Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Eckersley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a proud daughter of two incredible parents; number 8 of 10 kids. I loved leadership, art, sports, and public speaking as a teenager which led me to study communications at BYU.
I met my husband, Jason, at the first football game of the season. We sat next to each other at that first game and were ring-shopping by the last. We moved to Columbus, OH after our wedding and attended The Ohio State University. Our first daughter came along in 1999 followed by 5 others over 14 years – 3 boys and 3 girls, ages 22 to 9.
I’ve always been passionate about art and technology so graphic design came naturally to me. I started working as a freelance designer in 2003. I also have a knack for organization, strategy, and simplification. Many moms would come to me for advice on how to streamline the monotonous parts of motherhood. I created MeckMom.com back in 2006 to get my out-of-the-box mothering solutions into a shareable format.
The site grew over the years. Eventually, I transitioned it to be a place to market my design work as well as my favorite mom hacks. Some of my most popular posts involved creating unexpected solutions to common problems – a talent that was refined by raising my autistic son, Jack.
In the fall of 2016, my husband was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The doctors told us his odds of making it to the 5-year mark were in the single digits and we felt our whole world shift. My site, which had been more of a hobby than a business, shifted quickly into a serious focus for both of us. I increased my attention on new products and reached out to new avenues for marketing, such as KSL Studio 5.
I loved working on TV and found my mom hacks and family fun ideas resonated with the Studio 5 audience. After a few years of regular appearances, I was offered a featured spot as the “Home & Family Life” contributor. Those TV segments fueled my creativity, and my business grew. It also connected me with a very loyal niche audience on my social media channels.
My love of teaching moms on camera propelled me into online teaching in 2020 when I launched the Creative Come Follow Me online course. My focus is to create meaningful, memorable, simple gospel-teaching tools for families and teachers around the world. I create weekly faith-based video content, providing insights, ideas, and printable tools. It’s been the most exhausting, heart-driven project I’ve ever done.
Jason’s cancer has recurred several times over the past six years (he’s now stage 4). My business – more accurately the incredible group of customers who support it – has provided steadiness for our family and our finances during these stressful years. It’s easy to get mired down in the day-to-day cancer struggles but my business offers me a welcome respite. It pushes me to be creative, work hard, connect with others, and feel like some of my future is within my control. 🙂
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve encountered many struggles along the way. Most of my pre-cancer difficulties were related to finding time to tap into my creative side. By focusing my niche on helping other moms make time to “be the fun mom”, I killed two birds with one stone. My business helped me keep my head above the monotonous parts of parenting and search for ways to inject fun into our family’s everyday life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think I’m best known for my creativity, especially when it comes to problem-solving. I like to find unexpected solutions to common problems and create fun in simple, out-of-the-box ways.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I love listening to business origin stories like the podcast “How I Built This”. The public speaking side of me loves Ted Talks. My work on Studio 5 and the Creative Come Follow Me course prompts me to stay on top of the latest family fun ideas, so I keep tabs on a lot of fun Instagram accounts. I also love to boost myself spiritually, so I stay current on the latest content from my faith like the BYU Devotional podcast and the General Conference Podcast. I also love to hear the perspective of others like Kate Bowler’s “Everything Happens”, and NPR’s “This American Life”.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://meckmom.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meckmomlife/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MariaEckersley
- Other: https://learn.meckmom.com/bundles/creative-come-follow-me
