EP 34: Mindful Hustle with Shannon Woodruff of Strategy Shift Marketing

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Shannon can remember being an entrepreneur since she was in 3rd grade.  She would take her Dad’s electric tape, draw designs on them and then sell them to her classmates. As an entrepreneur since day one, it isn’t hard to believe the success she has found creating amazing companies throughout her life.  She created a successful Etsy shop after the fall of the economy in 2008 and has since become an expert at helping other businesses grow through social media and marketing. Shannon started with her original company, Hustle Momma Handmade. She took the lessons she learned with her online shop and continued to grow in marketing and finally, opened her own marketing agency.

THE BEGINNING

In 2008, Shannon and her husband decided that she needed to find a way to make money from home with their two girls. She started to sew and sell everything she made on eBay.  “Creating is what fueled me,” she says. They grew with the beginning of Etsy and Instagram and were in about 12 stores nationally. The hustle was no joke. Hustle Momma Handmade has created a sold over 75,000 items of merchandise. Eventually, the work was no longer work the struggle and she closed down most of her store except for a select few accounts like Mama’s Cold Brew.  She began doing social media marketing since she had seen so much success from mastering different social media platforms.

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A CAREER

She started with a different agency to get a good understanding of this industry, but quickly after open her own agency. Social media Management is considered her sweet spot, but she also likes to do other brochures and web design.  

Shannon is self-taught. She says that all of what she has done has been due to trial and error.  Digital marketing is constantly changing, so you need to be able to adapt and learn quickly to utilize different platforms. Now we buy from certain companies because we trust the “avatar” or the face we constantly see. Showing a face that people can connect to will help the business be profitable and make an impact.  For so long it was said to keep your personal life and your business separate, but now, people want to buy from people they feel they know and trust.

MINDFULNESS

Shannon is also involved in social media mindfulness. She has this helicopter view of all of the different social media platforms, so now she sees how much time they take up in our day to day lives. She understands how social media is designed, how it affects your brain and the fact that some creator also created gambling machines. Her daughters are 12 and 14 and she does not let them have social media. She does not want her kids to get validated by a ‘like’ on social media. Social media is an addiction, and being able to be mindful of where you are putting your time is so important. The family has taken this all into perspective in their homes as well. They know that when they are together at dinner or hanging, they do not have their phones out. Even her oldest doesn’t allow her friends to be on their phones around her because she wants them to be present with her.

A CELEBRATED LIFE

Shannon celebrate life every day by saying yes and listening to those nudges that she knows are much bigger than her. She wants to fill her soul and do things that make her, her husband, and her family feel happy and do things they have always wanted to do.

SOCIAL

Instagram: @iamshannonwoodruff

Website: strategyshiftmarketing.com