EP 7: Bridging Generations and Building Prosperity: A Conversation with ShaDonna McPhaul

Seth Waters (Co-Host): Well, welcome to the Purposeful Prosperity podcast. My name is Seth Waters, and I'm here with Jack Smith, founder, entrepreneur, investor, and world-changer. Jack, I'm excited to be with you today.

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Jack Smith (Host): I'm excited to be with you, Seth, always.

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Seth Waters (Co-Host): Yeah. So we recently had an interview that we're gonna be featuring today with ShaDonna 'Mo' McPhaul. Super excited to have her on the program.

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Jack Smith (Host): The Mo You Know, baby.

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Seth Waters Co-(Host): The Mo You Know. And ShaDonna is an entrepreneur community activist in Fayetteville, North Carolina

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Jack Smith (Host): And a USAF Veteran, my friend, don't forget. She's amazing.

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Seth Waters Co-(Host): And she's doing so many great things. I know that during the conversation that we're about to hear with her, a couple of things that really stood out to me. One of them was the power of making connections and using those connections to change the world. I'm super excited to hear her explain that more and tell me just a little bit about this conversation that you had with her.

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Jack Smith (Host): Oh, absolutely. So I'm so excited for you guys to get to learn a little bit more about who Mo is. She is an Air Force veteran. She's an entrepreneur. She's a single mom. She's a hustler, and she's a marketer, and she is all about community. And when I got to meet her the first time, we connected right away. Such a brilliant, beautiful personality, and so much passion and heart to give at a community that she loves. And I'm excited for you guys to learn a little bit more about how she amplifies the entrepreneurs in her community.

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Seth Waters (Co-Host): Great. Well, let's dive right into the podcast with ShaDonna 'Mo' McPhaul from The Mo You Know.

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Jack Smith (Host): Welcome to purposeful prosperity. I am so excited today to sit down with my friend Shadonna 'Mo' McPhaul from The Mo You Know, she's an Air Force veteran. She's a committed media mogul. She is an entrepreneur and a small business advocate, and she's causing all kinds of trouble, and I can't wait for you all to hear about it. So, Mo, tell us a little bit about what you got going on.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Thank you so much for having me, Jack. I am so excited to be here. Yes, I am a retired Air Force veteran living right here in my hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina. And like I said, we are raising the stakes.

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Jack Smith (Host): Raising the stakes. I love it. Well, tell me a little bit about that. Tell me about your purpose. Right. So you're an Air Force veteran. You got out, you did 20 years, you retired. What are you doing? What purpose is driving you today?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): So, right now, my purpose is to help the generation that came after me and to help the generation that came before me and really bridge that gap, because I feel like, our generation, we can do the technology and we can do the things manually. And I think we're the only generation that can do both, that can speak both languages to all the generations. So my purpose is really to make sure that everybody is kind of communicating. So nobody's getting left out, nobody's not knowing, you know, really be that interpreter, if that's the word I'm looking for, to help the generation communicate.

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Jack Smith (Host): I love it. We always talk about building bridges and ladders around here, so it's interesting that you talk about being the hybrid generation, right? They call us the organ trail generation because we grew up analog, but we were so young digitally that we can speak it. So it's great to have that team out there, getting the message out there. So that's your purpose. How are you turning that into prosperity both for yourself and your community?

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ShaDonna McPhaul: So, prosperity. I am, like I said, giving back, making sure that the people who reach out to me, they have access to those resources. They have access to the people that they need to have access. They have access to new experiences that they may not have, wouldn't have had, if they was not connected to me or somebody that I'm connected to. So I feel like if we're connected, if we have the access and we have the experience, we can turn our dreams into a reality. So that's what I'm doing to build prosperity, like I said, just to help the people that I'm connected to, live out their goals and dreams. Because, honestly, being retired, I can be done right now.

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Jack Smith (Host): It's the beauty of military service, right?

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ShaDonna McPhaul: Yes. Thank you.

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Jack Smith (Host): Thank you. I love it. So tell me a little bit about more of the specifics that you're doing to support prosperity in your community. I know particularly you're an advocate for small businesses, and that marketing, right? So helping people get their word out and their worth out. And I think you do that better than most folks. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about that.

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ShaDonna McPhaul: Yes. Thank you so much. So in 2018, I started The Mo You Know marketing and media consulting business, which came as a result of in 2013, I started Multi Roles, a 501c nonprofit organization that helps homeless veterans get back on their feet and transition to service members, not to become homeless veterans. So when I got back home to Fayetteville, North Carolina, I am doing my thing. But here at Fayetteville, we are home of the 82nd Airborne. The name Fort Bragg is going to be changing to Fort Liberty here soon. So there's a lot of people that was doing the same things that I was doing.

So I remember going over to Fayetteville Technical Community College. I was using my GI Bill, and I'm talking to the business counselors, and he was like, “Okay, Mo, if the nonprofit space is kind of saturated, you've done all this stuff to market yourself, to market the nonprofit. Why don't you do marketing, media and public relations for other nonprofits, for other transitioning veterans who want to start a business?” So he advised me to take the same blueprint I made for my life and my nonprofit to help others. So that's how The Mo You Know, really came about.

And it was funny because, like I said, I'm in college, 40 years old, and I heard an ad on the radio. They were looking for interns. So I actually applied to be an intern at a radio station that I loved listening to growing up. So I kind of put the business on hold to go and learn what I could learn from Beasley Media Group. Shout out to Beasley for giving me the opportunity. Started out as an intern. The second day in the building, there's a job board, and it was like they're looking for street team members. So day two, now I'm on payroll. We got to keep the lights on, right? So I do that for about four, five months. Yeah, it was a summertime internship.

So December, I remember December comes, and they were like, “Hey, Mo, do you want to do sales? And you have a great personality.” Yada, yada, yada. And I would always go out and support the salespeople at the remotes and all that, and everybody always said sales was hard, this, that, but sales made way more money than what I was doing. So, of course I tried it. I tried it, and the DM at the time was like, “Oh, in six months, you're either going to love sales or you're going to hate it.” So six months comes, I don't love it, and I don't hate it, but I had to make a decision. And my son was five at the time and kindergarten school’s out, so I really had to make a decision to be a mom. So things kind of like, I said, slowed down. But now he’s ten, and things are peeking back up because now I get more self-sufficient and independent, and I can do more. So I'm loving it again.

So that's kind of how The Mo You Know, came about. It's just that I wanted to help people, like you say, get the word out about their business, get the word out about their books, anything that they're doing to be happier in life. That's what I try to help people do. And I do that through, like I said, with The Mo You Know. And The Mo You Know has a radio show: The Mo You Know Growth Impact Show, that I do every Monday at 10:00 AM where I bring small business owners, nonprofit leaders, people that are doing things in the community that has a piece of the puzzle that's going to help our community go further.

People that know thinks that the rest of the community may not know, but they need to know. So that's my gift, is to make sure I always tell people my job is to make sure that the people that need you, know you.

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Jack Smith (Host): That's perfect. And that's my job, too, is that I want people to know your passion so that they can help support it. Speaking of which, if they would like to listen to your radio show, where can they find it?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yes. So I always tell people, WIDU has a phenomenal Facebook page and it is live. So, WIDU 1600 is the best way to not only listen, but to watch. And I tell people all the time, everybody has internet, right?

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Jack Smith (Host): Exactly.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): So it doesn't matter where you are with social media, that is the best place. WIDU 1600, like the page, not only do they air my show, is a ton of show posts and producers that have various range of topics that the whole community is covered. We do the politicians, we do medical, you name it. Religion, we do it all. Everything is covered on WIDU 1600AM.

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Jack Smith (Host): That's excellent. Speaking of taking care of community, you are passionate about children and schools and giving back to your community. And I hear you're doing some awesome things with the hall of fame and maybe a couple of professional football players.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yes. So I joined the military right after high school in 1996. Come from a military family, like I said, live here we also surrounded by military, right? So I just remember when it was time for me to transition out of the military. I always tell people I'm too good. I'm really good at two things, transitioning into the military and transitioning out of the military. I'm good at transitioning because I had to transition a lot in the military. Practice makes perfect. Getting ready to get out, I was just like, “Dang, I want to help those 17/18-year-olds that are going through life now, because when I was 17 and 18, we didn't have a pandemic to work through.”

So I know how hard it was for me without all of the things that's going on now. So I'm like, “These kids need help. These parents need help.” It's like my mom worked two or three jobs. There's other parents working two or three jobs, and the kids are kind of just falling by the wayside. Some are getting lost in transition. I'm like, “We have to bring that village back. We have to bring that tribe back. We have to bring that support back. And we have to let every family know that you're not alone.” Even though it's your family, your address, but there are people that will help you that have, like I said earlier, the access and the experience that your child needs to make sure your child meets their goals, and their expectations, and their wants, and their desires. So I am getting, diving, writing. Like I said, I have a ten-year-old that I have to do this every day.

I have a ten-year-old, so I know what it's like being a single mom. I know what it's like to have the support sometimes, not to have the support sometimes, like I said, I'm here with my family and have tons of support, but there were times when I was still on active duty where I'm away from my family. So it's just like, “Okay, guys, let it be known.” Like, you were asking me, how can people help me, I always tell people, let it be known how people can help you. Give us the answers to the test. Don't make us figure out how to help you. Don't make us pull teeth. If you tell me, “Hey, Mo, this is how you can support me. Hey, Mo, this is how you can support my child,” or whatever it is I got going on, I'm off to the races. But if I got to try to figure out what you need, and only you know what you need.

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Jack Smith (Host) Exactly. Closed mouths don't get fed. You got to speak up, put your pride down, and ask for help, because we all want to help, right?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yeah. And ask for specifically, what do you want? Because I know a lot of times, if people are helping you, they want to give you what they have. Which is fine, because you know how they say beggars can't be choosy and all of that kind of stuff, but, if you tell, and I'll use this as an example like, we used to do hygiene drive, so people would just donate whatever toothpaste they wanted. But I'm a Crest girl, so if you give me Colgate, yeah, that's good. But I'm a Crest girl, give me Crest. If you just tell people what they want, they may be able to give it to you exactly how you want it.

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Jack Smith (Host): Absolutely. I appreciate that. I hear you're also working with the EE. Smith Hall of Fame. You want to tell us a little bit about what you're doing over there?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): My goodness, yes! This is my second year working with the EE. Smith Sports Hall of Fame. And EE. Smith is a local high school here in Fayetteville, North Carolina. And last year was the first year that the banquet happened. And what happened, there's a football player, Doug Wilkerson. When he passed away, they wanted to do something to honor Doug Wilkerson. But as they started digging, they was like, “Hey, we have 14 other players who went to the NFA. And so they created a Hall of Fame where they celebrate, honor, and induct the highest folks who excel in sports excellence. So, like I said, last year, we did all of the NFL players and all the coaches who made it to the highest levels. This year is not necessarily like, we already got the professional athletes. Now, the college athletes, the people who did exceptional things didn't quite make it to the professional level, but they still exceed state champions, college, all of the things.

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Jack Smith (Host): You got this Duke in North Carolina, and UNC, and all these guys all knocking around the doors. There's some amazing talent in North Carolina. No doubt about that.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yes. And one of the main guys, I would say our main man, Mr. Jimmy Ray, just Monday, he won a sports Emmy for a documentary that the NFL Network NFL 360 did on his life, talking about him being the first black quarterback from the south to win a national championship.

And if you know what, I wasn't here in the 60s, but we know the history. So for him to make it through all of the trials and tribulations and to go that far, and to be in his seventies and still working actively for the NFL, it's amazing. Like I said, we honored him last year. We're working on an initiative to change West Area Elementary in his honor, and I hope that happened while he's still living so he can get his flowers. I'm a big fan of giving people their flowers while they're living.

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Jack Smith (Host): Is there anything our listeners can do to help you with that cause?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yes, absolutely. So there is a petition on change.org, you can just type in Jimmy Ray, James Ray and they can go and sign the petition.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons, like I said, I really do the things that I do because I want to make change. I want to make positive change. I want to make impact that's going to matter to our kids. And seeing the impact that Jimmy has made all over the country in the NFL, our kids need to see that everything is possible.

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Jack Smith (Host): Everything is possible. There are infinite possibilities. I love it. So anything else you wanted to cover that we didn't get a chance to talk about or that you'd like to share with our listeners today?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Yeah, I would just like to remind everybody, they can definitely go to shadonnamcphaul.com to connect with me. I'm on all the social, I live on social media.

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Jack Smith (Host): I don't know what you're talking about.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): I live on social media. So I tell people I want to be Oprah. I want to be able to connect with the community, like I said, to make sure I know their needs and help bridge that gap, to help folks get to what they need. Like I said, there's a solution to every problem. If you let it be known what problems you're having, I guarantee there's people that can do things in your sleep that you're losing sleep over. So we have to, like I said, change our mindsets, swallow our prides, swallow our ego, and say, “Hey, I see what you're doing. Can you help me?” That's all.

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Jack Smith (Host): I love it. My dad used to say, many hands make light work. That one stuck with me. Ask for help. We all want to help, and nobody has to carry our heavy burden by themselves. We can do it as a team. And that's really what community means, right? That's what it means to connect. So I really appreciate it, appreciate your time. If you inspired any of our listeners today, what's one way that they can support you in your mission and get involved?

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest):  Yes. So like I said, I would love to connect with you guys, like I said on social media, and do the things in your community that means something to you. Get involved in your community. If kids is your passion, go volunteer and help some kids. If veteran is your passion, go to a local VFW, the USO. Whatever it is that you're passionate about, to me, that's the thing that's going to help move the needle forward because it's not about me. It's not about just what I want us to do. I want people to live the life that they want to live by taking that act. Sometimes we only have 24 hours in a day, but if you can carve out an hour or two to give back to a cause that you're passionate about, that's going to help the world go around a little bit faster.

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Jack Smith (Host): It'll be a little brighter if nothing else, right? It'll be a little brighter.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Absolutely. Your world will be a little brighter.

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Jack Smith (Host): Exactly. Our world, right? If we all do it, we chip in. We make the world a better place.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): I know we want to go to the moon, but right now we're in this world together.

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Jack Smith (Host): Absolutely. We got to bring joy with us to the moon. That means we got to make it right here. I love that.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): That's it.

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Jack Smith (Host): Well, I appreciate your time so much today. Mo. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for your purpose, thank for your passion, and thank you for all you do for us in the community.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): Thank you for having me. Jack. I look forward to working with you, Fortuna BMC, the Fayetteville Mustangs. And I just want to applaud you for all the things that you have going on because I'm busy, but I'm like, in the world, does Jack do it? But you're doing it. And I know you have an amazing team.

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Jack Smith (Host): That is the only way I could do all of this stuff. I'm surrounded by a bunch of amazing humans that make sure I'm in the right place at the right time.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): That was my job in the military. So I always tell people it's my job to make sure that the right people know the right things at the right time. And I remember having a superintendent. He was like, your job is to be where you need to be when you need to be there.

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Jack Smith (Host): Yes, ma'am.

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ShaDonna McPhaul (Guest): So if you have people that's helping you do that, I applaud all of you guys because I know it's not easy. It is, but I appreciate it. But we care. It's passion, for sure. Thank you, Mo.

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Seth Waters (Co-Host): Well, Jack, what a great interview with ShaDonna. That was amazing.

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Jack Smith (Host): Mo is amazing. Always great.

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Seth Waters (Co-Host): A couple of things that stood out to me during the conversation. One was the power of making the right connections, right. And then using those connections to change the world. Another one was having the right puzzle pieces, putting those together in the context of community to transform the cities around us.

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Jack Smith (Host): Absolutely. Mo is a connector and she's a hustler. She's an air force veteran and committed to making the community of Fayetteville a better place. And it's just awesome to watch the efforts and her work with Jimmy Ray and the EE. Smith Hall of Fame. It's all amazing. Just really grateful for her and her commitment to the community and for her time on the show. I really appreciate it.

Thanks, everybody. We appreciate your time this week on Purposeful Prosperity. And we look forward to bringing you another amazing entrepreneur next week. Thanks. Keep doing good in the world.

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