How Creative Mompreneur YesJulz Keeps the Party Going
In CafeMom's monthly series, Work It, Mama, powerful moms detail how they navigate their professions and home life.
If you've ever partied at one of Miami's hottest clubs or hit an unforgettable Coachella soiree, you've likely come across Florida-based party girl Julieanna "YesJulz" Goddard, who is a staple figure in the East Coast nightlife scene and a creative mastermind when it comes to conceptualizing and producing events. And with unique partnerships with brands such as Puma and Sprite, and stars like LeBron James and Travis Scott, YesJulz and her 1AM Creative team have been guaranteeing good times and client satisfaction for years.
As the founder of her female-led creative and consulting agency, which helps brands and talent elevate their value through innovative brand strategy and experiential marketing solutions and activations, YesJulz says her company's goal is to "bridge the gap between cool and conscious." Simply put, she's not just here to turn up. She also always finds ways to weave in philanthropic threads. Case in point: her support of disadvantaged youth through her nonprofit Little Rascals Foundation.
In early 2022, YesJulz gave birth to a beautiful baby girl who was born with the rare disease gastroschisis, which occurs when children are born with one of their major organs outside of their body. Motherhood has only made her more driven. "Now I want to make an impact in greater ways," says YesJulz. "I'm thinking, 'How does this affect our plant? How does this affect the world my daughter's going to be living in?'"
CafeMom sat down with YesJulz to talk work-life balance, self-care, and motivation.
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How have you managed to increase the growth of your company 1AM Creative so effectively?
"Definitely my goal with the agency is to bridge the gap between cool and conscious," YesJulz says. "We do that by creative strategy, consultation, event production, storytelling, content production for everyone from Opportunity Florida, which is a nonprofit organization, to brands like Puma, and people like Kanye West, etcetera.
"I think a large part of the reason why I was able to scale so quickly is because I came from the hospitality industry and I was often the host for the CEO of Beats, the CMO of Nike. I was the go-to girl that everyone would call when they wanted a table at the No. 1 in America at the time, which was Liv. And then from there, I really decided, 'Hey, I want to curate my own experiences.' I was able to lean back on that Rolodex of amazing contacts.
"And bridging the gap between cool and conscious is just, I know I can throw a good party. How can we tie that back to the community? Are we playing music from independent artists from our city? Are we incentivizing people to give back to the homeless? These are the kinds of things we do."
In early 2022, you became a mom. Have you mastered your balance between work and your social life with motherhood yet?
"I think there's a way for me to do what I do while being a mother," says YesJulz. "And I think it's important for my daughter to see me be able to balance both of those things and see me for more than just being her caretaker. I worked really, really hard to get to where I am and build this platform. I feel oftentimes there's this preconceived notion or expectation that when a child is born, the mother is just the one that is to put everything on hold, and it's not even a discussion. For me, that's not OK.
"There really isn't a typical day in the life of someone that has a creative agency. When I had an office, typically I would go to the office and take my calls and meetings with my team there. And then if we were producing events on the weekends or at night, we would do that. But right now, everything's a little different. I'm still trying to figure out my new normal.
"At the moment, I wake up in the morning. I usually like to just try to not use my phone for the first 30 minutes. I'm not always successful at that. And just have my own thoughts and set my own goals for the day. I want to move my body. I want to close a deal. I want to finish a project I've been working on, et cetera. And then just try to tackle it one day at a time."
What are one or two things you do to try and stay balanced when it comes to home life and your profession?
"If I just did Coachella with Snapchat, and then there was a brand that was doing a dinner a few days later, I had to make the decision, 'OK, am I going to stay or am I going to go? And I'm like, all right, I'm going to go to both because I'm doing things that are allowing me to lay the foundation for her to have a life where when she has a child, she's not going to have to work to support them," YesJulz explains.
"But when I get back, I'm going to go overtime with her and go for walks, to the park and I facilitate her smiling, and just play with her, and have discussions with her, put her to sleep — those moments, just being really present in the moments that I do have really is important and helps."
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Earlier this year, you became one of the faces of the size-inclusive shapewear and intimates line Shapermint. You've never been shy about showing off your incredible figure, but have things felt different after baby?
"It was so beautiful to go to that Shapermint photo shoot and just feel so comfortable in my skin," says YesJulz. "And just because they were women of all shapes, sizes, colors in different parts of their journey who were confident. I was thinking, 'This woman is not embarrassed about her stretch marks.' I know I shouldn't be, but some days I am. And then you're reminded by seeing examples of strength in other women of what you're capable of yourself.
"I'm posting pictures of myself in a bikini now because I posted pictures of myself in a bikini before I had a child. And I live in Florida, and I love being in a bikini. Nothing about what's going on in society should make me want to change that. So for the ladies, your body is a miracle. A miracle takes place in your body every single month, every single day. And you should love it in every stage."
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