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

Hi Shanetta, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

Last year, I attended a writing retreat in Sithonia, Greece. I’ve been an avid reader and writer since I was young girl, so I was excited to deepen my craft and be in community. Attendees were required to submit a writing excerpt prior to the retreat and I wrote about my recovery from an eating disorder. This excerpt was intended to be part of a book of short stories about the healing journeys of women of color. However, the feedback I received for it was overwhelmingly positive and I left feeling inspired to write a memoir about my experience of being a Black woman with an eating disorder, as well as having the drive to become a life coach and help others who’ve faced the same challenges with food, body and trauma.

This moment completely changed the trajectory of my career and gave me clarity on what my personal mission is. To help transform the lives of others by sharing my story and wisdom.

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?

By day, I’m a publicist and I own my own PR agency, called The Giselle Agency. I got into the PR industry after college because I loved to write, felt alive when I pitched media and thrived off of finding fresh ways to storytell. At The Giselle Agency I help women, bipoc and lgbtq+ led brands get visibility and create impact, which is what sets us apart from other agencies.

By night, I’m a Wayfinder Coach-in-Training where I hope to help women transform their relationship w/food, their bodies and themselves. I’ll do this by creating actionable plans to empower women to break free from emotional burdens, heal from past wounds, and reconnect with their bodies so they can live with confidence, joy, and purpose.

In both lines of work, I’m proud to serve women of color; those who need the most support.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Discipline, tenacity and an unwavering spirit.

Being an entrepreneur takes guts. Ups and downs are inevitable, but if you’re determined and focused on your mission, you can’t fail.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Doing excellent work for my current clients. All of my business is referrals, because I have high performance standards. When you do good work for clients, they are more than willing to tell others and send them your way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thegiselleagency.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanettamcdonald/

Image Credits

Tracy Nguyen (for photos of me alone)