Kick-Ass Chicks: Julie Mooney & Emily SimsIf you see two girls dancing perfectly in synch to you

Kick-Ass Chicks: Julie Mooney & Emily SimsIf you see two girls dancing perfectly in synch to your favorite classic tunes, there’s a high chance it’s sisters and bloggers, Julieand Emily. As we walked up to the busy front gates before thepark’s official opening, we wondered just how we would find the two dancingdarlings in a sea of people. But to no surprise, we spotted them in theirmatching Vans Lifeguard Hats & Sk8-Hi’s in a matter of seconds— afterall, Vans Girls always standout from the crowd. Their laid-back Californiastyle and carefree attitudes may have already drawn you in, but their epic tips, tricks, and rare finds will keep you glued to their Insta stories and comingback for more! We satdown with Julie and Emily to get a glimpse into their mega funcareers and to talk building a business as sisters, and having the happiestplace on earth as their office.Find out how they turned their passion into a career after the jump…First of all, who are you and what do you do?We are sisters Julie Mooney and Emily Sims, and we’re the co-founders of Magic Kingdom Mamas. We share tips, tricks, and news for families visiting the resort. Some of our most special memories as kids are from the happiest place on earth, but it’s often a high stakes visit. Families invest so much, financially, physically and emotionally, into a vacation. Expectations are always high… making it so easy to be disappointed by crowds, long lines, expenses, etc. So, we started the Magic Kingdom Mamas to help people navigate the parks and de-stress the entire process, so that they can keep their focus on special family moments and memories. You can usually find us wrangling our kids around the parks, or dancing like fools down Main Street, or eating copious amounts of churros.How did Magic Kingdom Mamas come to be?Emily: After going consistently for a few months, friends and family started asking us questions about it— when specific events would be happening, what it was like to go with babies, how to keep kids entertained while waiting in lines, and so on. One day we were talking about it with our husbands, and mine said “well why don’t you guys just start an IG account?” Haha, and that’s basically what happened! We started an account for our friends and family— our parents and sister were (and still are) our most dedicated followers in the beginning (haha!). We really had NO idea what it would turn into… website and business and all that. It’s still kind of mind-blowing!Julie: After Emily’s son was born, we were trying to find a way for our kids to see each other more regularly. We grew up living down the street from our cousins and they became more like siblings to us, so we wanted our kids to have that same close relationship. At the time, we lived close to 2 hours away from each other and the park ended up being the perfect halfway point to meet each week, so our kids could make memories together as cousins.We see that you’re at the park (literally) every day. What’s it like having the happiest place on earth as your office?Emily: “Working” from the happiest place on earth. Haha! Still doesn’t seem real. Yes, we typically meet there twice a week and sometimes one of us will go an extra time without the other. Just depends. We gather enough content to share every day, so it just seems like we’re there all the time. We do have lives outside of the park, though - haha, it’s not really one endless vacation!Julie: Haha! Well, we’re not actually there EVERY day. Emily goes more often than I do— twice a week is perfect for me in my current phase of life!What’s it like working with your sister?Julie: Ok, we actually really love it. We know each other so well, that we can anticipate what the other needs or navigate thought processes, conflicts, and so on pretty easily. We communicate a TON. The other day my husband was laughing at how MANY text messages go back and forth between us (and our younger sister) every day… “like teenagers.” It does border on ridiculous. Emily: It totally does. Haha! BUT, work messages are mixed in with photos of our kids and funny stories of what happened during our days, so a lot of the time, it doesn’t feel like a job. I truly can’t imagine working this closely (and constantly) with anyone other than one of my sisters. Julie: Oh yes, our youngest sister, Shelly, lives up north. We don’t see her nearly as much as we would like, but we run most of our ideas and upcoming projects by her because she’s a great truth-teller. She can support us in a way that others really can’t. Plus, she’s hilarious. Hi Shelly.What are your roles & how do you share responsibilities?Julie: Thankfully, we have found it fairly easy to evolve and change roles as needed, based on our life circumstances. For example, since my third baby came along, Emily handles the majority of our Instagram content. She does so much research for each post… she is literally a walking/breathing information super-highway. Seriously, the backbone of this entire thing! We both work on content for our website, and we also share the responsibilities of our online shop. I work with our manufacturers and printers to produce our products and Emily does the shipping. I do the majority of communicating with brands and collaborators, relationship-building and whatnot. All that said, we’re both really flexible and do our best to help each other out when needed.Have you ever faced any challenges/disagreements working together as partners?Julie: Not a ton, but yes they have happened. They’re aren’t very dramatic though! It’s funny because a lot of our challenges are rooted in personality mechanics more than anything else. The same characteristics that caused us to fight as teenagers are the ones that make us disagree on things now.Emily: Sometimes it’s not even the “thing” that we’re disagreeing on— it’s more each of us having an idea of how something should go in our own head, then disagreeing when the other wants to execute the same goal differently. Julie: I’ve had to slow things down a LOT, and Emily is a serious go-getter. So, we’re in a season where our timing just naturally operates differently. All that said, these differences have actually forced us to hash out a good balance of workload and life…adapt with every season, you know. Or try to, haha!What’s next for Magic Kingdom Mamas?Emily: What’s next? Hmm…well, we really love working for ourselves while collaborating with other brands and companies. We feel so fortunate to have met and worked with some amazing people through this process. So, while we continue developing our brands, we’d LOVE to work more closely on projects with our favorite brands… reviewing other theme park locations and properties! Thankfully, they’re is always in the business of growing and changing, so as long as they do that, we won’t run out of content to share!If you could be any Vans shoe, which would you be and why?Emily: Ok, here it goes. I would be the Mono Canvas Old Skool because old school music, fashion, trends and movies are the best! I also like that the entire shoe is just one solid color. I don’t need much to make me happy— less is always more, right?Julie: I would be black and white Checkered Slip-Ons. No question. They feel so classic to me— the history buff in me appreciates that the style has been around for so long. They are interesting without being too trendy (me). I’d even venture to say they go with almost everything (in the same way that leopard print is a “neutral…” Haha is that a stretch?). And I feel like I’m a pretty agreeable person who gets along with most everyone. Haha, that’s such a hard question to answer!What advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your footstepsEmily: Don’t get discouraged or compare your growing business and creative process to someone else’s. It’s difficult to do in this world of social media marketing— so it really takes a daily, conscious effort!Julie: Just remember that good things take time and authenticity. “likes” and “followers” are great, even functional for businesses these days… but being true to who you are, outside of the social media world, is more important than anything else. That truth will show in your work.Shop Their LooksLook 1 - Emily: Reek Havoc Tee Dress | Suede Canvas Sk8-Hi | Halls & Woods Sunglasses Julie: Pipan Muscle Dress | Sk8-Hi | Janelle Hipster SunglassesLook 2 - Julie: Sierra Tee Dress | Janelle Hipster Sunglasses Emily: Tracker Cropped Tee | Halls & Woods SunglassesLook 3 - Emily: Costa Tank Top | Vans Premium Leather Sk8-Hi Reissue Zip | Halls & Woods Sunglasses | Murdock Lifeguard Hat Julie: Senior Year Muscle Tee | Canvas Sk8-Hi | Janelle Hipster Sunglasses | Murdock Lifeguard Hat -- source link
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