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

Shonivia , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My mom is my hero! As I’ve grown over the years and had the privilege of having my own daughter I understand the sacrifice, the challenges, the love, and hard work it took to take care of five kids alone. It’s a challenge enough with one but with five I could not have imagined the discipline, sacrifice, strategy, and energy it took to take care of all of us! She’s my true hero in life and in death because I’m still learning from her.

Shonivia , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi, my name is Shonivia Edwards. I am a native of Ocilla, Ga. Small town with two red lights. It may be more now, but I don’t visit much (lol). I have one daughter Zora Abigail who’s in her terrific twos and my niece who I also raised is now twenty and attends Alabama A&M. I have six brothers and sisters whom I love so much, and ten nieces and nephews who I adore and love. I am the owner of Abigzail’s Boutique which is now Z’Nor Avenue Boutique. I decided to rebrand and change the image of Abizgail’s through growth and my experience thus far as an entrepreneur. I have worked as a retail manager and fulfillment for almost eighteen years now. I started very young. It became my drive and passion. I’ve learned so much from the fortune five hundred companies I have been blessed to be apart of and has taught me how to be my CEO.
While I was in college I pondered the thoughts of many careers, lawyer, nurse, FBI, DEA, teacher, but what really stood out was “leadership” and I wanted to make my own rules (lol). As CEO, I make my own rules. I’m fair, consistent, and I’m truly functioning at my best when I’m working on Z’nor. I take pride in making every customer is satisfied.

I was inspired after giving birth to my daughter. I didn’t feel the same, I didn’t feel sexy, I was much larger than I had ever been, and clothes didn’t fit the same. The current ones anyway, so I wanted to help, support women who may have felt like me. I could never find any cute clothes in my “thick” days of being beautiful and pregnant, nor afterwards, so I wanted to create a solve for us. I wanted to be their safety net, so I provided a space for them to shop! It took some time, a whole lot of mistakes but lessons learned. I have always hated making errors. (Lol) it works my nerves to the core, but I have made so many. I remember the first time a customer told me they had an issue with an order. I was devastated. I just knew my business was about to shut down. I was nervous, like how could this happen I doubled and triple check every order, but as I stated, they were lessons learned. I made that mistake and more like them. I accepted the fact that I’m human and with being a human comes human errors.

Z’Nor Avenue is totally online, but we ship all over. Our focus is to inspire women to feel sophisticated, sexy, and leave an impression with all their curves and fupa! That’s what Spanx are for (lol). I once desired a store front, but with all the overhead, I have decided against that and go with a shipping and receiving area with my office space and employees. I honestly do not want to be concerned with who does not show up to work the register (lol).

As a business owner you are given many challenges, fears, and obstacles that seem too hard to overcome, but I remember Hill Harper who once said at a graduation I attended, “fear” is false evidence, appearing real. So, in those moments I remember those words, and my faith. Nothing happens unless you have your personal faith. You have been given the knowledge to obtain what you desire, and you are what you speak according to proverbs. Therefore, speak positive and positive will happen. Everything comes in your perfect timing and season. You just have wait, believe, and put in the work!

Waiting is difficult but “There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.” Success won’t happen overnight. Success takes time, hard work, and patience. -Zig Ziglar

As a business owner many of us face challenges in what to order. How much to order in concern of recession in the industry in its entirety, but one thing we do know, no matter how hard things get people still like retail therapy and if they are too afraid to shop in stores, they will surely shop online. “It’s retail therapy”.

The end goal is for me to learn, teach, and share the knowledge with other hungry and inspired leaders to be the best entrepreneurs and not depend on someone’s else’s business to determine what you and your family will eat every day. Our goal is also to an advocate to single moms, a safe space for those in need, and a voice for the voiceless. In addition, we also want to be able to teach, train and show other inspiring entrepreneurs how to grow start, grow, and scale your business. I’ve failed many times along this journey, but if I had not failed, there is no way I would have learned anything. It was in my failures that have allowed me to truly see the fruits of my labor. There have been many times I wanted to quit, but I looked in my daughter’s face and I couldn’t. I’ve always had it in my mind that if I ever lost my job, I would not fall on my face because God has given us all the tools, we need to be successful. We must use them. We need to be consistent and on the path that he has designed for us. So, at the end of the day be you. It’s too much work being someone else. Be you, don’t compare your business to anyone. Their journey will not always be parallel to your journey, and you may have an entirely different customer base than anyone. Besides, no matter how much we prepare, there will always be failure, its inevitable.

Z’nor Avenue is creating a path for women who look like me and women who have once been afraid to share my curves with all its imperfections and flaws I choose to love me, be confident, and where what I want. And whatever makes me happy. So, this inspires other women. I have fun on my social media page. I’m silly, I’m confident. I’m transparent, and I’m free. I’m free to be me, so while we are making women feel sexy and sophisticated, we will also make an impact in our communities. We plan to make an impact where we show other fellow peers how to be entrepreneurs, leaders, and trust your own path and growth.

Z’Nor Avenue is more than a boutique, it’s home, it’s safe, and it’s your place to purchase with freedom.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During the Covid outbreaks I was just starting to really peak in my business as it had just launched but I had a lot of momentum, I was working full time, single mom, and then I got Covid and had to stop. I lost the momentum, I lost my audience, I became depressed from previous failures, I had to have surgery all in less than 6 months. It was a lot. I took a minute to digress, find a coach, regroup and get back to what I love to do! This business. I couldn’t allow the enemy to defeat me and win. And I was no longer going to feel defeated, so I couldn’t be afraid to seek help and advice from people in my own industry.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I funded my business by my personal savings. I was willing to lose in order to gain. For once in my life I took a chance and “Bet” on me. I believed in the results that I could bring to my business and the legacy I wanted for build for my family. I’ve had many years of running everyones Fortune 500 companies, so why not run my own.

Therefore I saved a little each check and bought inventory until I got to the quantities I wanted and felt like I could make a good return from the data I had gathered. I took it from there and launched.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.znoravenue.com
• Instagram: @znor_avenue_boutique
• Facebook: @znoravenueboutique
• Twitter: @znoravenue
• Youtube: Z’Nor Avenue

Image Credits
Timothy Cole