Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Shepherd
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey began with a love of baking and cooking with family in the kitchen. The smell of fresh baked bread or pies brings back memories of the laughter and love that was spread and continues in new generations. I still have the apron I wore when I was four or five years old and the aprons my Mom and Grandma wore!
Now I am a professor, author and entrepreneur baking up stories for young readers in children’s picture books along with spices, rubs and dipping oils at www.rollingpinproduction.com. How did I get here?
After college I worked in retail sales and management and then the Fashion wholesale industry and loved the travel. After a few years I started my first company Design Savvy and worked with retailers to promote merchandising, marketing, sales and update their interiors. In my late 20’s I switched gears and took advantage of my Interior design education and worked as an interior designer for a furniture company in Portland, Oregon and taught design classes to the public. I also taught courses at the Design Institute and Portland Community College part time.
So this doesn’t sound like a resume dump, I will say that my career has been full of variety and joy. I have made changes and adjustments and loved being a life-long learner. I have met amazing people, traveled and moved to new states and while it can be a bit daunting when you face change, it can be the most amazing journey.
I started my Interior design company- Interior Connections which expanded a time or to into Washington State and lasted 20 years. My business grew quickly and one year was up 300%. I had other designers working with me and Co-chaired the Street of Dreams working with the best builders in the city. It was very exciting. But the highs can take a turn and after I got pregnant I needed to slow down which wasn’t really on my goal list. After almost dying in childbirth and my husband nearly passing from a surprising health issue, our lives took a turn. Our business needed our attention and we needed to get healthy. When you are self-employed you have to work to bring in business.
I swore I would never start another business after our tough year trying to get healthy, take care of our children, and work through a divorce. Highs and lows. But life is a journey.
I moved, continued the business and completed my Masters degree. After that I packed the children and we moved from the Northwest to Texas. It was a big move. There I completed my doctorate and we explored a new culture. What did I say about amazing journeys!! I have been teaching at Universities in Texas since then.
My passion for social issues has prevailed in my research and personal interests. As I considered how to keep my story going I looked at my passions and how I could share my expertise to help others. Rolling Pin Productions was born. Not overnight, but fairly quickly. I knew I wanted to keep writing and children’s picture books bring so many important issues to light. Most importantly I knew that I could help children learn vital life lessons that are often not taught today in the home. In addition, we have a literacy crisis and many children have no access to books or learning resources. In addition to writing the books, I will create Rolling Pin Reading Rooms in underserved areas for children to have access to books and resources to learn to read.
My passion for improving the lives of individuals and families and society comes together beautifully with Rolling Pin Production as I write, share my spices, rubs and dipping oils and reading resources with teachers, parents and children. Baking up stories is just the beginning of a new journey, please join me. www.rollingpinproduction.com
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As I shared previously, there are bumps you encounter along the way in business or in life. I had a few, but I have learned from all of them so I prefer to focus on the good. I will share a couple of lessons I learned.
If you want to start a business, be sure you have the demeanor to be successful or surround yourself with those that can take you to success. Many people are designed to follow others and not lead as entrepreneurs and that is OK. Starting a business requires a lot of research, maybe some education classes, knowing your competition and being willing to give a lot more than 40 hours to the schedule. Some of the best advice I received was, If you want to succeed to always hire people better at somethings then you! I truly believe this. Surround yourself with experts to make your company shine and who have skills to help the company see a vision to grow.
Working with family or spouses is a tough call. I say NO. This can put a strain on your relationships and many cannot separate the business and personal outside the office. Or worse, if you work at home. If you have a falling out it can have a financial impact on the family as well as a personal one. It is an unusual couple that can work well together and manage a personal life. Work, life, balance is a challenge normally. Why add more to the stress level.
What ever your choices, continue to research, stay positive and be cautious. Have fun along the way!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
One day in class in my undergraduate years my Professor said you will be a great teacher. I said, “Oh no you are confused. I am going into business”. She just smiled. I look back and realize now that you should listen to those that might see something in you that you may not. I did work in business and industry and it wasn’t long until I was called to teach and then I went back and earned my Masters and Doctorate and have now taught for over 30 years. What a surprise.
I learned that I love variety. I spent years working retail, wholesale and management and then switched to utilize my expertise in Interior design and tap into my entrepreneur skills. My three degrees and experience in business and industry along with teaching have complemented each other so well. All of my experiences have opened doors to another opportunity and my expertise has expanded and allowed me to share them with my students. A plan that was laid out by a greater power than me.
Resilience is a word that people often use to describe me. Probably because I have been knocked down a few times for various reasons, some personal and some professional. I have chosen to persist and move on. I believe that I have many things to do in life and treasure each day. I am thankful for the my family and the gifts I have to share and I love learning each day.
Life skills were taught in my family from a young age, but are not so much in families today. If you consider the challenging social issues in society today we need our children to have the ability to rely on vital life skills to be successful. My teaching in Family and Consumer Sciences focuses on life skills and research on social issues. Those overarching concerns that impact our lives such as food insecurity or identity theft or poverty or bullying to name a few.
As an educator I can impact the lives of individuals, families and communities by improving their lives. I can do this by advocating for positive changes relative to my career work. It might be a simple change or using my voice to affect change for many, but it starts with one step and usually involves a social issue.
Today I realize that there are many young people stepping up to share new and exciting research and education that will propel us into another decade and I love learning from them. However, I am a life long learner who is still going strong and I thought about many of my colleagues and friends retiring and said I have more in me to give. I am proud of building Rolling Pin Production! I have many goals and plans to do more than sell children’s books and products. I will impact literacy by creating Rolling Pin Reading rooms for those in underserved areas who do not have access to books or reading resources. There is much work to do with our literacy crisis and it will take a village to do it. I need many contributors and will call on you if you are interested to donate a book or funds for books or a reading room to help overcome our literacy crisis one reader at a time!
www.rollingpinproduction.com
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk taking is a part of life, but you don’t have to look at it that way. You could say you take a risk getting out of bed each morning. Or driving a car or pouring a hot cup of coffee…….I like to think of it more as a blessing.
Anyone who starts a business takes a risk financially, personally and perhaps mentally. Or you can look at is as a journey of discovery. If it doesn’t work out, just look at all the lessons you learned that you can share with your children, neighbors or business associates. You can always get another job and start over doing something.
I have had businesses that didn’t succeed and I learned a great deal. In fact, I swore I would never start another business again. But, I have matured and I appreciate the lessons I learned and I can manage. I would say that it is best to consider not taking on too much to start. Take it slow. Ask some important questions. Do you know the business market? Do you know your competitors? Do you have the financial backing, plus more? Do you have the right people, place and product? Do you have the passion? and more…… and make sure you have mentors to guide you along the way.
Risk is a mind set…………..what is yours?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rollingpinproduction.com
- Instagram: nancys8
- Facebook: Nancy Shepherd
Image Credits
kelly@designedbykelly.org
sarajokimberling
