tell us about your logos, imagery, colors, typography.

Amanda: We give you a little bit of class and sass. For example our logo as you can see it is elegant in its simplicity but we always make sure to spice it up with pizzaz and color. If you look on our website you can see the logo paired with a young fun artsy background as well as our speciality logo we use for invitations or letter heads our logo is always paired  with something fun, young, and artistic. We feel that it shows how we are all artistic and love to express ourselves through art.

BSN: Tell us about the process of crafting your brand.

Amanda: We did not work with any designers or any agency, proudly we created everything on our own. We evolved rapidly and carefully of course with a bit of organic spices aha! We wanted to launch after Septembers 2014 Fashion Week to make statement. Thankfully but surprisingly we were on the same page in what we wanted before we actually began which made things fall in line with ease. As far as shoutouts go we want to thank Apple and all its devices for allowing us to multi-task and make The Morgan come alive.

BSN: How do you see your brand expanding?

Faith: We expect our brand to grow and evolve because we as a team always project forward, we constantly think of what is next after the next. Not only will we give our audience what they crave but we feel compared to our competitors we are a little out of the box. Honestly, the core of our brand is who we are as individuals making it that much easier to stay true.

BSN: What are the biggest challenges your business faces?

Amanda: The biggest challenge we face in our business is that we are two people who run and own the same brand, two people equals different minds which at times do not agree. Not to mention that we are also sisters! Yet that challenge is what makes us great. Because two minds are always better than one.

BSN: What would you advise a budding entrepreneur?

Amanda: Start now!

 

Website: www.TheMorganMag.com

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheMorganMag

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/TheMorganMag

Instagram: @TheMorganMag

 

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