Shannon S. Evans » Entrepreneurship

A Man Named Pearl

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:00:55 +0000

November 2010

“Not knowing ahead of time that something is supposed to be impossible often makes it possible to achieve. I didn’t have any limitations because I really didn’t know anything about horticulture. I just figured I could do whatever I wanted with any plant I had.” – Pearl Fryar

One night I watched a documentary on Netflix (I’m addicted to it, I’m sure I’ve mentioned this,). I don’t know why I picked this one…A Man Named Pearl. A movie about a man in South Carolina that has topiaries (I must admit that at this point, I had no clue what topiaries were) hardly seems interesting….

December 2011

I was about to set up a maintenance page on my blog when I came across this draft post that I’ve had sitting for about a year. I’ve been working on a new business (I’ll share it soon) that by everyone’s standards seems like it would be impossible to achieve. But since it’s happening, I know they’re wrong. Reading the quote above, I realized that it’s only possible because I stopped believing that things are impossible. Protect your dreams and go after them. There is no such thing as impossible. Challenging…certainly. Impossible…never.

This post is all over the place and rather cryptic, but check out the movie…A Man Named Pearl. It’s incredibly inspiring. And I’ve learned that you can never have enough inspiration.

No related posts.

Six Months Down

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:47:04 +0000

Half of the year has passed. It moved by quickly, but I’ve accomplished enough that I can’t complain about the pace. So far, 2011 has been a great year. I’ve accomplished a lot both professionally and personally…

I started to write this long post about what I’ve learned and blah blah blah. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going to sit down and write out my goals for the next sixth months. I’ll post them tomorrow.

Hope everyone is well!

Just Start

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:00:15 +0000

It’s Martin Luther King Day. And while he’s known best for his “I Have A Dream” speech, he’s said plenty of other great things (surprised?). My favorite quote is: “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

It’s something that I often tell people when they’re talking about how to get where they want to go: Just start. You don’t have to see the end at the beginning. You don’t have to know what the second step will be after the first. You don’t have to know where you’ll find the time or how you will afford it. You don’t have to know when it will all get done. Just start. Take on step at a time and have faith that it will all work out.

And it will all work out. It might not be the way that you planned on it working out, but it will. So whatever it is that you’ve had in your mind to do, just have faith and take the first step.

Finding Inspiration. Doing What I Love

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:00:00 +0000

I started a new blog. I feel like I’m always starting something new, but this time I think I finally have it. It’s a photography blog on people that inspire me. For now, I’m using my former clients that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with and eventually I’ll start adding other people.

Sharing the first piece was incredibly scary. It felt like the first time I was showing someone one of my photographs. Why scary? This idea has been brewing in my head for over a year now. I couldn’t really articulate what it was that I wanted to do at the time, so I kept moving forward with other things…tinkering with other projects.

Pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place when I did a photo shoot with Tanekeya Word. When she contacted me about the shoot and told me what she was trying to achieve, I was ecstatic. Her vision completely fell in line with the way that I like to shoot. We talked for about an hour and I was just incredibly inspired by her art and who she was as a person. That feeling continued into the shoot and then as I was editing the photos. I fell in love with the final images. I knew that I was able to capture who she was and at the same time these images represented exactly who I was. It was perfect.

I realized that getting to work with people that truly inspire me helps produce my best work. As inspiring as people find me, I know that I’m this way because of the incredible people that I’m inspired by. It’s a feeling that I want to spread.

I had actually been thinking of doing something with inspiration for a long time. (That sentence reads funny.) I just didn’t know what or how. I don’t even remember how I finally pieced together the concept that I’m running with now. But I do know that when I finally did the layout of the photos of Tanekeya with her interview, everything in the world felt right. My spirit felt at ease. I knew I was moving in the right direction.

While it all feels incredibly scary, it feels great to finally see what’s been in my head for all these months.

Oh…here is the link…to…the sevan blog.

How to Stop Being Overwhelmed

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:00:28 +0000

I used to get overwhelmed a lot. I noticed that when I started feeling overwhelmed, nothing would get done. (Which isn’t good, because there is quite a bit to do.) I was stuck in a vicious cycle: I’d write a long to-do-list for the day, stare at it and then get completely frightened because there just wasn’t enough time to get it all done. Then I’d feel like a failure and feel terrible for feeling like a failure…and I think you can start to see the problem.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been playing with ways to be more productive and avoid feeling overwhelmed. It’s a huge part of my “work less” mission this year. It seems that I’ve found the winning formula:

1. Pick one thing to do for the day. I’ve found that if I abandon my to-do-list and aim to accomplish one thing per day, I’m far more productive. I pick the thing that absolutely has to get done and I tackle it first thing in the morning. Once I’m done with that, I feel accomplished and motivated to do more. And even if I don’t feel like doing anything else, I know that the thing that matters the most is done and everything else can wait for another day. Vicious cycle ended.

2. Outsource. Outsourcing is my new favorite thing in the world. I’ve started to get rid of those small little tasks that will free me up to do more important things. I can focus on one thing per day now because I’ve gotten rid of the time sucking tasks that were clogging up my day. I’m building a solid team using oDesk and it feels great knowing that people are working for me while I’m sleeping. And it’s outrageously cheap (I almost feel guilty…almost).

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, give this a try. I guarantee it will work.

New Year, Same Old Dreams

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 14:42:58 +0000

So far, 2011 seems a bit strange. It’s not a bad thing, it just feels a bit different. I know where I’m going and even how I’m getting there (tentatively) but the little steps along the way frighten me just a tad. However, I will press forward with patience. I’m realizing that was the lesson I was supposed to learn at the end of 2010. There are many things that aren’t in my control and I really need to be patient as they resolve themselves. I can’t allow myself to be scared of the unknown and instead, I will continue to pursue all of my dreams and goals with heavy doses of faith.

So, here they are…all the things that I have going on this year.

1. Working less, making more. In December I read “4-Hour Work Week” and it changed my life. If you’ve read the book and followed this blog, you already know that this is the direction that I’ve been moving in. The book just helped spark a lot of important ideas on how to get where I want to be. At the end of 2010, I spent a lot of time analyzing my personal weaknesses and how they impacted the company. Many changes were needed. So now, Tia has agreed to manage all the day to day stuff, we’re outsourcing all of our admin functions, we’re adding a few more photographers and we’re getting some account managers. It will take about a month to set this all up, but once it’s done, I’ll focus on branding and communications. That’s it.

2. Moving to the city. I’ve decided to make Atlanta my base location indefinitely. (I’m hesitant about writing that down because I remember saying the same thing about DC and then ended up moving a week later.) It feels good to make a decision about this. It has been on my mind since the summer. I know that most people wouldn’t imagine that this is something really important to me, but it is. As much as I like traveling, I like my own space. I need somewhere that allows me to feel like I’m living even when I’m not traveling. I want to be able to walk to a coffee shop, have a place for photo shoots, host dinner parties, etc. The suburbs are killing me. I’ve gotten to know Atlanta a little bit now and there are a few neighborhoods that would allow me to have the lifestyle that I want. It’s not DC (it’s also not as expensive) but it will do. The goal is to find a place by June.

3. Dancing. As I twirled around my room on NYE, I realized how much I missed dancing. One of the things I was planning on doing this winter in Salvador was dancing for four months. I’ve decided that I’m going to start taking dance classes again. This is something that probably won’t happen until I move. It’s also one of the major reasons that I want to live in the city.

4. Traveling I want to travel out of the country at least three times this year. I have no set place to go but I’m looking into Jamaica, Nicaragua and a trip back to Brasil. I plan on staying put for the first six months of the year so I’ll be cramming this in the last six months.

5. This blog. I’m going to blog more consistently this year. I’ll post twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays. (Maybe I’ll get up to three times.) One of my main goals when I started this blog was to be googleable. (Weird, I know). I searched for myself one day and I was all the way on page five! After writing for over a year, I’m now number one. Woot! Since my very superficial goal has been accomplished, my new goal is to use this blog to travel for free. I have no interest in monetizing this blog, I just want tons of perks. So, even though I consider myself to be a very behind the scenes type of person, I will be growing my personal brand.

6. Personal Projects. Back in July, I mentioned that I have this dream of having a bloco and doing a documentary in Salvador. Even though I haven’t mentioned it since, I have been taking small steps to accomplish this. The most important thing I realized was that I should wait another year. I started a Salvador website instead and I’ll work on building that up and then having the bloco in 2012. My other personal project is “In the Light”. I suffered a major setback on this one. My brother deleted all the photos from my external hard drive so I essentially have to start all over. Painful. But, I’m going to do it. Since I won’t be shooting as much for Sevan, I’ll be able to spend more time focusing on this.

This should be enough to get me through the year.

Favorite Memories and Lessons of 2010

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:00:07 +0000

I’m miserable. Well, I was miserable until I started listening to Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives album. It reminded me of the amazing show that they did back in June. Then I started thinking about all the great things that I’ve done this year. I realized that I’ve experienced a lot. Probably more than most people get to do in even five years. I’ve also learned a lot. Lessons that I’m sure I’ll use to help keep me on track in the future. Here’s a glimpse of what my year looked like:

January

- Started the new year on the beach in Salvador, Brasil (wearing purple while everyone else wore white).

February

-Danced in the streets of Salvador during Carnaval until 6 am in the morning and realized that being drunk is the only way to do it.
-Started off my birthday on the beach in Salvador at midnight with a bag of ruffles and a can of Skol, before being rudely interrupted my someone.

March

-Contemplated ripping up my return ticket for the US and decided against it. I learned that I should live in the moment more!

April

-Met Angela Lansbury at the Signature Theatre Gala and she’s as cool as I thought she would be.
-Learned to speak up when something is bothering me, even if it’s really, really difficult. Real friends will understand.

May

-Saw my best friend graduate from law school in Houston.
-Started dating again and met some really great guys and only one weirdo.
-Flew to New York for the day to hang out with all of my friends in Brooklyn.

June

-Started discovering that Atlanta is not all bad and there are quite a few places that I really love and would actually miss: Octane Coffee, The Glenn Hotel lobby and Spoon.
-Went to the BEST CONCERT EVER: Nas and Damian Marley. Effin win.
-Perfected cooking moqueca just in time for the World Cup (even though Brasil lost).
-Learned that I had a habit of loving men that weren’t emotionally available.

July

(Hmmm, I can’t think of anything memorable that happened in this month. Not a thing.)

August

-Met a guy and started a whirlwind relationship. There are too many memories from this to list them all.

September

-Opened myself up to love (regardless of the outcome).

October

-Went to South Carolina to meet Pearl Fryar.
-Laid on the beach in Aruba for hours by myself. Very relaxing.
-Partied with my friends in DC.

November

-Ate an insane amount of fried fish in Panama City, Panama and used Spanish I hadn’t thought about in 10 years.
-Walked the streets of Casco Viejo (Panama) and remembered why I loved colonial cities/areas.

December

- Learned that I still have a habit of loving men that are emotionally unavailable, lol.
-Started “planning” all the trips that I will take and projects that I will work on in 2011.

Whew! I’ve done quite a lot this year and I know that next year will be even better than I can imagine right now. I’m pretty fortunate. I’m excited to see what the new year will bring.

I hope that 2011 is full of exciting new adventures for you all!

How to Balance Being an Entrepreneur with a Relationship

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:00:59 +0000

When I first started down this entrepreneurial road, I knew that it was best to stay single. The long nights, loss of weekends and my habit of falling asleep with my laptop…none of it was conducive to a relationship.

That was four years ago and even then I knew I would reach the point where I might want to give a relationship a try. While it is easier for me to do it now, I’m realizing that there are still challenges that I have to overcome if both of these things are to be successful.

Here are three things that I think are important to help find a delicate balance:

1. Find someone that understands. One of the main reasons that I stayed away from relationships is that very few people understand what it’s like to be an entrepreneur. It’s not an easy road. It comes with many highs and many lows. Over the years, I’ve come across quite a few guys that just couldn’t get it. They wanted time that I just couldn’t afford to give. I have more time to give now, but it’s also great to have someone that lets me take as much time as I need for myself.

2. Keep a schedule. The relationship is still fairly new and for the first couple of weeks, all I wanted to do was see him. It was easy to do because I work from home (unless I’m at a shoot) so my time is pretty flexible. I suck at schedules, but I knew that creating one would be key to keeping my sanity and dragging my head out of the clouds. I haven’t perfected it yet, but it’s getting better.

3. Take time off. I have the ability to work every day for years at a time. I’ve done it for awhile now. I might not work eight hours a day, but there is rarely a day that goes by that I’m not doing something work related. I’ve learned that it’s ok to take a day off or two and do nothing else but get lost in the company of someone else.

For now, these things are working well. We’ll see what happens when I throw travel into the mix. But that’s another test for another day.

Phone Your Blog with WordPress

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:00:17 +0000

When I first heard of it, I was certain it was a hoax. But nope, it’s true. WordPress is now allowing users to call their blogs (sobers and drunks alike) and then have the files uploaded in the form of a post. The idea is pretty clever, however, I’m already feeling bad for all those people that will undoubtedly make jackasses of themselves. Here’s to the future… (Oh and by the way, let me take this moment to say that WordPress is the best blogging platform/content management system created. It boggles my mind that people use anything else.)

It’s happened to all of us. The night starts off innocently enough with a little gin and tonic, maybe a mojito, then next thing you know you’re doing tequila shots with the bartender and the girl from Brazil and you find yourself thinking it would be a treMENdous idea to call up your ex and see how they’re doing and perhaps impress them with your newfound wit.

We’ve got the cure. Now, instead of drunk dialing random friends, lovers, and acquaintances one at a time, what if you could dial your blog and talk to the whole world at once? It’d be like something out of Star Trek.

The future is now, folks. You can now go to your My Blogs tab, enable Post by Voice, and get a special number and code to call your blog. After you’re done, the audio file from your phone call will be posted to your blog for all to listen to and enjoy. (And added to your RSS feed for podcast support.)

So now you can post to your WordPress via the web, email, iPhone, Android, Blackberry, desktop clients, and now any telephone in the world. Of course when you post it can be pushed to Facebook, Twitter, and more using the Publicize feature. What more could you want?

Right now this is completely free, but we’ll charge you money to take down posts. Just kidding! We’re making it free and allowing recording lengths up to sixty minutes, but that limit may go down without a paid upgrade in the future. Mostly we’re just curious to see how people use this.

Read the rest here.

It’s A Party

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:00:56 +0000

Last year, I attended/photographed the launch party for Julianne Smith garters. While there, I ended up striking up a great conversation with, Sugar, one of the future brides in attendance. However, instead of talking about weddings, we got into this huge conversation about entrepreneurship. She shared that she wasn’t quite happy with her job and really just wanted to quit and create…whatever.

Of course I told her to go for it. And I’m happy to say that she did! She’s having her launch party in DC on August 19 for her event planning creation company, DIYva Designs. If you happen to be in the area, check it out. She’s by far one of the most creative artists that I know and I’m always excited to see what she comes up with. If you can’t make it, check out the blog here.

RSVP here or by clicking on the flyer.