We had the good fortune of connecting with Tauni Maya and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tauni, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I wanted to make a difference and make an impact. Until recently “fertility” and “reproductive choice” was a taboo topic. People do not want to talk about it but the reality is infertility is just like any other disorder/disease. We have all kind of support, awareness, education for everything from diabetes to cancer but there’s not a lot going on for fertility when I first started 11 years ago. I wanted to help make this topic less “taboo” and provide support and education! I was an egg donor originally and I wanted to know how I can help more people so I started my own agency providing free consultation, egg donor, sperm donor and surrogacy resources to people in need. The rising cost of fertility care in all aspects of the field is something we see over the years. I want to provide as much support, information, grants is a huge part of my concept! I’m launching my own podcast, support community and nonprofit fall of 2024 to continue to make the impact and spread information! Becoming my own boss and providing for my family is just another bonus!

What should our readers know about your business?
Babies Made with Love is a fertility agency that helps people that want to become parents but are struggling to accomplish their dream via egg/sperm donation, surrogacy, IVF or adoption! I think what sets us apart from others is we are more affordable and very hands on! We understand personally how difficult this journey to parenthood is like so we are there to support our clients every step of the way. We are there at all the milestones good or bad and providing the best care, guidance and support!

I am most proud of how many people we have been able to help over the last 11 years in business and being selected as the top surrogacy agency of 2023 by Health Care Business Magazine! I am also launching our own podcast, blog and support group to help educate and spread researched based information about fertility and how we can advocate for ourselves. We have been donating a lot of our time and services to other nonprofit groups over the years but finally made the decision to start our own nonprofit in hopes to reaching more people and providing grants and services.

We are able to make it to where we are today by a lot of trial, error and reflections. We are not afraid to own up to our mistakes and constant reflection and feedback are what helped us become one of the best in our field. It was definitely not easy! Trying new things and making mistakes are always scary and owning up to it is hard but we have overcame so many challenges to get to where we are today!

I know it sounds so cliche but trust your gut, be brave and follow your dreams! When I started my business, the “boss babe” or entrepreneurship information wasn’t that easily available as it is today. It was scary and it took a lot of researching and penny pinching to get started. I had to YouTube and read blogs about how to make my first website and figure out all the licensing process. I used all my paycheck and pennies and eventually became homeless for a few months. It was HARD! But I never gave up. It took me three years to be able to hire my first employee and we worked hard together to build this business helping one family at a time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a bookish girl so I want to hit up all the cool bookstores and fun stationary stores!

Definitely have to check out the iconic The Last Bookstore in downtown LA and the giant Barnes and Nobel at The Grove and grabbing a bite to eat at The Farmer’s Market right next door! There’s so many food to choose from there is something for everyone. While in LA, check out the cool stationary stores called Paper Plant Co., Crush and Touch Art Supply store and Be Nice Have Fun. Then head over to Skylight Books in Los Feliz and Vroman’s Bookstore and Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena. Nothing like catching up with friends and getting some books and tea!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family epically my husband, loyal clients and team! Without their support and encouragement to start my own business I would not be where I am today!

Source: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-tauni-maya/