In this episode of the Living Legacy Podcast, host Zaakirah Muhammad explains why she relocated permanently to Atlanta, Georgia. She recounts her personal journey—divorce in March 2020, healing through therapy, and her perspective as a cancer survivor—that prompted a period of self‑focus and the decision to settle where she could best serve herself. Zaakirah highlights her family roots: both parents grew up in Atlanta, and she has close relatives and a childhood best friend there, providing a supportive network. She describes her entrepreneurial role as a brand‑cultivating strategist and founder of Phocus Media Group, offering integrated photography, social‑media, and website services for small businesses, especially ahead of the holiday ecommerce surge. The episode underscores Atlanta’s vibrant creative and business community—particularly Black entrepreneurs, photographers, and the music scene—aligning with her vision since 2014. Zaakirah announces plans for more in‑person podcast recordings, A&R work, and expanded networking, while inviting listeners to book photo sessions, refer clients, and engage with the podcast through subscriptions and feedback.
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This weekly podcast inspires you to step outside of your comfort zone. My name is Zaakirah Muhammad, and I'm your host of the Living Legacy Podcast. I am a cancer survivor, brand cultivating strategist, author, and world traveler. This Living Legacy Podcast features women of purpose sharing stories of resilience. They are single and married. They are artists and entrepreneurs who run businesses and juggle parenthood. If you are ready to hear interviews about professionalism, entrepreneurship, travel, life, and love, you are in the right place. They will share stories of how they overcame adversity while seeing life through a different lens. Let's get into it.
So I am recording this Living Legacy podcast episode live from Atlanta, Georgia. I have moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Um, of course, this episode is briefly— I'm going to give you an overview of why I chose Atlanta. I'm sure that's your first immediate question, right? Well, Before I got married, some of you may know, I actually released it as a podcast episode, but I was divorced, got divorced March of 2020. And it was, you know, hard emotionally, but I used the last few months to just heal. But I knew I had to figure out during my time of therapy, I was trying to figure out where, where do I want to be right now that it's the best time? to focus on me, right? So what does Z want to do? What does Zaakirah want to do? And so before I got married, I was in Atlanta like once a month, like clockwork. I was staying with my parents and it's a 2.5-hour drive, especially if you take the back roads. And so I was literally building my name and I would network so much that my connects, when I tell them that I'm moving, they were like, wait, I thought you were always here. So No, now I'm officially here. I was blessed to be able to stay with my sister. Um, every time, you know, both before I got married and in the early stages of my marriage, as you may or may not know, if you also listen to a previous podcast episode, you'll hear of how I met my husband and he is actually a foreigner. So he's actually from West Africa. So there was a time period where we were not living together because he was not in the US as of yet. So, um, I mean, I've always, it's always been on my mind. It's always something that I've wanted to do because Even at that time, my big sister, um, was helping me look for places. I thought that's where also where, um, we were going to live as a couple, but that didn't work out and that's okay. You know, um, God's timing is best. So now I feel like I'm getting, I'm, I'm actually setting my roots here officially, you know, not just, uh, coming just for a weekend and leaving, you know, and I'm here and I'm blessed to be able to say that I am an entrepreneur, full-time entrepreneur. Being a brand cultivating strategist, helping other small businesses to look good on social media, as well as continuing my love for photographing, capturing the essence of people, of women, of more businesses and small owners. So small business owners, sorry. So of course, if this sounds like you and you know someone in Atlanta who needs a photo shoot, send them my way. Visit my website. I'll leave it in the show notes. But go to my website, zaakirahnayyar.com/workwithme, to get access to either one of my photo mini sessions that I will have in a studio, or I, you know, safe and secure, you know, to be virus-free, as I'm also high risk too, so I wouldn't risk you and I wouldn't want to risk anyone else. But I can also do on-location photo shoots, but this is the best time of year to really get ready for the new year. Especially the best time of year. If you are listening to this in real time, we are approaching Black Friday, Cyber Monday, the busiest holiday seasons ever, and people still shop. In fact, ecommerce is gonna be bigger than ever. So I definitely want to make sure that my fellow entrepreneurs are ready to work and have their websites ready because that's also where my media group, Phocus Media Group with a PH, a play on the word photography, but that's where we have an all-in-one service. help you to make sure to not only have the graphic to look good on social media, but also to have your website look good, because first impression is everything. So if people don't get a feel of why they should give you their money, then, you know, that's the easiest way to lose clientele, especially if your feed looks like you're confused. That's the easiest way to lose clientele. All right, so anyway, back to why Atlanta. Basically, um, actually I've interviewed both my mom and my dad on my podcast on separate, um, separate times. So you would have to, you know, go to livinglegacypodcast.com and search for mom and dad, um, to listen to that episode. But they actually met in Atlanta. And even though I'm the only child between the both of them, uh, they both have children from previous marriages and relationships, and both of them grew up in Atlanta. So I'm like the only one out of my older siblings that did not really grow up there, but it doesn't feel like I never did because we came here all the time. We have family here. I have immediate family here and my childhood best friend also moved up here, so I'm not alone. And I'm also where I really wanted to be, you know. I've always wanted to be around other creatives and other photographers and other business owners, smart Black women business owners, Black men business owners. It's just something different to be around the new business market with people that look like you. So I did not let a pandemic stop me from the vision that's technically been there since 2014. So, um, of course, you know, I'm still not far. The good thing about being in Tennessee and Georgia compared to Florida, which is where I was born, is that I'm still not far from where my mom and dad are, which are in a small town called Etowah, which is also, once again, 2.5 hours away. So it's just a God-given vision on why I was able to even start my agency in 2014. But of course, between living life and working 2 jobs in 2019, I couldn't really focus on it. But now, you know, that's what I was working on during the 6, 7 months of being quarantined. Not only was I healing from my divorce, healing from, you know, anything, any other childhood trauma that I had attached myself to. Naturally, as a cancer survivor, you know, we also kind of see things differently, but I've been striving to see things more positively as well. So, you know, it's just— It's a city. That I moved to a city that I know will love me from a city that doesn't fully love me, if that makes sense. You know, I left the city that, um, I was only there for someone else, for other reasons, right? But if it's— if I were to choose where I wanted to be, this is the place to be. So, um, Yeah, um, this is where I will be recording. And with that being said, this means a new chapter. This means new things coming, big things coming for the Living Legacy Podcast when it is safe and sound. I would definitely be doing more in-person podcast sessions because I've received the feedback that a lot of you love it when it's people that I can really bond and connect with. And what better way to do that with the people, the network that I've built, you know, over the past few years, especially in the entertainment industry. So I'm also blessed to be in A&R, which is Artists and Repertoire. You can actually listen to that podcast episode as well. Atlanta is a music mecca as well, so there's so many artists who are needing to step up and fulfill their passion. So it's my complete honor to be able to do that as well. And of course, ironically, I still have social media clients, but thank goodness for remote work because I was still in Tennessee and had Atlanta-based clients. So it's all in divine, in God's timing. So I literally, you know, just like most of us this year, we had to be stripped of all the things that were distracting us, stripped of all the things that, you know, all the directions we were being pulled as far as needs and responsibilities. And for me, you know, it's a blessing in disguise that I don't have kids as of yet, but that allowed me to just focus on healing and building and pivoting. But now I'm just, you know, grateful to be able to be near family and hopefully build, continue to build my relationship with my siblings and their children, my nieces and nephew. And yeah, so that's my plan A, B, and C. So of course, if there's anyone that you know that needs services, send them to me. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Living Legacy Podcast.
Thank you for listening to the Living Legacy Podcast. Be sure to subscribe, follow, and download so you don't miss the next episode. If you want to learn more, you can visit zaakirahmayer.com. That's zaakirahnayyar.com. Do you have any suggestions on a topic you want to be talked about? Send me an email or leave them in a review. If you love this episode, be sure to share it with your friends.
