Richelle Shaw: So I have said it like a thousand times over the last month, that, MAN, I LOVE WHAT I DO! And this has been the, my absolute favorite part of my gig is being able to interview smart, kickass, beautiful entrepreneurs that can help y’all. So the whole reason why I put together this financial freedom.

Really crushing the next year was cuz I wanted y’all to meet my friends, to meet the people I know, meet the people that I go to, to put things together. [00:01:00] And without further ado, I want you to meet my friends. Sharvette Mitchell, YAY!

Sharvette Mitchell: Hello? Hello. Hey girl, Hey. Hey, Hey girl. Thank you so much, thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited. 

Richelle Shaw: I love that. Hey girl. You know that’s her, that’s her tagline. So that’s in her emails, everything. That’s it. Her Facebook dance. Hey girl. Hey you. And that’s how I think people know you, which is just, yeah. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. It’s interesting it started because when I started a Facebook group, the Facebook group was for females.

Now, I do work with a few lucky men, but it was really a quick way to just let the men know that, okay, this is not for you. But it really became a culture. It really, I can go out in the grocery store and meet somebody that’s in my group and they’re like, Hey girl, Hey. So it’s just something that has stuck.

Richelle Shaw: Yes. Well, no. I think if in building a business, that you have to create a culture, right? A thing that they know you for. You know? I mean, if I [00:02:00] let people introduce me, right? So they say, oh, she owned this telephone company, I think, and she had a lot of men and I’m like, what? Wait a minute…. A lot of men?

Dang. No, No, No. It’s just, yeah and they create this thing, but it is a culture of badass women that end up being there and like really killer men that are attracted to badass women. Right? Because there’s a certain kind of dude that works with me cuz they’re not intimidated by it.

 They look for that, so it really did create a culture. But speaking of introducing yourself, how about you tell everybody you know who the hell is Sharvette Mitchell .

Sharvette Mitchell: All right. So I work with female entrepreneurs and a few lucky men to help them build their online platform so that they generate more revenue with an amazing online brand.

 I do that in a couple of ways. I do that with my web design services, [00:03:00] with personal branding, like fun stuff like brand photo shoots. Building, creating digital products. I also host a radio show that is over 11 years old that comes on in the form of a podcast every Tuesday. And I’m also an author and a speaker.

Have a book that’s coming out, a book compilation actually that’s coming out in a few months. So that’s just a little bit about me.

Richelle Shaw: Oh, that’s awesome.  See! Busy, busy, busy. I think like the commonality of everybody that I’ve interviewed is that we’re implementers, right? So that we just get you done and we do a lot of things.

So it’s always like, yeah, well, yeah, and I did that. Oh, and this, and this and this and this. I was interviewing a guy a couple days ago and like, he sent me his bio. I go look, I’m not, I’m not going through the 17 awards that you’ve won, you know, last year and he’s laughing. He’s like, Richelle, you’re so crazy.

Like, no, no, no, but that’s what happens when you implement too though, right? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. 

Richelle Shaw: When you implement [00:04:00] and put it together, I think that’s what happens. So, you know, oftentimes I will run into folks who swear that they’re in business, and they say, oh, well just go to my website, you know, and I’ll go to their website and I go, Oh, well I know why you’re not making any money.

Sharvette Mitchell: Uhhuh, , 

Richelle Shaw: And you know, what is this and that, you know, and I know that you’re proud of it cuz you finally accomplished something or somebody gave it to you and it’s just like this link that’s got 50 hyphens and whatever. But, you know, in 2019 or whenever y’all listening to it and beyond . 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes. Yes.

Richelle Shaw: Is it important to have a really nice website? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Listen, , let me tell you my response on this because there is a little bit of argument in the industry whether you need a website or not. And so there [00:05:00] are a couple things that’ll give you indicators. Number one, if you even need a website, are people asking you for your website address?

Are customers, are clients, are supporters, are sponsors asking for your website addressed? That’s a key indicator. Are you able to transact business online? Can you get month? Can you, are you able to close deals and send people a link and all of that? Here’s a thought of maybe an industry that you don’t need a website in.

I have a friend that was a lawyer for several years, private practice, never needed a website. Had referral business over six figures. Never needed a website. But then she transitioned into more of leadership coaching, C-suite coaching and in that arena, there was an expectation that she had a website.

So sometimes the genre that you’re in will dictate, and there is an expectation from the clientele that you do have a website. But really, if people are asking you for one, that’s gonna be your first huge [00:06:00] indicator. 

Richelle Shaw: You know, I always think about you know, the first thing that I do when I hear somebody’s name or something is that I Google them.

Yeah. I just instantly Google them and I see what’s going on, you know, and one of the gals couple days ago who she does digital footprinting and getting your name out there, she’s like, you know, you never know what’s out there and it could be something bad. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Absolutely. Absolutely and you wanna control the story of your brand. You wanna control, because if you have a website, when they go to Google, that’s the first thing that should come up. So, you are able to control what it is that people, the first impressions that they have and what you want them to know about you versus Google trying to piece together where, here’s the LinkedIn, well here’s an article where, here’s a podcast and then they’re piecing together the story of the brand you wanna control that. 

Richelle Shaw: Ah, I love it. I love that. So you work in an area of visual, visual branding? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes. 

Richelle Shaw: What is that? Because you are a vision of [00:07:00] beauty. Yes. Everything coordinated.. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Richelle Shaw: Everything coordinated, you know, so tell me about visual branding. What is, what is that? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah, the visual piece is really what people see related to your brand. So there’s one part of branding where you’re really getting your messaging clear, your target audience, who you are here to serve, what problems you’re here to solve. That’s a part. The promises that you’re here to make, that’s a part of your brand.

But then once you have that and in conjunction to that, what is that people visually see that represents your company, your brand and so we go to things like color, brand, colors, logos, websites, brochures, business cards, photography, all of those visual elements that quite honestly, most people get introduced to your brand by that first.

 Then they can hear about the promises you make and the solutions that you have. So it’s really what people see about your brand. 

Richelle Shaw: So do you think that colors and [00:08:00] different colors make you feel differently? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Absolutely. There are actually some psychologies to colors, but what people miss is the color should attract the client, not your favorite color per se.

So I’ll give you an example. I have a customer who a potential customer actually, where we’re in discussions about her website and her current brand is Pink Purple Butterflies, all right. She has written a book that’s about divorce, but she specifically wants to talk to men cuz she feels like we’re always talking to women.

She specifically wants to talk to men, so there’s going to be a conflict with your brand if you’re going after men and you have this purple, this pink, and the butterfly. So we ended up with a red, black, and a metallic gold accent. Why? Because the red can still be feminine, but men see that as powerful.

So the brand colors do [00:09:00] have to appeal to who your target audience is. And then there are some things I actually have in this we will tell listeners and viewers how to get a hold of this, but I actually have a complimentary color chart that talks about the psychological meanings of colors.

Richelle Shaw: Oh, wow. And so, you know, cause I’ve never really thought about the psychological meaning. I definitely have gone with, okay. You know, my favorite colors are orange and green. So the Million Dollar Equation is green, everything green is about green, you know, well, green means money too. So that’s been my *inaudible* 

Sharvette Mitchell: Wealth, all of that health, fertility, freshness, wealth, money. So you’re, you’re on track.

Richelle Shaw: Yeah, Okay. All right, good. Because I was like, Ooh, but that’s my favorite. But I get that. You know, I do see a lot of folks with that, with the pink and, and thinking that, oh, I’m only gonna target women, so I’m gonna have a pink website. It’s like, it’s hard to read pink. You know what I mean? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah, yeah. [00:10:00] So, and what’s interesting is my brand colors are, the two main colors are hot pink and navy blue. But when you come to my site, there’s still a lot of white space and you know, the pink, of course, it kind of draws the attention of the women. But when we get down to sending proposals, guess what?

My proposals are navy blue, a little bit of pink. But now the navy blue is stable, it’s secure. We’re serious. So you, you wanna make some determinations? 

Richelle Shaw: Because why is really visual branding important?

Sharvette Mitchell: It makes people have a perception about you. And when people perceive that your business or you, your personal brand is at a certain level, they will pay at that level.

So you cannot be offering a Nordstrom level service or product and you look like Walmart. It does not compute. The low price, you cannot look low budget and have a [00:11:00] high budget service or product and attract high budget, high clientele looking like Dollar Tree and Walmart. Now, there’s no knocker Juster, Dollar Tree or Walmart.

They’re making money, but they are attracting a certain clientele. So really if you are in service based, even product based industries, and you are trying to go for a higher clientele, a more repeat client, you have to look like it. You have to.

Richelle Shaw: Oh, I said there’s only one low price leader, so.

Sharvette Mitchell: Right. 

Richelle Shaw: You wanna be that, you know, you don’t, but it’s gotta be more than pretty pictures. So you know, and I….(sigh) 

Sharvette Mitchell: But pretty pictures are a part of it. 

Richelle Shaw: Yes. Yes. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Strategic. A strategic brand photo shoot is, you know, is a part of it. But yes, it is not. It is not everything. 

Richelle Shaw: No, no, no. Well then I go, okay, so now what are you gonna sell? Oh, yeah, yeah . [00:12:00] So when you are putting together a visual brand you know, what kinds of questions do you ask people? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah, we talk about their client. So who is your client? Who’s your target audience? Who’s that ideal customer? And then what are the promises that you are making to them? What are the solutions that you are offering to the problems that they have?

So what are the problems that they have? What types of people have you worked with? What kind of results have they gotten? Literally when we have these conversations, even my photographer, shout out to Kimmy James. She, even in this conversation of getting ready for a photo shoot, she’s asking, she’s sitting down with me, with each client, okay, tell me about the client.

Tell me about their customer, and tell me so that she can even get the shots and get consultation shots and get angles that would appeal to the customer. So it really is about that type of conversation. 

Richelle Shaw: Oh, that’s awesome. Well, here’s what I also notice is [00:13:00] that well, and it might just be the people that I’ve attracted, so let me just, you know, call a spade a spade.

But most of the time when I ask people those questions they have no idea. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. 

Richelle Shaw: They have no idea. So, you know, are those meetings, like the longest meeting that you have is trying to pull out of your clients, you know, where they wanna be. 

Sharvette Mitchell: So what’s interesting is, I would say early on in my, in my web design career because early on I was really attracting and my target was the startup, you know, first website just getting started.

And so yes, those conversations were more difficult. The clientele I have now either are already generating revenue, and now this is, they’re taking their brand to the next level or they are already in a professional environment and they’re transitioning. So there’s already some of that work that has been done.

So that’s where I am now, and the conversations aren’t as hard as they were if you’re working with someone who’s just, [00:14:00] I’m just ready to get started immediately.

Richelle Shaw: And so would you attribute that because of your fabulous brand? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes, so absolutely. The growth of my brand has 100% propelled me forward. 100% propelled me forward and shifted my pricing. Shifted my pricing, shifted the clients, the amazing clients that I get to work with because I established my brand. And so you, do you ever go to a hair stylist and their hair is all over the place, but they do beautiful work.

Like you have to be a representation of your work. And what’s interesting, I actually, actually had someone tell me they have been, they’ve been shopped by people who say that they do branding and then when they go look them up and go to their social media and go to their, like, their stuff is kind of like, mm. It’s just, okay. So yeah, I’ve definitely been able to attract clientele because I’ve elevated and continue to elevate my brand. 

Richelle Shaw: [00:15:00] Sure. You know, I’m never shocked. I’m never shocked. Well, I’m not shocked because I think, you know, number one, cobbler’s children have no shoes. Right. So when you’re, when you’re working on other people’s stuff, then you, you just don’t do *inaudible*.

And then you forget how important it’s, yeah. You know? And then I think that there’s a lot of people who are pretending. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Well, this is true too. So that’s, that’s where you come into this space of, do you need it? Do you not, don’t you need, do you need it? Do you, because there are people who have all of this and then like the question you said earlier, okay, well what are you selling? Like, what is your business? But you have all this pretty stuff, and so my aim is to get the person that’s already generating, or they’re at a place where they have put some footwork in and now this is pushing them, but it’s like, I just need this visual demonstration that will help push me to the next level and really showcase what I do.

But yeah, that’s, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors out here, as I say. 

Richelle Shaw: Well, because I think branding is [00:16:00] people think that it’s just pretty pictures and because I can put it together an outfit, you know, then this is your brand, and they get caught up in it. You know, it’s kind of like PR you know, I had a, you know, I’ve made some mistakes and hired, you know, agencies

Sharvette Mitchell: Haven’t, we all haven’t. We all haven’t. 

Richelle Shaw: We all right and I end up going, well wait a minute. You know, I tell my story better than anybody else you know, not that there’s no value in it. There is, but you just have to be strategic like you do with the website, right?

With your branding, with your colors. It has to have a mission and an endpoint that 

you wanna get to a realistic goal. So I love that yours was, look, I don’t wanna work with startups anymore because this is painful. , they don’t, they don’t have any money. They don’t know what they’re doing. 

So I want, well, it’s just the truth or they’ve burned though…*inaudible*

Sharvette Mitchell: And you know what? To be honest, there’s so many ways that you can do DIY websites, like I’m not someone that’s providing web design services with bl [00:17:00] shields on my eye saying, there’s no other way to get this done. No, there are ways you can go do, and actually I recommend that, if you are a startup, if you are, or unless you have resources.

But if you, if your resources are limited, I’d rather you have something, start somewhere. Get the digital footprint going. Get Google used to finding you, knowing your name. I’d rather you do that because a website is like a car. The car that we both, now you might have yours, I don’t have the car that I got when I was 16 or 18, or whenever I got my first car.

I don’t have that same car. A website is the exact same way. You upgrade, you upgrade as you need or as you want.

Richelle Shaw: I love that. Yeah, I love that, your website is like a car. You have that same car, you know? No. Which is, you know, constantly evolving and it needs to constantly evolve, you know? And the one thing that not only, you know, now I have glasses. I didn’t have glasses before. You know, so all my pictures [00:18:00] don’t have glasses. Yeah. My hair is getting gray now, which, now it’s like, so if I’ve got a photo and then of course, you know, because I’m a woman of a particular size, that my weight fluctuates. 

Yeah, I, the other day I posted on Facebook, I said, I’m gonna need some of y’all to update your profile pictures, because…

Sharvette Mitchell: That is a pet peeve that I have. My goodness. It’s a pet peeve that I have. Please look, like in particular, if you are the brand. Now, if you’re selling whatever and you’re behind the scenes and we’re never gonna see, but if you’re speaking, doing TV appearances, you’re an author signing, doing book signings, you have to look like what you are representing or visually it is a disconnect for your clients.

And what they’re saying is, okay, so you just hoodwinked me. So are you gonna hoodwink me with everything?

Richelle Shaw: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I just, I’m like, [00:19:00] Ooh, she needs to update that, you know, cuz that doesn’t look like her and this picture is not, you know, her hair doesn’t look like that ever. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Nope.

Richelle Shaw: You know, I’ve seen her six times now and her hair doesn’t look anything like her profile picture.

Right. The professional shot. So I’m like, so how do you, what’s your stance on that? Like, do you think that you should? 

Because I used to. Which I say all the time, you know, I got over 500, 600 videos. Right? Yeah and I would always come, all done up, but real me is not all done up. 

Real me is you know, no, I have on a uniform cuz I think that I read where, who was it? I think it was Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett and Jeff Bazos all have a uniform, right? And so they wear the same thing every day and they said, because you know, you only get to make a few really good decisions and it shouldn’t be wasted on what should I wear today? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right. 

Richelle Shaw: So, [00:20:00] I just fell in love with that and I go, that’s so true. So now, you know, I do just, this is who I am, this is who I am on a daily basis. Maybe it’s not as beautiful as when I get all done up, right. But still, you know, I wanna, I wanna be able to, when I deliver my content, I don’t want you going, Ooh, she don’t look good today. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right, right. So I tell my clients,

Richelle Shaw: How do you feel about that?

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. I tell my clients You wanna look like yourself on a really good day. What you don’t want is the glamor shot, type of thing. Do you remember glamor shots? And I don’t know, if they still do ’em, you remember them where you had the cowboy hat and the, it was really *inaudible* and capes and just a lot of staginess.

I do not recommend that, yeah. You know, all of that tool. I have a picture. I don’t even know what I was thinking. I have all this tool, wrapped pink tool wrapped around me. That is not what I recommend. I [00:21:00] recommend and I tell my clients, and even when they do photo shoots, I want you to look like your on a really good day. So the makeup artist we bring in, you’re not gonna look like a clown. It’s not going to be hot, pink and blue and it’s natural. Now , all my girls get lashes just because in photography it just looks good. But everybody looks like themself. They’re not overly caked up and overly, they look like they self.

I tell ’em to wear things that you feel comfortable in, in your brand colors, but we want you to be comfortable. So that is my take on that. I am not the do the glamor shot type thing. In particular if people are gonna see you in real life.

Richelle Shaw: I love it. I love that cuz it would, I just used to be like, what in the world , look you look crazy right there, because that’s not you and you look like you’re uncomfortable. You know? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. 

Richelle Shaw: I mean, yes, I do feel better when I’m all done up and yes. You know, when I go and when I speak I have a different makeup regime when I’m on TV. Right. I have a totally different makeup regime. Right. But, you know, when I’m just [00:22:00] inside of me, I think it’s, you know, there’s an essence of me.

We were the running joke now. Is that my, that people don’t pay me until they get to see me and touch me and figure out that my hair is real, right? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah (Both Laughing) yeah. That is a big bonus, like her hair is real. And you know what, Richelle, there are statistics that show definitely in this online space, social media, any type of video and streaming, people are very forgiving.

We are the ones putting up these barriers and saying, I can’t do the video because I don’t have my brows filled in my lashes. Now, the studies show that YouTube videos. People have a higher expectation of the quality of video over on YouTube. But if you’re doing a live streaming or you’re trying to step your foot into Instagram live or whatever, the studies show that people, your viewers and your customers have a lower expectation.

They’re just so glad that you’re [00:23:00] there and they get to be a part of your brand. 

Richelle Shaw: Oh, I feel so much better about that now. Okay, good. Because see, I thought I was a rebel. I was like, yeah, now this is just me. 

Because I am, you know, just a regular, a regular person. Yeah. That just does extraordinary things and I think that’s everybody.

And they forget it. You know, I still struggle with, ooh, should I, need to, need to, you know, Get to the salon and, oh, you know, it’s not like I wanted to and oh, the shirt’s kind of too big and yeah. Well, because I have, you know, just a pile of black shirts, I just go grab one and this is just, it , so I can get to, I love it to the work that I need to do because, you know, I’m an implementer, so I think that makes it, yeah, that makes it different.

Thank you so much for listening to My Passion Project and The Million Dollar Equation Podcast. Of what you’re hearing, if you like it, I love it. [00:24:00] So click the subscribe button to get each week your new favorite episode.

So one of the things that I’ve been asking everybody is tell me about your most favorite client. Like, you know, it doesn’t have to be your ideal cause sometimes I think that doesn’t always match, but like, who’s your favorite client? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Wow. My favorite client is someone who comes to the table. They’ve already have really have already started their business and they are really clear on the direction that they wanna go. They’re really clear and passionate about who it is that they’re here to help.

I find that that person is really like dialed into the magic that they bring, and so then when I work with them, then everything flows [00:25:00] from the brand colors to the photo shoot, to pulling together their website content to when all of it wraps up together. Then their social media images and all of that, and then talking about other things that they wanna do, like host events.

Speak and write books, it all flows because that person is really dialed in. So that’s really the best way I can say that. Somebody that’s already gotten to a certain level and they’re really dialed in and passionate about who they’re here to help and they know how they can help them. They’ve got some track record, whether it’s officially or unofficially of this is how I’ve helped people and I know I’m ready for the next level. It’s just more people need to know about me and that’s where I help them elevate their platform. 

Richelle Shaw: Ah, love it. So have you ever struggled in life? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that, you know, we all struggle and in this entrepreneurship thing, sometimes people feel like money is the [00:26:00] struggle all the time, but money is, I have not, that has not been my testimony that the money has been the struggle.

But what is the struggle is looking at all that you give out and you see if you could just do these, these steps, if you could just do, I think giving out and then seeing that your audience is like, if they could just do a few more steps, they would be a little bit further.

And it’s like you can’t go and do the business for them and you can’t go and say, go change those pictures. And you can’t go and say do this and update this. And so I think that is the struggle of really seeing that there could be more for your clients or people even just following you. And it’s like either there’s a fear of success or fear of failure, but I really feel that what I see most is the fear of success.

The things that they’re not doing is really because they’re scared of what if this does work? 

Richelle Shaw: Yeah. So, have you failed before? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah, yeah. I failed their decisions…

Richelle Shaw: Give me one of your failures?[00:27:00] 

Sharvette Mitchell: I would say bartering, assert, bartering services. So initially I thought something was a win.

I thought it would be a win-win and then after a year of a certain kind of barter, I looked back and realized, I was the only one that gave and that person was better off by the end of the year. But that wasn’t reciprocated and so the failure in that was that I did not recognize that soon enough. So that, I would say was a failure, lesson learned, but I don’t, I know not to do that again, where I am only on the giving end and then there is no reciprocity. 

Richelle Shaw: Yeah. My mother, which everybody knows that, you know, she’s like a big part of my life and so she got to an age where she needed some implants done. And I met this dentist, I was doing some work for him already, and I was like, Hey, can you do this for my mother?

And he is like, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, let’s you know, how can we, can we trade this? [00:28:00] And I’m like, really? I love that. You know, because it was a huge investment, you know. And so what happened is yes, you know, we got, my mother has beautiful teeth now, and I, but I ended up working for this guy for a year.

To pay for it and it just seemed like it just, it never ended, you know? One of the things that I think that we do in being the implementer is they felt as if, you know, it’s stuff that, you’re not paying me for the fact that it took me 30 minutes. Right? You’re paying me for the fact that I have 30 years experience.

Sharvette Mitchell: Bingo. 

Richelle Shaw: Cause of the 30 years experience, it only takes me 30 minutes to do it and that would frustrate the clients, cause they felt like, you know, the only way that they could visualize my work was that I was sitting there actually working. I’m like, that’s not what I do. What I do is, you know, I put it [00:29:00] together and then some is just, you know, maintenance at that point, but it’s not, I’m not creating brand new stuff every single month. They were, you know, the expectation, became just over and over more and more and more and more and more. And truthfully, at the core, their biggest problem was their staffing.

Sharvette Mitchell: Mm-hmm, Which you probably could not fix.

Richelle Shaw: Right. 

Sharvette Mitchell: So at that point you were like, I wish I’d have just paid for the implants and this would’ve been done. 

Richelle Shaw: Right. Right. You know, and you always 

think that, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that works. Until you really get into this, the barter sounds great for the moment, but I think you hit the nail on the head. Cash is not, cash is not the problem and I have said for years that I learned from Dan Kennedy, gosh, 20 years, is that if you can’t make money without money and when you get some, you’re gonna screw it up too. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Absolutely. 

Richelle Shaw: Because your problem is not that you have no money, your problem is that you don’t [00:30:00] know what to do to get a customer and to get somebody to pay you.

You know, your problem is not your resources. Your problem is that you’re not being resourceful. So we need to, yeah, no, that’s Tony Robbins. It’s not me. Tony Robbins. Give him credit, you know, but it really just brings it down. It’s like, okay, so the core of business is not, which is why I love hearing you say that what you do, this visual branding is not a startup.

It really isn’t. It is an upgrade to, you are here, now I want you to be here, because that’s where I think people start with you and then they still have to adjust it cuz they haven’t fixed. Right? Right. Or they, not start with you personally, but start with this visual branding because that’s what they think is going to make them money, and it doesn’t. What, the way you did it was so phenomenal and I love your story. 

How you did it is that, yeah, you started out with these people [00:31:00] that you thought should have been your target, and that’s what business is. It’s an evolution that in your brain, you think that your target is one person and it turns out being somebody totally different, but where the struggle is and where the pain is you holding onto that old one instead of progressing to the new one. What, girl you better preach!

Sharvette Mitchell: That is it and see, here’s the thing, here’s the thing. As we grow in business, I’m bringing more to the table. I can’t charge you $300 for a website and I’m bringing $10,000 worth of value. When you sit down and ask, well, should I do this? Should I do? Now, I’m consulting, now I’m a strategist. So I can’t charge you $300 for a website that I did in 2000 ten years ago. Right. That cuz I’m bringing, I’ve brought more to the table. Right. So.

Richelle Shaw: Right, right. You know, I say, too well I no longer take private clients. Like there are so many things that I just don’t do. It’s like, oh yeah, No, No, No, [00:32:00] No. That feels like a job. 

That’s kind of funky . I don’t coach anymore. Not individual. No, No, No. Cause you know, if you’d like me to partner, because I get results and so then we get the results and you think it’s you and then you don’t wanna pay, right? You don’t have to at the end you start going it was you.

Sharvette Mitchell: Uhhuh.

Richelle Shaw: But so now, *inaudible* cause if you, you know, if I believe in your business, then I may partner with you and then we’ll make this work. But if I don’t, then, No, No, No. But, what I, gosh. And I forgot what I was gonna tell you, but it was a really good point, but, we’ll

Sharvette Mitchell: It’ll come back. It’ll come back. 

Richelle Shaw: It will, it will, but it is, Oh, Oh, Oh. Is what I would tell people when they would hire me is, that I said, you’ve confused me for a vendor. I’m not the marketing girl. I’m not a vendor. I’m a leader and I’m a leader in business growth and if you’d like a leader to join your team, to lead you to the next level, then [00:33:00] I can’t wait, but if you want a vendor, then you can go get the the $10 marketing girl. Right? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Listen, I have a meme that I put out probably two weeks ago that says I am a leader that’s assigned to other leaders. So one way I really know if somebody’s my ideal client, are they already a leader? And if they are not a leader, That’s a good indication to me that I am really, that’s really not, because I am a leader that’s assigned to other leaders.

Richelle Shaw: There you go. Yeah. You know, it’s like, no, and, and I think we know each other, right? 

Which is why I sent the invitation to you , you know? And you were like, yeah, yeah. Yes! You know, because that’s it. Like, we see those signs, like we, people see it. So just know that you’re doing the right thing.

Sharvette Mitchell: Thank you. Thank you. 

Richelle Shaw: They all see it. No, I think it’s important that we tell each other, right? Because I struggle just like anybody else, and I think, you know, I’m really transparent about it now because, but shoving [00:34:00] down that struggle and hiding that struggle caused me so much misery.

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. 

Richelle Shaw: I was struggling because, you know, these people put me on a pedestal and I felt like I couldn’t fail anymore. Which how I built my multimillion dollar businesses over and over again is because I got to fail. And as a coach, you know, I wasn’t allowed to fail anymore and they would, Oh, I can’t work with her, cuz you know, that last promotion didn’t work. It’s like, 

Sharvette Mitchell: And their last 10 didn’t work, but Okay. . 

Richelle Shaw: Right. But it was, you know, but that’s what happens, you know, when you get through the start. That’s why I always have, you know, I have my core around me that’s building me up. That’s encouraging me.

That’s doing all these things, you know, and then that’s how I got to, Okay. You know, they would say, well, why are you taking those clients? Is that what you wanna do? Well, no, but that’s, you know, that’s what’s paying. So, now I don’t focus on the things that I can do. I focus [00:35:00] on the things that I wanna do because I can do anything.

I mean, yeah, I’m the baddest chick on the planet, you know what I mean? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Let’s be clear 

Richelle Shaw: There’s not much I can’t do. Right. But it’s like, do I wanna do it? And so that’s why I think this has been such a blessing to me because like I wanna do, like I can’t wait for the interviews. They’ve just been *inaudible* and just to sit and just listen to, like your philosophies and how you’re doing it. You know, the promises that you’re making to clients. I love that you asked that question because that’s key. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yeah. 

Richelle Shaw: Not just what are you solving, but what are you promising you fixing to do, because we need to make sure that that’s aligned…

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes. 

Richelle Shaw: With what everything looks like. I love, love, love that you asked that question to them. What? I know that you are busy and we could go on for hours.

Sharvette Mitchell: This is so fun.

Hey you. We are so grateful that you are part of MDE [00:36:00] Nation. Are you enjoying this episode? Let me know what you think, especially if you have a question. I would love to answer it personally. You can go to 

RichelleShaw.com/Podcast to get more information about each episode or to be reminded of the MDE weekly assignment and so much more. 

Go to RichelleShaw.com/Podcast.

Richelle Shaw: Tell me about, you know, one way that, I’ve asked everybody, tell me the one thing that you think, you know, this, this whole series is about financial freedom and when I struggled before, I don’t, I didn’t like it, you know and they say that money doesn’t buy happiness, but it sure takes care of a lot of the challenges that I deal with, Right. 

So, you know, my [00:37:00] father, one of the things he told me was, he said, Okay, here’s your lessons. Right? So one of ’em was Misery’s optional, so if I had the face and was pouting, he’d be like, Okay, you can do that, but you gotta do that over there. I don’t wanna look at it. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right. 

Richelle Shaw: So, go on and when you’re finished, you can come back. I ain’t not. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right. 

Richelle Shaw: You know, and 10 minutes later I’ll be back. Because it really is optional. You can choose to be happy, you can choose to be miserable. Yeah. And the second thing is he said, let me tell you something, Richelle.

Now my dad was not a rich man. He was a dabbler in entrepreneurship. He just, you know, he, I think he, set the seed, but I actually was the one who did it.

Sharvette Mitchell: Oh, wow.

Richelle Shaw: So I noticed, but what he said to me was, he said, most of your problems can be solved by a 10 minute conversation or $200. Okay?

Sharvette Mitchell: Mm-hmm, Mm-hmm. 

Richelle Shaw: When you’re, you know, what is, employees, fran, whatever, you know, 10 minutes, just sit down and have this conversation or is it just [00:38:00] $200 pay for that to go away?

$200 when he told me was a lot of money. You know now, right? It’s a thousand dollars, but 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right.

Richelle Shaw: I always knew that Jesus, number one, I could choose to be happy. I could choose to be free and not be enslaved. And the third one is that, you know, I can make that go away by making enough cash. Yeah. So, the reason why I’m doing this is so for financial freedom, cuz I want people to have that, you know, to be set free as you are set free, you get to make your schedule, you get to do what you wanna do, you get to choose your clients.

I mean, that was probably the biggest freeing thing ever. When I realized that I could choose, I could choose, I just don’t have to take you cuz you come to me. Oh yes. You know, that helps you really get on the other side of crazy. But

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes. 

Richelle Shaw: What’s the one thing that you think that our audience can do or would you recommend for our audience to do to crush 2019? 

The rest of the year. 

Sharvette Mitchell: The rest of the year? Yeah. [00:39:00] I would say, and I know people hear mindset a lot, but I’ve, I have got to throw in that if you can shift your mindset to money grows on trees, money grows on trees. We grew up, you know, somebody would ask for sneakers or ask for a leather jacket.

Do you think we have a money tree in the back? Do you think money grows on trees? And that’s what most of us came up with, that money doesn’t grow on trees. So we have this interesting thought about money and I remember when I left corporate America, I was planning, I left corporate America thinking I would be in lack.

And so I was like, okay, I got this stash over here. If something happened, I’ll sell this. I’m gonna take this and I’m gonna spread this. I’m gonna have this every month so I can cover. And in my mind, when I left, I thought I had to set up all of these stop gaps, but let me tell you what happened. After the first month I left, I doubled the goal that I had in mind of [00:40:00] what I wanted each month.

 Then I said, well, now that’s the new goal and so what I can tell you is leaving corporate a good, good job.

Richelle Shaw: Right? 

Sharvette Mitchell: 25 years, I walked away and I have seen nothing but increase and I have not seen decrease. I just met with my accountant yesterday and she said, you know, you were X percentage over. I was like, yep, I know, I’m looking at my numbers, but it is a mindset.

So as soon as that one month where I did that double, I said, oh, well this, these stop gaps and this lacking, maybe I, even listen. I even went to a friend, Tony, I said, you do coupon. Coupon and show me how to coupon cuz you know, maybe I got a stockpile, deodorant and stockpile because in my, I’m serious. I am so serious.

My friend, if she watches this she’s a couponer. I went to, I did that one time, Richelle, and I’m telling you, as soon as my mindset to money, I can generate money, I can make the, so the [00:41:00] money is not going to be, is not the problem for the rest of 2019. Money is not the problem. You can generate the money, you can create the money, you can be further along than you were.

What has to shift is in your mind. You have to believe that and you have to have that mindset shift that you can generate, make, attract the money. And so that’s what I have.

Richelle Shaw: I love it. She’s like, look, I can’t be funky, so I’m a stockpile my deodorant… (both laughing)

Sharvette Mitchell: Listen, I’m telling you. It’s the truth. It’s the truth. And I never had to, I did it that one time.

I have not, I have never had to do it again. I don’t even think about it. 

Richelle Shaw: Right. Well, I think that, I love that you said that. And you know, there are some things that I do that it drives people crazy, right? It drives my guy crazy, Crazy, right? Because he’ll go, didn’t you just say, you know, why are you doing that?

Well, because ,you know, there are a couple things that I don’t do.

If I need [00:42:00] gas, I get gas at the closest gas station, I’m not driving for 20 cents. For What? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right.

Richelle Shaw: That drives me to drink. I’m like, what are you doing? Oh, well the gas over here is, you know, and I listen to people and I go, so let’s do the math, right? 

So I said, so how much, how many gallons do you have in your car? Oh, I have 20 gallons. I say, really? Okay, so it was how much cheaper over there? It was 5 cents. I said, okay, so 5 cents times 20 is how much. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Right.

Richelle Shaw: They go. $10.00 I said, No, No, No. Do it better. A dollar, one dollar. So by driving all the way over, you saved $1.00

So it, see for me, $1. Is, NO, I eat up $1.00, you know, 

Sharvette Mitchell: You can’t, can’t, what can you hardly buy? You can’t even hardly buy a bag of [00:43:00] chips for a dollar if they add the tax. 

Richelle Shaw: Can’t. You can’t. Cuz it’s this big, right? That’s a dollar chip. Right, When you go there, you say, wait, when I saw that they were selling steak, I was like, come on, knock it off. At the Dollar Tree? Oh, listen, you know, now do I go to the Dollar Tree? How do I know they sell steaks? Because I do go there. I buy envelopes and stuff to ship my books and things that like highlighters. But we all know that the highlighters only gonna highlight once. Okay. So don’t expect it to highlight for the rest of the year. No! You know. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Exactly. 

Richelle Shaw: And they’re just, you know we giggle and folks are gonna get tired of me using this example, but I don’t have shampoo. 

Right. So, because I don’t do my own hair. So that’s like, wait, you ain’t our shampoo. Mm mm No, no, no. I have an unlimited subscription to the blow dry bar. So, when I need, I call and I walk in and I sit down and they do my hair [00:44:00] and 

I leave because, but then that was part of, you know, I was on taped TV all the time and I couldn’t be, Ooh, how do I get an appointment? And I’m in, Ooh, and I, no, you know, so then those things became just part of my lifestyle and that poverty mindset will take you down to nothing.

If you start holding on money flows. Not only does it grow on trees, but it flows so, Whenever, like only because, you know, I mean, everybody knows my story. I filed bankruptcy and then I lost it all twice. The second time it was like, damn, I already filed bankruptcy, so I can’t do that again. So I just gotta suck it up buttercup.

Right? So the thing is, is that every time I would try to hold on to money and not pay for things, no money would come in zero. But as soon as I paid everything on time and just let it go. Guess what happened? The money would show up, it would show up. And ,you [00:45:00] know…

Sharvette Mitchell: What happens is, what happens, Richelle is then you start working with clients that you really, you don’t wanna work with.

Correct. So then you start going backwards, like, well I know I said I didn’t wanna work with startups, so maybe, but maybe I could throw a special and you know, to get some money and do some little quick, cheap websites. Then you’re spending hours and hours on a three or $400 website where somebody that paid you 5,000.

It was quick and easy. I’m ready for my photo shoot, do my site, I’m done. And you still, six months later tinkering with a $500 site. That’s what happens.

Richelle Shaw: Right. You’re waiting for them and that’s what happens and then, you know, as 

you take these horrible clients, you know, then you build a tribe of horrible people, because they refer you to their other horrible people.

There are other cheap bastards. And now you’ve got this tribe of cheap bastards. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Listen, Listen, I have a friend, I have a friend that does graphics. I don’t do graphics, and I [00:46:00] referred, this was a while ago, so no, nobody recent, but I referred somebody to him. He called, he said, why did you send this crazy person to me? He said, why are you sending, send me the good people, not the crazy people. 

Richelle Shaw: Right? What is this? Right?

Sharvette Mitchell: It was a while, a while ago.

Richelle Shaw: And you don’t know that you’re in this hamster wheel, you know? And you, and you get caught up in it. So if you are constantly like money grows on trees, everything that I need will be provided. You know, everybody knows that I am an extremely faithful person.

He’s still working on me, you know, as he tells me about my cousin, but it just is. But it’s just that if you don’t believe that he’s done so many things, you know? So on my desk, he is like, yeah, go grab. This is my thank you God jar. Right? 

Sharvette Mitchell: Beautiful. 

Richelle Shaw: And so in it is anytime that I become unfaithful or start to worry, open this up.

I grab one [00:47:00] look, I haven’t had to do it in a while, so the mason is stuck, and I grab it and I go, okay, so what am I thanking you for? So, Oh my goodness. So this one was when I went to see my friend Kevin. Kevin launched his sales for his group career and we sold nine new clients together. That was $17,000.

Thank you all. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Whoa! 

Richelle Shaw: This was February 19th, 2013. Six years ago, but it’s still, yeah. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Worthy of, it’s still a reflection., 

Richelle Shaw: Right? You know, worthy of this praise, 

Sharvette Mitchell: Yes. 

Richelle Shaw: Everything. You know, it’s just, there’s just one after the other one. Wow. Thank you for problem to develop my speaking skills. I see it making an impact.

Sharvette Mitchell: Right? Wow. 

Richelle Shaw: Just, just over and over. So I love to have these as a way to…

Sharvette Mitchell: I love this idea.

Richelle Shaw: Just keep doing it. Oh, you know, this guy sold me, paid for, I spoke at an event and I sold [00:48:00] it and the person paid me for the whole thing and it’s this, Wow. Exciting. 

Thank you so much, Lord. February 22nd, 2015.

So, I just like all of without it. Right? You get caught up in this thing that money is not everywhere. Yeah. And it doesn’t come out and it’s just crazy. And I love that you picked mindset. Thank you very much. I know that you are super busy and to take, you know, an hour with me.

Sharvette Mitchell: This is an honor!

Richelle Shaw: Just, I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful. I can’t wait to work with you more and to do more things. You know, you have been just amazing.

Thank you. So ladies and gentlemen, my friend Sharvette Mitchell. 

Sharvette Mitchell: Thank you . Thanks everybody.

 

[00:49:00]