We were lucky to catch up with Stephani Shepherd recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephani thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful, it takes 3 things: Mindset, Authenticity, and Purpose (aka MAP). Every individual on the road to success must have their own individual MAP. Your mindset should be set on growth and determination. Successful individuals don’t focus on always being perfect but on growing in every necessary area. Successful individuals are also determined to overcome every challenge that comes their way.

Authenticity is one of the best forms of currency. By being our authentic selves, we gain access to every opportunity and connection meant for us (success!). When we present ourselves as imposters, we end up with things and in places never meant for us. True authenticity is owning that you are uniquely gifted and created to add value to the world in a way that only you can.

You absolutely cannot have success without purpose. Once you get clear on your purpose, start to make daily decisions that align with your purpose. It can be easy to drift towards a path that has nothing to do with your actual purpose, I have been there. However, you will not have lasting and fulfilling success until you are bold about living out your purpose.
Never let anyone steer you off your MAP!

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 background and context?

I am a proud multi-hyphenate woman! In the past, when asked what I do, I would feel a sense of overwhelm and shrink back, thinking I would be judged for “doing too much”. Then I began to accept that God created me with skills in multiple areas and I feel blessed to be involved in multiple endeavors. Growing up, my mom owned a daycare and travel business. My father was a pastor of his own church. Although I was raised by entrepreneurs, I did not grow up dreaming to be an entrepreneur. My life as a military spouse led me down this path and I now appreciate what my parents taught me about entrepreneurship.

In 2015, after having my daughter, I left my career in nonprofit management, thinking I would eventually return to the field. After my husband got stationed in Germany, we moved there for 3 years. That delayed my return to the workforce and I was thrust into being a stay-at-home mom. I knew for sure, I would return to the workforce once we moved back to the states. To my surprise, God had other plans for me.

Getting back into the workforce was a challenge for me and I eventually decided that I wanted to do something that would allow me to never have to apply for a job again. That is when I started Great Life is a Must and decided I would build my blog into a business.

I now operate Great Life is a Must with 3 different titles.

My first title is Empowerment Coach, I started blogging more than 7 years ago, and in the past 2 years, I have rebranded and have dedicated my business to influencing the beliefs and actions of women in a way that empowers them to come ALIVE! I deliver practical strategies to help women transform their mindset and defeat the barriers keeping them stuck. I share my gifts with the world through speaking opportunities, blogging, workshops, and social media content.

My second title is Venue Sourcing Professional. I am essentially an event planner’s best friend! I got into this business because I met another blogger who was always traveling (one of my passions) and visiting different hotel properties. I learned that she helps planners source hotels for their events and meetings. I was in search of an opportunity that would allow me to work remotely and never need to apply for a job ever again. This was it! During the pandemic, I took the time to build up my business and now I am witnessing all my hard work pay off!

My third and final title is Virtual Assistant. Through a volunteer opportunity, I met a woman who, after speaking with me, thought I would be a good fit for a Virtual Assistant opportunity. I accepted this opportunity to have another stream of income. With this work, I can manage my time in a way that makes this a smart move toward my goal of time and financial freedom.

In all that I do, I am most proud of the fact that I am no longer the “shrink-back queen”. I used to be severely afraid to put myself out there, for fear of how I would be judged. I knew I had the skills and talents to be a leader, but I stifled my own growth. I used to be afraid of people asking, “who does she think she is?”.Once I discovered who I really am and got comfortable with doing what I have been called to do, I started to welcome that question and am proud of the fact that I can now boldly answer that question.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When I first started Great Life is a Must, we had just moved to Tampa and I was attracted to the blogging scene. I immediately connected with local bloggers, many of whom were food bloggers, and I began my journey of trying to do what they were doing. I was focused on building a lifestyle and food blog. Eventually, I started connecting with local businesses and events to get freebies and event tickets in exchange for advertising through my Instagram account. I thought I was headed somewhere! Then, in May of 2021 I felt that God was pulling me in a different direction. He led me to take a break from posting on social media. I didn’t know how long the break would last, but I ended up taking all of May and June off.

During that time, I gained so much clarity on the messages that I wanted to put out into the world. Instead of simply sharing lifestyle and food content, there was a great message that God has purposed for me to share. I was not called to just tell the world how much I loved a specific beauty product or restaurant. I was to use my voice and share more of my own experiences in efforts to help women come alive! It was a bit scary to think about showing up on the scene with a completely different message than what people were used to. Nevertheless, I knew it was crucial that I boldly accept the new path for my business. At the end of June, I pulled out my tripod and recorded an impromptu video of me sharing my story and announcing the new direction for my business. My audience responded very positively and that was the beginning of my intentional journey to empower as many women as possible through speaking, blogging, workshops and social media content.

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

Real connections have been the best source of clients for me. In every aspect of my business, it has been networking that has worked best for me. Honestly, my business is not blowing up because of my posts on social media. I do not have a ton of followers on social media and I learned that vanity metrics, such as follower count, do not automatically reflect how well a person’s business is going. My business has grown, because I talk to as many people as possible, in person, about what I do. As an added benefit, some of my connections will then refer me to their connections and that’s priceless. In business, personal referrals are golden!

I attend lots of networking events and even talk to strangers in public. When I meet someone, I like to learn about what they do and share what I do. Some people may say they hate having the “so, what do you do?” conversation. My response to that, as an entrepreneur, is that nobody will know what you do unless you tell them. I have learned that I cannot afford to be conservative and quiet about what I do. In this world, everyone is sharing a message and selling something. I have a right and now a duty to do the same and thankfully it is paying off!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.greatlifeisamust.com/
• Instagram: instagram.com/greatlifeisamust
• Facebook: facebook.com/greatlifeisamust
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanishepherd/