Community Highlights: Meet Ebony Haywood of The Affirmed Kid

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Haywood.

Hi Ebony, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi there – my name is Ebony! I’m a busy mama, forever educator, and currently the Vice President of People & Culture at a local edtech company.

I am a Raleigh native that has never left, I even stayed in Raleigh for college and attended Meredith College.

After college – I pursued my dream of becoming a teacher. During that time, I learned a lot about myself and my love for learning and teaching. But I also realized that I like to do things a little different and always found creative ways of teaching and uplifting my students. I transitioned out of education into the tech world and worked in the security tech industry for 10 years before moving back into the education arena, which is what I call home!

In the midst of growth and changes, I had a little one and my joy for teaching was reignited by having my own full-time student in my daughter, Emery aka Emmy. She is my greatest joy & my inspiration for all things affirmations and more! When Emmy was little, I started doing daily affirmations with her, as she began talking – she started repeating the affirmations and now we start our day with affirmations as we struggle to open our eyes many mornings! It was such a joy to speak positivity into her life and I began to hear her speak those things as well. Because she is smart, kind, beautiful, amazing, special, gorgeous…and more! During my journey, I decided to create cards to help reinforce our daily affirmation routine and now it has turned into something far beyond my wildest dreams! My hope is to encourage other moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends to join me in affirming our little ones and continue reminding them how amazing they are!

In the midst of creating the business, I had my own experience and reckoning during a therapy session. This session was pivotal moment because for me it confirmed the importance of being affirmed as a child and when those affirmations are lacking in childhood it impacts many of us as adult. Adulthood is when many of us recognize the necessity of words of affirmations, self-love, self-awareness, and self-acceptance in adulthood. My therapist asked me to go back to my childhood and acknowledge when I was affirmed and how… as well as recognizing some of the negative things that may have been said. Pulling these memories from my childhood was quite an emotional challenge, but it reinforced the necessity of the vision I was given and gave me a new sense of purpose.

Think about how your life may have been different, if someone told you daily that you were amazing, beautiful, smart or courageous! If we can simply affirm every child at least once daily (any time, any place) it will lead to a more confident little person, who can take on the world officially as an “Affirmed Kid”!

The Affirmed Kid is more than a business and brand – it is my purpose, passion & ministry!

Since starting the business we are now in stores in NC, GA, FL, and OH and hopefully more stores in the future. We are in 3 stores in the Raleigh area currently. And have partnered with other organizations, most recently Empower All Inc to sponsor community events.

My goal is to reach 500,000 homes, which is a percentage of homes in the age range we want to serve. Once I reach that goal, we will set our next goal and continue to celebrate & monitor achievement of our North Star which is to affirm EVERY child, one home at a time!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think there are always struggles and challenges along the way – but I’ve quickly learned to pivot and recalibrate when necessary. The Affirmed Kid is not my full-time job, so I have to carefully plan and make time to manage the business after my work hours and after Emmy is sleeping. I think the challenge for me has been balancing my life & passion appropriately, while still moving forward. I’m doing everything on my own from business management, shipping, marketing, content, outreach, and all types of things – so I’ve learned a lot!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Affirmed Kid is an affirmation brand for children, focusing on ages 0-10 years old. We started in March 2021.

We are an inclusive brand, but our product highlights and presents all of the beautiful skin tones that we see in the world around us. My goal is for children to be able to see themselves or their family in at least ONE of the cards.

Our products are online, but also in a few stores locally in Raleigh, NC and more recently in Georgia, Ohio & Florida.

Our main products are affirmation cards and a bundle, but we have recently started offering wall art available through downloads or canvas/framed options.

We are currently working on new products and have a new box design that will debut in January 2022! I’m quickly learning that your vision and product will and should evolve as you grow.

I want readers to know – that this is a product is for any child. It is the perfect birthday gift or Christmas gift, even a stocking stuffer.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I think more families will require more resources and guidance to navigate parenting, teaching, and overall how to support the mental health of children. Given everything going on – there’s a lot of trauma from childhood challenges, death, and even the pandemic. The more tools and resources we can develop to support parents along the journey of parenting – the better! These resources are also great those who support children – such as teachers, counselors, camps, community centers, etc.

Pricing:

• Affirmation Cards – $25
• Affirmation Card – Bundle – $35
• Wall Art – Starting at $6

Contact Info:

• Email: info@theaffirmedkid.com
• Website: http://theaffirmedkid.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/theaffirmedkid
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/theaffirmedkid

Image Credits
Amy Paulson Photography Erin Marrero – Through The Looking Glass Studio