Building a business that scales is rarely as polished as it looks from the outside.

Behind many successful brands are years of reinvention, late nights, hard decisions, and moments where founders are forced to figure things out in real time.

In this episode of She Wears the Pants, Ashley Deland sits down with Golriz Avery, founder and director of Shaw Media Group, a strategy-first creative agency helping brands grow through powerful storytelling, clear positioning, and results-driven content.

With more than two decades of experience in business strategy and brand building, Gol has launched and scaled companies across multiple industries, from interior design and art dealing to national education platforms, beauty products, and wellness brands. Her ventures have grown from a single idea into multi-location businesses across major U.S. cities, reaching tens of thousands of students and clients.

But this conversation goes far deeper than entrepreneurship highlights.

Gol shares the real, behind-the-scenes experience of scaling businesses quickly, navigating uncertainty, and learning how to lead through moments when the answers are not yet clear.

Ashley and Gol explore the evolution that many founders go through, from solopreneur to CEO and the mindset shifts required to sustain growth while protecting your creativity, relationships, and personal well-being.

They also dive into the importance of surrounding yourself with trusted advisors and community, especially in an era where many entrepreneurs are turning to artificial intelligence instead of real mentorship and lived experience.

Throughout the conversation, Gol introduces the philosophy she now lives by “pockets of joy.” A mindset rooted in finding small, meaningful moments of positivity even during the most demanding seasons of building a company.

Because success, when built without joy, can become incredibly heavy to carry.

This episode is for the founder who is building multiple things at once, navigating complexity, and searching for a way to grow a business while still staying connected to the life they want to live.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Gol Avery scaled an education company from one location to twelve across the United States

• What it really feels like to build and lead businesses through uncertainty

• The importance of building a personal board of advisors and learning from other founders

• Why relying solely on AI for business decisions can limit growth and perspective

• The transition from service-based businesses to product-based brands

• How “pockets of joy” can help founders stay grounded during intense seasons of growth

By the end of this conversation, you’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of what it truly takes to build companies that are not only successful but sustainable.

Meet Golriz Avery

Golriz Avery is the founder and director of Shaw Media Group, a strategy-first content and creative agency focused on building brands that resonate emotionally and strategically with their audiences.

With more than 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, Gol has launched and scaled multiple ventures across industries including design, beauty education, wellness, and media.

She previously founded Glam Lab, a nationally recognized makeup education company that expanded to multiple cities across the United States within just 18 months, and later launched product and wellness brands including My Organic Doctor, inspired by ancient Persian medicine and adaptogenic wellness practices.

Gol’s work blends strategy, storytelling, and human-centered brand development, helping founders build companies that connect deeply with their audiences while maintaining the soul of the brand.

Connect with Gol

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/golrizdesigngroup/

Shaw Media Group: https://shawmediagroup.co

My Organic Doctor: https://myorganicdoctor.com

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Ashley Deland:

Okay, welcome back to She Wears the Pants — the place where high-growth women come to build companies that match their calling.

I’m your host, Ashley Deland, and today’s guest is someone who sits at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and storytelling — a woman who has spent decades helping brands grow, evolve, and truly become unforgettable.

I’m joined today by the wonderful Golriz Avery, founder and director of Shaw Media Group, a strategy-first content and creative agency built on education, real-world experience, and results-driven execution.

For more than 20 years, Gol has worked in business strategy, brand building, and scaling companies — from multi-million-dollar beauty and wellness brands to national education platforms with tens of thousands of alumni.

Her work is rooted in one core belief: the soul of a brand matters just as much as the strategy behind it. And when those two align, businesses don’t just grow — they move people.

Gol, welcome to She Wears the Pants. It’s such a pleasure to have you, love.

Gol Avery:

Ashley, so nice to be here. Thank you.

Ashley Deland:

For a little background, Gol and I met at what you could call an influencer event in Florida. We were staying in this big, beautiful mansion, and you were one of the first people I met when I walked in. By the end of the event, we had become soul sisters.

You have such contagious energy, which makes perfect sense given that you run a media company. I also want to talk about your organics company as well, because you truly do it all.

I thought I did too much — and then I met you.

For the women listening who would love to know more, tell us about your background and how you got started in the entrepreneurial world.

Gol Avery:

My background — I started my own business at 22. My education was in design and business, and my undergrad was business.

I started an interior design firm, but I didn’t want to raise funding, so I knew I needed to finance it myself. I had apprenticed for a jeweler while I was in college, so I thought I would start a jewelry design business and use the income from that to fund my interior design firm.

We ran that for 13 years and grew it from interior design into staging, art dealing, and multiple related services. My brain works a lot like yours — you see opportunities everywhere and think, this could branch off into another company, and it becomes an umbrella. It creates a win-win for everyone because you don’t have to outsource and you can give clients a better experience.

That’s really when my love for entrepreneurship started. Everything happened very quickly. I also had an incredible group of mentors. I was young, and people took me under their wing. I asked a lot of questions, which allowed me to grow quickly.

After I sold my book of business, I started The Glam Lab, which is an education company designed to help women.

I had assistants who didn’t have formal education, and they couldn’t make enough money — especially living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I realized that if we put a business plan together, we could change that.

In high school I had modeled and apprenticed for makeup artists on set, so I had some background in that world. My husband helped put together the concept.

We started the first class in San Francisco, and within about 18 months we had 12 locations across the country in major cities like New York and Los Angeles.

From there it expanded into wellness and other ventures. But during that time there were plenty of nervous breakdowns, plenty of moments where I had no idea what I was doing. There were weekly bathroom-floor crying sessions because I was exhausted and didn’t know the next step.

But I knew I was the only one who could figure it out.

Ashley Deland:

I love the power and the pause in that story — because you casually said, “and then we had 12 locations,” like it was no big deal. But that’s a huge deal.

Listeners will probably hear this throughout the interview, but we are very similar in the way we think about building businesses. I also didn’t want investors.

So I started one business, and from that I saw a niche with my clientele, which led to Maison DeLand, the marketing agency. Like you said, you create the services your clients need and you build those solutions under one umbrella so you can support them better and more efficiently.

So here we are — 12 locations — and suddenly you go from solopreneur to entrepreneur to leader and CEO.

You also exited the business, which we’ll talk about. But what was it like having to reinvent yourself so quickly in order to hold that level of success?

Gol Avery:

There wasn’t even a term for imposter syndrome back then, so we didn’t call it that.

My background in business helped, but everything moved so fast that I didn’t have time to think. The only moments I had to think were right before launching a new location — when I had to interview the team I was hiring and train them in the techniques that were branded under Glam Lab.

Honestly, it was just figuring it out. I know that sounds a little blunt, but it’s true. It’s like when you have a baby — you don’t know what to do until you’re forced to figure it out.

I had no choice but to learn.

If I had stopped to overthink everything, I probably wouldn’t have been able to do it. There was a little bit of delusion involved, but also quiet moments where I realized I didn’t know how to do something — and then I would reach out to people who had done it before.

The biggest lesson for me was learning from other people’s mistakes. I’m very reflective. I like to ask myself what I did wrong and how I could do it better next time. I also ask others to critique me and show me where my weak points are so I can strengthen them for the next thing I build.

Ashley Deland:

I think that’s incredibly powerful — giving yourself permission to understand that there’s always a messy middle and that none of us start knowing how to do all of this.

Would you say one of your biggest strengths is building a personal and professional board of advisors around you?

Gol Avery:

Absolutely. I wouldn’t be where I am without that.

Ashley Deland:

What would you say to people right now who are leaning heavily on AI tools as their business coaches? I see so many people using AI instead of human mentorship.

Gol Avery:

You can learn from anyone — even people who have been unsuccessful. Their perspective still teaches you something.

But AI can’t replace real human experience.

I have a love-hate relationship with AI. It’s incredible if you use it to organize your thoughts or edit your work. But using it as a business coach is dangerous because it tells you what you want to hear and pulls information from sources that may not have real-world experience.

What you want are real perspectives from people who have actually built things.

Ashley Deland:

Exactly.

What does your support system look like now? Do you still work with mentors or do you rely more on a circle of women around you?

Gol Avery:

I have a circle of incredible women. I wish I could say men too, but mostly women.

I feel like women understand that life is about juggling — not balancing. We’re managing family, work, emotions, and responsibilities all at once.

Having a group of women who understand that and who are successful in different industries is invaluable. I can say, “This is the issue I’m dealing with — how would you handle it?” And they can share real experience.

Ashley Deland:

That’s so powerful. I actually said something similar recently. I worked with many mentors earlier in my career, and those relationships led me into the right rooms and ultimately into the right circle of women who became my personal board of advisors.

Now I can ask one person for legal advice, another for financial advice, another for leadership guidance.

Gol Avery:

That’s exactly it. You put it perfectly.

Ashley Deland:

Tell listeners a bit about your day-to-day life. You’re running multiple businesses while also being a mother and wife.

Gol Avery:

My days are very structured now. I used to work constantly — middle of the night, nonstop, no boundaries.

Now I focus intensely four days a week with fully time-blocked schedules. Then I have something I call Flow Fridays.

Flow Fridays are days where I intentionally slow down and allow creativity to come through. I’ve found that stepping away from the noise actually leads to better ideas and better solutions.

My day usually starts with team conversations and strategy until about 10 AM. Then I’m fully focused until about 3 or 4 PM. I try to spend time with my kids a couple afternoons each week.

Later in the evening I work again, take a short nap, and sometimes work again from midnight until about 3 AM — because that’s when my mind is completely quiet and focused.

Ashley Deland:

That’s incredible.

Tell us about the businesses you’re running right now.

Gol Avery:

There are three main ones.

The first is Glam Lab, which includes both the education platform and a professional makeup product line we created for working artists.

The second is My Organic Doctor, which focuses on wellness and draws inspiration from ancient Persian medicine. It’s based on natural detoxification through herbs, adaptogens, and nutrition — but adapted for modern life.

The third is Shaw Media Group, which is my creative and strategy agency.

Ashley Deland:

That’s a big shift — moving from service businesses into product. What was that like?

Gol Avery:

For me it felt natural because I enjoy creating solutions.

But the hardest part was sourcing. Finding the right manufacturers and partners who could produce products at the quality level we wanted was extremely challenging.

There were many late nights, a lot of exhaustion, and moments where I questioned everything.

Ashley Deland:

How did your team handle those challenges?

Gol Avery:

My team is incredible. They’re positive, supportive women, and we balance each other.

Sometimes when things get overwhelming we intentionally shift the energy — that’s actually where the concept of “pockets of joy” came from.

Ashley Deland:

Your default mode now is joy, right?

Gol Avery:

Yes. After COVID I realized how important that mindset shift was.

Pockets of joy are simply small moments that make you smile — even for a second. A song on the radio, someone calling you unexpectedly, a kind interaction with a stranger.

Those little moments shift your mindset and help you keep going through hard times.

Ashley Deland:

That’s beautiful.

Our signature She Wears the Pants question:

Looking back on your journey of wearing the pants, what message would you give future generations of women in business?

Gol Avery:

Schedule time for yourself.

I learned that early from a mentor, but I didn’t implement it consistently until later.

Success requires focus and momentum, but you also need space to breathe and reconnect with yourself.

Ashley Deland:

Where can people find you and learn more about everything you’re building?

Gol Avery:

I’m most active on Instagram. My main account is golrizdesigngroup.

We also have Instagram pages for the businesses — My Organic Doctor and Shaw Media Group.

Ashley Deland:

Amazing. Everyone go follow Gol. She truly is a ray of sunshine and a pocket of joy herself.

Thank you so much for being here today.