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

Shania, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I started my business when I was 15 years old, I was working at McDonald’s making $7.25/ hour. I always felt like that wasn’t enough for me even as a little girl and I hated doing the work even though I was very grateful that I had a job so young. I talked to my uncle who is a business owner at Northshore Teez how I would be able to start a clothing line/ boutique. He hooked me up with all the information & even gave me items he didn’t sell and told me to try & sell them. But taking the risk and spending my small McDonald’s checks to start my line was a risk for me.. almost every single penny. I always wanted to save but knew I wanted to try something new & ever since I figured out that I wanted to be a business owner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a 20 year old influencer, model, YouTuber , business owners, all of the above. I love to read, go to church, dance & just enjoy life ! I just recently got into the modeling industry signed with a agency in Pittsburgh & Ohio. Building a good portfolio & researching what it takes to get into agencies got me an email back within a month. I also make a lot of creative fashion content on instagram & all types of content on YouTube from pranks, to vlogs & clothing hauls ! I’m always promoting companies & doing photoshoots it keeps me busy & it’s something I enjoy. It takes alot of discipline & I don’t always believe in myself every single day but everyday I make sure I keep going. I do all of these things because I enjoy it and I tell a lot of people to do things because they want to ! Everything is not for everyone so if you enjoy it DO IT! I am most proud of my consistency, if you’re gonna do something then stay consistent.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building a social media presence can be tricky sometimes. Here’s my story, in 2021 my job called me and told me I was terminated because of my points. I was kind of upset because it was hard to get in new places at the time. Instead of thinking negatively about everything I told myself let me get on my ZOOM !! I planned out YouTube videos I wanted to post & bought a $10 tripod off Amazon & put a bunch of outfit’s together. Once my tripod came I went outside my house & took pictures EVERYDAY in my outfits. I wasn’t always into fashion but getting fired made me get into it lol I had nothing else to do at home. But I started something & never finished ! I could post in anything and get 1-5K likes on whatever at the time. So it actually happened on accident I didn’t think it would happen. Here’s my tips, figure out your niche but don’t stick yourself to one thing, plan & schedule all of your content, use the platforms features that are provided , interact with other accounts & most importantly stop caring what other people think of you !

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am currently changing up my business now after years. When I first started I would buy wholesale clothing and sell those. After awhile I got tired of selling other peoples designs that I see everywhere, the clothes weren’t always good material and most times didn’t fit correctly. I wasted lots of money buying wholesale clothing and I wouldn’t sell them if it was bad quality because I always wanted to have a good name for my business. After 4 years I decided to take a long break and I finally figured out what I want to do. I will be designing swim & lounge wear starting summer 2024 ! I took my time off and did lots of research to figure it all out to get what I wanted. Sometimes I would be ready to buy wholesale again because it would bring in extra cash but I realized I don’t want a side hustle or quick money. I want something that will last & keep me on my feet.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shaniaraii?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@NiaRai?si=zDCkQAWl4KJTHvCm

Image Credits
Photo taken by DMR Visuals