How Passion, Purpose & Persistence Built a National Beauty Brand with Shan Berries

The Balanced, Beautiful and Abundant Show - Rebecca Whitman

Shan Berries shares her transformative journey from a twelve-year career in radio and television to becoming the founder of Shades by Shan Cosmetics.

Key takeaways

• Shan Berries and her sister Erica launched Shades by Shan with only $1,500 each.
• The brand is currently carried in over 610 JCPenney stores nationwide.

Main topics

• Entrepreneurship
• Single Parent Support

Notable quotes

Kindness costs exactly $0.00.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a powerful testament to how authenticity and a m

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Woo, here's a hot take on this week's episode. I don't even, I'm not even a makeup artist. I'm a business owner. I'm a business woman, but I'm kind. And I think that that's taken me a lot further than if I felt, you know, if I was a bitch and knew everything, you know, people would not give me the opportunities. People would not want to work with you. So just remember kindness costs exactly $0.00, you know, it will take you so much further. Speaker 1 (0:47) Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Balanced, Beautiful & Abundant podcast, where we give you inspiration and strategies to get all seven pillars of abundance in alignment. That is spiritual, fitness, emotional, romantic, mental, social, and financial. Today's guest proves that success becomes even more meaningful when it's rooted in service. After spending more than a decade in television and radio, Shan Berries took a leap of faith into entrepreneurship and she built Shades by Shan, a beauty brand that's now carried in over 600 JCPenney stores nationwide and has been featured in Forbes, Ipsy, and BoxyCharm. But what makes Shan's story truly amazing? isn't just building a successful cosmetics company. It's that every single purchase helps support single parents through the Mama Berry's Nonprofit Foundation, which has already helped more than 100 families across the country. Today, we're going to talk about entrepreneurship, purpose, representation, resilience, and what it really takes to build a business that creates both profit and impact. Please help me welcome to the Balanced, Beautiful, and Abundant show, Shan Berries. Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat with you. I am so happy you're here. Your story is amazing. For those who may be meeting you for the first time, tell us about your journey. Who is Shan Berries and what inspired you to create the viral makeup sensation Shades by Shan? Oh Speaker 2 (2:24) my gosh. So I was in radio and television. That's where my career was after college. I got an internship in radio and I fell in love. And I did that for 12 years. I was on a morning show in San Francisco and I was waking up every day at three o'clock in the morning. And I was every day, I would be like, well, how much longer do I have to do this? But I love doing it. But it was just, it was hard, you know, waking up and having to. go to sleep at seven o'clock and having that anxiety where it's like, oh my gosh, I have to be asleep and not really having that life work balance. And our mom, we're first generation Latina immigrants from Ecuador. And my mom always instilled in my sister and I, you're never going to make money working for somebody else. And that always stuck with me. Speaker 2 (3:12) And I never knew that I was good at anything else other than talking because that was my job was talking. I didn't know how to use Excel or Google Drive or all these PowerPoint things. I just I never had to use it in my career. So I was like, well, what's going to be that business if I ever do start it? And that's kind of been, that was around the time where all these huge influencers were collaborating with makeup brands and doing partnerships and this and that. And I was like, oh my gosh, you're so silly. Like you have millions of followers. Why wouldn't you just start your own makeup brand? And then that was around the time where, you know, the biggest celebrity came out with their own makeup line. And I was that girl that had 17 computer screens open trying to buy her stuff. And I was so excited to receive it. And I got it. I'm like, wow. this shit actually sucks. Like, I can't, like, why did I get so excited and I got so disappointed so fast? But I also was that makeup junkie going to these big box retailers every other week when my paycheck hit, spending my money and going home and being like, so excited to buy my lipstick because I needed to re-up on it and going home and like, oh my gosh, they changed the formula and they changed the color. But it's called the same thing. Like, where is the consistency here? And there's no Latina representation on shelf. So all these kind of light bulbs were going off in my head. And I mean, I didn't have millions of followers. I had like, you know, maybe a few thousand, like maybe 5,000 followers at the time on my Instagram. And I thought to myself, well, those are 5,000 potential customers. You know, I know good makeup and between good makeup and bad makeup. Why can't I start my own business? that was around that time. My sister was abroad. She was living in Asia at the time and she was this big wig executive and she was gone for 12 years and she was getting burnt out. And I told her my idea of starting this brand. And she said, if you're serious, I will quit my job this week and I'll move back home because I need to start setting roots down and I'll help you for six months. And then after that, I'll go find my big girl job again and you'll be on your way and I'll help you start your business. And so when we put our heads together, we're like, well, We were also raised with giving back, you know, making sandwiches for the homeless around Christmas time, donating to St. Jude, just always giving back to the community. And so we said, well, how can we be an impact driven? Speaker 2 (5:40) company? You know, like how can we give back at the same time? And the answer was right in front of our face. It was our single mom who, you know, we saw how hard she struggled day in and day out to provide for us. And sometimes we had, and sometimes we went without and we're like, okay, well, let's find a charity that helps single parents in need. And eight years ago, we couldn't find any. We couldn't find any that solely focused on giving back to single parents and supporting them. So I said, well, you hear of nonprofits all the time, like why can't we start one? And I always joke and saying, if I knew how hard it was going to be, maybe I wouldn't have done it. But it took us 17 months to finalize our 501c3 with the government and lawyers and paperwork. And on Mother's Day, we presented it to our mom in honor of her. I go by Shanberries and my mom goes by Mama Berries. We named it the Mama Berries Nonprofit Foundation. And on Mother's Day, we presented it to her and said, we did this for you. And we're going to be able to help a lot of single parents in your honor. And so when we launched Shades by Shan out of our mom's garage in San Francisco, it wasn't anything fancy. We started with two products, but with the mission of helping single parents. And it kind of went viral within the Bay Area because people just started spreading the word. And women that didn't even wear makeup, they're like, what? Who is this? Who are you? Like, I just want to buy something. I don't even wear makeup, but just tell me what to buy because nobody ever does shit for me. And thank you. Like, I just want to support you. So thank you for raising awareness for us and helping. And so. People just internally went viral. And whatever inventory we had, we thought we would have for six months. It sold out in 24 hours. What were the products? Over the product. And we started with two products. It was a very obsessed eyeshadow palette and the Hyphy highlighter palette. And so, yeah, we just kept re-upping our inventory. And then that would sell out and that would sell out. And we said... We got something here. What is it? And it was really the heartbeat behind our brand was helping single parents in need, but also amazing quality makeup at the same time. And little by little, we just started growing. And now we're in 610 JCPenney stores nationwide. We're the number one selling foundation and concealer at JCPenney. We're one of their top five beauty brands and the Speaker 1 (8:02) rest is history. Speaker 2 (8:03) That Speaker 1 (8:04) is such an inspiring story. So you've spent over a decade in television or radio before becoming a beauty entrepreneur. Speaker 2 (8:13) What Speaker 1 (8:13) gave you the confidence to make such a dramatic career pivot? Speaker 2 (8:18) You know, it was very toxic in the work environment when I was working in radio and it was just something shifted. And I was like, I don't, I'm not going to be treated like this. I don't want to be. waking up at three o'clock in the morning, going to work, crying, leaving work, crying. And it was just a toxic environment. And I had just started Shades by Shan. And I was like, you know what? If I really want to pour my heart and soul into this brand, it's not sustainable to wake up that early in the morning and package orders all day. And, you know, it just, and I was like, you know what? God aligned this for me. I'm going to take that, that, that, uh, that kind of step in the other direction. And I'm just going to pivot now. So I left radio and I just focused on Shades by Shannon. I mean, at that time it was, we were still packaging orders out of our mom's house in her basement, in her garage. It was even to the point where my sister was like, stop saying we're packaging orders in a garage because people are going to get grossed out. They're not going to buy our stuff. So we kind of had to like, you know, but people knew, people knew. And at the end of the day, they just wanted to support. And I think that It was just God teeing it up for me, really. Like, hey, it's not looking good over here now. You had a good run. It's time to focus on this. So I left and it was the best decision ever to kind of go all in in my company at that point. And people think that I left radio, but two years ago, I actually went back into radio. I had an old coworker and he had moved to a new radio station. He said, hey, they're looking for somebody local to do the afternoon drive. Can you talk to my boss? And I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm so busy now. Like, you know, the company's taking off. Like, there's no way I can drive to San Jose, which is about an hour from my house and back. And during traffic, I have babies now. Like, I just can't do it. And he goes, just talk to him. So I said, you know what? You're right. I should never close the door and just, you know, never know what's going to happen from it. And they said, listen, we've been trying to get you back into radio. We know the magic you could bring to the Bay Area. we're willing to let you record from your, in your bathroom at your, at your house. Like we'll do whatever. And I was like, if I can do the show from my house, we have a deal. We have a deal. So, you know, I just. Oh man, I'm living my dream. I get to do radio from my house with my kids, you know, running around. I'm like, everybody, you know, and, and it is what it, I mean, technology now is incredible. And so now I get to do radio and I get to do Shades by Shannon. I really think that I'm living my purpose, getting to communicate and spread the word and spread kindness and inspire people. So we're back at it too. Oh, that's great. And how old are your kids now? My son Speaker 1 (11:05) is five and my daughter's three. Speaker 2 (11:07) So Speaker 1 (11:07) we're in Speaker 2 (11:08) the Speaker 1 (11:08) thick of it. You're in it. It must be very hard to keep them quiet at that age when you're on the radio. Totally. Speaker 2 (11:14) But I think that they're, you know, they kind of understand like this is mommy's job. And the more you're quiet, the faster I could do this. So the faster Speaker 1 (11:22) we could get to playing again. Oh, that's good. Do you have like a designated recording studio or room? No, girl, I'm recording in the playroom. Speaker 2 (11:32) I have a little desk in the playroom downstairs in our 1100 square foot home in the Bay Area. I wish I had a recording studio, but we just don't got it like that yet. So we make do with what Speaker 1 (11:45) we can. You're on your way, though. You are on your way. So looking back at the two different careers, what are the skills from broadcasting that unexpectedly became your biggest assets as an entrepreneur? Speaker 2 (12:02) Right here, the mouth. I like it. Talking. I think that storytelling, I think resonating with people, speaking with humility, leading with kindness, and just being relatable at the end of the day. I think that that's kindness. Kindness has just taken me way further. I always say like, I'm not the best radio host. I'm not the best, you know. I don't even, I'm not even a makeup artist. I'm a business owner. I'm a business woman, but I'm kind. And I think that that's taken me a lot further than if I felt, you know, if I was a bitch and knew everything, you know, people would not give me the opportunities. People would not want to work with you. So just remember kindness costs exactly $0.00, you know, it takes you so much further than being. Speaker 2 (12:54) you know, a biatch and pretending like, you know, everything. Right. Because I've just, I