Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Her Excellency Shanta Lana Hereford. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Her Excellency Shanta Lana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? We’d love to hear the backstory the illustrates how you grew the firm
When I moved to Atlanta in 2008, I didn’t know anyone, have any friends and was very low on funds. I had to work three jobs at first until I burnt myself out. I started posting my amateur services on sites like Craigslist to make money. Since I didn’t have a network here I would volunteer at events and apply for internships to get more experience and start meeting new people. Eventually, I began to build a small clientele from word of mouth and online advertising.
However, I was struggling in my personal life. My marriage was ending, I was taking care of our three small children by myself, lost my Section 8 rental assistance, and many times didn’t even have gas money to get to the places I needed to be. I had money stolen from me, my car was repoed, and we became homeless. I mean it was one obstacle after the next. I started to give up many times.
In June 2012, I was in a near-death motor vehicle accident. I lost the use of my right leg and was told I may not be able to walk again. I was a single mom with no savings and no stability. It was during my recovery that I started to take building a business seriously. It took me nearly two years to teach myself how to walk again but once I was, I got busy building my legacy. I started educating myself by watching YouTube videos and performing Google research. I worked on mastering my skills and I outworked everyone around me. While they were going out and kicking it, I was at home writing business plans. I was networking on Linkedin and Facebook.
The formula to scaling up and being successful in business is consistency, networking, mastering your skills, confidence, and personal branding. No matter how many times I had to pause, stop, or start over, I never gave up. I always invested time in intentionally meeting new people. I aimed at being the best and letting others know it without looking like what I was going through. I showed up on time for meetings. I invested in my ideas and believed in myself. Lastly, I did what I said I would do for clients.
Her Excellency Shanta Lana , 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’m an award-winning, Business Development Consultant, Entrepreneur, and Global Goodwill Ambassador. I specialize in helping individuals, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit businesses succeed in today’s digital environment. I started out by creating amateur graphic designs, websites, business proposals, and more while working in the music industry.
However, I mastered my skills over the years and transitioned to helping to simplify companies’ startup processes, increase their profit margins, and accelerate their company’s global growth by providing them with proven strategies and solutions that fit their businesses. My areas of expertise include branding, crowdfunding, business formation, grants, digital implementation, and global expansion.
My clients enjoy working with me because the abundance of knowledge I share with them helps to save them time, money, and stress. I’m most proud when my clients are happy and see the results of their efforts paying off. I live for the moments when clients call to share with me how much money or the achievements they have made while working with me.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Prior to June 2012, I was working actively in the music industry as an Artist Manager, A&R, and Road Manager. I spent most of my time in studios, clubs, arenas, hotels, and on the road. On June 16, 2012, I was involved in a near-death motor vehicle accident which caused me to lose the use of my right leg for nearly two years. Initially, the doctors told me I may not walk again, and if so I would have a severe limp.
Being that I couldn’t walk or do the work I was doing prior to the accident, I had to look for an alternative way to provide for myself and my three children. Since I was still mentally very into the music scene, I created an internet radio station in my basement called Black Music Radio (WBMR). While operating WBMR and recovering from my accident, I received a spiritual reading that ultimately changed the direction of my life to the mission I am still on today which is uniting the Black Diaspora and empowering and enriching others.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I believe my confidence, results, and consistency have helped me to build the reputation I now have.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shantalana.com
- Instagram: shantalana
- Facebook: facebook.com/officialshantalana
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/shantalana
- Twitter: shantalana
Image Credits
Clinton McCoy Hush Vision Films