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

Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story that illustrates an important or relevant lesson you learned in school

The most important lesson that I ever learned stemmed from something I learned from my father. My childhood was the best classroom of life. There were three little words that he taught me that resonated into every other ‘formal’ classroom I ever stepped foot info. Those words are: Life’s not fair.

It might not seem like much, but this simple statement has helped form me into the woman I am today. Was he trying to be discouraging? No. Was he trying to twist my view of the world into a negative light? Of course not. He was, however, trying to get me to understand that life will not always go the way that I want it to. He taught me to never expect things to automatically go my way simply because I thought I ‘deserved’ it to. He taught me to persevere and never stop focusing on the positive things in life and the blessings that I do have.

Life comes with disappointment and frustration – it is what it is. I learned to live my life not expecting things to be easy and that I had to work for what I want. I have to make goals, focus on the future, and even when life is NOT fair, to keep going. This applies both to my personal and professional life and I now teach it to my daughters. To walk through life expecting the ‘easy road’ to be handed to us is simply unrealistic and will set us up for failure.

So when did I see this live out in my life first hand? When I almost died in 2018 from Lyme Disease. I was living a life of faith, working hard to build a business with my husband to help other families and raise my two young girls while giving back to the community. I was doing all the right things,…. right? So WHY did I have to get sick and almost die from a disease that came from the smallest of insects? It wasn’t fair! I believe that due to the lessons that my father taught me, my focus never wavered on getting better and seeking out answers to my health challenges. Due to this enormous ordeal that almost took me from this life, I now have the opportunity to share my testimony and knowledge in order to help many other families struggling with this disease.

Today, I’m healthy and still thriving and no matter what else life will throw at me, I know that even life is not always fair, it IS always blessed. That is my daily focus.

Samantha, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been in the world of business and marketing for 21 years. I have a bachelors degree in Marketing and have been working in the field ever since college. When I entered college, I knew I wanted to focus on business, but it took me 3 years to land on marketing. I loved the creativeness that went into this field and the large opportunity it offered to work with so many different types of businesses. To be honest, after my graduation, my dad asked me what I wanted to do with my life and I simply answered “to get paid to talk for a living’ — and that is still true to this day!

Before being an entrepreneur, I worked in corporate sales / marketing in the pharmaceutical and staffing industries. I learned a lot from both experiences, but the biggest lesson was that I did not want to work for someone else my entire life. I wanted control over my time, my paycheck and my future.

I was first introduced to the world of business ownership through my older brother who was working with an expanding company. I instantly fell in love with this new opportunity + I fell in love with my trainer at the same time. We will soon be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary!

Together, my husband and I have owned several businesses in the financial services, real estate, hospitality and marketing industries. We began as young naive 20-somethings who had our eyes set on creating a legacy for our family and our community. Being so green in the beginning, we messed up a lot! This is often where I leaned heavily on the lesson that my father taught me – life’s not fair.

My husband and I never expected success to be handed to us on a silver platter. We never expected it to be easy or fair. However, we knew that if we refused to give up and always be learning and growing in our field – we would eventually hit our goals.

In every business we owned, I always focused on the marketing aspects of them. Whether it was developing a community outreach and education program, hosting wellness workshops to local businesses or putting together public relations and strategic marketing plans, marketing has always been in my DNA.

Fast forward to today, I own Samantha Sheppard Consulting, a marketing firm focused on helping other women in business master the art of marketing through training courses and workshops, speaking engagements that discuss a wide variety of marketing topics and 1:1 consultations.

So why am I different? I believe in a personal approach. Cookie-cutter marketing of often when entrepreneurs see in the marketplace and I believe that ones’ approach to marketing should be just as unique as they are. I provide customized social media content calendars, personalized branding kits, email marketing campaign development along with courses that can help educate and empower my clients. Walking alongside them on their business journey is a great honor that I do not take lightly. I remember often how hard it was in the beginning of our business life to figure it all out, and my husband and I did it pretty much on our own. Partnering with other women in business allows us to work together as a team to make their goals a reality.

I often hear from business owners that marketing is confusing and overwhelming. They are frustrated trying to put content on social media and send emails to customers with very little feedback, engagement and results. Helping them figure out their unique voice and strategy is what turned chaos into clarity when it comes to achieving success. I offer this by teaching first, implementing strategies second. This is what helps them to feel confident with their marketing plan.

I am most proud when a client has success. I had a client make her first sale on her website after working with me. Another client tripled her sales in a WEEK with one simple email after we discussed her email marketing campaigns. Many clients share with me that they finally have a peace and confidence with sharing their business online that they did not have prior to working with me. You see, when you marketing is solid, the sales become easy.

My entire approach is this: Marketing Made Easy. No, you don’t have to show up everywhere and talk to everyone to make sales and grow your bank account. Talking to the RIGHT people, in the RIGHT places in the RIGHT way is what does that. My job is to help them find the right path for them to achieve success.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe that in order to build a positive reputation you have to focus on consistency and authenticity. Trust is built with T-I-M-E. I see too many business owners who are seeking a shortcut. When it comes to building a great reputation, you must show people over time that they can trust you by showing up consistently (both in person and online) and by being honest. Having a lack of authenticity will always come to the surface eventually. I believe that we should be true to who we are, what we do and what we stand for from the beginning. This is what I have strived to do for the last 21 years in business.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I don’t like to read books. I know this is an unpopular opinion amongst business owners, but for me, it’s true. However, I still do it. (Sometimes we have to do things we don’t like in life and in business – it is what it is. Suck it up and just do it). Several years ago I was referred to a book by Michael Maher – 7 Levels of Communication. I have since read it 5 times. This book helped me shape my philosophy on business growth to maintain a focus on relationships and networking. Relationship Marketing has since been a focal point in my business. I believe that in order to create customers, they must first trust us. Trust is built by focusing on a relationship and what their needs are first. This book helped me to formulate an entire marketing strategy on the foundation of relationship building and networking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.samanthasheppardconsulting.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ssheppard.consulting/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketingmadeeasywithsamantha
• Other: Podcast: https://marketinginminutes.buzzsprout.com

  Email: [email protected]

Image Credits

Brianna Lyn Photography and Mary Williams Photography