Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelly Gracon.
Hi Shelly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I like to say I have lived many lives, or iterations as you might refer to it in business. My favorite aspect of life is reinvention. The ultimate pivot. Which brings me to where I am today.
The past decade has included changing careers, putting myself through graduate school while raising my son (now 14), opening businesses, closing businesses, winning awards, and building communities. Now I am again going in a new direction.
After my creative studio and pop-up shop closed prior to Covid, I had to go through a very arduous process of rediscovering myself. Over and over honestly. As an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to navigate change when you pour your heart and soul into everything you create. Adding in mental and physical health challenges along with a pandemic, it can be downright excruciating. However, because we are essentially born with natural resilience, we just keep going. And that is what I have had to do these past few years.
As a creative, I thrive on taking risks and trying new things. I decided to start my own consulting business in 2020 and get to work with amazing entrepreneurs and creatives. With that said, I am expanding into the world of retail and merchandising and will be focusing on pop ups, placemaking and experiential design. I became certified in design thinking and now I work in brand development and creative direction. This year will be focused on expanding my reach outside of Cleveland, gaining more education and connections as well as building my client base.
I also have officially been admitted to the Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University for the MS in Retail and Merchandising program.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road! Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart – to say the least. It forces you to not only face your own biggest fears but also navigate the possibility of losing it all at any time. You are never guaranteed anything, especially a paycheck. The lifestyle chooses you, and you either agree to the terms or you give up. Every time you want to quit you have to pull yourself back up.
The biggest struggles I currently am undergoing are physical health challenges making it very difficult to hustle like I used to – and man did I hustle. I am a self-made, self-taught creative and also a woman who likes to be in control of my own income and future. I have lacked a support system many times, and that to me is the most important aspect of this life. Without it you will fail. That is the honest truth. And it is ok to quit. Anything really. You can always start again.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Glo Enterprises is an umbrella company I launched in 2016. It housed my creative studio, pop-up shop, and now Shelly Ann Consulting. I continue to use Glo: The Hub to promote and market my services and share inspiration for fellow creators with a focus on branding, experiential marketing, and space activation.
I specialize in supporting the outliers. Those who stand out and want to emerge on the cutting edge of entrepreneurship and innovation. My services include creative direction, branding support, content creation, event planning, product design, and more. In the future, I will be focusing my efforts on retail and merchandising design in an effort to expand the Glo brand into other cities.
What makes you happy?
Happiness to me is an inside job. It is feeling gratitude even in the most challenging times and knowing how to transform negative energy into positive. It is accepting failures and moving past them, and learning how to see life as an adventure with unending possibilities.
It is finding beauty in the mundane.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@gloyourcity.com
- Website: www.shellyanncle.com
- Instagram: @glothehub
- Facebook: @shellyanncle
