Meet Sheila Kennedy of Twiizl Media / SheilaKennedy.biz in Culver City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheila Kennedy.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My entrepreneurship journey started at nine when my sisters and I raised pigs and lambs in our local 4H club. The 4H year ended around September and that is when we would take our animals to the local fair to show them and auction them off. The proceeds from the auction would fund our animal purchase and expenses the next year, and of course with any extra money we bought clothes! Our entrepreneurial experiences expanded as we got older – by our early teens we spent our free time babysitting. If that wasn’t enough, we also woke up before dawn to fold newspapers that we delivered every day after school, in a pony cart no less!

By the time I turned twenty-one I accomplished a life goal – owning my own company. My company specialized in recruiting and human resource management. We were driven and excelled in finding the best loan officers and personnel for our clients. I loved the work. My early experiences ingrained in me a desire to work hard, always with integrity and honesty while achieving my goals. The challenge of being an entrepreneur at an early age was difficult, but it taught me a number of key skills I still use daily.

I enjoyed my early journey into entrepreneurship, but I was soon hunting for new challenges and a new adventure. One of these became real estate – I was deeply interested in the subject and I noticed I was passionate about it too! I set out to become a licensed real estate agent and went to work for one of my mortgage broker partners/clients. My passion for real estate led to my evolution as a broker; and eventually launched my own real estate and mortgage company!

After a successful period in real estate, I decided to take on another new challenge – I decided to go back to school (as single mom of four!) and challenge myself to earn a bachelor’s degree in marketing! While managing my own personal life as well as my university responsibilities– I started an eight-year stint in a non-profit senior leadership! It was one of my favorite experiences! In one position I managed over 1,000 volunteers, in another my teams were responsible for over 20,000 volunteers and 40,000 girl members.

Working in non-profit is extremely rewarding – and changes you as a leader. Eventually though, my desire to once again get back to my roots of being and entrepreneur took over. My love and passion has always been tied to running my own business, and I came back to it in 2016 when I launched Twiizl Media and SheilaKennedy.biz.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh gosh, it has been anything but smooth! Although I would not be doing justice to my experiences if I didn’t state that every bump along the way was rewarding. When I first started in the mortgage business and began seriously applying myself (aka I worked all the time), a family member had just started her pregnancy and I soon found out she could not support the child and was forced to give it up for adoption. I couldn’t let this happen – I took the baby in and adopted her, and I have been fortunate to have Alexis in my life since. At the time I was terrified; here I was just twenty-four and under immense pressure to balance numerous responsibilities, plus I would have a young child to add to it! I had just started my career but overnight turned into a single mom. Under all this stress something forced me to stop and re-focus, I made a decision to be an example for Alexis and forge ahead with determination and hard work!

Ever the resourceful entrepreneur and problem-solver I continued my grind. When my daughter turned eight, I took in yet another family member who urgently needed a place to stay. This ever-shining light was Baxter and he was just ten at the time, I ended up raising him until he was eighteen. Going from one child to two was tough, but just six months after Baxter started living with us; two more family members needed a home. They were just one and two-and-a-half years old at the time; Athena and Jose. Based on my principles, I could never deny my family or any of my loved ones; I prepared myself for the challenges and rewards of taking on a couple more kids! Two and a half years later, I adopted Athena and Jose too.

Right before Athena and Jose came to live with us I was starting to build and expand my real estate and mortgage company. I rented additional space– but after going from one to four children in such a short time, I was forced to relocate my office and create a more economic strategy to save costs. I re-established my priorities and exchanged my physical office for a home office.

After the real estate market crashed and faced with being the sole provider for my four kids, I decided to switch gears and went back to school. This is when I got my bachelor’s in marketing and started working in non-profit. Working full-time in a new career, raising four kids, and going back to school full-time was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. My mantra to help me through it all, was ‘two years will go by, you will either have your degree or you won’t. You may as well get your degree!’ And I did it! I made it through and got my bachelors. I quickly realized that I would also need a master’s degree to be competitive in the market place, so I took on another two years and completed my MBA, not easy, but well worth it. My time in the MBA program taught me noteworthy lessons about business and it paid off in spades when I launched my new businesses!

During the early stages of starting Twiizl Media and SheilaKennedy.biz, an urgent need arose as another one of my family needed a place to stay. That is when Joceline came to live with us, and now at fifty I have adopted my fourth baby. Alexis, my oldest daughter, has the most amazing baby, a son, Blake. So now I am a mom of a three-year-old and grandma to a two-year-old. This often gives me a chuckle.

It seemed like every time I ventured out to pursue my dream of running a business, a child has come into my life. The great news is these little blessings have made my life so fulfilling! I would not have had it any other way. My experiences have taught me children are worth more than any company, and I have been very fortunate to now have my kids working alongside me in the businesses. I hope to build this together with them and leave a lasting legacy they can be proud of.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Twiizl Media is a Marketing and Digital Media company and we continue to expand our offerings in key performance areas such as Graphic Design, Branding, Social Media, Email Marketing, and List Building to name a few. Over time we have been recognized by some of our clients for our exceptional work which has led to great recommendations. We are proud to say that it has created more demand and has led us to introduce new ways to serve our client’s needs. My experiences have taught me to work towards providing my clients with immense value by examining their entire business’s requirements. We then maximize our marketing efforts for the business and seek to measure our performance through a clear increase in sales. While our marketing efforts are at work, we simultaneously seek out new technological efficiencies to enhance our customer’s organizational systems and improve their overall efficiency. Our in-depth knowledge has identified this to be a key factor in lowering costs while increasing bottom line.

SheilaKennedy.biz is where I get to pay it back. I work with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them grow and thrive. I work with small business owners to increase growth, redesign their sales teams and processes, and I conduct team and staff training. My favorite aspect of this business is when I get to speak to entrepreneurs and inspire them to keep up the good work they are doing, but even more important to me is when I get to speak to groups of women and girls. How wonderful to get to share my experiences and knowledge to help them see what a bright future they also can have.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I was an active child and I believed in two things: having fun and making the most of my time! My desire is to never see a dull moment. I have always been hardworking and ambitious, often doing more in a day than most do in a week. This has led my co-workers to lovingly tease me as a being a Tasmanian devil. As a kid I swam, danced, did baton twirling, and gymnastics. Besides 4H, I was also in Girl Scouts and played the clarinet as well as volleyball in Junior High.

When I started High School, I had the opportunity to play on the freshman basketball team! However, as fate would have it, after I turned 16 I focused exclusively on my career progression. My first job was in retail and I enjoyed the responsibility that came with it. As I graduated from High School I was rewarded for my hard work with a promotion and soon after that another one! I was quite proud of myself and I could not help but think that I owe it all to my father. He never missed an opportunity to remind me to finish every job I start, work hard at it, and complete it well!

Pricing:

• Single Media Account Review (ex. Website, Facebook page, Instagram) $199
• Branding, Graphic Design (Cards, Brochures, Banners, Posts) $250+
• Account Management (Website, Facebook page, Instagram) $500+
• Team Training (Customer Service, Conflict Resolution, and more) $1,000+
• Key Note or Motivational Speaking $1,500+

Contact Info:

• Website: www.twiizlmedia.com
• Email: sheila@twiizlmedia.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twiizl.media/ ; https://www.instagram.com/sheilakennedy.biz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twiizl.media/ ; https://www.facebook.com/sheilakennedy.biz/
• Other: www.sheilakennedy.biz

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