NAWBO-Columbus’ Shaniece M. Wise, a business expansion coach and strategist, is quick to point out someone’s gift or calling. “Growing up, my father was an impeccable dresser. People often asked him for fashion advice or to pick out a suit for them. It was his gift,” she recalls. “Yet, it broke my heart because he never worked at a job to maximize it. He never fully operated in his gift. I promised myself that would not be me. I would use my gifts to help change other people’s lives.”
As a child, Shaniece honed her entrepreneurial spirit at her lemonade stand. She later earned two business degrees from The Ohio State University, excelled in pharmaceutical sales and spent 14 years at Mary Kay Cosmetics where she led a unit of over 200 consultants, earned over $500,000 in annual sales in one year and drove several signature Mary Kay pink Cadillacs. She enjoyed traveling nationwide teaching the sales force, yet felt boxed in.
“Business owners from other industries were approaching me for help on how to expand their current business structures,” she shares. “I spent many sleepless nights asking God if he really wanted me to start my own consulting business. The answer was always, ‘Trust me.’”
In 2008, Shaniece launched Wise, Armstrong and Associates, LLC, a business coaching and consulting firm that helps small business owners expand their expertise, streams of business and revenue through coaching, speaking and product development. By recognizing gifts in others, she’s helped her clients grow their businesses by an average of 60-200 percent within one year of starting the program.
Consider the single working mom who quit her job to run Cakes by Chantel full time. By focusing on bookkeeping, marketing and networking, Shaniece helped her increase sales by 100 percent in two years and be crowned “Cupcake Queen of Ohio” on the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars.”
Shaniece also helped Lisa Gutierrez, CEO of Dos Hermanos Taco Truck, LLC, who came to her frustrated and stressed out. “I was already a million-dollar business owner with over 25 employees when I joined Shaniece Wise’s coaching program, but I was overwhelmed,” recalls Lisa. “The business was running me and I felt like I had no control. Now I am in my second year of working with Shaniece and I just opened a building that houses all of my employees and where I host events. I am also building my speaking and business coaching platforms.”
Shaniece’s goal is to help others build and expand businesses that are connected to their unique gifts. “Those gifts are tied to someone else’s blessing,” she shares. With that in mind, Shaniece also incorporates spirituality and prayer into her sessions. She encourages business owners to embrace their individual religion or beliefs and to live unapologetically.
“People gravitate towards authenticity,” she says. “To be an effective business owner, you have to be true to who you are.”
Other success tips from Shaniece include:
Seek speaking engagements – “Business owners can reach ideal clients, not by aiming to be professional speakers, but by educating, empowering and connecting with their target audience. Command attention on a stage—whether it’s speaking at a conference, on a panel or at an event connected to your industry—anywhere you can create visibility and share your expertise.
Hire the right people and build a strong back office – Effective hiring is part of the foundation to a successful business. Start by researching assessments designed to choose the right people. When interviewing, ensure the business’ mission statement and values are inline with a candidate’s character and strengths. Prospective employees should also believe in the brand of the company.
Engage in social media – I teach clients to effectively utilize social media, especially Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. I show them how to use hashtags, craft messages that differentiate the business and brand pages using their business colors, logo and videos. It’s also important to educate fans and offer freebies. In terms of visibility, social media is everything; it is the new wave and all business owners must adapt to it.
Want to learn more? Join Shaniece for her webinar, exclusively for NAWBO members:
Connect & Learn: Expand Your Current Streams of Revenue To Build A Business That Creates Wealth
Three Primary Learning Objectives:
- Expand current avenues of income
- Add additional avenues of income inside the current business model
- Hire help to expand and position business for future wealth
Thursday, June 11, 2020 – 5:00-6:00 pm EST
Register Online