We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chantel Deniese a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chantel , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As an Entrepreneur and Artist, I consider any project that I get involved with to be meaningful. It is important for me to give all of my attention to each project that I work on. If my heart is not connected to it, I can’t do it. The one thing that helps me to know whether I should take on a project is whether it aligns with my value system. So whether it is partnering with a colleague or networking with another creative person, whoever it is, there is a mutual mindset that we share which allows all parties to make it meaningful.

My most recent project was getting back in the pageantry industry after a long hiatus to compete for a national title in the Woman of Achievement pageant. This opportunity allowed me the chance to speak about my platform “Woman of Worth” which is about teen girls and women empowerment. In January this year, I was crowned Mrs. Elite U.S. Woman of Achievement. Since then, I have been able to work on several projects with many organizations such as charities, non-profits and corporate events as a performer, pageant judge and speaker. Another project that brings me a whole lot of joy is performing the catalogue of the beloved Tina Turner’s 2000 tour. She is truly one of my inspirations. Currently, I am also collaborating with producers on a new music project and plan to release a single soon. All of these areas where I get to use my creative abilities are meaningful to me. However, if I had to choose a specific project, it would have to be a musical theater production that my husband and I are working on. This is a project that we started with a friend of ours who was the original writer. In 2012 our dear friend passed away and our hearts were broken. This project means so much to me because my husband and I lost a great friend while we were in the beginning stages of building something special. What we came to learn over the years is that our friend left us something to follow through on. He inspired us with a vision to keep storytelling alive because no story should ever be left untold. After many years and after several rewrites, we are now ready to share with the world a story that I believe is going to impact many lives. Our plan is to do our first run in the summer of 2024 in Texas.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a very passionate individual who truly believes that my core values of having integrity, being faith driven, and dedication are three things that propel me as a human being. I apply these values in my every day life, business and relationships. It is foundational and has helped me to thrive. If you would have asked me this 15 years ago, I couldn’t say this about myself because I had to build these values in my life. In 2020, I decided to take some self-development courses. What I discovered during this time is that I was not applying my skills in the right places. In order to become a better creative, I would need to change some bad habits like procrastination and shift my thinking. Once I discovered this about myself, I decided to finish some songs I had written and perform them along with the completion of some other projects that had been lingering.

My discipline process is to commit to one thing at a time, finish it and then move on to the next thing. For example, when I decided to compete in the beauty pageant that I won, I put all other projects on hold to focus specifically on the pageant. This practice has helped me to stay focused, accomplish goals and live in alignment with my God-given abilities.

In our culture, the brand is usually what a person offers whether it is a product, service, etc. I have come to believe that I am the brand in all that I offer. I want people to know me as I really am. All that I offer needs to represent my character. As a creative and business woman, I present myself in this way by expressing what I can do and what I can not do with all honesty. I don’t try to service everyone. I stay in my lane. I know what my expertise is and I offer my services to those I believe will benefit from it. My desire is to encourage other creatives and entrepreneurs to know their gifts and authentically apply them well.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the lessons that I had to unlearn was that an idea does not equal having a business. If an idea is not well thought out and does not have an action plan attached to it, it is not a business but a hobby.

As a Creative, I have a lot of ideas whether it’s building a theatre production, writing a song or arranging a live performance for a client. I have always had a desire to create, perform and be compensated financially. However, when you don’t have a game plan and people who work with you are not on the same page, it can take a deep dive quickly.

My husband and I started doing business as creatives in 1998. We decided to hire all of our friends for our first project. We created a fun and eclectic band and I was the front girl. For about a year and a half we did several performances for pay. This idea we had seemed to be a great and successful adventure. When my husband and I decided that we wanted to take the band to the next level some of the people we were working with had their ideas of how the band should operate. I am not opposed to ideas. I think any business owner should be open to new suggestions and new ways of doing business. In this situation, it wasn’t only an idea but a claim of ownership for something my husband and I created. There was so much friction in the band because of this and some of the relationships fell apart. What we learned is that it is crucial to have a business plan. This was a great life lesson that trained us to do better in all of our business practices. My advice is don’t do business without a business plan and do not hire friends or anyone that do not have the same standards or vision for your business.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist and creative is the ability to tell stories that impact another person’s life. I remember one time I had a lady from the audience come and talk to me after I did a play that I had written. She said, “I know your story very well because I have lived it.” It was a moment that I will never forget. This is the reward. For me, it is not about how many tickets I can sell at a performance or event but about how many people who can relate and connect with the story that I am sharing. It’s a beautiful thing when the audience and the creative share the experience together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chanteldeniese.com

Image Credits
Mrs. Elite U.S. photo by Liz Mejia-Celis
Picture with the white hat by issalovething photography