We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shannon Holbrook. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shannon below.

Shannon, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Eight years ago our family needed to make a big change to our lifestyle. We wanted more fulfilling work and flexible schedules so we could be together. I wanted to be home with our youngest daughter more, who needed home education. My husband wanted to finish his degree. We weighed our options, made a wish list, and prayed for guidance.

A few months later my husband was accepted to school full time, we resigned from our full time jobs, sold our house and half our possessions, and moved into college housing with other non-traditional students. We cut our expenses to live on 1/4 of our previous income and became a one-car family. I restarted my freelance writing and public relations business while homeschooling our daughter.It was a very stressful change but we embraced it as our calling and an adventure.

I didn’t expect my business to grow so quickly, but I was working hard. It was a little hectic, as I juggled educating our daughter and teaching at her co-op with client meetings and deadlines. I wrote so much content in those first couple of years, from blogs about horse feed to corporate training manuals to feature stories for magazines. My husband and I pulled all-nighters together: he studied and I edited my writing.

I also planned events, promoted local businesses, and designed and wrote copy for everything from brochures to websites. These projects led to other writing jobs and clients seeking public relations counsel. I took for granted the amenities of working in an office, like an IT and accounting department, colleagues, and a decent retirement match. I traded shop talk for playground chat! But it was very rewarding to work on my own terms.

I joined our local writer’s group and met women who shared my interests. We formed a group and shared ideas, jobs, and goals. I met with former colleagues and networked. I took a couple of creative writing classes at the college. My professor became a mentor who gave me excellent guidance and helped build my confidence in my creative nonfiction writing.

I started writing feature stories for magazines about my new home in Appalachia and its people, especially Appalachian artists. I have always loved the arts and this work was fulfilling. I developed my skills in legal writing and grant writing, too.

Today, I’m still working on my terms, choosing jobs I enjoy while we continue to homeschool. I love teaching art classes at our co-op. My husband loves his work at a local university. Our daughter loves learning, creating and performing art, and has made friends from all over the world. She learns alongside me and watches me build my business. I’m able to teach her valuable skills that will prepare her for her future work.

Our family values different things now and we listen to ourselves more. Letting go and letting God wasn’t easy, but that leap of faith was critical to our future and well-being.

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’m a wife, mom, artist, educator, and solopreneur. I love telling people’s stories, whether I’m writing news articles or digital or print content. I specialize in writing about Appalachia, the arts, feature stories, legal writing, and promotional writing.

I entered my career methodically. Although my head always wanted pre-med, my heart wanted art. After taking pre-med classes in college, I met with career counselors to find a creative, flexible career that used my people skills. I chose a public relations major and marketing minor and took classes in business management, marketing and PR, writing, design, and the fine arts that laid the groundwork for my small business today. More importantly, I learned how to network and build relationships with local business leaders, which led to my first job in PR at a top local ad agency.

Now, I write a lot of content, helping business owners build relationships with their target audiences to increase their ROI and public image. I provide strategic counsel, media relations, community outreach, and event planning and management.

I’m often called to help troubleshoot failing campaigns, share knowledge on event planning or media relations, or fill a businesses’ writing need. I work closely with executive leadership and their marketing team to learn about their current brand, target audiences, and strategic marketing plan. If they’re happy with their brand, I help them finesse it through strategic campaigns, evaluate their effectiveness, then readjust parameters as needed. If they want to tweak or change their brand, I help them develop it, troubleshoot, and create sustainable campaigns.

I’m a good creative writer who can write objectively for news outlets and strategically for clients. For the past 25 years, I’ve chosen work and learned skills that enable me to be a versatile and experienced practitioner, working with agencies, non-profits, small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government.

I’m most proud of my clients who aren’t afraid to lift up and promote the good work of other local businesses and organizations, and their own staff. I’m also proud of my clients who build their businesses in the way they want, who don’t necessarily follow a traditional model or possess a formal education.

I’m flexible, easygoing, and will be honest with clients about ideas so we don’t waste our time or their money. I aim for integrity, simplicity, and effectiveness in my work and relationships. In this season of my life, I prioritize home educating my daughter, so I choose my workload carefully and happily share work with my close network of other experienced solopreneurs.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

My published news writing attracts new clients, as well as professional and personal referrals.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have two. I want to put great stories about interesting people into the world and lift up those without a voice. Through teaching and modeling, I want my students to become resilient artists and people. I want them to learn that art is an intrinsic part of our world and also subjective – anything can be art! I want to help them constantly create and experiment, produce their best work, learn how to manage mistakes, and avoid perfection, but toss what doesn’t work for them and start over.

Contact Info:

• Website: shannonholbrook.com
• Instagram: @shannonholbrookwrites
• Facebook: @shannonholbrookwrites
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-holbrook-writes

Image Credits
Shutter & Bloom Photography Clare Schwendeman Gina Collins Pretty Pixels Photography