Hi Malinee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I went through a divorce in 2017. During my divorce process, I noticed that there was too much information on the internet or support groups that seemed to be bombarded with “negative venting,” and it was hard to find a community of like-minded women to go through the process with. I had girlfriends who had been divorced before me, but none were going through it at the same time, and I was also trying to be private and anonymous about it. When Covid-struck this past March, I was working freelance doing online marketing project management and decided to reach out to my sister, who is also divorced and had started a divorce blog website in 2015 but never tried to create a business out of it. We decided to re-launch it as an online platform for like-minded women helping other women through the break-up and divorce process.
We interviewed and reached out to licensed therapists, divorce attorneys, financial advisors and other experts in the home, health, beauty field to collaborate with us so we could offer virtual video workshops, short video tips, podcasts, newsletters and other useful content catered to supporting a woman going through a breakup or divorce. We were lucky enough to be accepted to an accelerator program through Elevacao.org, as they only selected ten female-owned tech startups for the program. We just launched the website a few weeks ago and are actively trying to get the word out to all women who are going through a break up or divorce. We are also actively looking for investors who believe in our mission of “women helping women.”
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road. Multi-tasking and taking on all “departments” of a business is grueling and cumbersome. My sister and I try to divide and conquer, but there are only 24 hours in a day, and we need work/life balance. Plus she’s on the east coast and I’m on the west coast. I’m normally a very organized person, but there are so many moving parts to launching a website and dealing with vendors, affiliate people, freelance workers, technology, and attracting investors and an audience. I also have two teenagers, a dog and a cat, along with other freelance marketing project management work and acting/modeling gigs to manage.
As you know, we’re big fans of Chapter2Club.com. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Chapter2Club is the smart women’s guide to breakups, divorce and everything after. We offer a website platform and virtual community of women helping other women through the divorce and break up process. We provide tools and resources through virtual video workshops that are live and recorded, short video tips, podcasts, blog articles, newsletters, and soon an app. What sets us apart from others is that we are a female-founded, divorced ourselves and can provide a safe environment of useful custom and curated information for the smart, modern woman who wants to look forward and get advice from experts along with the community of other like-minded women. Brand wise we are most proud of our modern and forward thinking approach to getting divorce support help for women by women. We want readers to know that they are not alone in the divorce process and that we are a “one-stop” resource for all areas in moving on with your life to the next chapter.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I have learned that the divorce rate has increased during the Covid-19 Crisis and that more and more women are looking for online support and advice to get through the process. I have also learned that having a virtual community is more important now than ever before. That “connection” with other people can help you along the way and make you feel like you’re not alone even if you are “physically alone.” I’ve also learned who my real friends are and who’s “got my back,”.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@chapter2club.com
- Website: chapter2club.com
- Instagram: @chapter2club
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chapter2Club
- Twitter: @ch2club
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCREePV0L6gdyFpwrYWOccwg
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/chapter2clubofficial/
Emily Sandifer Photography
