Your Name: Sheila P. Coates

Business Name BYOB (Be Your Own Brand!), a service to help develop personal brands

Type of Business Coaching & Consulting

Business Location Los Angeles, California, United States

Website www.BYOBUnlimited.com
Twitter www.twitter.com/SheilaC
Facebook BYOB (Be Your Own Brand)
Pinterest BYOB (Be Your Own Brand!)

Reason for starting
After years as an Entertainment Marketing/Branding Executive, I quit a high paying job to take a much-needed break and travel. After a couple of years, I realized I was still excited to help people: Define, Look and Be their unique best and project it to the world! I just didn’t want to do it for celebrities nor did I want to ensue office politics any longer. The funny thing is I also didn’t want to be an Entrepreneur… So initially I helped friends, friends of friends and others for FREE! With great feedback and support I launched BYOB because I realized it was changing lives and positively impacting people on every level. Between my personal journey, my career branding celebrities and my Mother, who always told me to, “BE YOU!” I had more than enough ammunition and knowledge to forgo my hesitancy about Entrepreneurship and take a BIG leap of FAITH!

How do you define success?
Success is the ability to enjoy life and all its pleasures… From spectacular pleasures like visiting South Africa to enjoying a movie in the middle of the day when everybody else is at work. I believe success for me is when I’m operating from a position of “abundance” as opposed to a feeling of lack… I can have success with my health, relationships, love, home, finance, peace, and spiritual journey from a position of success. Yes, we know success can bring monetary benefits and I like that as well. When I’m monetarily successful (blessed) the more I can bless others. I love being in a position to do for others without the constant thought of, “Can I afford to do this?” Doing something for someone else without needing it or wanting it back is a good thing!

Biggest Success
Obtaining a Macy’s contract my first year of business. I created & executed a National Macy’s/BYOB “Discover Your Brand” tour that increased Macy’s revenue (YTD) during the height of the recession and empowered people to be their own brand! Since it was a National tour, they did an amazing advertising campaign and promotion and also helped to launch my book, “Mama Used To Say…Be Your Own Brand!”… Which sold out at every stop on the tour. It was amazing to realize that my journey of helping celebrities prepare for tours and commercials was just preparation for my own business. When Macy’s asked me to be the person in the :30 commercial to promote the tour, I was able to do it in just 2 takes! I was also prepared to handle the tours travel schedule of back-to-back events because I prepared tours for artists for years. I realized that every part of the journey we’re on is part of the bigger plan!

What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it?
It’s how to run a successful business as an Entrepreneur. As a corporate executive, I thought I possessed excellent time management and multi-tasking skills. However, I learned as an Entrepreneur its harder because you’re usually the only person (when you start) and you’re used to having a staff and systems already in place. Also, being an Entrepreneur can be a “lonely” journey especially if you’re a people person like me. To overcome the challenges above, I enrolled in numerous classes from the beginning to learn the Entrepreneur mindset and how to run a successful business. I also enjoy classes because if affords me the opportunity to be around other Entrepreneurs. It’s great to know that you’re not the only one with the same problems, concerns or thoughts. Now I’m always taking classes tonetwork grow and embrace being an Entrepreneur.

Who is your most important role model?
I have many but today I still consider my Mother to be my greatest influence. Her common sense wisdom combined with her executive expertise is what I strive to impart everyday with BYOB and my life in general. My mother was the leader of the “You can do it, Sheila” pep squad I still believe those words today. I often get frustrated with the challenges of being an Entrepreneur but always seem to refer back to the phrase, “You can do it, Sheila” and take a deep breath and keep going.