We were lucky to catch up with Shamira Fuller-Cross recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shamira, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?

The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me was to be nominated and interviewed by VoyageSTL magazine. VoyageSTL magazine was the very first interview I did. Imagine after consistently promoting your business, then suddenly, a company contacts you saying they want to host an interview about you and your brand. This was one of the best days of my life. I had no choice but to praise God because, with God, all things are possible. Being a business owner is not easy. However, I am grateful to be a business owner because for me, it’s not about just getting money but having a relationship with customers and solving a need with your products. With VoyageSTL magazine, this opportunity is so meaningful because it gives me exposure to potential customers about my brand and to get a better understanding of who I am and what I do.

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

My name is Shamira Fuller-Cross and I am the founder of Mira Designs, LLC located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I’m a graduate of Terry Sanford High School and I attend college at Methodist University majoring in Psychology. Mira Designs, LLC specializes in designing phone accessories and brand apparel to show off your style. I launched my business on September 14, 2020, and was incorporated as an LLC on April 28, 2021. I started my business after seeing others promoting their businesses I felt like I could do a business too. However, I wanted to sell products that were different from others. Suddenly, designing phone accessories came to my mind, and I was excited. Later on I started designing my brand apparel. What sets me apart from others is the ability to help individuals create their own one-of-a-kind phone accessories. Why depend on stores for generic accessories when you can customize your own to show off. I am proud that social media has been a major platform for me and I’ve had the privilege of designing accessories for people around the United States and desire to extend my brand to reach celebrities locally and abroad. When you look around, everyone has a cell phone and there is no reason why your phone accessories should not be customized to reflect you and your style. At Mira Designs, LLC we can help you do just that.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I wanted my audience to grow, so I connected with marketing and branding strategists. I was always told if I needed help with something, then ask, and that is what I did. When I first started my business, I knew that the majority of my audience would come from social media. I found myself networking with other business owners and sharing each other’s content and inviting others to check out their businesses. With my content, I start the captions off with a hook, then a story, and a call-to-action. I include relevant hashtags that represent my products. It is important to avoid using irrelevant and banned hashtags because it’s not about the views but the engagement. For example, if I am selling phone accessories, then why would I put #explorepage? The #explorepage has no relevance to my product and doesn’t increase my exposure in any way. You have to think like a customer as you want to target your ideal customer, not yourself. When it comes to hashtags, I use between 11 and 30 hashtags to get engagement. Always remember to write great captions for your posts. Getting exposure through hashtags is great, but having content to back it up is much better.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

All my life, people have told me that they were proud of me, from school to business. When I started the business, I thought all my family and friends would support me. That was not true. Once I realized that, I stopped worrying about it because strangers would come to support and tell others about my business. This lesson strengthened me because it allowed me to not quit my business. I am so grateful to those who show me love and support because it keeps pushing me through the ups and downs. It is so heartwarming when other business owners tell me that I am an inspiration to them. I will forever keep loving what I do, as there are more things that I look forward to doing in the future.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.miradesigns.as.me/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_.miradesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Mira-Designs-LLC/100063468046533/

Image Credits
J Leak Photography