Redefining Success: Samantha Yanks on Motherhood, Media & Reinvention
In this episode of Mom to MORE®, Sharon Macey welcomes media strategist, founder, and editorial leader Samantha Yanks. With over 25 years in media including Vogue, Gotham and Hamptons magazines, she now leads Samantha Yanks Creative, co-founded The Connecticut Edit, and is editor-in-chief of Westport, Weston & Wilton Magazine.
In this conversation, Samantha shares how she’s navigated motherhood and career without chasing balance, instead building a life rooted in presence, support, and strong family values. She also opens up about stepping away during COVID to support her daughter and how that season led to creating something meaningful together.
Tune in for a candid conversation about non-linear careers, motherhood and leadership, resilience through change, and redefining success in different seasons of life.
[00:00] Introduction
[02:48] Samantha’s career journey and life in
media
[04:05] Rethinking work-life balance as a mom
[06:44] Growing up with a working mom and generational influence
[09:02] Creating a family mission statement and shared values
[15:36] What motherhood gives that a career never could
[17:53] Modeling emotional regulation and boundaries for kids
[21:22] Stepping away from corporate life during COVID
[24:19] Building The Connecticut Edit with her daughter
[27:51] Returning to media and leading local publications
[34:31] Philanthropy and involvement with Near & Far Aid
[38:21] Samantha’s vision for her “more” and what’s next
Meet my guest, Samantha Yanks:
Instagram Samantha Yanks: https://www.instagram.com/samanthayanks
Instagram The Connecticut Edit:https://www.instagram.com/theconnecticutedit/
Westport, Weston & Wilton Magazine: https://www.instagram.com/westportmagazine/
Samantha Yanks Creative: https://www.samanthayanks.com/
The Connecticut Edit website:https://www.theconnecticutedit.com
Westport, Weston & Wilton Magazine/Moffly Mediahttps://mofflylifestylemedia.com/publications/westport/
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Keep an eye out for episode #61 of the Mom to MORE® podcast where Sharon is joined by Shana Moore, Founder of Weskreech, sonic defense personal safety alarms. Coming soon - you won’t want to miss it ♥
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Sharon (01:14)
Welcome back to a new episode of Mom to More. One of the things I love most about this show is the chance to learn from moms who are reinventing in real time and to bring you along in these conversations. Every episode teaches me something and I have a feeling today will do the same for all of you. So with that in mind, I am super excited to introduce you to my next guest, Samantha Yanks.
Samantha is a media strategist, founder, and award-winning editorial leader with more than 25 years of experience building influential lifestyle brands at the intersection of storytelling, community, and commerce. She is the co-founder of the Connecticut Edit, founder of Samantha Yanks Creative, and editor-in-chief of Westport Westin and Wilton Magazine. She has held senior leadership roles at some of the most respected media companies, including editor-in-chief of Gotham and Hamptons magazines,
senior editorial roles at the Oprah Magazine, and Samantha began her career at Vogue, where she became American Vogue's first fine jewelry and watch editor. That must have been fun. Her work is known for shaping cultural conversation while delivering high performing revenue driven content across print, digital, and social platforms. A frequent media commentator and sought after speaker, Samantha has appeared on Today, Bloomberg,
E and Sirius XM with insights featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other national outlets. And of course, this powerhouse woman is also a mom. Welcome, Samantha. I am so thrilled you're with me today.
Samantha (02:48)
⁓
I am so excited to be here. Let's do it.
Sharon (02:50)
Thank you. Well, let's jump in.
I love to start all of my interviews with what I call my essential mom question, and that is how many kids you have and where are you raising them?
Samantha (02:59)
So I have one daughter, her name is Sadie, and she was born in New York City. And about five years ago, we moved to Connecticut and we live in Westport. And I am also mom to now, as of this week, two dogs.
Sharon (03:14)
Yeah, that's right. Two dogs, one is a puppy. two puppies.
Samantha (03:17)
No, what? No, you're right. You're right. One dog and now one puppy.
Sharon (03:20)
Okay, thinking of you and the puppy thing. you. That's gonna be a hard one.
Samantha (03:24)
know we're here to talk about the human. So the most important human in my life is our daughter.
Sharon (03:28)
That's true.
You know what's interesting about some of these conversations is I interview two kinds of moms. One who really stepped away from work just like I did and then reinvented later in life. And then other women who I call intentional hybrid moms like you who are a little younger and have found a way to do both. And your option, what's interesting, actually did not exist when my kids were younger. So
I want to understand what does that balance look like and how do you protect that sweet spot between family and work?
Samantha (04:05)
So it is a question that I have thought about the answer to more and more as I have gotten older. And I'm also in the workplace now with young moms or women who are starting to have children. And I don't think that there is one.
fine-tuned answer, but what I knew about myself and what my husband and I knew about each other and still holds true is we're both responsible as parents. It's not only a mom's responsibility to kind of drop everything, step back, and put everything career-wise on the shelf. And I think, like I treat most everything, I didn't really overthink it. I just thought, I really love my job.
I really love my husband and I clearly really love our daughter. And it was less of a conversation than you're right about this sort of can you do it all? What is work life balance look like? There's a lot of discussion about it now. And I think that's really wonderful. And I think a lot of good is coming out of it. Those conversations weren't really going on 18 now years ago. It was more for me, how do I?
keep everything going and know that nothing is really falling through the cracks. Some days are gonna be great, some days are gonna be a complete and utter disaster.
that's always the case whether you're in the workplace or you're not in the workplace, right? There's always disasters, right? It's just like landmines everywhere. always just hoping that I'm not stepping in more than one at the same time, but.
It wasn't really that big of a thought, I have to be honest. And now reflecting on it, and I get asked this question a lot about work-life balance, I think a lot of it has to do with having really great support around you. It just does, right? And I had a really great support system, and I leaned in to that support system. And when I was in mom mode, which is always, as we all know as mothers, right, that doesn't ever stop.
But when I was home with our daughter, I was in the park or I was at a play group or I was at a class, I was fully, fully present also, may add. There weren't cell phones everywhere and I had less distractions, which I'm really grateful for. And I think it's really important to be really present in the moments. And I will say at work, I was really present there as well. And it somehow, I think over time, just became who I was. It just became natural.
Sharon (06:41)
was your mom a stay at home mom or was your mom a working mom?
Samantha (06:44)
My mom was also a working mom.
were very, very close, and we have a lot of similarities career-wise. She was in the media world as well. And she, too, kind of had that balance. But I always remember her talking about work. And I always remember meeting her colleagues. And to this day, I had lunch a few weeks ago with my mom and one of her former colleagues.
These are women and people who have had a huge impact on our lives. And that was always a really, really important piece to her life and a really important piece to who she is. We have conversations about work way more, quite frankly, than we do about personal goings on. It's just core, I think, to our DNA. And I have to say, know my daughter's only 18, but I 100 % see that in her as well.
Sharon (07:39)
I think that makes a lot of sense to me. mean, like my mom was a stay-at-home mom. My husband's mom stayed at home. And so that just felt like the natural transition for me. So I find these conversations like this so fascinating how it can sort of trickle down through the generations.
Samantha (07:55)
Absolutely, and my mother-in-law was a working mom as well. So I think when that is also part of the conversation as much as the motherhood piece, for us it all flowed together very naturally.
I never felt like when I was at work that
our daughter didn't have the support that she needed. And so I never had that like sense of guilt that I know a lot of women confront and it's real. And there weren't moments that I didn't wonder what she was doing, right? While I was in the office. But it took a village, truly. And I'm so grateful for that.
Sharon (08:35)
takes a village.
Nice, really nice. You know, when we first talked, I found it really cool that you are a big believer in mission statements.
obviously for businesses, but even for families, which I thought was really intriguing. So how would you recommend creating a family mission statement? And how did that shape your family and your role in work?
Samantha (09:02)
I really do believe that companies, whether you're an entrepreneur or you're working for a massive conglomerate, you need a mission statement, right? Because it's the lens through which you look at everything. And I think it is the same for family.
Sharon (09:14)
but you don't necessarily think about that for your family. That's what I found so intriguing.
Samantha (09:18)
Yeah,
you don't think about it necessarily for your family.
it's basically like, what is your family's value system, right? What lens do you look through as a family unit? Individually, what's your North Star? Collectively, what's your North Star?
when you're a parent.
you're raising a child who is going to ultimately be part of a
None of us exist as individuals. So as a family, what are your value systems? What do you feel passionately about? How do you treat other people? Where do you find enjoyment? What do you like to engage in? And how collectively do all of those things work together, right? Because we are individuals. We all enjoy different things.
We as a family like to talk about what those things are. My daughter is completely and utterly a sports fan, something I am not, and nor particularly is my husband. But what interests her is the intersection of sports and finance. And so we have created a narrative in our family that everyone brings to the table what they feel passionately about.
what lens do you look at it through to move forward? Do you wanna work with kind people? Do you wanna work with people who are aggressive? Do you wanna work with people who inspire you? Is there a piece of spirituality to what you do? What is it at the end of the day that's going to drive you to be your best self and also give back to your company or give back to philanthropically?
Whatever it is. So I think for us,
our family's mission statement is, I think now intuitively, a group of people who trust their gut, who really know that
the way forward, they know what the right answer is. The question is, do you do it? Right?
Sharon (11:17)
big step one, knowing the right path, knowing the right answer.
What was interesting about this is we actually do have a family mission value So when you talked about that, I was like, I get it. And I think it's really important to set, especially for morals and values, for the kids to set, this is what we believe. And then there's always room for growth and for changing it. But I love that.
aspect of it. So thank you. You've also talked a lot about lived wisdom and the power of age. You had me at hello on that one because I am such a fan of and proponent of older women doing extraordinary things because we have the lived experience, we have the gravitas and the grit and the resilience and we can navigate all the crap that's thrown our way. That's an understatement. So I have
Kind of a two part question here. Part one, what strengths and skills did motherhood give you that made you a better leader? Even thinking high pressure editorial roles or,
Samantha (12:20)
So motherhood is unforgiving in some ways,
moments happen quicker than you expect them to, right? I know as a mom of an 18-year-old, I have conversations with women who say, just can't believe it flew by. And it really didn't fly by. It's just a collection of lots of little moments. And with those little moments, you gain wisdom.
The workplace is the same way, I have to be honest. I think that when I look back at my career, all of the moments that I have had lead up to the resume and the experience that I have today. So motherhood really gives you this unbelievable kind of Teflon.
Sharon (13:15)
I like that.
Samantha (13:16)
way of being, which is you kind of don't have the opportunity to dwell. You don't really have the opportunity to think too long about what we perceive as failure. You just don't legitimately or as the kids say, literally, you do not have the time to dwell on it. You have to figure it out. You have to see what you've learned. You have to try to not make the same mistakes again.
Sharon (13:28)
You don't have the time.
Samantha (13:44)
but you marry that with also joy and fun and happiness and work is that way too, right? Most people who I meet at this stage of my life who reflect back on their careers and think of the successes they've had, they really holistically together talk more about success and a lot of that success has had
really hard failures within it. Motherhood's the same way, right? So when you ask a mom, it the greatest job that you've ever had? I'm yet to meet a mom most often who's not gonna say yes.
Sharon (14:26)
But it also is the toughest job you will ever.
Samantha (14:29)
The
toughest job. what I have realized in the past three months, actually, is now having a freshman in college. It is the toughest job. It is the most rewarding job. But I hate to tell moms of young kids, it gets harder. It actually gets harder. The emotions get bigger. The questions become more challenging. And so like a job, it grows. Nothing is stagnant.
Absolutely, or hopefully, right? Hopefully. I do think that being open to different learnings and speaking with different people and understanding others' experiences within reason, Each of our lives are our own, so you kind of cherry pick what you like to hear and who you pay attention to, but you're always growing. You're growing in the workplace and you're growing as a mother, as a father, as a parent, as a daughter.
Sharon (15:24)
Let's go to the flip side of the first question. What did motherhood provide you that a career never could? And talk about maybe your top two or three skills that you're like, I would never have had those skills if I weren't a mom.
Samantha (15:36)
resilience and determination without a doubt.
one thing my mother taught me, and I don't think it's something that other people haven't heard, work does not love you back. It just does not. And you are replaceable. I hate to say it. It is painful for most people to hear, but...
You're replaceable and it doesn't love you back. You are not either of those two things as a mom, true. And so when you have any moment as a mother where you are just like, damn, that was the worst day ever, or, ⁓ my God, I really like, how did I just like completely fail at that? There's tomorrow. And there's like two hours later, like sometimes I'll get off the phone with my daughter now and I'm like, wow, I just.
I should not have said that. And then she calls me an hour later. like, I'm getting a manicure. Do you like this pink or that pink? That does not happen at work, right?
That will never happen at work. So the motherhood piece is always primary because that's where the real lessons come. And that's really where the growth comes. And then I actually believe you bring a lot of those learnings to the workplace.
Right, I am pretty unfazed and unflustered at work. It takes a lot for me to get like really rattled at work because I get really rattled as a mom, right, and as a spouse.
Sharon (17:04)
So you get that rattleness out of you. So when you go to work, you're like, I'm already dealt with worse.
Samantha (17:08)
And you know what? Totally.
And my daughter and my husband and my parents and my entire family, they have seen the worst of me. Believe me, right? They have seen like all of our families have, right? Full transparency. They have seen the worst. And I'm OK with that because my hope is that I don't bring that to
Sharon (17:19)
of our family.
Samantha (17:28)
I don't believe that workplace is the place for emotions. I don't believe
that your personal life and your professional life are actually one and the same, which is why I always find the work-life balance a really challenging question. I think they're two separate things. And I think the learnings piece is a brilliant question that you asked. I think the learnings that you take as a mother that you bring to the workplace, incomparable.
Sharon (17:53)
also point out that Sadie is watching you and she is seeing how you process she's
Samantha (18:00)
Are you? you? Are you?
Sharon (18:03)
But
she's seeing how you process issues, how you deal with,
when you have like these crazy hair on fire sort of days, and how you come around to the other side of it. And that's a huge life lesson for her.
Samantha (18:15)
I think it is, and I think it's also really important for children to understand that every one of their needs at every single second doesn't need to be met or what they perceive as their own fires and their own crises. It's really important to learn that. And I think social media and just our phones in general and access to technology.
have made us all believe that everything is so unbelievably important at the second you feel that it's unbelievably important. And the truth is that's not the case at all. So I think working as a mom also teaches or has taught,
again, ever giving advice, but for us personally, I think it also has allowed
my daughter to see that sometimes that's gotta wait. That moment.
has to wait and it's okay if it waits because everything is not a fire. And there are actual real fires at work too, by the way. And those that you have to deal with.
Sharon (19:22)
Hey, Samantha, we are gonna take a quick break. And when we come back, folks, we are diving into Samantha stepping back from her career for her daughter and how the pandemic created big personal change in a very unexpected way. Be right back.
Hey, we're back. So if you are loving this episode with Samantha Yanks, please let the world know. Tap five stars wherever you listen because it really does help other moms find the show. So thank you for that. Okay, Samantha.
You paused your career when your daughter entered high school. Why then?
Samantha (21:22)
So we went through, I think, like pretty much everyone on the planet, a huge transition during COVID. We were living in New York City and at our weekend home in the Hamptons, in Bridgehampton, and we decided to make a change that was the onset of the idea happened pre-COVID, where we really thought we wanted to move to Connecticut.
Our daughter Sadie is a really passionate competitive tennis player. She really wanted to be in an environment where that was taken seriously and was part of her day to day. The also wonderful news about a lot of the values that we have put forth in our family was moving was a discussion. It had to be at a point where all of us were ready and it was something that we all wanted and.
back to the career piece. It was in line with everyone's careers and it made sense. And we moved to Connecticut and it was COVID and nobody was leaving their house. And we were in a completely new environment and I had an eighth grader. And I just had this moment where I thought she really needs me and PS, I really need her.
Like we really needed to navigate this as best we could together.
we've always been close
but what brought us, think closer together was like we both had no idea what was going on. Like we didn't have friends. We didn't, yeah, like we were brand new.
I knew a few people. My daughter knew nobody.
she was completely starting over with people wearing masks in a completely new place. And as much as it was something that we all wanted to do collectively and we were super excited about it and we had bought this new home and everything was really beautiful and we all agreed if we moved we were getting a puppy, great, great, great, really it was, everyone was very vulnerable. And I just thought,
this is the time, right? I had stepped back from my role at Hamptons and Gotham after about 13 years. I was in the early stages of launching my own company, which I have today. And I just thought, we just kind of need to hang out. I mean, I don't even know how else to say it. There's no real language around it. We just kind of need to hang out and do this together. And so in a very traditional sense, I stepped away from a
corporate world, which I had been in my whole career. And I kind of bigger toe into the water of, I guess, full-time mom. But while at the same time, it was really cool about it, not to always go back to work, is it allowed Sadie and I to launch something together, which today is the Connecticut
Sharon (24:18)
we're going to talk about.
Samantha (24:19)
that really came from
a place of we're just kind of navigating this new environment together.
we had no choice but to try to figure out like what our time together looked like. It was really interesting.
Sharon (24:36)
That's a really interesting time of exploration. Because you hadn't had that time when she was younger. But I would think that because she's older and has a mind of her own, she's a freshman in high school, that that would allow for a very rich exploration of what is our relationship and what does it look like.
Samantha (25:00)
yeah, it was really an opportunity to kind of explore our relationship as adults for the first time.
Sharon (25:08)
I like that. I like that. We're going to talk about the Connecticut edit in a minute, but I want to ask you, how long have you been leading Westport Weston and Wilton magazine? And sort of like, what was your vision when you stepped into that role?
Samantha (25:20)
So I have always been in the media space from a professional perspective. And when I left my role as editor-in-chief of Hamptons and Gotham Magazine, I really thought that I was kind of done with that piece of my life, and for a variety of reasons. One was that I.
I was under the impression just personally that I had kind of told all the stories that I felt I could tell in both of those environments through a lens that I thought made sense to me and what was expected of me in that role. And I was also exhausted from the pace of that role. Hampton's Magazine was 16 issues a summer.
And I was at that for 13 years. That's crazy. at some point, I think that most people who are in positions like that, you almost become numb to it. And I didn't want that any longer. I just wanted something else.
when we moved to Connecticut, I thought, well,
look at all these amazing stories here. And I think I was looking at Connecticut through
a new lens that other people really weren't looking at it through.
when the editor-in-chief position opened at Westport Westin and Wilton Magazine, I think on both sides of the equation were owned by a really wonderful company called Moffley Media.
Jonathan Moffley, the owner of the company and I were introduced and I think it was very mutual from both of our perspectives that it was a role that was really befitting of the experience that I had, the love I have of the new community that I was moving into and also a need that they were looking to fill. The person who was in my role before me was there for 23 years. And so...
It was time for new perspective and it fit and it worked. And I couldn't be happier being in that role because it celebrates truthfully the town that I live in and the towns that are adjacent to ours. So it works.
Sharon (27:51)
Yeah, it is for listeners who are not familiar with it. It is in Fairfax County, Connecticut, and it is just a phenomenal magazine. It's gorgeous. The editorial is sharp and witty and it's, you know, things that are happening in our neck of the woods. And it's really nice. And all the other towns like Greenwich has one. think Darien has one. So towns have them. It's just it's a wonderful publication. So congratulations on that. All right. So the Connecticut edit. You co-founded this with your daughter, Sadie.
during COVID. So talk to me about that and like,
how did you come with this idea? What was missing in like the digital landscape that this was going to fill?
Samantha (28:31)
so Sadie and I during COVID, think we're...
just so excited for the moment that the doors and the windows and anything would open that we could get out and explore the place that we had just moved to. And speaking of mission statements, the first thing we did when we founded the Connecticut Edit was to figure out what our mission statement would be. And so the idea behind it is that it is a platform that
connects, captivates, and celebrates the state of Connecticut through a lens of social consciousness. So really what that means kind of I think in day-to-day life and in practice is it is a social media platform that we use to explore Connecticut. And we share about what we love, what we think is new and noteworthy, what we see as trends that are upcoming.
We talk about events, we talk about community, we give people ways to celebrate the very place that they live in. We tell stories. It's really, as to female founders, it is very woman-centric. don't think it... we love. I don't think it knocks you over the head. I don't want to deter our male audience, we love to tell the stories about female founders. We love to follow what it is that they do, what they're creating.
and that is really in every single space. There is not an area that we will not And it's evolved, like every great thing. And the good news about social media is that it kind of just lets you evolve as you evolve. And so we started it as a way to share about what we were seeing and what resonated with us. And it just wasn't something that we
found as a resource that was available to us. I think like any entrepreneur, you just build it. And so we decided that we were going to build this platform. We were going to do it together. Our lens was really from 15 to 50, as you know, it was just for easy kind of language around it. we just started sharing.
And what was so interesting about it, I think, was the immediate reaction
were really from residents of the area who found it so refreshing because they didn't, they weren't finding the excitement in the place that they had been living for so many years. It felt like a reinvigoration for them. And so I was like, okay, that's great. Cause we're onto something. What I knew,
from a professional perspective is as an editor in chief, your role, your primary role is to be the ultimate authority in whatever it is that you are, whatever arena you are in. And so as editor in chief of Hamptons Magazine, which is the role that I had been in, we were the brand authority. We were the brand voice. If you thought of the Hamptons, you thought of Hamptons Magazine. And our role was to be that authority. I decided.
use your language to flip the script a little bit. And instead of us coming across as being the authority, we wanted it to be our discovery. Like, come on the ride with us. See what we're.
Sharon (31:56)
else is the authority.
Samantha (31:58)
Everyone else,
you know, you tell us what coffee places you love. Like we want to, we want to discover what it is that you love. We'll then tell you if we love it. Also back to family values and the way that I operate at work as well, always positive. We're not a platform that is going to talk about anything that we don't like, that doesn't, that doesn't resonate with us. We don't talk about bad experiences. Believe me, we have them, but that is not the type of
platform that we are. And so we started it together and it's been super fun. We just celebrated our five year anniversary of it.
Sharon (32:33)
That's crazy. talking about like the family life, do you think that maybe in the back of your mind, you were thinking, all right, in four years, she's going off to college, sort of looking at empty nest. Do you think that maybe that was also more of an impetus to start something with your daughter that becomes, it connects you forever, it's enduring, it's fun, it's exploratory. Do you think that had?
Samantha (32:58)
I think so. I think so. don't know if that was the intention in the beginning. Honestly, the intention in the beginning was like, we're bored, we've got to do something. Like any good business. And in retrospect, yes, if I think about it, it is something that we wholly, collaborated on together. And I do think there's some enduring legacy to that.
Every time I post on it, every time I reference Wee instead of me, even if I share something, she's always a part of it. She's always in the back of my mind or the front of my mind or every part of my mind. But yeah, yes, I think it is in the end something that as I kind of saw our life evolving and now being empty nesters, I do think there's probably a part of me that
Sharon (33:38)
Yeah.
Samantha (33:51)
that always thought, wow, this will be something that'll kind of carry on when she leaves.
Sharon (33:58)
fabulous and she's even able to do it in between class.
Samantha (34:02)
Totally, totally. She might even launch her own. An offshoot, if you will.
Sharon (34:05)
There you go.
There you go. OK, stay tuned, folks. Stay tuned. You have a fabulous focus on nonprofits. I know you've talked about that. And we totally overlap. I've sat on the board of Newark Stanford Grassroots Tennis and Education and on their executive committee for 20 years. So I love that about you. You are going to be
co-hosting a huge gala here in Connecticut called the Near and Far Aid. Why is that so important to you?
Samantha (34:31)
So there's a lot of overlap between the work that Niren Fari does and I think what the Connecticut Edit does.
the Connecticut edits role in the nonprofit space, I think is to raise awareness for organizations. We don't align with any single organization. I can't imagine that we ever would. Our role is to, rather is to support many. And so we like to shine a spotlight on a multitude of organizations in every area of the nonprofit world, really. And when I was a
about the Neer and Farid gala this year. I had attended the event for the past two years and Mothly Media is actually the media partner for the event. And so I know a lot about the organization and what really connected me to it is that their work is very similar to the Connecticut Edit in that they don't align with one organization. They are a nonprofit that distributes to many.
there's so many organizations that are doing such great work. There are so many people that need our help. We are so fortunate, I am so fortunate to be able to
give back in many ways. And so when I was approached about Near and Far Aid, I was like, really? I mean, this is a huge responsibility. It's a huge job. Huge, huge, huge responsibility. And I don't take it lightly. Chairing a gala, too many, may sound like a lot of fun. And it will be a lot of fun. We are going to have a great time. And I'm very excited for it. But it's a lot of work. It's a huge commitment.
Sharon (35:59)
job.
Samantha (36:16)
we have a goal of what we wanna raise and we have a window in which we raise that. And so it had to be also the right timing. you know, we had been talking about it for some time and I think alongside, cause it does all go back to motherhood and that is the thread of, you know, of your podcast is they asked at a time that I had become an empty nester. And so I said, girls,
You knew what you were doing. Very strategic. moment was right. So ⁓ we are dedicating an inordinate amount of time to this. And it's an amazing, amazing organization.
Sharon (36:47)
strategic about
We've been to the event so many times. I think I've filled out grant applications for near and far and it's really an extraordinary event. So good for you. We'll see you there. Congratulations. All right. Are you up for a lightning round?
Samantha (37:16)
I don't think I have a choice. ⁓ I'm trapped in a chair with a microphone in front of my face.
Sharon (37:17)
You don't have a choice.
Go
crazy. I promise this will be fun.
One word to describe starting the Connecticut edit with Sadie. Love it. Most interesting interview you have ever done.
Samantha (37:35)
I'm Martha Stewart.
Sharon (37:37)
Your favorite magazine.
Samantha (37:39)
Westport Western Wilton.
Sharon (37:40)
There you go. A mom skill you use daily in business.
Samantha (37:46)
Patience. Love it.
Sharon (37:49)
Your personal North Star.
Samantha (37:52)
Peacefulness. Peace.
Sharon (37:54)
like that. Thank you for that. And one thing every mom should remember when starting her next chapter.
Samantha (38:01)
Give yourself grace.
Sharon (38:03)
I love that. Thank you for that. Okay, I have a question that I ask all the amazing moms. have the privilege of interviewing and that is Samantha Yanks. Since this is the Mom2More podcast, what is the more that is calling you next?
Samantha (38:21)
So I've listened to your podcast, many, many, many of them, and I love them. So I knew this question was coming. And I love the question, because I think it actually gives me the opportunity to take a pause, take a step back. We've talked about a huge career journey that I've had here, and a professional and personal arc with motherhood weaved into that.
I think the more might be going back to corporate America. I think I have learned so much with a career in the early days in that arena, then becoming an entrepreneur and what that looks like and working. We didn't really talk a lot about Samantha Yanks Creative, but within that universe, I work with brands, founders, startups as they kind of begin their journey.
in terms of what a brand looks like. being an entrepreneur today, think a lot having to do with social media is really glamorized. And it's really challenging in every single way, or form, from a monetary perspective to a time perspective to a networking perspective to attraction perspective.
Sharon (39:22)
deeper into that.
Samantha (39:46)
been in the entrepreneurial space, I think I've done the tinkering. I think I'm ready to go back to a fully realized, well-built company that I can bring the experience in retrospect to. I've been having a lot of interesting conversations about it. It's a really exciting time. And
think that may be the more. I think the more may be a kind of return
to that space, we shall see.
Sharon (40:14)
I like that, in addition to philanthropy and the kinetic edit and everything else.
Samantha (40:15)
And it just
Of course, of course. And I think that this next generation of employees are realizing that...
Work isn't a linear line. It really never was. I think people believed it was. Never is. But it never is. Especially for a Especially for a mom. And I think this next generation is learning that you can be good and do, I really don't like the word good, but you can be successful at doing a multitude of things at the same time. And having a lot of skill sets is way more valuable than being super niche with one.
Sharon (40:35)
Mom, no.
Samantha (40:57)
And so, yes, should I go back into the corporate world? That doesn't mean any of those other things are going anywhere, right? I mean, they're not going anywhere. Everything can coexist. know, everything can coexist, but the brain power that was really needed to build the Connecticut edit, we put in those five years of hard work. Now we get to see a little bit of the... ⁓
you know, the journey it's taking on its own, it's evolving in its own way. It doesn't need that brain power anymore. And my daughter is a freshman in college and she is beginning her own chapter. And those conversations that we're having are beautiful and wonderful and challenging. And she's talking about networking and her first job and what she's doing this summer and all of those things. But she's beginning her.
own trajectory. so, you know, I don't know. We'll see.
Sharon (41:58)
TBD
as they say. TBD. Yeah, I look forward to following along in your journey. So please tell our listeners where they can find you online and folks, everything will be in the show notes.
Samantha (42:08)
So we love engagement on Instagram and all platforms of social media. So personally, you can follow me at Samantha Yanks and then follow us at the Connecticut Edit and of course, the ConnecticutEdit.com and follow Westport Magazine for all Westport local goings on. So we've got a lot of places to find us.
Sharon (42:32)
Samantha, I am so glad we got this together. What a ⁓ deep and enlightening and revealing conversation. So I want to thank you for your time and your wisdom and your mom wisdom and your honesty. So thank you. This has been so lovely.
Samantha (42:50)
Thank you so much. It's been such a dynamic conversation. You know, you never know how conversations are going to flow, and you never know what the energy is going to be like. But you have a powerhouse show, and it was just such an interesting conversation. I don't want it to end.
Sharon (43:06)
We'll keep it going. Thank you again. Thank you. I'd like to read another five-star review, and it happens to be from a guest of the show. And she wrote, I was thrilled to be a guest on Mom to More. It could not have been easier or more fun. I am the founder CEO of WeScreach, a personal safety tech startup. Truly inspiring to hear from all these women reinventing and succeeding. Well, thank you, Shauna, for sharing your inspiring journey.
You are a wonderful example of a former stay-at-home mom reinventing and wildly succeeding. And to our listeners, if you keep writing those five-star reviews, I'll keep reading them.