Episode Summary
This week Holly welcomes Shayla Owodunni, founder and Chief Biophilic Designer at The Plant Penthouse. Shayla walks Holly through her early career path and how her desire to "chase adventure" moved her out West and to the South, before settling back home in Minnesota.
With her background in accounting and corporate compliance, Shayla decided to take a calculated risk by starting The Plant Penthouse as a blog and creative outlet for herself. Shortly after, in the midst of the pandemic, Shayla had a viral "Sofa-Gate" moment that was the ultimate online community builder for her and The Plant Penthouse.
That viral moment led to an HGTV home tour and several other media appearances. Shayla shares how even though she was getting dream opportunities, it was vital that she remembered her own worth, and the cost of an opportunity and knowing your worth.
Finally, Shayla shares the life-changing health scare in her family that inspired her to give back to her own community. What started as a volunteer activity with the Minneapolis Public Schools, has now led Shayla to running for a MPS school board.
In this episode you’ll learn:
1:00 Holly introduces Shayla on the podcast
2:10 Shayla shares her story and her early desire to "chase adventure"
6:40 The hike that changed her life and inspired her to make a huge life change
8:14 The "career palette cleanser" that Shayla needed at that time in her life
13:40 How Shayla figured out what kind of entrepreneurial business she wanted to start
20:02 Shayla starts her consulting business, Corporate Carpentry, and shares how she won her first client
29:10 Plant Penthouse is started as a blog and creative outlet
33:20 SOFA-GATE! Shayla breaks down her viral moment during the pandemic and how it was the ultimate community builder
39:05 The importance of knowing the cost to an opportunity and your own worth
42:35 Shayla's HGTV home tour
44:10 How Shayla sourced her event space for The Plant Penthouse and the dream collaborations that came together
52:45 What Shayla did to take The Plant Penthouse to the next level and truly define the vision for the business and space
1:00:25 What excites Shayla about the near future for The Plant Penthouse (hint, exciting things to come this holiday season!)
1:01:45 Why Shayla decided to implement a CRM tool (HoneyBook) into her business at this point
1:03:05 How a sister trip to Miami ended up inspiring Shayla to volunteer with Minneapolis Public Schools, and eventually decide to run for a school board position
1:07:15 Shayla's advice to anyone considering entrepreneurship
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