Some professionals learn leadership in boardrooms. Mya Murdock learned it on a 500-acre farm in upstate New York. Her earliest lessons came from stacking firewood with her family, riding horses through the woods, and cooking alongside her mom and sister. “Everything in my childhood taught me to finish what I start,” she says. “And to take care of the things—and people—around me.”
Today, Mya is an operations manager, independent sales professional, and emerging entrepreneur. Her path blends creativity, discipline, and heart. And while she works in the apparel and retail world, her approach still reflects those early values: work hard, stay kind, and make things with intention.
This is how her career unfolded.
Early Influences That Shaped Her Work Ethic
Mya Murdock grew up far from busy streets or business hubs. Her home sat at the end of a quarter-mile driveway and a fifteen-minute drive from town. That distance taught her independence. Daily chores—feeding animals, hauling wood, tending gardens—were normal. “I had a raised garden bed when I was young,” she recalls. “It taught me patience and self-sufficiency.”
But her biggest influences were her parents. Her mom, an elementary school principal, brought Mya to her school for three years so she could learn in a more diverse environment. They volunteered every Wednesday night at a local meal program. “Seeing people show up because they needed help changed me,” she says. “It made me want to be someone who always pays attention to others.”
Her father shaped the business side. He ran a private practice he had taken over from his own father. During Mya’s senior year of high school, he let her shadow every part of the operation. “He wanted me to see everything—front office, billing, customer interactions, all of it,” she says. “It made me realize how much I loved business.”
Those lessons pointed her toward a degree in Business Entrepreneurship at the University of Tampa.
From Entrepreneurship Student to High-End Apparel
After graduation, Mya was drawn to work that allowed her to blend business and creativity. That led her to Tom James, a company known for custom, high-end apparel. It became the place where her professional foundation formed.
“My supervisor there set the standard for what great leadership looks like,” Mya says. She learned customer service, relationship-building, and what it means to be reliable. But she also learned something more subtle: The importance of standing out. “She used to tell me, ‘Be distinctive. Be dependable. Be someone people can count on.’ I’ve carried that with me.”
Those lessons prepared her for a shift into sales.
Moving Into Sales and Becoming an Independent Representative
Mya joined Blue 84, another high-end apparel company focused on custom products. The role was fast-paced and required strong communication and follow-through—skills she had sharpened early. After a year, she stepped into an independent sales representative role, which she still holds today. Being an independent sales representative has allowed her to engage in this role in a flexible part-time manner.
Becoming independent was a leap, but it fit her work style. “I like creating my own structure,” she says. “Sales teaches you how to stay consistent even when no one is watching.”
Her background gave her a natural advantage: she already understood the value of hands-on work, resilience, and small business support. Many of her clients are small business owners or local organizations—people who, like her parents, built something from the ground up. As such, Mya continues to proudly represent Blue 84 part-time.
Leadership Through Operations at Two Cumberland
Mya’s career took a major step forward when she became the Operations Manager at Two Cumberland, a high-end boutique in Charleston, South Carolina. The role brought new challenges and new influence.
She credits much of her growth to the founder and owner of the business. “She’s a powerful, creative, compassionate leader,” Mya says. “Watching her run three brick-and-mortar stores and a strong online brand has taught me what it looks like to scale something with heart.”
As operations manager, Mya oversees daily processes, customer experience, team coordination, and systems that keep the business running smoothly. Her approach is shaped by her background: detail-oriented, caring, and calm under pressure.
“I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about being loud,” she says. “It’s about being true to your word, showing compassion, and being consistent.
Creativity as a Parallel Career
Outside her day-to-day roles, Mya maintains another venture: jewelry design. She once ran an active Instagram shop, but shifted to pop-up sales and word-of-mouth orders. Now, with inventory ready, she is preparing to relaunch her online presence, and actively seeking shelf space in Charleston coffee shops, spas, and boutiques.
Jewelry serves a deeper purpose for her. “It lets me express the part of myself that loves making things,” she says. She also enjoys furniture flipping, crocheting, knitting, cooking, crafting, reading, and home design—activities she describes as “old soul hobbies.”
These creative habits feed her entrepreneurial mindset: build, refine, create value.
A Values-Driven Professional Future
Across all phases of her career, Mya’s values remain the same: self-sufficiency, kindness, attention to detail, and genuine care for people. These qualities stand out in industries that rely on relationships and service.
“I want to keep growing,” she says. “But I want to grow in a way that stays true to who I am.”
Her long-term goals include expanding her own ventures and eventually building her own business shaped by the lessons she is learning from the strong women in her life and lessons she learned long before she entered the workforce—lessons from a family farm where hard work and heart were part of everyday life.
In many ways, they still are.
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