Today we’d like to introduce you to Mia Sable Hays.
Mia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I guess I would start by saying I’ve always been sort the family “travel concierge,” and a party planner type in school and college, so putting events together is somewhat just my nature. Professionally, prior to motherhood, I was a singer/songwriter performing all over town, and managing my own itineraries and collaborations with brands, in addition to being a graduate of USC’s Marshall School of Business MBA program, where I studied marketing, media, and business communication.
Then, motherhood transformed my life when my beautifully sensitive daughter needed me intensely and constantly, well beyond the first few months that I expected. In many ways I was forced to cut back on a lot of the freedom I was used to as reality set in that my husband works a lot, we don’t have any family nearby to help out, and children are a 24/7, seven days a week gig with no holidays or sick days.
I saw this same moment happening with a lot of my new mom friends who were kind of hitting this hard-turn from formerly adventurous lifestyles into one that was much more isolated, restricted, and home-bound due to the logistics of breastfeeding, nap schedules, and childcare limitations. There is a great movement happening right now to uplift and support working moms, but it misses many of my friends who are part of the significant percentage of moms who for various reasons do not go back to work full time.
I was inspired to create motherbirdLA after my first mom’s night out with my friends who I had met through a westside Mommy and Me group. It took us almost two years, and probably 50 texts to finally organize something adults-only, and we really went all out. I was fascinated by how we were all so eager to make the absolute most out of this one evening out, and it made me realize how much hunger we had pent up to take time for ourselves, enjoy our friends, and try new things.
Around the same time, I also realized how many new things I personally had tried over those years that had been based on a referral through these local mom words of mouth networks I had come to participate in. I suppose that is where it all synthesized for me that I wanted to create amazing events that felt as exciting as our pre-baby lives, but that were thoughtfully designed to be accessible to new moms’ schedules. Something that would elevate the concept of “Mom’s Night Out” and create a meaningful community for local moms who craved that.
The list started by me inviting 15 local mothers who I think are fun and fascinating people, and asking them to refer in their favorite people, and it’s just grown organically in that way to a list of about 60 women so far including former model/actors, influencers, business owners and executives, creative/media types, former doctors and medical professionals, and all manner of educated, worldly, and influential women with incredible personal networks and resources. My goal is to curate a limited membership of 1oo for the westside.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Fortunately, the concept has really caught on quickly with both moms and brand sponsors such as Kickee Pants, (an apparel company is known for their premium baby onesies) who have expanded into making adult pajamas which they gifted to all of the attendees for our “Luxe Loungewear themed Academy Awards Viewing Party.” It was awesome to create a match like that, where moms could meet their needs for self-care and friendship, and a fantastic brand could be a part of that story and help make a memorable night.
My biggest personal struggle as an entrepreneur is the same as every motherbird’s – childcare. A few weeks before my launch events, our nanny unexpectedly gave notice, and I was devastated. Fortunately, my husband was able to take off work one day, and a former nanny who we are still close with was able to help us out as we scrambled to replace this pillar of our household operations.
Childcare is always on my mind when I’m planning upcoming motherbird events… is it WORTH the childcare? Whether you have to pay for it or ask a favor, is it going to be worth it? As a mom who is the primary caregiver for my daughter, I understand how hard it can be to justify that time off, so I really work hard to design highly compelling experiences, and seek out meaningful collabs with companies such as UrbanSitter ( a fantastic childcare search & hiring app that we have partnered with).
So, as you know, we’re impressed with motherbirdLA – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
motherbirdLA is a members-only social club for moms. I curate upscale creative moms’ days and nights out based on the west side of LA. The group is primarily made up of mostly millennial moms with little ones ages 0-5. We also work with highly relevant brands who see the opportunity to intimately engage with these hard to reach tastemaker women/family decision-makers. The motherbirdLA list is made of up women who are strong influencers of other women whether or not they do so professionally. For example, that mom you know who convinces you which shoes are most practical, which wine is best, or where you must stay when you vacation abroad, the one with fascinating personal contacts from her or her husband’s job, who loves sharing her knowledge with her friends, that’s a motherbird.
What makes motherbirdLA different is that our events create space for women to know themselves apart from being a mother or a worker. Our gatherings are adults-only, do not focus on any type of parenting education, and are completely unrelated to work or “networking.” Our mission is to support women during a time when for many of them, they have just lost or become less immersed (even if temporarily) their career identity and the sense of value and intrinsic reward from that source, and are simultaneously thrust into a social category as “mother” that society tends to paint over their individual womanhood.
We are local in-real-life social network (at this time just the westside between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica) because we understand that moms have limited time and are most interested in nurturing relationships with other women who they can easily continue to connect and share local resources with. And lastly, we are donating a portion of profits and aiding in building awareness for our nonprofit partner 2020 Mom, a group working to improve maternal mental healthcare in the US, because at our core, motherbirdLA seeks to shine a light on the self-care needs of women who are mothers.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
In the future, my goal is to grow this community into a brick & mortar social & wellness club that specifically caters to mothers’ needs for self-care and community. I’ll be looking for partners and investors who are inspired by the opportunity to better-serve mothers as an important population of women. I’d also love to expand motherbirdLA to new chapters to serve moms in other parts of LA in a way that fits the distinct personalities of those neighborhoods.
Pricing:
- motherbirdLA experiences range from $85 – $175++ depending on the activities
Contact Info:
- Website: http://motherbirdLA.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @motherbirdLA
- Facebook: /motherbirdLA
Image Credit:
Patricia Pena Photography, Heather DeCamp Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
