Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shiemicka LaShanne. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Shiemicka, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

My journey began over 25 years ago when I decided that I wanted more! With little confidence and lots of fear, I decided to do one of the things I feared the most, compete in a beauty pageant. Since that day, I have never stopped stepping out of my comfort zone. I aim to teach tweens, teens, and women to do the same!

I grew up shy but always had an interest in the arts. As you can imagine, the two didn’t go together. I was encouraged to enter a Beauty Pageant when I turned 18. While terrified, I decided to try it anyway, and to my surprise, I won. This was the Miss Belize Queen of the Bay pageant. My confidence was boosted tremendously, and I wanted to go bigger. I had been watching the Miss Universe pageant for years and decided to give Miss New York USA a try, as that was the first step to getting closer to that goal. I did that a few times and finally placed 3rd Runner-Up after competing with 91 others.

Where I lived, I had no local coaches that could help make me better. I had a gown designer who was an excellent mentor to me, Scott Gray, Owner of Cinderellas Bridal Salon in Greenwich, Rhode Island, at the time. He mentored me and helped me to be my absolute best on the stage.

So this is how I fell into coaching other girls to win and compete in pageants – one of my friends, who was working in the music industry at the time, introduced me to a client of his, and she was the first girl that I coached, and she ended up winning the pageant. At that point, I realized that I was onto something and made coaching a business. I had the ability to quickly build confidence and help a person to see the best in themselves and be the better version of themselves.

My style was unique. I was not only their coach, I became their friend.

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?

One of my goals early on in my career was to compete at Miss Universe. In 2000 I did just that; I represented Belize at the 49th Miss Universe Pageant in Nicosia, Cyprus, while I didn’t place. It was an experience of a lifetime that gave me something that I was still missing, the knowing that “I could” I had achieved something many would only dream about. This was the confidence that I didn’t know I needed that would shape the rest of my life. This confidence boost helped me become more than I ever thought I could be. In 2005, I rounded out competing in pageants as the 2nd Runner-Up at the Mrs. New York America pageant.

In 2008, I became the State Director of New York & New Jersey’s Perfect Model competition. I held that position for 10 years and decided in 2019 that I was ready to step down and put my full focus back into confidence coaching. In 2022, I became the National Director for the Miss Earth Belize pageant because I felt that is where I was needed at the time.

Currently, I hold a seat at the table of a $70 million not-for-profit agency as their Vice President of Philanthropy in New York. Everyone’s confidence comes from a different place; mine was achieved through pageantry.

Building confidence in women is important to me because confidence solves a lot of personal issues that one has within themselves. Confidence allows you to dream big and not let fear stand in the way.
Too many of us allow fear to let others win by default. Having confidence is a real “Feel Good.” It helps to identify limiting beliefs and overcome the challenges holding us back from being the best versions of ourselves and being able to stand in our power and set boundaries. This will often take longer to do on your own and is much more challenging. When you have someone holding you accountable for your success, you will take action to achieve your goals.

I want kids, teens, and women to know that achieving their dreams is only a hop, skip, and jump away, and they don’t have to figure out how to do it alone.

When a woman gains her confidence back, she becomes empowered. She will have happier relationships, a more satisfying career, and live a healthier lifestyle. A confident woman is more inclined to stretch her abilities and set boundaries. Of course, there will always be times when that self-doubt shows up, but the goal is to know how to quiet that negative inner voice. A confident woman becomes less focused on herself and comparing herself to others and more on being authentic and accepting her weaknesses. We all have them! I help to build a level of confidence that was never there before and that they didn’t know they could ever achieve. I help my clients re-imagine their life, start to achieve their goals, and elevate to a new level themselves.

I’ve been preparing young girls to compete in pageantry for over 25 years, but I quickly realized that I wasn’t only preparing them for pageantry but for life. The challenges they would face were already being tapped into during our sessions. I have helped kids and teens worldwide overcome struggles, build confidence, and become the best version of themselves.

As a certified Wisdom Coach through Adventures in Wisdom™, I use stories to help tweens and teens:

W: Wire Their Brain for Happiness and Success
I: Identify “Who” They Want to Be and What They Want For Their Lives
S: See Their Inner Superstar and Shine
D: Dream Big, Live with purpose, Make it Happen!!!
O: Overcome Obstacles and Create Courage
M: Manage the Ups and Downs of Growing Up

What I love most about being a Wisdom Life Coach is watching kids transform into who they are truly meant to be. I help them build Self-Esteem & Self-Confidence, allowing them to learn how to Make Good Decisions & Stand Up to Peer Pressure, Build Resilience and Help Their Dreams Come True. My Personal Commitment is to help you become confident and prepared to be successful at handling any obstacles that come your way.

My commitment is to help you re-imagine your life by providing the tools to guide you to achieve your desired goals. The baseline of my coaching is the same for everyone because we were all once a child, and this life will be twice a child. Self-Talk, Honoring your Uniqueness, Overcoming Fear, Managing Change, and Creating Self-Confidence are just a few of the areas I help my clients work through to get to their next level. A new class of confidence will change your life!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I would definitely have to say directing a pageant for 10 years and stepping back into the coaching arena was a place where I had to show my resilience because there was a new challenge for me. When I started coaching 25 years ago, I built my business through word of mouth and magazine ads. Today social media runs the world. I had to be up for the challenge, and it wasn’t easy at first, but now it’s smooth sailing.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I would say being genuine and helping my clients to see results. Confidence is challenging; only some have it, but it can be built. I have an application process, and the reason for that is I want anyone who comes into my programs to be ready to do the work so that they get the results. I also always want my clients to feel good about themselves as we work to transform their lives. While I am always honest, I have a way of breaking things down that won’t interfere with their weakened self-esteem. After all, the coal is to build their self-esteem and confidence.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shiemickalashanne.com
• Instagram: shiemickalashanne
• Facebook: Shiemicka LaShanne
• Linkedin: Shiemicka LaShanne