Thanks for visiting this page to learn a little bit more about me. It has been an interesting adventure so far, and the ride is just getting started!
OK, where do we begin? For starters,
I’ve ALWAYS Loved Business!!
From helping my mom to sell frozen cups (flavored ices) as a little girl in FL, to watching my grandfather run his auto-mechanic shop in Tampa, to helping my girlfriend sell snacks to the entire neighborhood from her home in the 6th grade, I’ve always been intrigued by business, the freedom that it offers, and knew that I wanted one from a very early age although I had absolutely NO clue what the business would actually be. I tucked the dream away in my heart but not before coming to the conclusion that I wanted to start said business before I would ever have a child.
Then after I finished college and had some successes in my first “real” job, the dream resurfaced. Knock, knock…Remember…You want to start a business. Still, I had no clue what the business would be. I looked into my interests, and at that time, it was traveling! I was traveling to Acapulco, Cozumel, St. Maarten, St. Barth’s, Virgin Islands, Puerta Vallarta, various parts of the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, etc. etc. So, my first business was you got it, a travel agency – Dream Travels LLC. I booked a few trips for myself and friends and made a decent commission but nothing to write home to mom about. And at that time, the travel industry was changing. Online Booking for travel was soaring and my personal travel agent was even getting out of the business. Most people would call my first hand at business a total failure…I Would Not! What I gained was self-esteem! I learned that I could think about something, make a plan to go after it, execute each step and accomplish my goal! While the vision needed tweaking, the determination and drive were ready and present and nothing could ever stop me from trying AGAIN.
My second try at starting a business was when I was introduced to a healthy beverage called Tahitian Noni. I’m sure you have heard of it.
It was a multi-level marketing (MLM) company where you purchased and sold the products as well as recruited interested candidates to start their own home-based business. It was exciting and fast paced. I was inviting people to Super Saturday sessions and my team was starting to form. I was sending products to my mom, aunts, grandma…everyone…hoping to heal all of their ailments while at the same time hitting my volume requirements to get from Coral to the next level up – Jade. We travelled to Vegas for a company event and was all in. On my teams’ best month, we were a person or 2 shy from hitting the requirement for the next level and it felt like the helium was sucked out of our balloon. It fizzled! Not only because of the intense commitment needed to continuously recruit but also because we never experienced any benefits from taking the juice ourselves. For me personally, I need to have a testimony to share with others and it needs to be real. I stopped doing the business and stopped taking the juice. I guess you can say…
My 2nd Business Failed Too!
What I gained is an understanding of my Why. Why did I want to start a business? And just like that, the name of my parent company was formed – 4innerpeace LLC. So many other lessons were gained during this time because my friend and mentor, Brian Beane, my upline for Tahitian Noni, is a beast in the game and has been an entrepreneur and millionaire since his days at Morehouse College. I learned about Rich Dad, Poor Dad – what the rich tell their kids that the poor do not. I learned about the differences between being an Employee, Self-Employed, Business Owner, and Investor. The Cashflow Quadrant.
Back then I was just an (E)! Today, I’m proud to say that I exist in all 4 quadrants. And more importantly, I learned that in order to accomplish anything, you have to know your Why AND you have to really Want it! With each steppingstone, my level of consciousness was raised. My understanding of me and the world around me grew. My determination, my discipline, my imagination, my possibilities, my beliefs…ALL GREW!
I took a break after Noni and focused on my career. Still with the “dream” in my heart, me and a few friends toyed with the idea of starting 1) A Dating Site for Evangelicals of all faiths. Believe it or not, we came up with Mingle.com…just not ChristianMingle.com! We were before our time and only if we had kept going. In life, there are no voids, if you do not fill a space, someone else will! Yes, we kick ourselves often over that one. The 2) idea we had has yet to be done well I would say, but it centered around prepping high school students for the next stage in life. The main learning from these experiences is that you do business with people that can match your level of commitment or you do it alone! Period!
By now, I am living in New York City, working at Sports Illustrated and honing all of my skills gained from watching countless hours of The Food Network in Atlanta. I am cooking great food and hitting every non-chain restaurant with all of my amazing Foodie Friends! I do not believe I have one NYC friend that is NOT a foodie or chef in some form or fashion. I was living my best life! I was completing my Master’s in Communications and Media Management and had just landed my dream job!
With luck, fate, or whatever you want to call it…I say its God; I meet a guy, an Executive Chef that says he has his own Fish Fry business. Now what I didn’t tell you is that Fish is my favorite food…especially fried fish! I can eat it everyday! I was born and raised in Tampa FL! I loved it so much that I knew there was a void of it in my Smyrna neighborhood back in Atlanta. I would always have to go into the “city” to get good fried fish. Which is actually how this part of the story begins! You can read all about it here. For purposes of this bio, let’s just say me and the guy, Lakee, got married a year to the day we met and became both husband and wife and business partners. I found someone that matched my commitment and we started Chef La’s Fish Fry in June of 2013 and haven’t looked back.
We have grown our business organically, creating a dedicated cult following that loves our food and the many homemade signature products that we offer. We have bottled and labeled our own line of Juices including our Peach Lemonade that won the Tastiest Beverage Award at the Taste of Marietta and our Sauce line is on the way which includes our signature Tartar Sauce, Sham Sauce (yep my recipe, my name) our spicy aioli, Crabmeat Mayo, Cocktail Sauce, Sweet & Spicy BBQ, Ranch, Blue Cheese, and Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressings. All Amazing and better than anything currently on any grocery store shelf. Yep, I said it and its true! This is by far my greatest accomplishment next to having my daughter. And did I say my daughter was born December 2014…after my dream was born! This business pulled from all of me. It pulled out things that I didn’t know was on the inside. I formed the business, handling all the paperwork with every state, city, and local government entity. We bought a food trailer, found a physical location, lease negotiation, setup the location, equipment purchases, plumbing/electrical setup, obtained all permits for opening, setup operating policies and procedures, employee handbook creation, payroll/accounting, Point of Sale System research, purchase, & setup, menu creation and pricing, recipe testing, hiring/staffing, uniforms, inventory planning/supplies, food cost analysis, logo / signage, Decorations, Vendor Management, Sewage/Grease disposal, Utility Setup, Marketing/Events, Website and Social Media setup, Taxes, etc. etc. etc. There is not one area of business that I have not touched as a result. I had a business finally, so I was done right? Not.At.All. You see the business fulfilled everything I had wanted up until I had a child. As soon as Brooklyn was born, I had to come out of the restaurant. Mommy time took up the better part of my life and the restaurant, besides the bills, payroll, etc. took a backseat. And while I had used all of my talents and skills to help get the restaurant off the ground, there was still a piece of me unfulfilled. That piece was tied to my Destiny. The one thing you spend your life asking God…what am I put here to do??
And so, I didn’t stop there. Since starting Chef La’s I have established several other businesses. Some of the notable ones are listed below.
- Successful AirBNB
- Small Gatherings ATL – an event facility
- SparkRealty – property preservation
- SimplySayinIt – a drop ship apparel company
- Spark Community – a movement aimed at improving the economic conditions for Black America
- A customer service and temp agency
So yes, I am a serial entrepreneur. As I stated before, I love Business. I love the potential to make money from so many avenues that genuinely interest me. And even after starting all of these income streams, something was still tugging on me. This time it asked…What is Your Biggest Dream? What is the thing that you get giddy about, what you would do for free if you had no concerns about bills and the likes?
I Am Shamika Brown-Upshaw Is Born
After some soul searching plus looking at what I was really good at (and what people kept coming to me for), I realized that Planning, Execution, Motivation, & Accomplishing Goals is definitely my superpower.
So, I started a new company, well it was actually started back in 2017, but its being birthed fully now. It pulls from all of my skills, knowledge, interests, and strengths and will focus on serving two clients: 1) organizations looking to transform their business by aligning operations to goals, improving efficiency and productivity in processes, and infusing transparency, collaboration, data, and diversity of thought into the culture while minimizing disruption to their bottom line. My dream has always been to assemble a cross-functional team to assess current business challenges and devise a solution that takes the organization from where they are to where they want to be seamlessly. Which takes me to the second client, 2) people who have a dream in their heart but just don’t know how to get it out, where to start or how to get from point A to point B. I am using all of my skills, knowledge, strengths acquired and developed over my life to help them transcend feeling stuck and unaware of their true Power and Purpose to establishing a meaningful business, unique to their skills and talents, that offers time and money freedom allowing them to live the life they have always wanted. I help people discover and accomplish their Soul Goals™️! I get my entire life from this. I am fulfilled and so is my Destiny!!
So That Brings Us to Today
I hope my little story inspired you, and also made you feel better about the opportunities in your life that didn’t work out so well.
God knows I’ve tried many things. But each time, I get back up, take the learnings, and keep going until I get there.
My greatest wish is that you do the same, and if I can support you in any way through coaching or (in any of my businesses), I’m here for you.
Until we connect, think bigger – INvision, Plan, and Create the business and life that you want!
Peace & Blessings,
Shamika Brown-Upshaw
Shamika Brown-Upshaw is a former Senior Director of Business Operations – Program Management for Bleacher Report and Turner Sports at Warner Media with expertise in helping Senior Leadership teams in refining their vision, aligning operations to goals, establishing informed and scalable processes that improve productivity, and by infusing transparency, collaboration, and diversity of thought into the culture. She is wife/mom, business owner, & coach. Shamika is passionate about helping people and companies succeed in their goal aspirations.
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