April 26, 2023 • 32 mins
Welcome to Disrupting Burnout - a podcast where we beat burnout so that you can love your career again! Where is the physical space that you can go to come home to yourself? What space do you have designated to support you and spark creativity in your life?
This week on Disrupting Burnout, I’m joined by Sharmequa Franklin, a Woman Who Defines Disruption by creating a space for soul care.
Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin better known as The Artsy Girl ™ is the owner and CEO of The Artsy Girl - a handmade jewelry and accessory company. Sharmequa is also a mom, a wife, and the Executive Vice President at AgSouth Farm Credit where she leads a group of experienced professionals in human capital, learning and organizational development.
Sharmequa believes in growing people and creating confidence boosting earrings and accessories that help you bring out your inner sparkle!
It’s Time To Disrupt Burnout:
00:30 - Finding Peace In A Pandemic
07:30 - Create A Space For Creativity
14:30 - Just Do You
20:30 - Tackle The Big Rocks First/ Schedule Your Purpose
25:00 - Finding The Common Theme
Create Space for your Soul Takeaways
● “I’m Sharmequa before I’m anything, and I need to be able to protect that.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “I don’t want my job to define who I am, I want to set that path.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “I want God to know that I’m listening to what he wants me to do and not what I think I want to do.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “I try to show up as my authentic self everywhere I go.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “Your authentic person is your best person.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “If you don’t schedule the purpose, it’s not going to happen.” - Dr. PBJ
● “We handle employees from conception to birth.” - Sharmequa Fennell-Franklin
● “You have one purpose that you express in many different ways.” - Dr. PBJ
This episode is brought to you by HeartWork Academy! If you’ve ever felt like you're marching in place, putting in all of the effort, but not moving forward, this program is for you. If you feel buried and you’re ready to move into brilliance, it’s time to join a community of disruptors who understand and who genuinely want to support you and hold you accountable as you show up in purpose everyday. To join the Heartwork Academy, visit: http://heartworkacademy.com.
Connect With Sharmequa:
Instagram: @theartsygirl76 | https://www.instagram.com/theartsygirl76/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartsygirl76
Website: https://www.theartsygirlshop.com/
Let’s Connect
● To connect with Dr. PBJ, go to patricebucknerjackson.com
● Support The Show |https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lovepbj?locale.x=en_US
Upgrade to Premium Membership to access the Disrupting Burnout audiobook and other bonus content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213895/supporters/new
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I don't want to lose me, I don'twant my job to define who I am.
(00:05):
I want to set that path. And Godto know that I'm listening to
what he wants me to do, and notwhat I think I want to do.
Hey, friends it's PBJ. Again,listen, we are still talking to
(00:28):
women who define disruption. Andthe woman that I am going to
introduce you all to today, shehas probably known me longer
than anybody else I haveintroduced you to I think we met
when I was about 13. So if youreally want to know if PBJ is
PBJ, you should ask this womanbecause we've been around each
(00:52):
other. We grew up in the samehometown work together. My very
first job was with this woman.
So we've been able to walkthrough life together. And when
I tell you, this executive vicepresident in the financial
industry, this mom, this wife,this business owner, this CEO,
this artists, this creative,this woman, Sharmequa Franklin,
(01:13):
my sister, my friend, she is theperfect example of women who
define disruption, because sheis filling her life with
purpose. I talk aboutdiscovering your brilliance, and
maximizing that brilliance,meaning everywhere you look
(01:34):
around you is purpose. And whenI see Sharmequa that's what I
see. So sister, welcome toDisrupting Burnout. I am so
honored to have you here today.
I am so honored to be here. It'sso amazing to kind of see the
work that you're doing forwomen. And I think that what
(01:57):
you're doing is phenomenal. AndI think it makes me feel good.
Because you're home girl, youknow. And I've just watched you
blossom and grow and I'm just soexcited for you. Oh, thank
you, sister. You've been a bigsister to me for a long time.
And I am grateful Grateful foryour love. So let's I need the
(02:18):
people to know who you are. Soplease tell them who you are.
My name is Sharmequa Franklin, Igrew up in a town that a lot of
people are like where is earlybranch South Carolina. But I
grew up in early born SouthCarolina, born and raised there
and went to the University ofSouth Carolina. Worked for Farm
(02:44):
Credit for 22 years, and just invarious positions and went from
a customer service person when Iwas in Colombia, straight out of
college, and then I migrated toa training position. That's
(03:04):
where I kind of got that lovefor HR and training and
learning. And then Itransitioned to Maryland. I
lived in Baltimore for a while Imet my husband. We have a little
boy, his name was William and heis a ball of fire. I have no
idea where he gets it from. Buthe gives my grandfather's name
(03:27):
say my grandfather raised me,him my grandmother, they raised
me and I found that fit intoNathan William. So please don't
tell my husband that he's likethe love of my life. And and I'm
just a mom, you know, not just amom, but I'm a mom, I I own a
(03:48):
company called the artsy girl.
And the artsy girls started whenI was it was in the middle of a
pandemic. And I was stressed outand my husband said, you know, I
know you Chief HR officer andyou've got all these things
(04:11):
going on. But why don't you goback to your first love like you
love art you love drawing andcreating and and so I said okay,
I can do that. And I decided Iwas gonna build a she shed
because there was no way I coulddraw and create just in my
(04:31):
house. I had to have someplaceto do it. So I created this
business honestly did not expectfor it to take off. I was
nervous. I was like, you knowwhat if I make this stuff and
nobody likes it and I end upwith all of these things. And I
remember selling like my firstpiece. I had always made stuff
for people and given it to themfor gifts and I sold my first
(04:54):
piece and I was like oh my godHave people actually read this
stuff? So. And honestly, a lotof it came from this desire to
just not only be the HR personor just be a mom, you know, I
(05:15):
just be your wife, I neededsomething for me. And I needed
to figure out how I was going toa keep me sane throughout the
COVID experience that all HRprofessionals were going through
at the time. But I also neededsomething to take me back to the
place of solace. Grandfather,and I used to draw together and
(05:40):
it allowed me to be able toalmost have a piece of him
whenever I'm creating, orwhenever I'm making something.
And believe it or not, peopleare like, How in the world are
you doing this? And I alwayssay, it's through the grace of
God. Yeah, God gives me thedesire to go out and just do it.
(06:02):
And I have been blessed with somany amazing people around me
who believe in the arts to girlbelieve in the brand. And
believe in what I do, until itis just, it's just worked itself
out in a way that I just didn'timagine that it would. And I can
(06:22):
only say that was just throughthe grace of God, because it's
not me.
So Oh, my gosh. So first of all,I love, I love the way in the
midst of chaos. Your husband wholoves you very much reminded you
(06:43):
sometimes we need somebody elseto remind us, of what settles us
and what's at our core and whatwe love. Because in executive
that you are a woman inexecutive leadership, you're a
black woman, and executiveleadership. So the pressure is
real, the pressure is real. Andwe can get so bogged down with
(07:07):
the pressure that we onlyremember what we love anymore, I
don't have time to think aboutwhat I like, I don't have time
to. But I love the fact thatyour husband said Wait, wait a
minute, you got to find a way todo what you love. And then this
is so powerful, you created aspace for it. Hold on, because
(07:32):
that is something that I nevertalked about on this podcast
before. And you just brought myattention to that. You created a
physical so I remember yoursocial media posting of the
phases of the seashell, like I'mfollowing, I'm gonna follow I'm
a subscriber, okay, I rememberthe steps like it, making a
(07:57):
space in your yard and the sheshed arrived. And and you did
decorate, like, you created asacred space.
And I will not work at like, ifif I'm working for the company,
I did no work for the company.
In my shed. When I worked fromlike, when we were at home for
(08:17):
that period of time, when theshisha was done, I refuse to do
any work from there. Because Iwant a separation between my
life as an executive and my lifeas an artist. My mob boss is
phenomenal. And he supportedthat. And that that meant a lot
(08:45):
to me because a lot of peopledon't know how to separate the
two. And when you are a mom, andyou are wide, and you're trying
to be someone in the communityand you know, you need some
place or somewhere to go, yeah,for peace. When I go into my
(09:06):
shed, everything is pink, andhappy and colorful. And when I
go out there I am honestly atpeace. I bring no negative
energy into that space. If Ihave somebody that calls me from
work, I take it outside that sheshould because I want that to be
(09:29):
a symbol of who I am outside ofeverything else that I do. I'm
sure I'm weak well before I'manything I need to be able to
protect that. Ohmy gosh, I have a coach in my
life who talks about the spaceshe has a space pillar and she
talks about setting your yourspace up to support you and how
(09:52):
important you know sometimesit's not the lack of clarity
that is the problem. It's notthe money problem, it's not the
marriage problem or job problem,it's your space, you can't even
think clearly. Because you arenot in a space that allows you
to be clear or allows you to becreative. And even if you don't
have a she shed, I have anotherfriend who talks about car
(10:15):
therapy, she'll get to herhouse, and in her car for 30 to
45 minutes if she can, like ifthe kids are at school, or her
husband is taking care of them,she will sit in her car for 30
to 45 minutes. That's her space.
That is her separation, that isher space. So sometimes you need
(10:35):
to think about the physicalspace, where is the physical
place that you can go to, likeDr. Tim O'Brien says, Come home
to yourself. Where can you comehome, where's your home coming?
To come home to yourself toremember who you are outside of
the expectations of other peopleoutside of your job title,
(10:59):
outside of your jobresponsibilities outside of mama
and wife. Now, don't don't logoff. Listen to me. Y'all hear
me, being someone's wife is anhonor. Being someone's mother is
an honor. It is never all of whoyou are. You were somebody
(11:19):
before you met them, please goahead. Your job also can't be
who you are either. Like, yougot to figure out who you are.
Like, I remember moving toMaryland. And everybody was
like, What in the world are youdoing? Why are you moving to
Maryland? And I said, Honestly,it's someplace I can go where I
can renew myself. And I canbecome someone that's not tied
(11:43):
to South Carolina or where Igrew up. And you know, all of
that that's made me who I am.
But it doesn't find. Andsometimes we get lost in the
next job title and the nextwhatever it might be. And then
we lose ourselves in theprocess. I don't want to lose,
(12:07):
we, I don't want my job todefine who I am. I want to set
that path. And I got to knowthat I'm listening to what he
wants me to do, and not what Ithink I want to do. So through
the artsy girl, I have been ableto become someone that I know I
am. And I know, for some people,that doesn't make any sense, but
(12:30):
it it allows me to, to escapefrom everything that's going on
around me. And you have tounderstand like that COVID
stuff. And I hate I don't Idon't want to like, oversimplify
it. Or even it was, it washorrific. Yes. And I needed
(12:54):
something to keep me fromfalling apart. And the artsy
girl is and probably will alwaysbe that thing for me. I feel
like I'm a better person becauseof it. Yes, absolutely. I was a
person who buried myself in mytitle. You know, after I hit
(13:16):
burnout, and I walked away frommy job, I didn't even know how
to introduce myself anymore.
Because I was so used to sayingI'm Dr. Patrice button, and vice
president of blah, blah, blah.
When I didn't have that. Iliterally did not know how to
tell people who I was. Because Ihad put my entire identity into
a label that somebody else gaveme. Doesn't mean you don't honor
(13:39):
your title. It doesn't meanwe're not grateful for the
promotion and for theexperience. All of that is true.
And it cannot be the home of whoyou are. You have to shine forth
in everything that you do. Youbring you to the work to the
family, to the community. Butyou can do that if you never
(14:01):
have a space or time where youcome home to yourself and
recognize who you are. Talk tome show me go a little bit
because we started aconversation before we hit
record and I was like stopstressed out because we got
stuck back on the podcast.
Because what I said is you areyou are fire like you are a
(14:23):
phenomenal woman and do youremember what you said?
I think I said something alongthe lines of I don't even
recognize that. I just I just dome. I try to show up as my
(14:52):
authentic self. Everywhere I go.
And I'm not just saying thatjust because I'm trying to sound
And anyway, I'm just saying, Itry to show up as my authentic
self all the time. So you know,if I, if you need me, I'm there.
And I've had a lot of people askme, like, how do you do this?
(15:15):
Like what? Like, I really don'tknow. Yeah, work, I make it work
for me, I want my son to see meas my whole self, I want him to
see me. As someone who canpersevere, I want him to see me
as someone who could set somegoals and achievement. And you
(15:37):
got to have you just you got tobe authentic with who you really
are. Because that's your bestperson, your authentic person is
your best person. Absolutely besomebody else that you're not,
you end up with impostorsyndrome, because you're not
really being who you really are.
(15:59):
I don't recognize that, youknow, people say, Oh, my God,
you're so amazing, and that mygrandfather taught me how to be
humble, and just how to be anauthentic person. And I just
always want to be that.
Yeah. A couple of things. Thepiece that you said earlier, and
(16:20):
you said right now is I don'tknow how I make this work. I
don't know. I'm just figuring itout. And I wanted you to say
that here on the air, because Iwant people to know that you're
looking at somebody who youthink has it all together. And
you're watching somebody who youthink is just flawless. Perfect.
(16:41):
I wish I had that. And all of usare out here just trying to
figure it out. I don't care whattheir timeliness, go ahead.
If you follow me on socialmedia, I say all the time, I'm a
hot mess. My team will tell you,I'm coming in here on wheels,
most days. But to the outsideworld, I got you. I'm 150%. In
(17:11):
at work, when I'm here, I putall of my energy into what I'm
focusing on at that time. So myson, I'm all in focusing on him.
I take I make lists, I gothrough those lists, I try to do
the most important things.
First, the big rocks first. Andthen I just move things along,
(17:32):
you know, in my business life,in my work, and also in my
family.
Because then I know it's been awhile since I came to you in
this way. But I got something toshare with you, you all know
that I'm in the process ofwriting this book. And as I'm
doing this, there are strategiesand ideas and, and thoughts that
(17:56):
are coming to me that I've neverhad, and I'm so full, I can't
wait to get it to you and thebook is coming this year. But I
can't wait until then I'm seeingthe evidence in my life. And in
the lives of folks that I'mcoaching one on one. And God has
laid it on my heart to createsomething for folks who may be
(18:18):
interested in one on onecoaching, but you can't afford
it. It doesn't fit into yourbudget. Or maybe you're curious
about coaching, but you've neverhad that experience before. This
is for folks who feel likeyou're marching in place. Like
you're putting in all theeffort, but you're not moving
forward, you feel buried, andyou're ready to move into
(18:38):
brilliance, I'm ready to shareout. I've got some strategies,
I've got some things to workthrough with you. Listen,
friends, this is not gonna befancy. There's no fancy sales
page. There's no courseplatform. This is going to be us
meeting once a month throughzoom for me to pour out to you
what I have and to support youand your journey. That's it.
(18:59):
That's it. This is 40 not 40.
This is 3030 bucks a month. Andthere has to be some kind of
investment, or I've learned thatpeople don't show up, right? But
at that level, you deserve $30 amonth. You can find $30 A month.
So if you have wanted to workwith me, but just couldn't find
(19:20):
it in your budget. If you'vebeen curious about coaching and
just not sure if it was a goodfit for you. jump in on the
HEartwork Academy 2023 I have aneven if we work together before
a friend you ain't seen thisyet. You haven't seen this yet.
I am so ready. I'm so thankful.
(19:41):
And I'm ready to share with youand I'm ready to support you.
Okay, so listen, if you'reinterested, join with the link
here. Fill out the form join usin the HEartwork Academy will
kick off in May. We'll meet oncea month on Zoom. And we're going
to walk this thing out together.
Nothing fancy but let's just getit It is time for you to live in
brilliance. You need to knowwhat it means to show up in
(20:03):
purpose every day. And I'm readyto help you. All right, I can't
wait to hear from you. And I'mexcited to serve you. I'll see
you soon. Bye.
Okay, we got to talk about thatwe got, because you said I do
the big rocks first. And that isa concept that I've heard
(20:27):
recently that was very powerful.
So what do you mean by I do thebig rocks first.
So the things that we myimmediate attention, that are
things that can impact all otherpeople, I try to do those things
first. So for example, if it's abig project, and it's due, I
(20:49):
make sure I prioritize that. Idon't know if you can see in my
office, but I've got this. Thisnet, you know, it is, is
horrible, it looks horrible. ButI got these post it notes, and
I'm moving them. So the priorityeight things are on top, there
be items in the middle C itemsat the bottom. And I move those
(21:12):
things around, because sometimesthey change. And those eight
items, I focus on those rightaway. So I have a schedule for
my artsy girl creation. Whenit's when I'm when I'm I left
work. When I left work, I gohome and look at the orders that
I've come in that come in. Andthe people who order it first, I
(21:36):
start with there's I have aschedule, Monday through
Saturday. It's kind of what I dothings. Mondays, and Tuesdays
are male days, Wednesdays andThursdays is just kind of like a
refresh. And I take care of theaccounting stuff. Saturdays I
(21:59):
create, unless there's somethinggoing on with my family,
Sunday's symbol, and I juststart that same cycle over
again. And I try to give myselfsome grace. I don't like to make
people wait for things. So Ijust try to communicate up
front. But the goal is to makesure I take care of those
important things first. And thenthose other things that aren't
(22:22):
critical, you know, I get tothose labs.
Yeah. So I want to say twothings. One, I want people to be
clear what you do. So in theartsy girl, you are creating
jewelry and accessories, and youare creating them by hand. So
every piece that is ordered, andthat is sent out, every piece is
(22:44):
made by your very hands anddesigned. And oh, you've added
you've added greeting cards,Valentine's Day cards, I saw you
with some luggage, some artsygirl luggage. So all the things
and I want to make that clear,because I want people to
understand, I want them tounderstand the work that you're
(23:08):
putting into your passion. Butwhat I love is, so many of us
are just guilty of schedulingand prioritizing at work. And we
never prioritize the rest of ourpurpose. So I love the sticky
notes. I'm a sticky note person,I got some big poster paper
right over here. So I'm withyou, I'm with you. And so many
(23:30):
of us do that for somebodyelse's dream for somebody else's
company, for somebody else'sorganization. But we fail to do
it for ourselves. I love thatthe same system that works for
you at your finance company isthe same system that works for
the artsy girl and for yourmotherhood and your family. And
(23:53):
you deserve that you deserve toput a system in place. If you
don't schedule, the purpose isnot going to happen. Whatever it
is, yeah, we'll be working outeating right sleep, whatever. If
it doesn't go on the calendar isnot going to happen. And
honestly, if it's not on mycalendar, it's not that
(24:14):
important to me. Because if it'son the calendar, I'm making it
happen. Okay, so talk to me,because you have this HR piece,
where you're empowering peopleand professionals and leaders.
And then you have the art segroWhere you are sending razzle
(24:36):
dazzle into the world. What isthat common purpose? Like how do
those two things come together?
What are you doing in each oneof those things to impact the
world?
I will tell you that. Thebiggest piece about being in
Human Resources is a lot ofpeople will let me go back a lot
(24:58):
of people think that HR lady isthe person who pays the person
who tells me what my benefitsare. But HR is so much bigger
than that. It is, it's helpingpeople find their purpose.
Helping people have and makedreams come true for their
families. Helping people grow intheir careers, their career
(25:24):
journey. You know, we, I like totell people, we handle employees
from conception to birth. So,and it's a cycle. And I want
people to feel like, I'm a partof that, that me and my team,
and I'll say, my team, because Ifeel like I have gotten to a
(25:46):
point in my career where I'vegot to bring other people along.
The folks that work for me, Itried to make sure and I said
work for me, they really workedwith me, and I work for them.
But I want them to be front andcenter. So many times, we become
the leaders at the top. And wedon't reach back down to the
(26:09):
people who are late like thatwe're leaving. And so it makes
no sense for me to be on everyproject, or, you know, I try to
make sure that the folks on myteam are the people who are
front and center. And they wantI want to be here for their
resource. So my goal is to makesure that I'm empowering them.
(26:36):
So they can empower otherpeople. So that one day when
they become whoever that mightbe, folks are looking at them
and saying, Wow, I want to workfor that person, because they
looked out for me. I correlatethat to the artsy girl because I
(26:57):
want women to feel amazing.
There, there's so many thingsout there that's distracting,
you got social media, and youknow, all the girls pumping and
bumping and you know, all thatkind of stuff. I want women to
feel confident in whatever it isthey're doing. If they're just
(27:18):
running around, and they justwant to pull on a pair of hoops
and run around town. I want themto feel amazing doing it. They
pick up a notebook that I havedrawn or created. I want them to
feel that spark and that razzledazzle that I always talk about.
That's very important to me. AndI want the same for the people
who work for the organization aswell.
(27:42):
Yes, yeah. That that is theperfect example of discovering
your brilliance. Because youhave one purpose. You express it
in many different ways youexpress it in your finance
company, you express it in theartsy girl, you express it in
your motherhood, you express itin your community, your leader
(28:03):
in your community. But there isone purpose is one purpose. I
want people to feel their best,whether they're whether through
HR coaching them and bringingthem through their career, or
whether it's through theaccessories or journals or
pieces that you create, whenthey pick it up. When they look
(28:24):
at it. Look at it when they putit on. You want them to feel
their best, you're pulling themforward to their best aid. Oh,
you know what, it's sobeautiful. That's what your
grandfather did for you. Whenyou drew with him, when you
created art with him, that'swhat he did for you.
(28:44):
We used to drive Charlie Brown,like we started out drawing
Snoopy and Charlie Brown. And hewould just say to me, let your
imagination run wild. You wantSnoopy to run, let him run. He
wasn't gonna jump, let him jump.
And so when I got reallystressed in 2020, I had to reach
back to that habit filled. Andwhat that felt like is is
(29:06):
changed my life in a way thatwho knew already, like telling
my age later that I would be ata point where I would say wow,
I'm that little four year oldgirl sitting down drawing with
my grandmotherwho I am and you're impacting
(29:28):
the world with it. I'm tryingyou doing it. I love it. I love
it. So listen, I gotta let yougo. But please tell people how
they can find you how they canfind the RC girl because I know
all my folks are ready to go toyour website because we love
(29:50):
jewelry over here. Okay, Ialready have my pieces. I get
what I need first so y'all canorder now because I don't play
with As I get my first book,please let the folks know how
they can find you how they canfollow you and how they can
order.
I have Facebook and Instagram.
That's the artsy girl 76 AndI've just got registered
(30:14):
trademark, like status I'mreally excited but the artsy
girl 76 Th e AR T sy girl 76.
And that's either Instagram orFacebook. My website is the
artsy girl shop.com Th e AR t Sy girl, shop back home.
(30:37):
I love it. I love it andeverything will be in the show
notes so that you all canfollow, you can check out the
artsy girl you can order so thatyou can get some razzle dazzle
in your life. I know that fromhearing Sharmequa's story, that
you are recognizing that you aremore than one thing. You have
(31:01):
more than one hat, you have onepurpose, but that purpose is
expressed in many differentways. And people are so quick to
tell us what you can do thatthey don't get to tell you what
you can do. Whatever God createdyou to do, you can walk
confidently in those shoesbecause the burden won't be too
heavy for you. Because it'syours. All the things that are
(31:24):
assigned to your life you can doand my sister is an example of
that. So I'm so grateful for youjoining us thank you so much.
I appreciate it's my pleasure,even for you.
Same Same. Listen, y'all Asalways you are powerful. You are
significant and you are loved.
Love always PBJ
I don't want to lose me, I don'twant my job to define who I am.
(00:05):
I want to set that path. And Godto know that I'm listening to
what he wants me to do, and notwhat I think I want to do.
Hey, friends it's PBJ. Again,listen, we are still talking to
(00:28):
women who define disruption. Andthe woman that I am going to
introduce you all to today, shehas probably known me longer
than anybody else I haveintroduced you to I think we met
when I was about 13. So if youreally want to know if PBJ is
PBJ, you should ask this womanbecause we've been around each
(00:52):
other. We grew up in the samehometown work together. My very
first job was with this woman.
So we've been able to walkthrough life together. And when
I tell you, this executive vicepresident in the financial
industry, this mom, this wife,this business owner, this CEO,
this artists, this creative,this woman, Sharmequa Franklin,
(01:13):
my sister, my friend, she is theperfect example of women who
define disruption, because sheis filling her life with
purpose. I talk aboutdiscovering your brilliance, and
maximizing that brilliance,meaning everywhere you look
(01:34):
around you is purpose. And whenI see Sharmequa that's what I
see. So sister, welcome toDisrupting Burnout. I am so
honored to have you here today.
I am so honored to be here. It'sso amazing to kind of see the
work that you're doing forwomen. And I think that what
(01:57):
you're doing is phenomenal. AndI think it makes me feel good.
Because you're home girl, youknow. And I've just watched you
blossom and grow and I'm just soexcited for you. Oh, thank
you, sister. You've been a bigsister to me for a long time.
And I am grateful Grateful foryour love. So let's I need the
(02:18):
people to know who you are. Soplease tell them who you are.
My name is Sharmequa Franklin, Igrew up in a town that a lot of
people are like where is earlybranch South Carolina. But I
grew up in early born SouthCarolina, born and raised there
and went to the University ofSouth Carolina. Worked for Farm
(02:44):
Credit for 22 years, and just invarious positions and went from
a customer service person when Iwas in Colombia, straight out of
college, and then I migrated toa training position. That's
(03:04):
where I kind of got that lovefor HR and training and
learning. And then Itransitioned to Maryland. I
lived in Baltimore for a while Imet my husband. We have a little
boy, his name was William and heis a ball of fire. I have no
idea where he gets it from. Buthe gives my grandfather's name
(03:27):
say my grandfather raised me,him my grandmother, they raised
me and I found that fit intoNathan William. So please don't
tell my husband that he's likethe love of my life. And and I'm
just a mom, you know, not just amom, but I'm a mom, I I own a
(03:48):
company called the artsy girl.
And the artsy girls started whenI was it was in the middle of a
pandemic. And I was stressed outand my husband said, you know, I
know you Chief HR officer andyou've got all these things
(04:11):
going on. But why don't you goback to your first love like you
love art you love drawing andcreating and and so I said okay,
I can do that. And I decided Iwas gonna build a she shed
because there was no way I coulddraw and create just in my
(04:31):
house. I had to have someplaceto do it. So I created this
business honestly did not expectfor it to take off. I was
nervous. I was like, you knowwhat if I make this stuff and
nobody likes it and I end upwith all of these things. And I
remember selling like my firstpiece. I had always made stuff
for people and given it to themfor gifts and I sold my first
(04:54):
piece and I was like oh my godHave people actually read this
stuff? So. And honestly, a lotof it came from this desire to
just not only be the HR personor just be a mom, you know, I
(05:15):
just be your wife, I neededsomething for me. And I needed
to figure out how I was going toa keep me sane throughout the
COVID experience that all HRprofessionals were going through
at the time. But I also neededsomething to take me back to the
place of solace. Grandfather,and I used to draw together and
(05:40):
it allowed me to be able toalmost have a piece of him
whenever I'm creating, orwhenever I'm making something.
And believe it or not, peopleare like, How in the world are
you doing this? And I alwayssay, it's through the grace of
God. Yeah, God gives me thedesire to go out and just do it.
(06:02):
And I have been blessed with somany amazing people around me
who believe in the arts to girlbelieve in the brand. And
believe in what I do, until itis just, it's just worked itself
out in a way that I just didn'timagine that it would. And I can
(06:22):
only say that was just throughthe grace of God, because it's
not me.
So Oh, my gosh. So first of all,I love, I love the way in the
midst of chaos. Your husband wholoves you very much reminded you
(06:43):
sometimes we need somebody elseto remind us, of what settles us
and what's at our core and whatwe love. Because in executive
that you are a woman inexecutive leadership, you're a
black woman, and executiveleadership. So the pressure is
real, the pressure is real. Andwe can get so bogged down with
(07:07):
the pressure that we onlyremember what we love anymore, I
don't have time to think aboutwhat I like, I don't have time
to. But I love the fact thatyour husband said Wait, wait a
minute, you got to find a way todo what you love. And then this
is so powerful, you created aspace for it. Hold on, because
(07:32):
that is something that I nevertalked about on this podcast
before. And you just brought myattention to that. You created a
physical so I remember yoursocial media posting of the
phases of the seashell, like I'mfollowing, I'm gonna follow I'm
a subscriber, okay, I rememberthe steps like it, making a
(07:57):
space in your yard and the sheshed arrived. And and you did
decorate, like, you created asacred space.
And I will not work at like, ifif I'm working for the company,
I did no work for the company.
In my shed. When I worked fromlike, when we were at home for
(08:17):
that period of time, when theshisha was done, I refuse to do
any work from there. Because Iwant a separation between my
life as an executive and my lifeas an artist. My mob boss is
phenomenal. And he supportedthat. And that that meant a lot
(08:45):
to me because a lot of peopledon't know how to separate the
two. And when you are a mom, andyou are wide, and you're trying
to be someone in the communityand you know, you need some
place or somewhere to go, yeah,for peace. When I go into my
(09:06):
shed, everything is pink, andhappy and colorful. And when I
go out there I am honestly atpeace. I bring no negative
energy into that space. If Ihave somebody that calls me from
work, I take it outside that sheshould because I want that to be
(09:29):
a symbol of who I am outside ofeverything else that I do. I'm
sure I'm weak well before I'manything I need to be able to
protect that. Ohmy gosh, I have a coach in my
life who talks about the spaceshe has a space pillar and she
talks about setting your yourspace up to support you and how
(09:52):
important you know sometimesit's not the lack of clarity
that is the problem. It's notthe money problem, it's not the
marriage problem or job problem,it's your space, you can't even
think clearly. Because you arenot in a space that allows you
to be clear or allows you to becreative. And even if you don't
have a she shed, I have anotherfriend who talks about car
(10:15):
therapy, she'll get to herhouse, and in her car for 30 to
45 minutes if she can, like ifthe kids are at school, or her
husband is taking care of them,she will sit in her car for 30
to 45 minutes. That's her space.
That is her separation, that isher space. So sometimes you need
(10:35):
to think about the physicalspace, where is the physical
place that you can go to, likeDr. Tim O'Brien says, Come home
to yourself. Where can you comehome, where's your home coming?
To come home to yourself toremember who you are outside of
the expectations of other peopleoutside of your job title,
(10:59):
outside of your jobresponsibilities outside of mama
and wife. Now, don't don't logoff. Listen to me. Y'all hear
me, being someone's wife is anhonor. Being someone's mother is
an honor. It is never all of whoyou are. You were somebody
(11:19):
before you met them, please goahead. Your job also can't be
who you are either. Like, yougot to figure out who you are.
Like, I remember moving toMaryland. And everybody was
like, What in the world are youdoing? Why are you moving to
Maryland? And I said, Honestly,it's someplace I can go where I
can renew myself. And I canbecome someone that's not tied
(11:43):
to South Carolina or where Igrew up. And you know, all of
that that's made me who I am.
But it doesn't find. Andsometimes we get lost in the
next job title and the nextwhatever it might be. And then
we lose ourselves in theprocess. I don't want to lose,
(12:07):
we, I don't want my job todefine who I am. I want to set
that path. And I got to knowthat I'm listening to what he
wants me to do, and not what Ithink I want to do. So through
the artsy girl, I have been ableto become someone that I know I
am. And I know, for some people,that doesn't make any sense, but
(12:30):
it it allows me to, to escapefrom everything that's going on
around me. And you have tounderstand like that COVID
stuff. And I hate I don't Idon't want to like, oversimplify
it. Or even it was, it washorrific. Yes. And I needed
(12:54):
something to keep me fromfalling apart. And the artsy
girl is and probably will alwaysbe that thing for me. I feel
like I'm a better person becauseof it. Yes, absolutely. I was a
person who buried myself in mytitle. You know, after I hit
(13:16):
burnout, and I walked away frommy job, I didn't even know how
to introduce myself anymore.
Because I was so used to sayingI'm Dr. Patrice button, and vice
president of blah, blah, blah.
When I didn't have that. Iliterally did not know how to
tell people who I was. Because Ihad put my entire identity into
a label that somebody else gaveme. Doesn't mean you don't honor
(13:39):
your title. It doesn't meanwe're not grateful for the
promotion and for theexperience. All of that is true.
And it cannot be the home of whoyou are. You have to shine forth
in everything that you do. Youbring you to the work to the
family, to the community. Butyou can do that if you never
(14:01):
have a space or time where youcome home to yourself and
recognize who you are. Talk tome show me go a little bit
because we started aconversation before we hit
record and I was like stopstressed out because we got
stuck back on the podcast.
Because what I said is you areyou are fire like you are a
(14:23):
phenomenal woman and do youremember what you said?
I think I said something alongthe lines of I don't even
recognize that. I just I just dome. I try to show up as my
(14:52):
authentic self. Everywhere I go.
And I'm not just saying thatjust because I'm trying to sound
And anyway, I'm just saying, Itry to show up as my authentic
self all the time. So you know,if I, if you need me, I'm there.
And I've had a lot of people askme, like, how do you do this?
(15:15):
Like what? Like, I really don'tknow. Yeah, work, I make it work
for me, I want my son to see meas my whole self, I want him to
see me. As someone who canpersevere, I want him to see me
as someone who could set somegoals and achievement. And you
(15:37):
got to have you just you got tobe authentic with who you really
are. Because that's your bestperson, your authentic person is
your best person. Absolutely besomebody else that you're not,
you end up with impostorsyndrome, because you're not
really being who you really are.
(15:59):
I don't recognize that, youknow, people say, Oh, my God,
you're so amazing, and that mygrandfather taught me how to be
humble, and just how to be anauthentic person. And I just
always want to be that.
Yeah. A couple of things. Thepiece that you said earlier, and
(16:20):
you said right now is I don'tknow how I make this work. I
don't know. I'm just figuring itout. And I wanted you to say
that here on the air, because Iwant people to know that you're
looking at somebody who youthink has it all together. And
you're watching somebody who youthink is just flawless. Perfect.
(16:41):
I wish I had that. And all of usare out here just trying to
figure it out. I don't care whattheir timeliness, go ahead.
If you follow me on socialmedia, I say all the time, I'm a
hot mess. My team will tell you,I'm coming in here on wheels,
most days. But to the outsideworld, I got you. I'm 150%. In
(17:11):
at work, when I'm here, I putall of my energy into what I'm
focusing on at that time. So myson, I'm all in focusing on him.
I take I make lists, I gothrough those lists, I try to do
the most important things.
First, the big rocks first. Andthen I just move things along,
(17:32):
you know, in my business life,in my work, and also in my
family.
Because then I know it's been awhile since I came to you in
this way. But I got something toshare with you, you all know
that I'm in the process ofwriting this book. And as I'm
doing this, there are strategiesand ideas and, and thoughts that
(17:56):
are coming to me that I've neverhad, and I'm so full, I can't
wait to get it to you and thebook is coming this year. But I
can't wait until then I'm seeingthe evidence in my life. And in
the lives of folks that I'mcoaching one on one. And God has
laid it on my heart to createsomething for folks who may be
(18:18):
interested in one on onecoaching, but you can't afford
it. It doesn't fit into yourbudget. Or maybe you're curious
about coaching, but you've neverhad that experience before. This
is for folks who feel likeyou're marching in place. Like
you're putting in all theeffort, but you're not moving
forward, you feel buried, andyou're ready to move into
(18:38):
brilliance, I'm ready to shareout. I've got some strategies,
I've got some things to workthrough with you. Listen,
friends, this is not gonna befancy. There's no fancy sales
page. There's no courseplatform. This is going to be us
meeting once a month throughzoom for me to pour out to you
what I have and to support youand your journey. That's it.
(18:59):
That's it. This is 40 not 40.
This is 3030 bucks a month. Andthere has to be some kind of
investment, or I've learned thatpeople don't show up, right? But
at that level, you deserve $30 amonth. You can find $30 A month.
So if you have wanted to workwith me, but just couldn't find
(19:20):
it in your budget. If you'vebeen curious about coaching and
just not sure if it was a goodfit for you. jump in on the
HEartwork Academy 2023 I have aneven if we work together before
a friend you ain't seen thisyet. You haven't seen this yet.
I am so ready. I'm so thankful.
(19:41):
And I'm ready to share with youand I'm ready to support you.
Okay, so listen, if you'reinterested, join with the link
here. Fill out the form join usin the HEartwork Academy will
kick off in May. We'll meet oncea month on Zoom. And we're going
to walk this thing out together.
Nothing fancy but let's just getit It is time for you to live in
brilliance. You need to knowwhat it means to show up in
(20:03):
purpose every day. And I'm readyto help you. All right, I can't
wait to hear from you. And I'mexcited to serve you. I'll see
you soon. Bye.
Okay, we got to talk about thatwe got, because you said I do
the big rocks first. And that isa concept that I've heard
(20:27):
recently that was very powerful.
So what do you mean by I do thebig rocks first.
So the things that we myimmediate attention, that are
things that can impact all otherpeople, I try to do those things
first. So for example, if it's abig project, and it's due, I
(20:49):
make sure I prioritize that. Idon't know if you can see in my
office, but I've got this. Thisnet, you know, it is, is
horrible, it looks horrible. ButI got these post it notes, and
I'm moving them. So the priorityeight things are on top, there
be items in the middle C itemsat the bottom. And I move those
(21:12):
things around, because sometimesthey change. And those eight
items, I focus on those rightaway. So I have a schedule for
my artsy girl creation. Whenit's when I'm when I'm I left
work. When I left work, I gohome and look at the orders that
I've come in that come in. Andthe people who order it first, I
(21:36):
start with there's I have aschedule, Monday through
Saturday. It's kind of what I dothings. Mondays, and Tuesdays
are male days, Wednesdays andThursdays is just kind of like a
refresh. And I take care of theaccounting stuff. Saturdays I
(21:59):
create, unless there's somethinggoing on with my family,
Sunday's symbol, and I juststart that same cycle over
again. And I try to give myselfsome grace. I don't like to make
people wait for things. So Ijust try to communicate up
front. But the goal is to makesure I take care of those
important things first. And thenthose other things that aren't
(22:22):
critical, you know, I get tothose labs.
Yeah. So I want to say twothings. One, I want people to be
clear what you do. So in theartsy girl, you are creating
jewelry and accessories, and youare creating them by hand. So
every piece that is ordered, andthat is sent out, every piece is
(22:44):
made by your very hands anddesigned. And oh, you've added
you've added greeting cards,Valentine's Day cards, I saw you
with some luggage, some artsygirl luggage. So all the things
and I want to make that clear,because I want people to
understand, I want them tounderstand the work that you're
(23:08):
putting into your passion. Butwhat I love is, so many of us
are just guilty of schedulingand prioritizing at work. And we
never prioritize the rest of ourpurpose. So I love the sticky
notes. I'm a sticky note person,I got some big poster paper
right over here. So I'm withyou, I'm with you. And so many
(23:30):
of us do that for somebodyelse's dream for somebody else's
company, for somebody else'sorganization. But we fail to do
it for ourselves. I love thatthe same system that works for
you at your finance company isthe same system that works for
the artsy girl and for yourmotherhood and your family. And
(23:53):
you deserve that you deserve toput a system in place. If you
don't schedule, the purpose isnot going to happen. Whatever it
is, yeah, we'll be working outeating right sleep, whatever. If
it doesn't go on the calendar isnot going to happen. And
honestly, if it's not on mycalendar, it's not that
(24:14):
important to me. Because if it'son the calendar, I'm making it
happen. Okay, so talk to me,because you have this HR piece,
where you're empowering peopleand professionals and leaders.
And then you have the art segroWhere you are sending razzle
(24:36):
dazzle into the world. What isthat common purpose? Like how do
those two things come together?
What are you doing in each oneof those things to impact the
world?
I will tell you that. Thebiggest piece about being in
Human Resources is a lot ofpeople will let me go back a lot
(24:58):
of people think that HR lady isthe person who pays the person
who tells me what my benefitsare. But HR is so much bigger
than that. It is, it's helpingpeople find their purpose.
Helping people have and makedreams come true for their
families. Helping people grow intheir careers, their career
(25:24):
journey. You know, we, I like totell people, we handle employees
from conception to birth. So,and it's a cycle. And I want
people to feel like, I'm a partof that, that me and my team,
and I'll say, my team, because Ifeel like I have gotten to a
(25:46):
point in my career where I'vegot to bring other people along.
The folks that work for me, Itried to make sure and I said
work for me, they really workedwith me, and I work for them.
But I want them to be front andcenter. So many times, we become
the leaders at the top. And wedon't reach back down to the
(26:09):
people who are late like thatwe're leaving. And so it makes
no sense for me to be on everyproject, or, you know, I try to
make sure that the folks on myteam are the people who are
front and center. And they wantI want to be here for their
resource. So my goal is to makesure that I'm empowering them.
(26:36):
So they can empower otherpeople. So that one day when
they become whoever that mightbe, folks are looking at them
and saying, Wow, I want to workfor that person, because they
looked out for me. I correlatethat to the artsy girl because I
(26:57):
want women to feel amazing.
There, there's so many thingsout there that's distracting,
you got social media, and youknow, all the girls pumping and
bumping and you know, all thatkind of stuff. I want women to
feel confident in whatever it isthey're doing. If they're just
(27:18):
running around, and they justwant to pull on a pair of hoops
and run around town. I want themto feel amazing doing it. They
pick up a notebook that I havedrawn or created. I want them to
feel that spark and that razzledazzle that I always talk about.
That's very important to me. AndI want the same for the people
who work for the organization aswell.
(27:42):
Yes, yeah. That that is theperfect example of discovering
your brilliance. Because youhave one purpose. You express it
in many different ways youexpress it in your finance
company, you express it in theartsy girl, you express it in
your motherhood, you express itin your community, your leader
(28:03):
in your community. But there isone purpose is one purpose. I
want people to feel their best,whether they're whether through
HR coaching them and bringingthem through their career, or
whether it's through theaccessories or journals or
pieces that you create, whenthey pick it up. When they look
(28:24):
at it. Look at it when they putit on. You want them to feel
their best, you're pulling themforward to their best aid. Oh,
you know what, it's sobeautiful. That's what your
grandfather did for you. Whenyou drew with him, when you
created art with him, that'swhat he did for you.
(28:44):
We used to drive Charlie Brown,like we started out drawing
Snoopy and Charlie Brown. And hewould just say to me, let your
imagination run wild. You wantSnoopy to run, let him run. He
wasn't gonna jump, let him jump.
And so when I got reallystressed in 2020, I had to reach
back to that habit filled. Andwhat that felt like is is
(29:06):
changed my life in a way thatwho knew already, like telling
my age later that I would be ata point where I would say wow,
I'm that little four year oldgirl sitting down drawing with
my grandmotherwho I am and you're impacting
(29:28):
the world with it. I'm tryingyou doing it. I love it. I love
it. So listen, I gotta let yougo. But please tell people how
they can find you how they canfind the RC girl because I know
all my folks are ready to go toyour website because we love
(29:50):
jewelry over here. Okay, Ialready have my pieces. I get
what I need first so y'all canorder now because I don't play
with As I get my first book,please let the folks know how
they can find you how they canfollow you and how they can
order.
I have Facebook and Instagram.
That's the artsy girl 76 AndI've just got registered
(30:14):
trademark, like status I'mreally excited but the artsy
girl 76 Th e AR T sy girl 76.
And that's either Instagram orFacebook. My website is the
artsy girl shop.com Th e AR t Sy girl, shop back home.
(30:37):
I love it. I love it andeverything will be in the show
notes so that you all canfollow, you can check out the
artsy girl you can order so thatyou can get some razzle dazzle
in your life. I know that fromhearing Sharmequa's story, that
you are recognizing that you aremore than one thing. You have
(31:01):
more than one hat, you have onepurpose, but that purpose is
expressed in many differentways. And people are so quick to
tell us what you can do thatthey don't get to tell you what
you can do. Whatever God createdyou to do, you can walk
confidently in those shoesbecause the burden won't be too
heavy for you. Because it'syours. All the things that are
(31:24):
assigned to your life you can doand my sister is an example of
that. So I'm so grateful for youjoining us thank you so much.
I appreciate it's my pleasure,even for you.
Same Same. Listen, y'all Asalways you are powerful. You are
significant and you are loved.
Love always PBJ
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