Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Willis.
Sasha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started my business in June 2010. It originally started as a scrapbooking business but I soon transitioned into stationery (primarily weddings) and event styling (event decor). When I got pregnant in 2017, I realized I was physically unable to continue doing event styling so I moved to focus directly on stationery. Once my son was born, I had to make the painful choice to pivot my business again to a lifestyle brand. I didn’t have the time to focus on wedding clients between my full-time job and being a wife and mom. In January 2020, I transitioned to a lifestyle brand and online shop and it was honestly the best decision I made for my business. Each month, I donate 15% of shop sales to organizations that advance women in different areas of live. My goal with my business is to empower women to pursue their passions and remind themselves how powerful they are.
Since pivoting to a lifestyle brand, I was able to speak openly and freely about how current affairs affect my family. My husband is a DC police officer and a Black man and we are raising an Afro-Latino son and the recent events surrounding police brutality and I often speak about the fears, hopes, and dreams I have for my son. I’ve made an appearance on The Tamron Hall Show and have spoken on a few podcasts.
In January 2020, I also launched The Swirl & Sip Podcast, where my co-host and I sip wine and talk all about womanhood, parenthood, and relationships from the perspective of a Puerto Rican and Black woman. We are currently in our 3rd season.
In June 2021, I also added business strategy 1-on-1 intensives to my brand to help other female-owned businesses grow their brand without the stress. I’ve been able to help several businesses create action plans and strategies to scale and reclaim their own time as well.
My husband, son, and I moved to Edgewater, MD in September 2020 after finding our dream house on the water.
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?
Balancing it all is always a constant struggle. I play a lot of roles and it’s always a balancing game between making time for family/friends, working at my day job, and growing my business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
As the owner of Creations By Sasha, I am a lifestyle brand, blogger, podcaster, and speaker, I empower women through my shop filled with mugs, apparel, and more while keeping it real talking about all things mom-life, wife life, business, and womanhood. As a woman who is fiercely independent, my goal is to empower all women to pursue their passions and remind themselves just how powerful we are!
When I’m not busy doing #allofthethings in my business, I blend my unique skill set of business knowledge from a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Masters Degree in Human Resources with my in-depth knowledge of running a creative business to help other creative business owners build and grow their brand.
In my business, I’m a big advocate of authenticity. I am open and honest about how current events affect me and my family and I make my positions known. I’m also a big advocate of buying and supporting women of color in business and in life!
I’m most proud that I am able to donate to various organizations every month from purchases in my shop. I’ve been able to give to organizations such as The Loveland Foundation, She Should Run, Invest in Girls, The Asian-American Feminist Collective, and Family Equity. Each month, I choose a different organization to donate to.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’m actually not much of a risk-taker. I tend to do a lot of research about anything I’m interested in doing and way the pros and cons before taking big steps. That being said, there are times where I let my creative nature get the best of me and I’ll jump into something before really figuring out if it’s something I want to keep up with. I’ve purchased inventory before I was sure I even wanted to sell it and launched different things in my business with no follow through to make sure it succeeds. In my personal life though, I’m very much a planner. The biggest “risk” I’ve taken is when my husband and I purchased our new home. It was the biggest purchase we ever made in our lives and I wasn’t 100% sure we’d be able to manage but I did a lot of budgets reviewing and taking a look at our lifestyle before we actually pulled the trigger.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@creationsbysasha.com
- Website: www.creationsbysasha.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/creations_by_sasha
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/creationsbysasha
Image Credits
Belle Imagery Portraits Natarsha Wright Photography Lissa Ryan Photography
