Dr. Shanna Amoah

I attribute my success to my ability to multitask. We all have a little bit of ADHD in us, and we can't sit still or do just one thing - we have to do multiple things. It's about continuously meeting new people and making new connections. Just yesterday, I was on Wake Up with Dee Dawkins Haigler Radio with WAOK, which was my second time there. We talked about the magazine, and I made connections with not only her, but her DJ, and other staff. They're all going to be in the upcoming magazines. So it's that continual relationship building and growing the community that I contribute most to my success.

The best career advice I've ever received is don't go at it alone. You can't do everything. You have to learn to give some things off and trust to have someone else lead your team. I've received this advice, but honestly, I don't think I've actually listened to it yet. When I had my arts and entertainment studio, I had a full staff and ran a very successful summer camp with almost 30 children during COVID in June and July 2020. That's where my connections really begin. Having staff to assist, taught me a lot about delegating and building relationships.

I would say get a mentor. Find someone that's doing what you want to do and get help along the way, so you don't reach burnout. And if you do, you'll have someone to lean on. Find a great support system to help you along the way. That's exactly what I would give to a young person. And if it's your passion, see it through. I'm so passionate about people and community that I can't sit without talking to someone without asking, what do you do? Are you a business person? What does your business do? How do you grow it? What do you do to get out in the community? How do you market your business? I need to learn to make it more personable and less business transactional. I'm so passionate about wanting to see everybody win and grow. I want to make sure you're connected to the right avenue, whether that's a person, a place, or a thing. Are you located in the right area of town? Do you need to close and just become an e-commerce and not a brick and mortar? Maybe you're stretching yourself too thin by continuing to pay someone a mortgage when you have 2 or 3 customers come in a month. There's no need to stay open - go online, or go in a smaller space, do a co-op or something. Make it make sense.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is trying to do it all. How can you concentrate or focus on everything being just one person? I'm making it work, and it has worked. I'll continue to do so. I hope to grow through different grants or whatnot so I can bring on at least another one or two persons to help me out. I see Amoah Enterprises as the umbrella with all of the things underneath. I don't want to drop any of it because I know it can be done. That's a big challenge - just trying to make sure that I'm not failing on one side or the other and that I'm not over-committed or fading on one side.

Honesty, the most important value to me is being honest with yourself, being honest with the people around you, being honest in your goals, and being honest in what you expect the outcome to be. Honesty is actually a key value for me, and it's valuable in the people that I partner with. The other critical value is dependability. I can't ask you to do something that I won't do. I can't ask you to show up early if I'm late. I can't ask you to commit to something if I'm not willing to commit to it myself. So honesty and dependability are very valuable to me.