Mommy Mogul — Dominique Sensabaugh

Beautiful Photo by Lavish Moments Photography

Can you be a mommy and a mogul? I believe the answer is a resounding YES! When I interviewed with Mommy & Mogul; I did so because their goal is to create a community of like- minded mothers and provide daily solutions for both mothers in business and mothers on the go. I can relate the vision of Mommy & Mogul as a mother, an entrepreneur and a creative. I applaud their initiative for creating an international brand presence for moms of all nationalities and backgrounds while also creating an environment of motherhood being synonymous with sisterhood, an unbreakable connection.

THIS INTERVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY MOMMY & MOGUL IN AUGUST, 2018

Before I dive into your amazing accomplishments and projects, tell us a little bit about yourself?

I never imagined the places that life would take me. As a young girl growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, I have always known that I was created to leave a remarkable footprint.

My heart’s desire is to do God’s work and inspire my peers to positively impact the world. I am a devoted philanthropist determined to serve those who need me because yes, service can be sexy!

My ultimate goal is to inspire and empower everyone I encounter-to help and serve others. In my world, the glass is always half full, and if you cannot see it as that way then you miss the beauty that surrounds us all. My husband, Coty plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers and my little prince, Marri is almost 10 months old. You can often find me in front my computer with my baby boy beside me, looking to share a beautiful concept, an amazing new product or writing a feature on the intriguing global citizen that I met on my travels. My mission with the Dominique Sensabaugh Lifestyle Brand is to encourage individuals to step outside of their comfort zone and always trust their instincts.

My family and I have served communities domestically and abroad and one of our greatest accomplishments to date is garnering national recognition as recipients of the 2017 Points of Light Tribute Awards – one of the most notable service and volunteer awards in the philanthropic community. I have partnered with organizations such as Soles 4 Soles and Food for the Hungry to provide life resources in Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. I also take extreme pride, as the curator of the “Happy Birthday Dominique” community service project, which was designed as my way of showing gratitude for my life through service.

Most of us spend our birthdays in the club or on some lavish destination getaway but you decided to turn your day into a day service and humanitarianism, what propelled you into changing the way you celebrated your birthday?

The #HappyBirthdayDominique project is one of my greatest blessings. I’ve had plenty of birthday parties, however, having the opportunity to serve others has been the greatest gift. The idea originated during my time at Clemson University while participating on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic. Having a birthday so close to the holiday season provides me with an awesome opportunity to reach individuals and raise awareness for different causes within the community. Serving others helped me find meaning and purpose in my own life, it also made me realize that although I cannot boil the ocean, I I can make waves in an individual’s life.

As a mommy & mogul, how do you handle family life while balancing being a wife, a philanthropist, and a businesswoman?

I live in the moment. I have found that perspective and being grateful for what you have now is powerful. Also, when raising my little boy, I realized that he is constantly growing and I have to cherish the moments with him each day.

As a woman, I believe that we can do it all but, not always at the same time. We have to compartmentalize our responsibilities and find the balance between our personal and professional life. My motto is “good, better, best-I will never let it rest until my good is better and my better is best.”

It is important to have a tribe. They elevate you, support you and inspire you. Your vibe attracts your tribe! If an individual is not contributing to your personal or professional growth and development then they do not deserve your time.

How has your partnership with Food for the Hungry, allowed you and your family to assist the families in Haiti and grasp a totally new outlook on life?

Haiti remains among the poorest and most unequal countries in Latin America with over half of Haitian citizens living without access to sanitation, housing, education and employment opportunities. My husband and I have visited and participated in mission work in Haiti multiple times and we are in awe of the determination and resilience of the Haitian people.

We began working with Food for the Hungry right before I found out about our pregnancy. At the beginning of my first trimester when nausea and my inability to eat or drink along with many other pregnancy symptoms were slowly taking over my daily activities, I felt frustrated. This was the first time in my life that I felt I was suffering from starvation because my body would not allow me to ingest or digest anything substantial for a prolonged amount of time.

One night, while dealing with the agony of severe hunger pains in combination with the fatigue and stress many new moms feel during this time, I broke down and cried. I was literally starving. I craved every food imaginable from watermelon to boiled eggs. I was physically and mentally suffering. I literally cried because I was so hungry and frustrated.

In this moment, I realized how difficult it must feel for a child to go to bed hungry, or even worse, to be the child’s parent and watch them suffer from hunger. Here I am, an adult with extenuating circumstances yet at the first signs of mild starvation as a result of pregnancy symptoms, I broke down mentally from hunger pains and the discontentment of not knowing when I would be able to enjoy my next meal.

I thank God for this inspiring and humbling moment. He showed me that although the child I was carrying would never experience extreme poverty on unimaginable levels, millions of children throughout the globe live with this reality daily.

As a society, although we are bombarded with sights of those starving or impoverished, domestically and abroad, some of us are immune to their suffering and others are inundated with feelings of helplessness. But think, what if we turned this feeling of sadness into triumph? Taking a personal responsibility to help those in need and combat poverty worldwide.

Our partnership with Food for the Hungry inspires me and reminds me that we can make a positive impact by using our frustration for those suffering in under-resourced communities and turning it into fuel to ignite our drive for helping those same individuals.

With your many roles we know it can get stressful and hectic, how do you mentally, physically, and spiritually recharge to keep that drive going?

A wise queen once said, “Nothing can dim the LIGHT that shines from within.” What helps my light continue to shine is working out, practicing yoga, meditation and developing my relationship with Christ. It is easy to let life’s day to day cause you to feel overwhelmed and exhausted but, it goes back to living in the moment. For example, some days, I can’t take business meetings because my husband and son need me and I’ve learned that is ok. Some days I can be super mom and cook dinner, workout, attend business meetings and clean my house. Other days we eat takeout and the laundry overflows. Both of these scenarios are what make me supermom.

How has motherhood changed your path in life?

Motherhood has made me feel powerful and gives me a new purpose. My son is my light, he makes me feel powerful and not because I am a perfect mom, but because my grace and inner strength is now greatly magnified because of his existence.

Parenting is hard, and it forces you to dig deep within yourself and discover strength, composure, and energy that probably prior to your baby’s birth, didn’t exist. The humbling moments of learning to care for Marri correctly made me grow as a Christian and as a woman. In sharing my journey through my blog; I decided that honesty would set me free from the fear of criticism or judgment from those “perfect parents” and I would openly share my challenges and struggles without apprehension.

I have no supermom mask, but I do have patience, grace, supernatural strength and determination.

What’s your ‘’Why’’?

Leaving a positive legacy for my family is my “Why.” I want to create a legacy that they can be proud of.

Edited By Joy Davis