SHANNON MERRELL: Pure Romance Moms Who Do It All!

In honor of Mother’s Day this Sunday, I’ve been featuring Consultants who have done an amazing job balancing motherhood and their careers with Pure Romance. Each day of the week leading up to Mother’s Day, I will be spotlighting a Consultant’s point of view and on Mother’s Day, I will share my own thoughts on maintaining balance – because when it comes to family and work, I do believe it’s possible to have it all!

Shannon Merrell (New Market, MD) – There is so much to say about this young woman and the amount of strength and balance she possesses. I chose Shannon for this Mother’s Day blog series because she is the quintessence of focus and determination in a time of trial and challenge. I can remember when I first met Shannon – she just exuded light and happiness through her bubbly personality. Of course her business told the true story of just how driven and successful she is, but her success made so much sense when I met her, and witnessed her warm and welcoming demeanor. It’s obvious that no one is a stranger to Shannon. Everyone who knows this sweet soul was rocked when they learned of Shannon’s brain tumor. Still, she kept things light-hearted and infused humor into a scary and traumatic situation by naming her tumor, “Pepe.” After a very extensive brain surgery to remove this tumor, Shannon is left with an uphill battle of recovery to regain some of her physical abilities. She has a family and a business to maintain and build, which is a lot for someone who is struggling to simply care for themselves. However, Shannon is already back at it all, maintaining her personal sales, as well as working with her team, which is estimated to gross around $3.5 million this year! I am so proud of this woman. She doesn’t use any obstacle as an excuse, which showcases the deeply engrained strength and will of her character, and explains why she is so successful. I just want her to know that everyone who looks in on her progress and fight is floored by what they see – we are all in the cheering section witnessing true amazingness at it’s finest.

A quote I live by: “Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” and “Just keep swimming.” – from Dory, as of lately.

Tips to keep a balanced life: 

• Don’t use your family as an excuse to neglect your business or reach for success. My family is also a priority, but I don’t use them as an excuse.
• I also find making a goal board with clear, broken down goals helps.
• Get your older kids involved! Let them know your goals.
• Have patience! I don’t have much of this, but what little I do have left, I have put towards my business!  🙂
• Don’t give up or expect instant results if you don’t aim for them. Honestly, it took me years of not giving up my goals to reach Executive Director.

A story about motherhood and business (submitted by a very close friend and sister Consultant, Jen Roy):

“From the moment I met Shannon, I knew that she had ‘it;’ ‘it’ being that special something – that magnetic personality that draws people to them.  Shannon is the resident “funny” girl. She’s always doing something to make you smile, whether it be acting silly with her character impersonations, telling a silly joke to turn your sad mood around, to something so completely random that all you can do is shake your head and say, “That’s Shannon.”

What most people don’t know about her is that on the inside she has suffered from terrible and sometimes debilitating anxiety. Some days it was hard for her to get up and just head to the grocery store.  During this time, Shannon’s husband was transitioning from a teaching job to a very demanding job as a Federal Air Marshal. This meant that he would be gone for long periods of time, and Shannon had to basically live life like a single parent. Did that stop her?  No way!  She did what she had to do to face her fears and overcome them.  At the time, she was managing a household with two little girls, being both mom and dad, and running a very successful party business and team.”