Hi. I’m Mandy: Lover of words, code, Starbucks and Jesus. Mother to 3 not-so-small ones who keep me busy. Blessed.
When I taught years ago, I always referred to myself as “a computer geek with a Psychology degree.” In 2004, I graduated from Tennessee Temple University with a Bachelors degree in Psychology, fully intending to move on to a Master’s degree in social work. As life often goes, my plans were rerouted around the births of my younger two children, multiple military moves and deployments, and the day-to-day of my family’s needs. When I became a suddenly single mama in 2012, God began connecting dots I didn’t even know were there, and pulled together years of blogging and social media experience and loads of ‘really cool’ online / marketing connections to open the doors for what would become MRM. He gave me a passion for the ministries and faith-based clients we work with and a vision for ways our team can meet so many needs – online and off. I say often, we literally have our hands in ministries all around the world, which makes what we do so valuable, on so many levels. I feel extremely blessed and privileged to be used by the Lord in this way, and to work alongside all the amazing women of MRM.
Her Specialties
Primarily, I’m a website developer. Some of my other responsibilities include – managing client requests and correspondence, overseeing any current MRM project, coaching, social media marketing, billing and payments, maintaining our site care clients’ websites, general tech support, and cheering on our fabulous team.
As team leader, I absolutely enjoy the projects that involve multiple team members and skill sets! Any time we can involve at least 3 or 4 of our ladies in one website or book release project, it just makes the project so much more fun! We all bring different talents to the table and watching everyone in their “sweet spot” makes me so excited to come to work every day!
Roughly ten years ago, after several years of blogging and partnering with well-known brands, I began freelancing as a virtual assistant and WordPress developer. MRM was born out of a need I saw. I wanted to give those I worked with a complete one-stop-shop with cohesive and complimentary products and services for all of their online publishing, ministry, and business endeavors. Over the last five years, MRM has attracted a collaborative team to streamline and perfect this full process for our clients.
Her Recent Projects
We recently designed and developed a sales page for an upcoming book launch, and provided shareable graphics for this client and her launch team (Shift Book). I, personally, was the project manager and developer for this project and coordinated with two of our designers to complete the deliverables.
We also have a brand new website for a new non-profit set to launch at the start of the year. This project included a full rebrand of an existing membership program, setup of extensive donation options along with eCommerce, and the creation of a new online course. Several of our team members worked on this project to achieve the design, development, and SEO Jumpstart.
Her Education & Training
So much has changed in the online landscape since I started. WordPress continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, causing us to be very intentional with staying educated in our field. Social media is ever changing so we are constantly adjusting our methods and goals accordingly.
Over the last decade, I have attended Allume (Relevant), Blissdom, and She Speaks, and even led a workshop at She Speaks for beginner bloggers.
Some of my mentors include:
1. I’m a Starbucks junkie.
2. I’m extremely OCD.
3. Related to #2, I’m a sucker for all things lists, planners, organizers, etc.
Not so well-known quirks:
1. I’m a Marvel (Super Hero) movie junkie.
2. I have a completely irrational aversion to feet. (Gross!)
3. I love to paint – rooms, furniture, pottery, canvases, anything. If ever I have any downtime at all or need to clear my head, paint and a brush are never far away.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to train under a well-known and self-proclaimed WordPress guru. In the year since, I have expanded my knowledge through trial and error, intense research, and Google. 🙂 I’ve also completed a number of online courses for social media marketing and management, website development, project management, SEO, and more. Some of the recent courses I’ve completed are:
- Shopify Academy
- Organize and Automate
- Ultimate Photoshop Training
- The Course Collection
- Scale with Ease
- Social Ad School
There are a variety of free courses related to the specific softwares and systems we use routinely as well. One of the largest websites I have ever developed was in my first year of business, and was for a segment of the Southern Baptist Convention. We have also worked with many New York Times Bestseller authors, for websites and marketing. (When my kids were younger, they actually would ask to go through Barnes & Noble so they could find all the books and authors (clients) they recognized from my computer. For a minute or two, I was famous in their eyes. 🙂 )
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