Meet Emily Taffel... Founder and CEO of Mugsy PR & Co-Owner of Unruly Emotion
Nov 21, 2019
This week I had the joy of interviewing the incredible Emily Taffel!
About Emily:
Emily Taffel is the founder & CEO of Mugsy PR, the founder and co-owner of Unruly Emotion, a performance artist, wedding officiant, certified reiki healer, a happy wife and a non-evil stepmom, passionately trying to prove you really can have it all.
The follow is our interview, my questions in BOLD and her answers follow.
What kind of work do you do?
I am a publicist, an event coordinator, an experiential marketer, a social media manager, a CEO, a t-shirt designer and so much more!
What inspired you to get started as an entrepreneur?
Though I wish I had some amazing inspiration story, it really came down to creative freedom. I have never quite felt right at a 9-5 in a corporate office. I thrive when I can think on my feet and when the jobs are different every day, making entrepreneurship a great fit for me.
What was your biggest struggle to get things going for your online business?
Knowing the right platform to use has always been the biggest struggle to get things going. When we launched Mugsy PR we had used Wix and soon had to switch to Wordpress for more customization options. When launching Unruly Emotion we started on CafePress and made quite a number of sales but saw very little profit due to all the percentages and fees paid to the site. I promptly shut down the CP site and moved to Etsy. It is trial and error when starting out, on sites and on social media as well. You can take an educated guess, but you never know which platform will be best until you give it a try!
Was there a time you thought about giving up? What kept you from quitting?
There have been a couple of times when money was tight or things felt overwhelming and I thought about giving up, but it was always a fleeting thought since I truly love what I do. What has kept me from quitting is the freedom of time. When things get rough I remind myself that I get to work with my husband, we don’t have to be in an office at a certain time, we don’t have to “suit up” for work and we get to make our own schedules. It doesn’t get better than that, no matter how hard it can be at times.
What have you learned since beginning?
This sort of goes back to my previous answer in that I have learned that no amount of money is worth giving up my time unless it is something I am passionate about, which is why Unruly Emotion became such an incredible project to launch.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
“What everyone else is doing has absolutely nothing to do with you. Just do you.” I must say this to myself several times a day as a reminder that we don’t have to keep up with the competition, we only have to be the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be (in business AND in everyday life).
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
Do something true to you and let your personality shine through. The right people (your clients/customers, fans/followers, etc) will be attracted to your authenticity, making it easier to create genuine emotional connections, leading to higher conversion / sales rates and success overall in meeting your business goals.
What’s the professional win you’re most proud of?
I am lucky that we’ve had several professional wins, won some awards, and truly made some incredible moves in the industry, but the win I am most proud of personally was capturing the attention of Warner Bros. Our little indie t-shirt line (Unruly Emotion) produced a shirt that was Harry Potter inspired. As a true Harry Potter fan, I couldn’t help but feel proud when we sold so many that we garnered the attention of Warner Bros. and received a cease and desist notice for “Muggle Trademark Infringement”.
Is there a book you’d recommend to help with success and personal development?
I would recommend everyone read “The Power of Full Engagement” which truly helped me develop an incredible strategy for a satisfying work-life balance.
Do you have a routine that you attest to your success? If yes, what is it?
I don’t think I have anything that resembles a routine in my life other than to say that my routine is to get up every day and work - regardless of what form work takes that day. Success doesn’t happen unless you work hard for it!
How has social media played a factor in your success?
At Mugsy PR social media management is a large part of what we do for our clients and we know it converts extremely well, but since Unruly Emotion started as a side gig for me, it often took the back burner. We realized we were missing a big opportunity by not pursuing more digital marketing on social platforms so I recently hired an incredible content manager and look forward to seeing the results!
What are the biggest social media mistakes you see commonly made?
- Trying to do too much. Business owners often try to be on all platforms and burn themselves out on social. Choose one or two platforms and just create the best content you can there.
- Being TOO promotional. Social media is about relationship building and not sales. While you CAN sell on social, you have to create meaningful conversations and interesting content first and then you have an engaged audience to promote to.
- Not learning all the tools available. There are incredible tools to make social media easy and yes, even fun. Once you pinpoint your exact goals for social, you can choose the tools that will best help you find success.
What is the business tool that’s been most helpful?
The tool that has been most helpful in ALL of my businesses has been TRELLO. When you’re a busy entrepreneur project management is key, and nothing has worked as well for me and my team as the Trello app.
Is there something you wish everyone knew?
I wish everyone knew how to be compassionate towards one another. I also wish everyone knew that my company, Unruly Emotion donates $1 from every purchase to women’s rights organizations.
What’s coming up for you in the next few months?
am launching a few new projects in 2020 that I can’t wait to tell everyone about! We also have some new clients at Mugsy PR coming on board in the new year and some new designs and products that will be available at Unruly Emotion by the end of this year.
What has being successful taught you?
Being successful has taught me that success is arbitrary. You can have financial success but that can be fleeting. You can have business success but in the blink of an eye that can change too. In the end, success to me is being able to say “I tried, I did my absolute best and I am proud of myself” - despite the outcome. Success has given me the ability to know the ups and downs of business and know that with a strong sense of self you can always come out on the positive side.
What are some fun facts about you?
- I went to school for theatre and wanted to be a stage manager before I found myself in PR
- My hair has been dyed every color imaginable (pink, green, blue, orange, blonde, and more) other than gray (I have enough of those without the dye lol).
- I have the kind of face that makes total strangers want to tell me everything about their lives. This works in my favor when I do events for Unruly!
- I am terrified of ostriches and have actually been attacked by them twice.
- I can’t listen to music when I work because I love choreography and without fail will wind up dancing if there’s music on.
Weblinks: www.Etsy.com/shop/unrulyemotion AND www.mugsypr.com
Instagram @Emilyontheave @UnrulyEmotion4Life @thinkmugsy
*Some clickable media, usually the book recommendations, are affiliate links, and should you choose to buy through using those links then The Infinite Power of You Inc. may earn an affiliate payout commission. This is at no additional expense to you, and helps keep this blog going.
Stay connected with news and updates!
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
