Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vivian Campbell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Vivian, appreciate you joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I believe first and foremost in being of service to others. I know that inspiration, motivation, and encouragement can help someone get to the next the level. I thought carefully about how I could share my knowledge on a large scale and what kind of difference I could make.

I am a business owner of two different companies. The first is my consulting company, Vivian Campbell Consulting. I help my clients address areas of opportunity in their businesses to make them more efficient and therefore more profitable. I also train and develop their employees to be better at their jobs and deliver great service to their customers. I truly love helping people and sharing knowledge so they can become better. At Vivian Campbell Consulting, we take a unique approach. Instead of training on the how, we focus on the why. Our clients love us because we not only train their employees, but we engage them on a deeper level, producing greater results. The second is my inspirational apparel company, I Am What I Am Shop. We believe consistent inspiration can propel one to accomplish anything. We provide ways to showcase your strength and inner beauty. We offer stylish products and accessories to wear and surround yourself with that contain positive reminders throughout the day. One unique aspect of our company that differentiates us from the rest is that we offer 26 affirmations for you to choose from – one for every letter of the alphabet. We want you to choose your strength and wear it proud!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Consulting business: Vivian Campbell is a recognized leader in the hospitality industry with over 20 years of progressive experience in hospitality management, hotel openings and customer service training. Campbell is a highly effective and results driven leader in team development and client relations. She has a proven ability to deliver revenue, service and a high degree of client satisfaction.

Vivian Campbell Consulting was founded in 2009. Leveraging Campbell’s 20+ year career with several of the world’s leading hotel brands and years of executive and management experience, Campbell is well positioned to offer relevant and actionable insights to help her clients enjoy success in the hospitality industry.

Affirmation apparel business: I have led non-profit boards and work programs in the community to benefit at-risk youth. I was fortunate to create a year-long program where volunteers would help teach runaway teenagers with basic life skills. Each month we covered topics such as eating healthy and exercising, communication, balancing a checkbook, dinning out and paying for your own meal. Normally these lessons are taught by parents and family members but when you are a runaway youth, that support system is often missing. I saw an opportunity to step in and teach basic life skills needed to take care of oneself.

We continuously hear about the mental health crisis, especially with our youth. I wanted to create something to help with self-care. Something that helped people feel inspired, motivated, and encouraged. The result was I Am What I Am Shop.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I started I Am What I Am Shop during the pandemic just like a lot of other people. I felt at the time we needed some positivity with so many friends and family members either getting sick and even dying and millions of people out of work and just trying to survive. The thought was simply to spread a little love and try to uplift people. As you can imagine, with so many people out of work, my sales were extremely low in 2020. People did not think an inspiration was a necessity. I had friends make purchases to support me but that was not what I was looking for. I wanted to make a larger impact. One day, I received an email from a lovely customer who was looking for the ‘I Am Strong’ t-shirt in a specific size. This was for her granddaughter who had just become cancer free. This was so moving to me that it brought tears to my eyes. I knew I had a great idea, but I hadn’t even imagined it being used this way. Since then, I’ve had a stronger focus on mental health awareness and those recovering from a medical ordeal.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I use Shopify for my ecommerce store. Parts of this experience have been great. Other parts, not so much. I found an amazing free template to use and love the way my products are displayed. I find it very easy to use but it can be time consuming if you are doing everything on your own.

Unlike Amazon and Etsy, when you use Shopify, you have to do all of your own marketing. If marketing is not your forte, I recommend hiring someone. You can even use marketing pros from Fiverr. It takes dedication to stay on top of social media. It is crucial when you have an ecommerce business, as it’s one of the main revenue streams. The formats are different for posting between FB, IG, Pinterest, TikTok and event Google. Videos are crucial. If you are shy and don’t want to be in front of the camera, you will need to get testimonials or have a brand ambassador. Staying on top of the social media is the most challenging part for me and it is also the most critical.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.iamwhatiamshop.com and www.viviancampbellconsulting.com
• Instagram: @viviancampbellconsulting , @iamwhatiamhop
• Facebook: I Am What I Am Shop and Vivian Campbell Consulting
• Linkedin: I Am What I Am Shop and Vivian Campbell Consulting
• Other: Pinterest and TikTok – I Am What I Am Shop https://pinterest.com/iawias2021 https://tiktok.com/@iamwhatiamshop