Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Duarte.
Hi, Claire, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Hi! I am actually originally from Montgomery County, MD, my husband is from Columbia, MD. I always assumed I’d move back to the DMV after school, but instead I followed him to Baltimore while he finished dental school. We lived in Baltimore for almost a decade and moved to Columbia, MD when we had our daughter in 2018. We had our son in 2020.
My career trajectory has had some surprising twists and turns, but I feel so aligned with what I’m doing now, and I know that everything I’ve done to this point has brought me to this current venture.
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and a Master’s in Counseling. For years my dream was to become a therapist. While finishing my degree, I made the surprising decision to not pursue licensure, and instead began working as an online fitness coach.
I also reconnected with a friend from high school who was developing her Executive Function coaching business. During this time, I learned so much about small business development and marketing. I still work as part of her marketing team and love that I’m able to continue to use my creativity and background in psychology to write blogs and social media posts.
When the pandemic happened, I pivoted my personal online presence away from the fitness industry and really focused on being a mom of very young kids. This was when I started learning more about influencer marketing and expanding my social media presence. I learned so much about social media marketing, engagement and growth strategies, video editing – and so much more. I also started a blog, built an email list, and focused all of my relationship-building skills on growing my personal brand. It was a creative outlet for me.
During Covid, I think we all longed for more involvement in our communities, and while the connections I was building with my mommy blog were fun, I really wanted to make an impact in my local community. Thus, The Columbia Mama was born!
It has been so much fun getting to combine my love of new experiences, documentation and building relationships with other moms with this new venture. I have been doing features all around our local area, and have been connecting with local business owners to help spread the word about their amazing events, menus and services to other moms in Columbia and the surrounding areas.
I can’t wait to see how things will continue to develop and grow from here!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
NO! As a mom of two toddlers, I am passionately building this in my *free time* – which is limited! But I truly love what I do, and am even more excited to engage & connect with the community.
The Columbia Mama is a new and growing business, and I see my mission as twofold:
1) To connect with and serve families and individuals in town and let them know about all the exciting things happening locally
2) To help local businesses build awareness and engagement around their events and services
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I think what sets The Columbia Mama apart is that I am not just another “mommy account.”
While I am a mom, and I do share my life and fun things we do and places we go with the kids, the point of this account is to share what’s happening right here in Columbia – including the restaurants, festivals, fairs – all the fun events that happen right here in Colombia, as well as the amazing businesses and services that are available to our community.
When doing features, I make a point to go there myself in person to try out the location, the food, and the service to really have my own personal experience that I can speak to and share with my community. I take time to photograph, take video footage, and collect visuals to use on my platforms and strive to make personal connections with local business owners. It’s that personal touch that helps my followers feel so connected and invested in the places and events I am showcasing. When I moved here three years ago and started my family, these were the things I wish I had! I wanted to know all the fun places to go, all the fun events. I really want to be that guide and connector for parents in our community.
It’s very important for me to know the story of the owner and their business because it gives me a greater appreciation for the product and our service and or event that I was part of. My husband is a small business owner in Columbia, so I know how much hard work and energy it takes to run a business.
How do you define success?
Success is not linear. Growing up, success was definitely defined by graduating high school, getting a college degree, establishing a solid career, having a family, etc.
My career has not been linear in that sense. And I’m perfectly OK with that! I think what’s most important in our work is finding personal fulfillment. I say personal because you cannot be the best version of yourself for your spouse or family if you are not taking care of yourself.
I think COVID really forced so many of us (including me!) to really decide what our values and priorities are. But it’s also allowed me to dig into my creative side and discover more about what my passions are. I love getting to explore and make connections with others for my job!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.claireduarte.com
- Instagram: @thecolumbiamama
- Email: thecolumbiamama1@gmail.com
Image Credits
Jennifer Casey Photography
