We recently connected with Shannen Shipley and have shared our conversation below.

Shannen, appreciate you joining us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

Starting from when I was a child I knew I was going to be a “boss or someone big.” I use to look at myself in the mirror and say I will be the female P. Diddy. I used to create these rubber bracelets and sell them to my neighbors and surprisingly enough they brought them, so I knew I had the entrepreneur jean. From the beginning, I’ve always had creative talents, from my Dad (the artist) and my Mom (the crafter/creative brain). Cheerleading became my thing and I didn’t have to worry about fitting in because I was damn good at it. Throughout this time though, I truly lost who I was. Always just wanting to fit in and just be part verse accepting who I was. I struggled with being different from my friends and not seeking the same interest as they did as a teenager. So I used my creative outlets of painting and drawing to escape sometimes. Still searching for my next entrepreneur break, I decided I didn’t want to go to college but instead, I always dreamed about being a hairstylist and opening up a chain of salons. But my parents weren’t having that. So unwillingly lol my mom applied for college on my behalf and I visited Tennessee State University. After all the college visits I went on this felt like home, so I guess I was convinced but I was still going to do it my way and take graphic design as my major. Still cheering throughout school and excelling through college. I was allowed to study abroad, I found a true love for art. Yet when I graduated, and after all that hard work no one would give me an opportunity. Application after application, interview after interview, nothing was working, so sales it was. This is when I knew I had to take matters into my own hands and create my own business with my own rules. Not going to lie I struggled for years because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. All I knew was the technical skills but nothing on the business side. Lowballing my prices, doing free jobs, and quite honestly taking all the jobs just because I wanted the opportunity. Years after I came across an amazing coach that helped me see my potential and truly helped me find myself. She coached me through the business aspects and shifted my mindset in a way that I didn’t know was possible. She helped me see myself for who I was verse who I was portraying to be and that helped me create Amar By Design.

Shannen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got into the industry because I wasn’t given opportunities from the outside world and was told I wasn’t good enough for the job. I am a brand strategist and website designer who helps women in business identify who they are so they can get more done. I’m finding like myself that so many women struggle in business because they don’t have an identity themselves therefore it’s extremely difficult to craft an identity for their business. I provide a service that starts with setting the goals for the business, next we solidify the foundation and core values of the business, move into the brand creative, then website design, learning, and coaching, and we finish the process with marketing and social media strategy planning. I am so proud of my ability to connect to my clients in a genuine way, and the amount of expertise I bring from currently being a marketing manager to my two college degrees in design. I have a genuine love for luxury branding and I have incorporated that into my process. Luxury is all about the experience and Amar by Design prides itself on creating a luxurious and memorable experience from start to finish. I’m also expanding my brand through podcasts and YouTube channels to share my mission and vision behind the brand. Seeking to change the world one business at a time.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, my mission and goal which is driving my creative journey are all about representation and finding identity. I feel like to know you can do it you have to see someone who looks like you doing it. So when I feel like I’m down and out I remind myself that it’s being than me. In addition, in this world, we live in today it’s so easy to get lost in the sauce of everyone else and lose yourself. So I’m on a mission to help more women find their identity, be unapologetic about it, and represent the community they’re in.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that just getting by was ok. Although my parents always reminded us to dream big and achieve our goals, it was important to them that college was a part of that dream, getting a 401K, and retiring was the life. In this case, is not a bad thing but I knew I wanted to achieve and conquer something WAY bigger than me and that mindset wasn’t going to do it. I had to unteach myself of what I valued was enough, including self-value.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amarbydesign.com
• Instagram: amarbydesign
• Facebook: Amar By Design
• Twitter: amarbydesign
• Youtube: Amar By Design

Image Credits
Olivia Dixon