Community Highlights: Meet Shannen Stewart of Heels & Handshakes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannen Stewart.

Hi Shannen, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I never made the cheerleading team, but I am a constant cheerleader for women in business. As someone who climbed their way up the corporate ladder before the age of 30, I learned how lonely and isolating it can be. I witnessed firsthand how crucial it was to have a support system not only in your personal life but in your professional life.

With over a decade of experience in sales, my trajectory to success was primarily from networking which makes sense years later why I started my own organization. In the early years of my career, I had a supervisor set an ambitious goal to meet with 25 new clients a week. That supervisor quickly became public enemy number one. Just kidding. As an extrovert, I didn’t have any issues meeting a stranger, but to consistently meet with 25 new people a week and maintain a rapport with them is a skill set I am forever grateful for. There is a reason people say your network is your net worth. Not only was I making incredible connections, I learned that I genuinely enjoyed connecting others.

Being a Nashville Native and relocating to Orlando in 2009, I learned how lonely it can be when you move to a new city. I joke that I started Heels & Handshakes to have friends, but it isn’t far from the truth. A coworker of mine in Miami had started a women’s happy hour in 2009 and it was one of my favorite events to attend. Being new to Orlando in 2009, hosting a happy hour seemed like a great idea to meet a lot of people. When I moved back to Nashville in 2012 I decided to take the concept with me (with her permission) and Heels & Handshakes, LLC was born. Even though I was a Nashville Native, and I had “friends” from my hometown, I yearned for a group of like-minded women in the same workplace. Turns out I wasn’t the only one looking for this community.

Now in 2021, Heels & Handshakes has over 220 + members and a community of over three thousand women.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth or easy road, but nothing in life is right? After leaving my corporate career in February 2020 to pursue Heels & Handshakes, a networking and collaboration group for women and men in events, full time the pandemic hit our entire membership community hard. The Tourism and Hospitality Industry made up 40% of unemployment in the U.S. due to the Covid-19. To say it’s been a challenging year is an understatement.

I finally received enough courage to leave corporate America and pursue my passion full time and the world completely shut down. I was completely crushed in March 2020. In hindsight, the pandemic did bring us closer and proved the power of having a close-knit community. In a time of uncertainty, we had eachother. We put together workshops to review resumes and interviewing skills, offered scholarships to those unemployed and ran a “Hire HH” campaign to help members find employment. We did walk and talks to encourage social distancing while connecting. We started a mentorship series and we volunteered our time to help those less fortunate.

I personally had a lot of highs and lows throughout my journey. I think it is imperative to talk about both and normalize the obstacles.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Heels And Handshakes is an all-inclusive community dedicated to helping female business owners and women in business put their best Heel forward personally and professionally. We are a networking organization made up of women and men focused on elevating women in all facets of the hospitality industry. We continue to add value for our community by developing educational programs quarterly, monthly networking opportunities and implementing referral programs.

Members include but are not limited to restaurants, venues, hotels, planners, DMCS, meeting planners, florists, designers, bankers, CPA, and entrepreneurs.

What sets us apart is our mantra is “Surround yourself with women who would mention your name in a room full of opportunities.” Nashville is growing and evolving, but we want to remain true to the collaborative spirit. We truly believe in collaboration over competition.

We are the premier networking organization within Nashville. With over 220 + HH members and a community of over 3k women in Middle Tennessee, we are your number one resource for all things events and hospitality.

Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
In my personal life, nothing makes me happier than going to Edwin Warner Park with My husband and son. I love being outdoors and creating memories with my family.

In my professional life, I love hearing from other Heels & Handshakes members on their accomplishments. We started an initiative that we call S.T.R.U.T. (share, teach, recognize, uplight and toot) This is a tool to instill confidence in our women. We want to change the narrative that women cannot share their wins. That is it “bragging” or they feel “weird” for saying out loud their accomplishments. Nothing makes me happier than seeing women with confidence share their wins.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.heelsandhandshakes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heelsandhandshakes/

Image Credits
Tausha Dickinson Photography