We recently connected with Sharvette Mitchell and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharvette, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?

Marketing is one of those things that all businesses need and must do. For small businesses and entrepreneurs, it is our lifeline. There is absolutely a trend toward more VIDEO content incorporated into marketing. This includes short-form videos like Reels and Storys and other video content such as LIVE streaming. I know that makes some business owners nervous however all of the social media marketing platforms want VIDEO content. More importantly than that, the consumer is showing an appetite to experience brands by way of video.

This is evidenced by the rise of platforms like TikTok which is full of “sponsored” videos by advertisers. YouTube has always been a player in the video game and now YouTube is adding more features to promote community and to increase your “watch time” on their platform. We will continue to see a trend with VIDEO and more and more big, medium, and small businesses will incorporate it into their marketing strategies.

Blog.hubspot.com reported that 90% of marketers using short-form video will increase or maintain their investment in 2023, and 21% of marketers plan to leverage short-form video for the first time in 2023, also the highest of any trend.

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

“WAIT! We can’t print this stuff without putting a website address on it!” Those were the words I said, early 2006, while sitting at the kitchen table of my friend, Edwinette. For the past few hours, we had worked on marketing materials such as business cards, brochures, and magnets for her new and budding business. As we pulled up VistaPrint on the computer to see printing options for the marketing materials created, I had enough foresight to push pause and stop us because I realized that Edwinette needed to put a website address on these marketing materials. We had just one problem, she did not have a website. “I can go figure that out!”

After I created Edwinette’s pink and green website, I turned to help my church with its web presence. People then started asking me to help them build a website. I did two or three more FREE websites and then I stopped and thought… “Don’t people pay for this? At this point, I realized I had a valid business. I was providing a solution to a marketing problem that people had.

This was the birth of my company, Mitchell Productions.

We then stepped into social media consulting because web design clients needed a “next step” after their website was up and running. We immediately advised of leveraging social media & other marketing activities and marketing assets to get the word out about their company or organization.

As of February 2018, I left a 25-year career in Corporate America and I have expanded beyond web design services and now I work with small businesses to enable them to build their platform & marketing plan so that they generate more revenue with increased visibility on their brand and business. I do this by focusing on their positioning, visual branding, and marketing strategies with one on one consulting, group coaching programs based on my trademarked framework, THE PLATFORM BUILDER®, speaking engagements, leading book collaborations (five completed), and hosting conferences & retreats (seven completed).

What sets me apart in this space of marketing consulting & coaching is my combination of past Corporate experience in the field of Training and Development, my web design techy side, my degree in Marketing, and my natural creative flare!

I am most proud of celebrating five years as a full-time entrepreneur as of February 2023 AND of the incredible clients ( such as Therapists, Accountants, Financial Advisors, Grief Counselors, Life Coaches, Leadership experts and etc) that I get to work with who are impacting their communities and the world.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

After creating my first website, it was the beginning of my side hustle or part-time business and the start of Mitchell Productions, LLC around 2007. So, during the day, I worked as an associate of Capital One Bank, and during the evening and weekends, I put on my superwoman cape and created great websites for various clients. I then stepped into social media consulting because my web design clients needed a “next step” after their website was up and running. I immediately advised them of leveraging social media and other marketing activities to get the word out about their company.

In 2008, I also started The Sharvette Mitchell Radio Show, which is now a Livestream broadcast and podcast. That show would feature web design clients to draw attention to that business. I also started hosting business conferences for women, and I even had a celebrity guest speaker, Kim Coles from Living Single!

This worked well for a long time. I was content with my day job, my work, my directors and managers, and fellow coworkers and thankful for the extra income that I always had from my side business. My job actually gave me skillsets that prepared me for being a full-time small business owner. I used this time to build my brand, learn business tactics and set up my business systems.

Around 2015, I began to think and imagine what it would feel like to put all of my time and energy into Mitchell Productions. I had to at least try even if it did not work out. I did not want to live with regrets.

I gave myself some “exit” dates that I missed but I walked out of the door on February 2, 2018, and have no regrets. I go into detail about my full exit strategy in my book collaboration, Prepare for PURPOSE, available in Spring 2023.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I was headlining my first live event and it was at the Aloft Hotel in Short Pump. When I pulled into a parking space on the morning of July 26, 2014, however, rather than feeling excited or nervous, I found myself wrestling with fear, and even a little embarrassment. Because even though I was a social media superstar, with an enthusiastic and engaged list of followers, and a successful radio host with a dedicated listening audience and regular opportunities to interview celebrities, such as actress and gospel artist Tamela Mann from Meet the Browns, Thelma from Good Times (Bernadette Stanis), and Mama Joyce from the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and respected Christian leaders such as Dr. Medina Pullings, on this day, I was setting up an event for just two people.

Yes, only two people had registered.

So here I found myself that morning, determined to put my best foot forward for these two attendees while not letting them see me sweat and mess up my makeup!

Fast forward to two years later, on the morning of my next live event, there I am, hanging out in the Hyatt House hotel in the West End area of Richmond, Virginia once again. It’s 7 a.m. and I’m having my makeup done to prepare for a conference with 75 registered attendees who are arriving and assembling downstairs in the Vineyard conference room. Yep, I went from two guests to 75 guests.

You might ask…What was different about the first event versus the 2nd event? What happened in the middle? I focused on building community and growing my brand centered around my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mitchell-productions.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharvettem/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MitchellProductions/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharvette/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sharvette
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/MitchellMediaGroup?sub_confirmation=1
• Other: https://sharvette.com/

Image Credits
Kimie James Photography