February 27, 2025 • 24 mins
Join the laughter-filled journey of Miss Shannan Paul, a multi-talented comedian who swapped legal briefs for punchlines, transforming from an aspiring lawyer into a beloved performer and community advocate. From drafting demand letters to discovering her true passion for comedy, Miss Shannan shares an inspiring story of reinvention and resilience. In this engaging conversation, she explores how humor fosters connection and sparks meaningful conversations.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
I like using comedy as a conversation starter.
I like using comedy as a way tobuild community, not tear
people down and use it as areason that you can go oh, we
all thought this was funny, or abunch of different people
thought this was funny and toshine a lens on certain things.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topics,from tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn Bank.
Today we have a guest who trulyembodies versatility, energy
(00:55):
and impact.
She's a comedian, corporatespeaker, radio and TV host,
voiceover artist, benefitauctioneer and event emcee.
Oh and did I mention she playedin the Women's Professional
Football League?
Joining me today is amulti-talented and always
entertaining Miss, shannon Paul.
We'll dive into her journey,how she went from a marketing
(01:15):
career to a life on stage, thegood, the bad and the downright
hilarious of stand-up comedy,and how she's using her platform
to create meaningful change.
Miss Shannon Paul, good friendof mine as well.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Welcome to the Grow we Destination podcast.
Thank you for having me.
I was so happy to come and hangout with you because I know we
said we were going to do thislike a year ago.
We did and then neither of usfollowed through on that, so I'm
glad to finally be here withyou.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, and we are in Minneapolis at the Convention
Center for the Annual TourismConference which, of course, you
have been an emcee for severalyears.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Right, I started it.
The first year we did a fullyvirtual event was when I was the
emcee and it's become one of myfavorite events because you
really get to see the depth ofwhat Minnesota has to offer and
you get to meet so many coolpeople Like I was just hanging
out with the people from OtterTail County before I came in
here to talk to you, becausethey are one of my favorite
destinations on social mediaLike they think they do a great
(02:11):
job.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
They do.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah, so I'm like I need to get my photo with the
Otter Tail County folk and I'malways good.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well, we've already talked about your diverse career
in the intro.
What was your original careeraspiration growing up?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
If you talk to me in high school and middle school, I
was going to be an attorney.
I was sure I was going to be anattorney and I knew what kind of
attorney I wanted to be.
I was the captain of the mocktrial team in high school and
when I started college that wasstill the goal.
And then a variety of thingshappened.
One I got a couple of differentjobs in the legal field while I
(02:43):
was still trying to study andwork my way towards that.
And so my first one is I workedat a law firm where I was
writing like demand letters soit's a lot of and then so-and-so
was struck by the rear and thisand the car and that, and I was
like that was really boring,it's not what I thought.
And then I had another job at adifferent law firm and I liked
the job fine, but it ended upbeing the first job I ever got
(03:05):
laid off from, because we wentthrough a little economic hiccup
in Phoenix, arizona, where Iwas at the time.
And after I lost that job, Ireevaluated why I even thought I
wanted to do that, and so I waslike, well, you want to do
something that's related tostorytelling and words and that,
and it doesn't matter if thosewords have anything to do with
(03:26):
law.
And so I pivoted from it,because that's what I think.
I grew up watching Perry Masonand LA Law and all these other
shows where you saw a bunch ofattorneys, and so I had this
Hollywood idea of what it wasgoing to be like to be an
attorney and that wasn't whatthe experience was like at all.
So still one of those thingsI've had people say you would
have made a great attorney andall those things.
But I'm very happy that I amwhere I am.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What was the moment when you realized that comedy,
specifically, was something youwanted to pursue professionally?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Professionally.
That's a difficult questionbecause it really just ramped
into I can have this be afull-time career.
And by full-time career I meanbeing a full-time performer,
because for years I did comedy.
Often I did comedy as a reallyquality side hustle where I was
(04:17):
working a lot, but I also alwayshad my day job.
And it was in 2016 that I waslike okay, I had been trying to
figure out how to ramp up theperformer side of things and
ramp down my corporate jobs andyou know a bunch of the
corporate jobs.
You and I used to cross pathsall the time in corporate jobs.
And it finally got to the pointthat I was going.
(04:37):
Well, what I need is some timeto really think, and there were
some chaotic life events.
There were some chaoticpolitical events or a variety of
things that happened in 2016that made me go.
You know, I went into work oneday not meaning to quit.
At the last job, I had fulltime at this radio station and
went in.
I was like, you know, I need toquit.
So there were a number of likesmall life events that had
(05:00):
helped me start that off rampingprocess and I kept waiting for
that moment to be able to go.
Well, here's where the two areequal, or this is when I'll be
ready enough that I can jump andI can exit.
And it just didn't come.
So I finally just left, youknow, and I left that job and
the first year I said, okay, I'mjust going to give myself.
(05:22):
This is what I did.
I gave myself two years.
I said, okay, I'm just going togive myself.
This is what I did.
I gave myself two years.
I said I know how I work andI'll run back to safety and
security and I'll find anothercorporate job.
So I said give yourself twoyears and if you run out of
money then you can go look foranother corporate job.
And I said, stay off ofLinkedIn for two years, because
I was like I knew that LinkedInwould push that algorithm, would
push me back to the you wantthis kind of job.
(05:44):
You had that kind of job, so itjust stayed off of it.
And that first year was rough.
I had to borrow some money frommy mom, take some money out of
my 401k, but by the second yearI still needed to keep working
towards that foundation.
But I wasn't strapped like Iwas that first year.
And so I'm like, okay, you'removing in the right direction.
And now I'm on what?
Year eight, almost nine, ofbeing a full-time performer and
(06:07):
building up the Miss ShannonPaul side of my business and
going okay.
Well, now how do I my versionof as a solopreneur?
How do I scale?
You know, what do I do?
Like, how, what?
What support systems do I needto be able to grow and still
have a life and maintain andwatch my son I have a
complicated kiddo who is myheart and to figure out how to
(06:27):
do that.
So it wasn't one thing, it wasa series of little things that
finally built up to the pointthat I go okay, you could
probably do this.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Leap of faith.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, I wish that I could say that it was.
I knew for sure at this day.
I did it.
It happened to work out and Iwas able to go what's the next
right thing to do, what's theright decision for this moment?
But I can't tell you that thatnow I'm able to strategize and
go.
What's the next step?
What do I need to do?
(07:00):
When I first jumped, I didn'tknow that it was going to work.
I just was really confidentthat I had the abilities to do
things, and the thing that Ikept anchoring myself to is that
I was a really good manager.
You know, I was a really goodemployee and always got glowing
reviews and everything was great.
(07:20):
And so I'm going, if you treatyourself as that company the
same way that I had honored andreally did my best at every
employer I'd had up until thatpoint, if I treat myself like
that and stay focused, where canI get and how will it look if I
put that much effort into me asthe business instead of
somebody else's business?
(07:40):
And that's what I alwaysanchored myself back to and
thankfully it worked out,because there are some times I'm
like that was dumb and you knowwhat are you going to do for
retirement and your kid aregoing to be destitute.
You're really stupid, but itworked out, and so now I'm here.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Coming from Phoenix and now being a well-known
figure in Minnesota, how has theMidwest influenced your career
in comedic style?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I tell people all the time I'm a better Minnesotan
than anybody that was born here,because I picked this place.
I picked this place.
I choose to stay here.
I'm raising a Minnesotanbecause, as we were recording,
it's like minus 20 degrees.
And my kid was outside, he's 17.
And he was a very Minnesotanteenager.
He was outside last night inbasketball shorts and a hoodie
and just being invigorated, likeI'm like, come inside before
(08:24):
you freeze, and I don't have todeal with that.
But the thing is I have avariety.
I'm a storyteller and I thoughtthat my I was, I'll say thought
.
But for a while I'm like well,am I too Midwestern in my style?
And then I started doing comedyon the road again, and no, and
(08:47):
I think that there's somevariety of storytelling that you
can do.
That's universal.
And that's the kind ofstorytelling that I feel I do is
that I look for ways that arecommonalities.
If I'm telling a story that'spersonal, I try and figure out
well, what's the broadest visionof this story, what's the most
relatable version of this story?
So I can go oh, somebody cansee themselves in me, or they
(09:08):
have a friend that is like this,or it reminds them of their
cousin or their sister or theirmom or somebody like that.
And that's kind of the framethat I put on my comedy and the
way that I write versus the.
Does it feel like it's LA?
Does it feel like it's New York?
Does it feel like it's LA?
Does it feel like it's New York?
Does it feel like it's Boston?
I don't think I really do thatand so far, so good.
It's been okay.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Comedy can be both a gift and a challenge.
What do you love most aboutmaking people laugh?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I like using comedy as a conversation starter.
I like using comedy as a way tobuild community, not tear
people down and use it as areason that you can go oh, we
All thought this was funny, or abunch of different people
thought this was funny and toshine a lens on certain things.
I am not one of those peoplethat chooses to punch down.
(09:54):
I say this way I punch at themirror first, so I like I punch
at me, and then, if you happento be like me, then maybe you
feel like I'm punching at youtoo, but it's really.
Oh no, no, this is about mefirst, and then we'll see where
else we go, versus looking forthose things where we're poking
at other people.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
What's the most rewarding experience you've had
as a comedian?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
The most rewarding one is anytime somebody comes up
to me after a show and saysthank you so much for talking
about that.
I saw myself in that.
Or I had a really terrible day.
I had a lot of stuff going onin my life.
I'm this, I'm that, and yougave me, you know, hope, or you
made me smile, or I feel so muchbetter after seeing you.
(10:39):
That is really what I get outof it the most.
I'm like, yeah, it's great whenyou do a show and somebody pays
you and all of that stuff.
But I think, especially ifyou're trying to figure out how
to start being a comedian, youcan't.
You know it doesn't pay hardlyanything at the beginning.
So you really have to haveanother reason why you're in it.
And there's lots of days wherecomedy is a job.
(11:00):
You know there was lots of timeswhere I was driving six, seven
hours to some gig in the middleof nowhere and you get there and
there's eight people or theydidn't know there was going to
be a show and the TV's playingin the background and they're
just waiting for the game tostart playing, and so you end up
feeling like an inconvenienceand you still have to do it.
Or there's just stuff going onin the world and you still have
(11:22):
to show up and be funny, orthere's stuff going on in your
life and you still have to showand be funny, and that's when
you're like, ok, I am reallygood at this, because there were
these barriers and I still dida good show.
You know, I still made peoplelaugh, I still provided a value
as a comedian, and that'simportant to me as well.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, you're good at a lot of things and you've been
recognized as one of the fewblack women in the US working as
a certified benefit auctioneer.
Thank you.
What has that experience beenlike, and what advice do you
have for others looking to breakinto similar roles?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I have, throughout my life, been less afraid of being
the first or the only andsometimes going.
If it's something that adds tothe career goals that I want, or
if it's something that I canadd to that alphabet soup of
letters behind my name so thatit makes me more valuable, then
(12:18):
I'm going to do it anyway.
And it's also taking advicefrom other mentors that are out
there, and so, for me, I hadbeen, you know, emceeing a lot
of fundraisers, of fundraisers.
I really want to be a reallygood community partner for
people and trying to figure outhow to effectively help them
tell their stories and work aroom for them in a way that
their people that are attendingthis event go.
(12:38):
Yeah, I'm here and I understandthe message and I want to
support this organization.
And not only do I want tosupport it tonight, I want to
support it after I leave.
I want to go and tell otherpeople hey, I was at this event
and it was super dope and youshould support it.
Here's their website.
And I had hosted a lot of thatand one of my friends, rusty
Kath, who is an auctioneer aswell.
We had a friend and he and Iwould co-host this event for her
(12:59):
for years.
And so he was the one that saidyou know, you're already here
and you already know how to domost of the stuff.
You should get yourauctioneer's license.
And I went oh okay, so I lookedup and I went to the auctioneer
school that he went to.
We both went to the same one.
I don't know if you've talkedto local notable notable Frank
Vassilero.
He went to the same auctioneerschool that I went to.
So I went to the same one hewent to.
I guess is better because hewent there first.
(13:21):
And so, if I'm going to dosomething, for me, getting that
certification was importantbecause I wanted to make sure
that the organizations that Ipartner with were able to go
back and tell their board ofdirectors and other people.
We didn't hire her only becauseshe's funny or you heard about
her because she's on the TV orthe radio, which is expert at
(13:42):
helping us with our fundraiser.
She knows how to consult onthis and has the tools to make
sure that we are doing the bestand we are interacting with
people using all the beststandards and those things.
And that was really importantto me to be a quality partner
(14:03):
for groups and being able tohave them do that.
So I went and got it and everyyear I ride away to the, you
know, and I get my auctioneer'slicense renewed because there's
some markets where you don'tneed a license.
Minnesota is one of the placesthat you're supposed to
technically have a license it'snot hard to get one, but you're
technically supposed to do itand so that's why it was
(14:24):
important to me to do that atfirst, that there weren't that
many black women that had doneit until I started working in
the industry, started networkingand had gone to like there's,
of course, like any place else,like we're at a conference now
for people that are in thetourism industry, there's one
for benefit auctioneers and so Iwent to a conference one year
(14:44):
and it's like, oh wait, there'snot that many of us, and so I
wasn't surprised.
But I was like okay, you don'tsee it modeled for you and you
don't know it's a job and youdon't know that you can get a
certification in something.
So why would?
If I hadn't been in thisparticular route, I wouldn't
(15:05):
necessarily have known that itexisted.
And to dovetail back into yourquestion, I think sometimes it's
if you go to an event and yousee something, you need to go
ask the person well, how did youget there?
And you know, and even if youcan't get to them directly, you
can go to their website and gowell, how did they start?
And sometimes that's the reasonwhy I go, that seeing different
(15:30):
things represented matters,because you don't know what all
your options are if you don'tsee it modeled for me, like you
wouldn't even know to imaginethat this happens if you're not
in that room, and so I encouragepeople to go.
Well, just broaden outside ofyour normal day-to-day community
and go.
Well, what other jobs exist,what other roles exist?
And let yourself dream otherthan the things that you know.
(15:51):
If I only went by, part of thereason back to what you're
saying that I thought I wantedto be an attorney is that's
something that I'd seen on TVand it looked achievable and for
what I wanted, which wasstability, something that was
performance-based but actuallylooked like you got paid.
You know, because in my headwhen I was a kid, well, you
don't want to be a full-timeperformer.
Actors don't make any money andyou don't want to not make
money you know, I grew up withno money.
I wasn't trying to grow up and Imean, I didn't have money when
(16:13):
I was a kid and I didn't want togrow up and get myself back in
a cycle of something that didn'tpay, so it landed on.
Well, you need to be anattorney, because then you get
to do something that'sperformance-based.
You get to go and speak infront of people, you get to be,
you know, the necessary centerof attention sometimes, but
you'll also get paid, and that'swhat I encourage people to do.
(16:36):
Is, how does that look as acareer?
I use this as an example.
Like, I get to say I'm afull-time performer and so you
rattled off a few things there,bill, about what it works at.
So even when I had my corporatejob, I started off as a
comedian and then that was greatand it was fine.
But then it's like, okay, well,what else can I do that's
adjacent to that?
(16:56):
So, okay, I'm a comedian, Ialso can be a corporate speaker.
I get to use my humor, I get todo it a little more long form,
it'll get me in different roomsand that'll be another revenue
stream that's still in thisthing.
So then, I end up being acomedian?
Oh well, I work in the radiostation, I'm a comedian.
I'm a corporate speaker?
Oh well, let me be a voiceactor, because I already have
(17:17):
most of the equipment.
I know how to run these things.
I'm used to talking in front ofpeople, so that doesn't wig me
out.
So it's also what's the actingand what's the job of being a
voice actor.
So then it's okay, there'sanother thing that I can do.
That means that I don't have togo work at a corporate job.
And so then it's like oh well,what else does that?
(17:37):
That's where the event MC comesin.
Well, I'm already here.
They've hired me before to dotheir, their events.
This is something that not onlycan I do and use my humor and
actually bring an energy to aroom, but you're probably more
likely to get booked back yearafter year.
If you're a really good eventMC, then sometimes, even if
you're a great keynote unlessyou have multiple keynotes it's
not that you aren't great, theyjust had you.
So what else can we do?
(17:57):
And then that's kind of whereI'm like okay, I'm doing events,
now I'll do the benefitauctioneer and add into that,
and that's what I usuallyencourage people to do is what
can you do that's adjacent towhat it is that you already love
, so that you don't have to havea fallback or an anchor job?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
or something else Right.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
And it's still all in the general, same bucket, but
it takes out the seasonality ofmy career.
It gives me the ability to rampcertain things up or make a
pivot and do something else fora while, when, if I was only
doing stand-up.
There's a ceiling.
You can only do so many ofthose things, but you can do
other stuff as well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Can you share more about your work with the Autism
Society of Minnesota and thePacer Center?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I try and work with a variety of different
organizations that are in town,but I was formerly on the board
for the Autism Society for 11years.
Now I'm one of their primaryvolunteers whenever they need
something, and I just rolledthat off when my kid got super
into the teenage years because Ineeded a little bit of time
back and couldn't actively be ontheir board anymore teenage
(18:58):
years because I needed a littlebit of time back and couldn't
actively be on their boardanymore.
But I am on the board ofdirectors still for the Pacer
Center.
That also champions ourfamilies that have children with
disabilities and for me it'sjust really important to help
give voice to that and to alsotell all of the stories that are
in there.
I think the Autumns Society ofMinnesota does a really good job
of saying there are a varietyof families that are in this
(19:19):
situation.
There's a variety of humanbeings that are in this
situation that we can support ina lot of different ways.
So being able to work with themand help them storytell and be a
face for that and justdemystify the conversations that
we have about those two thingswould also just make it really
real, because it's not thatanything's perfect or that
(19:40):
anything's dire.
It's both at any given momentand you have an upside and up
and a downside of all thosethings.
And as an autism mom myselfbecause I have an adorable 16,
almost 17-year-old son whohappens to be high supports on
the autism spectrum I've beenthrough this and I know how
difficult it is to navigate someof these things as you're
(20:00):
getting diagnoses and thingschange and you're constantly
educating yourself on what'sbest for your kiddo and how you
can advocate for them.
So trying to help otherfamilies so that they're not
feeling alone or feeling likethey don't have the skill set to
advocate for themselves andtheir kid, is really important
to me.
If you could do a standup setwith any comedian, living or
(20:29):
past, who would it be?
and why A standup set with or beon a show with you pick.
If I was going to do, if I wasgoing to, if I was going to do a
set with, it would be SteveMartin, like I.
If I could figure out a way tothe interplay with him and I
don't know exactly how it lookedcause I'm not like Martin short
, so I don't know how that wouldwork but I would love to be
(20:51):
able to do a back and forth withSteve Martin.
I always thought he was just so, just so funny and one of those
people that I'm going thealways thought he was just so,
just so funny, and one of thosepeople that I'm going.
The way that he has managed tomaintain his relevancy in
different states of his careeris something that I really look
forward to, hoping that I couldgo.
Okay, I did that and somebody'slike going.
Well, I remember listening toher when I was 16 and now I'm
(21:13):
listening to her well, now thatshe's 60.
So that's it.
If I was going to be on a showwith somebody, it would be and I
try, I auditioned, I auditionedlike for for Wanda Sykes, like
I would like to perform.
I would love to be Wanda Sykes,opener, um, kind of thing, and
just cause I love the way thatshe writes and she's so
authentic and so real.
(21:34):
So if I was a person that wentor toured around the country
over for Wanda Sykes, I wouldtake that gig.
I would take that gig, I wouldfigure something out.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
We'll have to make that happen.
What's next for Miss ShannonPaul?
Any upcoming projects oractivities?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I have two, and so I have a residency over in Fridley
, minnesota, at Krooner's SupperClub, one of the top 100 jazz
clubs in the world again in theworld.
But I do not do jazz.
I do Miss Shannon's ComedyThrough the Chaos, which is a
live performance where we dostand-up and storytelling and
has a different chaos of themoment that we explore every
show.
We're also filming those andit's going to be a series that
(22:11):
you're going to be able to watchand so we are looking for a
home for it.
Right now we know that our Foxlocal folks have already said
that they'll green light, ourgreen lit, our initial episodes
to see.
So that show as a series isgoing to be stand up and
storytelling and then meinterviewing and discussing the
subject matter with theperformers.
(22:31):
So not so much one of those hey,tell me about that bit or that
story that you wrote, it's moreabout tell me about you and how
we got here.
So if we're talking aboutmental wellness, what's the
story?
If we're talking aboutaddiction and recovery, what's
the story?
So that is what I'm working onOur next in-person show.
We film and do the live showsevery other month, so we have
one coming up in March andthere'll be another one in May,
(22:53):
so you can get that information.
And the thing I'm most excitedabout, in addition to that, is
that I wrote a book last year,and so I wrote a book.
I'm in the editing process ofit now, and it will be available
on the tail end of 2025.
It's called Standing in yourSpotlight and it discusses
taking center stage in your lifeand working on things like
(23:15):
overcoming your impostersyndrome and why do we put
ourselves in that position ofbeing the sidekick in our own
story, and that I'm very excitedabout.
So you're going to be able toget Standing in your Spotlight,
the book that I wrote.
So I'm very excited about that.
That was, I had been kickingaround that idea and had some
people say that you should writea book and I had not got around
to doing it, and so I spent alot of time last year making
(23:38):
sure that I got it done.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Well, a lot to look forward to in the coming year
and beyond.
Ms Shannon, paul, it's beengreat to have you on the podcast
.
Finally, finally.
Good to see you at the StateTourism Conference, as always,
and thank you for being ourguest.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
On the Growing Destinations podcast.
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home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
I like using comedy as a conversation starter.
I like using comedy as a way tobuild community, not tear
people down and use it as areason that you can go oh, we
all thought this was funny, or abunch of different people
thought this was funny and toshine a lens on certain things.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topics,from tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn Bank.
Today we have a guest who trulyembodies versatility, energy
(00:55):
and impact.
She's a comedian, corporatespeaker, radio and TV host,
voiceover artist, benefitauctioneer and event emcee.
Oh and did I mention she playedin the Women's Professional
Football League?
Joining me today is amulti-talented and always
entertaining Miss, shannon Paul.
We'll dive into her journey,how she went from a marketing
(01:15):
career to a life on stage, thegood, the bad and the downright
hilarious of stand-up comedy,and how she's using her platform
to create meaningful change.
Miss Shannon Paul, good friendof mine as well.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Welcome to the Grow we Destination podcast.
Thank you for having me.
I was so happy to come and hangout with you because I know we
said we were going to do thislike a year ago.
We did and then neither of usfollowed through on that, so I'm
glad to finally be here withyou.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Well, and we are in Minneapolis at the Convention
Center for the Annual TourismConference which, of course, you
have been an emcee for severalyears.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Right, I started it.
The first year we did a fullyvirtual event was when I was the
emcee and it's become one of myfavorite events because you
really get to see the depth ofwhat Minnesota has to offer and
you get to meet so many coolpeople Like I was just hanging
out with the people from OtterTail County before I came in
here to talk to you, becausethey are one of my favorite
destinations on social mediaLike they think they do a great
(02:11):
job.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
They do.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
Yeah, so I'm like I need to get my photo with the
Otter Tail County folk and I'malways good.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well, we've already talked about your diverse career
in the intro.
What was your original careeraspiration growing up?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
If you talk to me in high school and middle school, I
was going to be an attorney.
I was sure I was going to be anattorney and I knew what kind of
attorney I wanted to be.
I was the captain of the mocktrial team in high school and
when I started college that wasstill the goal.
And then a variety of thingshappened.
One I got a couple of differentjobs in the legal field while I
(02:43):
was still trying to study andwork my way towards that.
And so my first one is I workedat a law firm where I was
writing like demand letters soit's a lot of and then so-and-so
was struck by the rear and thisand the car and that, and I was
like that was really boring,it's not what I thought.
And then I had another job at adifferent law firm and I liked
the job fine, but it ended upbeing the first job I ever got
(03:05):
laid off from, because we wentthrough a little economic hiccup
in Phoenix, arizona, where Iwas at the time.
And after I lost that job, Ireevaluated why I even thought I
wanted to do that, and so I waslike, well, you want to do
something that's related tostorytelling and words and that,
and it doesn't matter if thosewords have anything to do with
(03:26):
law.
And so I pivoted from it,because that's what I think.
I grew up watching Perry Masonand LA Law and all these other
shows where you saw a bunch ofattorneys, and so I had this
Hollywood idea of what it wasgoing to be like to be an
attorney and that wasn't whatthe experience was like at all.
So still one of those thingsI've had people say you would
have made a great attorney andall those things.
But I'm very happy that I amwhere I am.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
What was the moment when you realized that comedy,
specifically, was something youwanted to pursue professionally?
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Professionally.
That's a difficult questionbecause it really just ramped
into I can have this be afull-time career.
And by full-time career I meanbeing a full-time performer,
because for years I did comedy.
Often I did comedy as a reallyquality side hustle where I was
(04:17):
working a lot, but I also alwayshad my day job.
And it was in 2016 that I waslike okay, I had been trying to
figure out how to ramp up theperformer side of things and
ramp down my corporate jobs andyou know a bunch of the
corporate jobs.
You and I used to cross pathsall the time in corporate jobs.
And it finally got to the pointthat I was going.
(04:37):
Well, what I need is some timeto really think, and there were
some chaotic life events.
There were some chaoticpolitical events or a variety of
things that happened in 2016that made me go.
You know, I went into work oneday not meaning to quit.
At the last job, I had fulltime at this radio station and
went in.
I was like, you know, I need toquit.
So there were a number of likesmall life events that had
(05:00):
helped me start that off rampingprocess and I kept waiting for
that moment to be able to go.
Well, here's where the two areequal, or this is when I'll be
ready enough that I can jump andI can exit.
And it just didn't come.
So I finally just left, youknow, and I left that job and
the first year I said, okay, I'mjust going to give myself.
(05:22):
This is what I did.
I gave myself two years.
I said, okay, I'm just going togive myself.
This is what I did.
I gave myself two years.
I said I know how I work andI'll run back to safety and
security and I'll find anothercorporate job.
So I said give yourself twoyears and if you run out of
money then you can go look foranother corporate job.
And I said, stay off ofLinkedIn for two years, because
I was like I knew that LinkedInwould push that algorithm, would
push me back to the you wantthis kind of job.
(05:44):
You had that kind of job, so itjust stayed off of it.
And that first year was rough.
I had to borrow some money frommy mom, take some money out of
my 401k, but by the second yearI still needed to keep working
towards that foundation.
But I wasn't strapped like Iwas that first year.
And so I'm like, okay, you'removing in the right direction.
And now I'm on what?
Year eight, almost nine, ofbeing a full-time performer and
(06:07):
building up the Miss ShannonPaul side of my business and
going okay.
Well, now how do I my versionof as a solopreneur?
How do I scale?
You know, what do I do?
Like, how, what?
What support systems do I needto be able to grow and still
have a life and maintain andwatch my son I have a
complicated kiddo who is myheart and to figure out how to
(06:27):
do that.
So it wasn't one thing, it wasa series of little things that
finally built up to the pointthat I go okay, you could
probably do this.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
Leap of faith.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah, I wish that I could say that it was.
I knew for sure at this day.
I did it.
It happened to work out and Iwas able to go what's the next
right thing to do, what's theright decision for this moment?
But I can't tell you that thatnow I'm able to strategize and
go.
What's the next step?
What do I need to do?
(07:00):
When I first jumped, I didn'tknow that it was going to work.
I just was really confidentthat I had the abilities to do
things, and the thing that Ikept anchoring myself to is that
I was a really good manager.
You know, I was a really goodemployee and always got glowing
reviews and everything was great.
(07:20):
And so I'm going, if you treatyourself as that company the
same way that I had honored andreally did my best at every
employer I'd had up until thatpoint, if I treat myself like
that and stay focused, where canI get and how will it look if I
put that much effort into me asthe business instead of
somebody else's business?
(07:40):
And that's what I alwaysanchored myself back to and
thankfully it worked out,because there are some times I'm
like that was dumb and you knowwhat are you going to do for
retirement and your kid aregoing to be destitute.
You're really stupid, but itworked out, and so now I'm here.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Coming from Phoenix and now being a well-known
figure in Minnesota, how has theMidwest influenced your career
in comedic style?
Speaker 2 (08:01):
I tell people all the time I'm a better Minnesotan
than anybody that was born here,because I picked this place.
I picked this place.
I choose to stay here.
I'm raising a Minnesotanbecause, as we were recording,
it's like minus 20 degrees.
And my kid was outside, he's 17.
And he was a very Minnesotanteenager.
He was outside last night inbasketball shorts and a hoodie
and just being invigorated, likeI'm like, come inside before
(08:24):
you freeze, and I don't have todeal with that.
But the thing is I have avariety.
I'm a storyteller and I thoughtthat my I was, I'll say thought
.
But for a while I'm like well,am I too Midwestern in my style?
And then I started doing comedyon the road again, and no, and
(08:47):
I think that there's somevariety of storytelling that you
can do.
That's universal.
And that's the kind ofstorytelling that I feel I do is
that I look for ways that arecommonalities.
If I'm telling a story that'spersonal, I try and figure out
well, what's the broadest visionof this story, what's the most
relatable version of this story?
So I can go oh, somebody cansee themselves in me, or they
(09:08):
have a friend that is like this,or it reminds them of their
cousin or their sister or theirmom or somebody like that.
And that's kind of the framethat I put on my comedy and the
way that I write versus the.
Does it feel like it's LA?
Does it feel like it's New York?
Does it feel like it's LA?
Does it feel like it's New York?
Does it feel like it's Boston?
I don't think I really do thatand so far, so good.
It's been okay.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Comedy can be both a gift and a challenge.
What do you love most aboutmaking people laugh?
Speaker 2 (09:34):
I like using comedy as a conversation starter.
I like using comedy as a way tobuild community, not tear
people down and use it as areason that you can go oh, we
All thought this was funny, or abunch of different people
thought this was funny and toshine a lens on certain things.
I am not one of those peoplethat chooses to punch down.
(09:54):
I say this way I punch at themirror first, so I like I punch
at me, and then, if you happento be like me, then maybe you
feel like I'm punching at youtoo, but it's really.
Oh no, no, this is about mefirst, and then we'll see where
else we go, versus looking forthose things where we're poking
at other people.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
What's the most rewarding experience you've had
as a comedian?
Speaker 2 (10:16):
The most rewarding one is anytime somebody comes up
to me after a show and saysthank you so much for talking
about that.
I saw myself in that.
Or I had a really terrible day.
I had a lot of stuff going onin my life.
I'm this, I'm that, and yougave me, you know, hope, or you
made me smile, or I feel so muchbetter after seeing you.
(10:39):
That is really what I get outof it the most.
I'm like, yeah, it's great whenyou do a show and somebody pays
you and all of that stuff.
But I think, especially ifyou're trying to figure out how
to start being a comedian, youcan't.
You know it doesn't pay hardlyanything at the beginning.
So you really have to haveanother reason why you're in it.
And there's lots of days wherecomedy is a job.
(11:00):
You know there was lots of timeswhere I was driving six, seven
hours to some gig in the middleof nowhere and you get there and
there's eight people or theydidn't know there was going to
be a show and the TV's playingin the background and they're
just waiting for the game tostart playing, and so you end up
feeling like an inconvenienceand you still have to do it.
Or there's just stuff going onin the world and you still have
(11:22):
to show up and be funny, orthere's stuff going on in your
life and you still have to showand be funny, and that's when
you're like, ok, I am reallygood at this, because there were
these barriers and I still dida good show.
You know, I still made peoplelaugh, I still provided a value
as a comedian, and that'simportant to me as well.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
Well, you're good at a lot of things and you've been
recognized as one of the fewblack women in the US working as
a certified benefit auctioneer.
Thank you.
What has that experience beenlike, and what advice do you
have for others looking to breakinto similar roles?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I have, throughout my life, been less afraid of being
the first or the only andsometimes going.
If it's something that adds tothe career goals that I want, or
if it's something that I canadd to that alphabet soup of
letters behind my name so thatit makes me more valuable, then
(12:18):
I'm going to do it anyway.
And it's also taking advicefrom other mentors that are out
there, and so, for me, I hadbeen, you know, emceeing a lot
of fundraisers, of fundraisers.
I really want to be a reallygood community partner for
people and trying to figure outhow to effectively help them
tell their stories and work aroom for them in a way that
their people that are attendingthis event go.
(12:38):
Yeah, I'm here and I understandthe message and I want to
support this organization.
And not only do I want tosupport it tonight, I want to
support it after I leave.
I want to go and tell otherpeople hey, I was at this event
and it was super dope and youshould support it.
Here's their website.
And I had hosted a lot of thatand one of my friends, rusty
Kath, who is an auctioneer aswell.
We had a friend and he and Iwould co-host this event for her
(12:59):
for years.
And so he was the one that saidyou know, you're already here
and you already know how to domost of the stuff.
You should get yourauctioneer's license.
And I went oh okay, so I lookedup and I went to the auctioneer
school that he went to.
We both went to the same one.
I don't know if you've talkedto local notable notable Frank
Vassilero.
He went to the same auctioneerschool that I went to.
So I went to the same one hewent to.
I guess is better because hewent there first.
(13:21):
And so, if I'm going to dosomething, for me, getting that
certification was importantbecause I wanted to make sure
that the organizations that Ipartner with were able to go
back and tell their board ofdirectors and other people.
We didn't hire her only becauseshe's funny or you heard about
her because she's on the TV orthe radio, which is expert at
(13:42):
helping us with our fundraiser.
She knows how to consult onthis and has the tools to make
sure that we are doing the bestand we are interacting with
people using all the beststandards and those things.
And that was really importantto me to be a quality partner
(14:03):
for groups and being able tohave them do that.
So I went and got it and everyyear I ride away to the, you
know, and I get my auctioneer'slicense renewed because there's
some markets where you don'tneed a license.
Minnesota is one of the placesthat you're supposed to
technically have a license it'snot hard to get one, but you're
technically supposed to do itand so that's why it was
(14:24):
important to me to do that atfirst, that there weren't that
many black women that had doneit until I started working in
the industry, started networkingand had gone to like there's,
of course, like any place else,like we're at a conference now
for people that are in thetourism industry, there's one
for benefit auctioneers and so Iwent to a conference one year
(14:44):
and it's like, oh wait, there'snot that many of us, and so I
wasn't surprised.
But I was like okay, you don'tsee it modeled for you and you
don't know it's a job and youdon't know that you can get a
certification in something.
So why would?
If I hadn't been in thisparticular route, I wouldn't
(15:05):
necessarily have known that itexisted.
And to dovetail back into yourquestion, I think sometimes it's
if you go to an event and yousee something, you need to go
ask the person well, how did youget there?
And you know, and even if youcan't get to them directly, you
can go to their website and gowell, how did they start?
And sometimes that's the reasonwhy I go, that seeing different
(15:30):
things represented matters,because you don't know what all
your options are if you don'tsee it modeled for me, like you
wouldn't even know to imaginethat this happens if you're not
in that room, and so I encouragepeople to go.
Well, just broaden outside ofyour normal day-to-day community
and go.
Well, what other jobs exist,what other roles exist?
And let yourself dream otherthan the things that you know.
(15:51):
If I only went by, part of thereason back to what you're
saying that I thought I wantedto be an attorney is that's
something that I'd seen on TVand it looked achievable and for
what I wanted, which wasstability, something that was
performance-based but actuallylooked like you got paid.
You know, because in my headwhen I was a kid, well, you
don't want to be a full-timeperformer.
Actors don't make any money andyou don't want to not make
money you know, I grew up withno money.
I wasn't trying to grow up and Imean, I didn't have money when
(16:13):
I was a kid and I didn't want togrow up and get myself back in
a cycle of something that didn'tpay, so it landed on.
Well, you need to be anattorney, because then you get
to do something that'sperformance-based.
You get to go and speak infront of people, you get to be,
you know, the necessary centerof attention sometimes, but
you'll also get paid, and that'swhat I encourage people to do.
(16:36):
Is, how does that look as acareer?
I use this as an example.
Like, I get to say I'm afull-time performer and so you
rattled off a few things there,bill, about what it works at.
So even when I had my corporatejob, I started off as a
comedian and then that was greatand it was fine.
But then it's like, okay, well,what else can I do that's
adjacent to that?
(16:56):
So, okay, I'm a comedian, Ialso can be a corporate speaker.
I get to use my humor, I get todo it a little more long form,
it'll get me in different roomsand that'll be another revenue
stream that's still in thisthing.
So then, I end up being acomedian?
Oh well, I work in the radiostation, I'm a comedian.
I'm a corporate speaker?
Oh well, let me be a voiceactor, because I already have
(17:17):
most of the equipment.
I know how to run these things.
I'm used to talking in front ofpeople, so that doesn't wig me
out.
So it's also what's the actingand what's the job of being a
voice actor.
So then it's okay, there'sanother thing that I can do.
That means that I don't have togo work at a corporate job.
And so then it's like oh well,what else does that?
(17:37):
That's where the event MC comesin.
Well, I'm already here.
They've hired me before to dotheir, their events.
This is something that not onlycan I do and use my humor and
actually bring an energy to aroom, but you're probably more
likely to get booked back yearafter year.
If you're a really good eventMC, then sometimes, even if
you're a great keynote unlessyou have multiple keynotes it's
not that you aren't great, theyjust had you.
So what else can we do?
(17:57):
And then that's kind of whereI'm like okay, I'm doing events,
now I'll do the benefitauctioneer and add into that,
and that's what I usuallyencourage people to do is what
can you do that's adjacent towhat it is that you already love
, so that you don't have to havea fallback or an anchor job?
Speaker 1 (18:12):
or something else Right.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
And it's still all in the general, same bucket, but
it takes out the seasonality ofmy career.
It gives me the ability to rampcertain things up or make a
pivot and do something else fora while, when, if I was only
doing stand-up.
There's a ceiling.
You can only do so many ofthose things, but you can do
other stuff as well.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Can you share more about your work with the Autism
Society of Minnesota and thePacer Center?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
I try and work with a variety of different
organizations that are in town,but I was formerly on the board
for the Autism Society for 11years.
Now I'm one of their primaryvolunteers whenever they need
something, and I just rolledthat off when my kid got super
into the teenage years because Ineeded a little bit of time
back and couldn't actively be ontheir board anymore teenage
(18:58):
years because I needed a littlebit of time back and couldn't
actively be on their boardanymore.
But I am on the board ofdirectors still for the Pacer
Center.
That also champions ourfamilies that have children with
disabilities and for me it'sjust really important to help
give voice to that and to alsotell all of the stories that are
in there.
I think the Autumns Society ofMinnesota does a really good job
of saying there are a varietyof families that are in this
(19:19):
situation.
There's a variety of humanbeings that are in this
situation that we can support ina lot of different ways.
So being able to work with themand help them storytell and be a
face for that and justdemystify the conversations that
we have about those two thingswould also just make it really
real, because it's not thatanything's perfect or that
(19:40):
anything's dire.
It's both at any given momentand you have an upside and up
and a downside of all thosethings.
And as an autism mom myselfbecause I have an adorable 16,
almost 17-year-old son whohappens to be high supports on
the autism spectrum I've beenthrough this and I know how
difficult it is to navigate someof these things as you're
(20:00):
getting diagnoses and thingschange and you're constantly
educating yourself on what'sbest for your kiddo and how you
can advocate for them.
So trying to help otherfamilies so that they're not
feeling alone or feeling likethey don't have the skill set to
advocate for themselves andtheir kid, is really important
to me.
If you could do a standup setwith any comedian, living or
(20:29):
past, who would it be?
and why A standup set with or beon a show with you pick.
If I was going to do, if I wasgoing to, if I was going to do a
set with, it would be SteveMartin, like I.
If I could figure out a way tothe interplay with him and I
don't know exactly how it lookedcause I'm not like Martin short
, so I don't know how that wouldwork but I would love to be
(20:51):
able to do a back and forth withSteve Martin.
I always thought he was just so, just so funny and one of those
people that I'm going thealways thought he was just so,
just so funny, and one of thosepeople that I'm going.
The way that he has managed tomaintain his relevancy in
different states of his careeris something that I really look
forward to, hoping that I couldgo.
Okay, I did that and somebody'slike going.
Well, I remember listening toher when I was 16 and now I'm
(21:13):
listening to her well, now thatshe's 60.
So that's it.
If I was going to be on a showwith somebody, it would be and I
try, I auditioned, I auditionedlike for for Wanda Sykes, like
I would like to perform.
I would love to be Wanda Sykes,opener, um, kind of thing, and
just cause I love the way thatshe writes and she's so
authentic and so real.
(21:34):
So if I was a person that wentor toured around the country
over for Wanda Sykes, I wouldtake that gig.
I would take that gig, I wouldfigure something out.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
We'll have to make that happen.
What's next for Miss ShannonPaul?
Any upcoming projects oractivities?
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I have two, and so I have a residency over in Fridley
, minnesota, at Krooner's SupperClub, one of the top 100 jazz
clubs in the world again in theworld.
But I do not do jazz.
I do Miss Shannon's ComedyThrough the Chaos, which is a
live performance where we dostand-up and storytelling and
has a different chaos of themoment that we explore every
show.
We're also filming those andit's going to be a series that
(22:11):
you're going to be able to watchand so we are looking for a
home for it.
Right now we know that our Foxlocal folks have already said
that they'll green light, ourgreen lit, our initial episodes
to see.
So that show as a series isgoing to be stand up and
storytelling and then meinterviewing and discussing the
subject matter with theperformers.
(22:31):
So not so much one of those hey,tell me about that bit or that
story that you wrote, it's moreabout tell me about you and how
we got here.
So if we're talking aboutmental wellness, what's the
story?
If we're talking aboutaddiction and recovery, what's
the story?
So that is what I'm working onOur next in-person show.
We film and do the live showsevery other month, so we have
one coming up in March andthere'll be another one in May,
(22:53):
so you can get that information.
And the thing I'm most excitedabout, in addition to that, is
that I wrote a book last year,and so I wrote a book.
I'm in the editing process ofit now, and it will be available
on the tail end of 2025.
It's called Standing in yourSpotlight and it discusses
taking center stage in your lifeand working on things like
(23:15):
overcoming your impostersyndrome and why do we put
ourselves in that position ofbeing the sidekick in our own
story, and that I'm very excitedabout.
So you're going to be able toget Standing in your Spotlight,
the book that I wrote.
So I'm very excited about that.
That was, I had been kickingaround that idea and had some
people say that you should writea book and I had not got around
to doing it, and so I spent alot of time last year making
(23:38):
sure that I got it done.
Speaker 1 (23:40):
Well, a lot to look forward to in the coming year
and beyond.
Ms Shannon, paul, it's beengreat to have you on the podcast
.
Finally, finally.
Good to see you at the StateTourism Conference, as always,
and thank you for being ourguest.
Speaker 2 (23:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
On the Growing Destinations podcast.
Thank you for tuning in to theGrowing Destinations podcast and
don't forget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,Minnesota, and its growing arts
and culture scene, itsinternational culinary flavors
and award-winning craft beer byvisiting
(24:13):
experiencerochestermncom.
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