Black Women Business Owners Series

Installment III

by Leo Adam Biga

The Who

Onyx Street Boutique owner Sharnelle Shelton sells the legacy T-shirt “Audacious Women of Omaha” with the names of Black icons Cathy Hughes, Brenda Council, Gabrielle Union and Mildred D. Brown printed on it. “It’s a signature shirt I make. One of my most popular. It’s an attention-grabber and educational about women from Omaha,” said Shelton, who at the rate she’s going, may see her own name added to that list of bodacious ladies. Her Facebook profile says it all: Mother. Fashion Maven. Mogul.

It’s no coincidence the women she celebrates are entrepreneurs or that Shelton, a North Omaha native, is founder-president of the local Minorities Owning Businesses (MOB) networking group. Her heart for Black business and community is expressed in a T-shirt she made for Native Omaha Days that reads: “I Am North Omaha.” She comes from a long line of relatives who’ve found workplace success, but, she notes with pride, “I’m the first entrepreneur.” Growing up, no one, not even Shelton herself, would have predicted though she’d own a women’s clothing business. Then again, fashion is in her blood.

“My mother (Karen Shelton) is a fashionista – always so well put together. Dressed to the nines. Everything matching. Growing up, I liked getting dressed up, but I didn’t like shopping. My mother used to drag me to the thrift stores and the mall every weekend.”

Fast forward to when “Shar” was pregnant with her middle child and desperate for affordable, comfy yet stylish maternity clothes. “I started going to thrift stores and finding quality things in great condition for like two or three dollars, sometimes less. I started buying vintage clothes.” All those excursions with her mom gave her the discerning ability to find star threads in a nondescript rack of clothes.

Before long, the spare bedroom in her home became a dumping ground for the bargain apparel she’d purchased that no longer fit. The tech-savvy born-entrepreneur steamed and pressed the garments and started selling them on Instagram when that wasn’t even yet a thing. Her vintage clothes soon went viral. She practically had the whole market to herself and routinely made insane profits turning cents into dollars. “I like ecommerce,” she said. “It wasn’t until later on down the line, when PayPal sent me tax statements, I realized I was actually running a business.”

The reason she made it a go is all the business experience she acquired before then. “Straight out of high school (Benson) I started my first real job at Mutual of Omaha. I was 17. I got my life and health insurance license right before I turned 18. I was the youngest in my training class. I was a sales and solution specialist. I sold insurance. I even sold cars for a bit. Those experiences molded me into who I am. I’ve always known I could be in a league of my own.”

She then switched careers to work as an Air Methods Communications (AMS) dispatcher for EMS (Emergency Medical Needs) helicopters. Working 12-hour shifts, she said she became “resilient and self disciplined in mindset.” Part of it was learning to juggle a full-time job with her then-side clothing business and with motherhood (she has three young boys). “That instilled grit in me that I think a lot of people don’t have,” she said.

She still follows a strict regimen today even though she now works full-time for herself. “I get up at five every day. By the time most people are waking up, I’ve already done so many things.”

Foundations

Model Kirsaja Boyd Photographer David Turnbo

She formally started her business, originally called LikeNu Boutique, in 2012. She launched online before opening her first physical store in the Fair Deal Village Marketplace on North 24th Street. When she was totally online, she said, “I was selling a lot of clothes to people in Atlanta and other places down South and to customers in Guam and Puerto Rico. I had maybe a handful of local customers. I didn’t have any local presence at all. But when I got into the brick and mortar of the Fair Deal, when it was first popular, I gained a lot of traction and customers.”

She learned the power of interacting with customers in person. “People want to buy from people they know. They want to shop at your store and see you there.” Her success disproved the misconception that businesses can’t thrive in North Omaha. “I made a ton of money in a 200-square foot shipping container on North 24th Street. I made enough money that I made it my job. I made a six-figure income in that storefront. Black people have disposable income. Black people want to buy from Black people.”

She outgrew the Fair Deal and relocated to Leavenworth Street. Things went gangbusters there until the business adjacent to her shop suffered a fire. “Business slowed up tremendously.” Then the pandemic brought things to a crawl. “Neighbors wanted to take over my space, and I was like, ‘Oh, yes, thank you, Jesus.’ I moved out and saved a lot of money on overhead. Wi-fI for a store is high.”

During COVID she’s converted a spare room in her home into a boutique for ecommerce displays and streaming events. “I have a 3D panel wall and big mirrors. It looks like a store. If I go live, you don’t know where I’m at.” But after having a physical store experience, she said, “It’s just not the same. I miss the daily, face-to-face interaction with people.”

She left her dispatcher job in July in order to devote full-time to Onyx Street Boutique, whose name signifies strength, durability and a home for high fashion. “I honestly would still be at my old job, but I knew with COVID I would not be able to navigate with my children and school, so I stepped down. But I’m grateful for the experience.”

“Terrifying,” is how she describes leaving the security of her 9 to 5, not that she has regrets. “It’s the best thing I ever did because I have the flexibility and freedom to focus on my business I didn’t have before. We’re searching for a new storefront to maybe open [at] the end of summer.”

“Black people have disposable income. Black people want to buy from Black people.” ”

— Shar Shelton

When she had her storefront, she relied on employees to mostly staff it while she worked her regular job. She couldn’t always depend on staff to handle the business when she was away. “When I get a new storefront location I will be available to work it myself.” She employed four people before COVID and is down to one employee now. She plans adding more help as business warrants. Like many entrepreneurs, she said, “It’s very hard for me to delegate because I do stuff so effortlessly and fast.” She added, “I’m able to do a wide array of things. I’m like a right-now person. I get it done and I move onto something else. But I am mindful of taking breaks and not getting burnt out.”

Until the pandemic she also did pop-ups from a boutique box truck at the Omaha Farmers Market, Omaha Fashion Week, the College World Series and other big-ticket, high-traffic outdoor events, all of which were canceled. Even as venues reopen this spring and summer, she’s taking a wait and see approach before being out and about again.

“What did pick up during the pandemic was T-shirt printing,” said Shelton. who’s invested in high tech equipment for printing on T-shirts, hats, gloves, cups, mugs, you name it. ”A lot of people started T-shirt companies during the pandemic as a new or extra revenue stream, and I do a lot of printing on those T-shirts. I’ve made lots of quarantine shirts and shirts for graduations.”

She prints the affirmations for the local Brilliant & Resilient clothing line run by Racquel Henderson. (Check out our piece on Racquel Here)

Along the way in her clothing business, Shelton pivoted from vintage to new, classic-inspired apparel that mirrors her own personal style. “You can wear it to work and then unbutton that extra button and go to happy hour and fit in or stand out. Everybody’s not my customer. But if you’re looking for comfortable clothing and classic styles that make you look cute, you’re my customer.”

She acknowledges her eye for fashion is inherited. “My mom definitely gave me a natural fashion sense.” Shelton puts on her own spin by “adding trendy items and pairing them with classic threads.” “You don’t have to worry about buying something from me and only wearing it for that season. My clothing is timeless.” Those instincts combined with learning how to buy wholesale at market allow her to curate fresh, fashion-forward collections and inventories. “I take pride in being able to introduce things here first.” In addition to clothes, she sells accessories. Staying abreast of the latest trends requires making buying trips to major markets every other month. “Los Angeles is a must stop,” she said. “I also go to Dallas, Atlanta and New York City.”

With a Little Help from My Friends

Shelton’s built her business without ever taking out a business loan. “I know how to make a dollar and I know how to flip it. I have just stayed the course. I just never stop. I keep going no matter what comes before me. I think that comes from a sales background and getting over those rebuttals and nos. The barriers and things that intimidate most people I look at as challenges I’m going to defeat.”

Professional development is something she invests in through paid training, but she takes advantage of free opportunities, too. She recently participated in a Bank of America sponsored women’s entrepreneurship program online through Cornell University. “The eCornell class has enriched my entrepreneurship knowledge. I already had extensive hands-on knowledge, but it’s introduced me to new, relevant ways to scale my business. It’s so amazing I got an Ivy League quality education valued at $3,500 for free.”

Onyx most popular shirt Audacious Women of Omaha honoring local legends Photographer Dotinktv

Women helping women in business is something she encourages through the Business Bestie program she developed. “A Business Bestie is similar to a best friend but in a professional setting,” she said. “They help you stay accountable with your business goals and growth of your company, so that together we can stay the course.”

Her personal Business Bestie is Still Poppin Gourmet Popcorn owner Orlanda Joi Whitfield. “We pivot ideas back and forth. We check with each other before we make decisions about our businesses. We make decisions to help each other grow. We hold each other accountable,” said Shelton. “We developed that relationship from the Fair Deal Village Marketplace, where we started our storefronts at the same time.”

There’s value, Shelton said, in having a peer who will talk straight with you. “To have a friend who is also an entrepreneur but not a yes-person is extremely important to your success. Joi and I back each other to make sure we both get it done. We have each other’s back no matter what.”

Shelton said she’s “wasted a lot of time and money making mistakes because I didn’t have that formal education or mentor to know how to price products,” adding, “I had to figure all that out and I’ve taken some losses.” She feels Black women in business today have more resources available than ever.

As a big believer in networking, she works the room at Empowerment Network and other events. As an advocate for Black business, Shelton notes that “we forget that our barbers and hair stylists and people who do nails are entrepreneurs. We actually have a lot of representation. We can do diverse things. We can create things.” Scores of North O residents work out of their homes as stylists, cosmetologists, seamstresses, mechanics, bakers, caterers, creators of health and beauty products. For years, she said, “We didn’t know how to solidify it and make it legit. Now more are putting the paperwork (business plan) behind it to get their business taken care of. But there are so many people I know who have missed out and haven’t been able to secure any funding because they didn’t have their paperwork together. More of us now have the resources and the know-how to form LLCs, corporations, et cetera.”

Battling Barriers

Black women still confront barriers, she said. “Access to capital is hard. There’s lack of respect. People minimize your success and you have to show them all the time, and yet I feel like Black women have been running the world for years.” When she announced she was quitting her dispatcher job, coworkers assumed she didn’t have much to fall back on. She educated them. She already had a thriving business of her own. “They looked at it as, oh, your little business, and I’m like, ‘I make more money from my business than I do here.’ I think people don’t take Black women seriously when they are conducting business. And I think we have to prove ourselves and show our successes more than our white counterparts.”

Shelton speaks for many Black women when she says, “I take pride in being resilient and in being able to overcome obstacles, but it’s not like I have any other choice”

She wishes she could have availed herself of more resources when she started her business. “I say I’m self-funded and I say it proud. But if I would have had some loans I wouldn’t have had to take as much money from myself and my family to provide and thrive. I know I’d be in a much better financial state if I had had an education earlier in Quickbooks and financial literacy and how to actually run a business. It would have been helpful to have mentors and representation who looked like me that I could reach out to for sound advice without them thinking I was coming for their spot.”

Black Love

Seeing other Black entrepreneurs succeed is her passion. “That representation allows you to feel inspired and motivated. That’s exactly what MOB (Minorities Owning Businesses) is about. Collaboration of the community is my thing. People tell me all the time how important it is to see the community together and united to do better things.”

She realized many small businesses lack storefronts, physical or virtual, and therefore visibility. She also discovered the hard way that some mainstream business expos aren’t worth their vendor fees due to low turnout and thus few sales. Recognizing a gap, she said she saw an opportunity “to get all these people together at MOB Black Business Expos in order to generate that dollar in the community and have it stay there for more than a few hours.”

Black business expo Metoyer event center Photo credit Thomas Curry.jpg

Her bi-monthly expos generate buzz. “It’s a dynamic atmosphere,” she said. “The foot traffic is amazing. The community really supports us.” She has held expos at Metoyer Event Center and Hope Skate. The last expo, on April 25, was packed with vendors and customers and netted local media coverage. “We even had a big turnout at our February 27 expo, when people were still cautious about where they went. It’s crazy. I have vendors who have never missed an expo. I have people who close their shops to come. It is a beautiful thing to see people come together.”

Through the events she’s seen people increase their business footprint and make enough sales to reinvest in their brand. At least two expo veterans have gone on to major business expansions. “Not only are we making money, we’re making friends, we’re making connections.”

Shelton gives back to Black-owned venues. MOB got grant funding to spruce up the grounds (laid down new asphalt and cut down volunteer trees) at what she considers an underutilized space, the Bryant Center, where she hosted Business on the Blacktop After Dark during last Native Omaha Days. She hired Black businesses to do the asphalt and tree work. “Everything is intentional,” she said.

“Not only are we making money, we’re making friends, we’re making connections.”

— Shar Shelton

She plans a new Business on the Blacktop After Dark this summer. The next expo is scheduled June 13 at Metoyer Event Center (2525 N. 37th St.). She plans to expand her own brand with expos in larger Midwest markets and by opening a new boutique in St. Louis or Kansas City. Her guidepost for success is an axiom she once read: Whatever you do well where you do it at, do it everywhere else.” And that’s exactly what I’m working on doing,” she said.

On her “vision board” at home she has a goal of reaching $250,000 in annual revenues. “Every day I look at it. I may not make it this year, but I probably will in the next 24 months be in the quarter million club. I feel like I’ve put in my time.” Her ultimate goal is joining the seven figures club.

Don’t bet against her.

Visit www.shoponyxstreet.com or follow Shar’s emerging fashion empire on Facebook and Instagram.

Stay current with her business expos at minoritiesaboutbusiness@gmail.com.

Sharnelle Shelton Combines a Love of Black Business, Community and Clothing