Meet Sharlet Too | Interior Decorator & Home Stager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sharlet Too and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharlet, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I had to follow my childhood dream. It was my purpose. My “Why”. Interior Design and styling is something that stuck with me for years ever since my childhood days. I remember my mom telling me how she used to find me re-decorating our home everyday and somehow loved the color yellow. Over the years, I found myself loving to play with colors, ensuring that every room I was in was well organized and with some sense of style and kept that passion going until I was grown up. Also, after working for multiple employers, I came to realize that I wanted financial freedom and independence. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions and live life on my own terms. I wanted to be able to spend more time with my family without worrying about missing too much time from my job with a possibility of being fired. It’s the freedom that I wanted and most importantly, the thought of waking up every morning to a “job” that I like.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Zawadi Empire is a Professional redesign and Home Staging firm. We purpose on providing design services with a spirit of excellence. Zawadi came about back in 2019 when we had our first AirBNB listing in Frisco, Texas. All our clients kept complimenting the wonderful design in our listing. They kept asking me and my husband if the home was professionally designed as it was modern, elegant and yet still so cozy. This is when I realized that I needed to really pursue my passion for Design. I started off by designing family members and friends homes for a little fee and started posting our work on social media and website. Just as a joke, we started getting a lot of inquiries and consultations from strangers who loved our work. And with no time, the business started to grow- which got my husband and I so busy. We had to unfortunately let go of the AirBNB listing as it had become too tedious to manage with the design business booming. Later on , we took a Home Staging and Redesign course by HSR to advance our business by becoming Certified Home Staging and Redesign Specialists. This allows us to work with realtors and Home Owners to help them sell their houses in a short period of time whilst increasing the value of the home. We specialize in modern and contemporary design. It’s been a fun, rewarding and yet so challenging journey! We have been blessed with a 6 month old baby, so juggling between running a business and being mom has been quite a challenge, but I have learnt to adapt to the “new” normal and to still keep going. Waking up to your passion fuels all sorts of good energy to your soul- it pushes you to keep going no matter what.

What sets us apart is our spirit of excellence. Myself and my team value the art of doing a job right. I was raised to know that if you can’t do a job right, then just don’t do it all. I saw both parents do so and it was subconsciously instilled in my life and my sister too. I am a firm believer of 1 Corinthians 10:31- “Whatsover ye do, do for the glory of God” This sums it all up, if you ever hire us, be sure to enjoy a project well done 🙂

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am a big live band type of girl. Anywhere with good music and good food is where I love to be. My top pick is Happiest Hour and Te Deseo in the Downtown Dallas area. I love the ambience, food and just everything in these upscale restaurants. I also love Grandscape in The Colony, Texas. During summer nights, my family and I usually go to enjoy the free outdoor live bands during the weekend while our son enjoys playing football with the other kids. It’s very family oriented- good atmosphere for the entire family. I also love the restaurants in Legacy West, Shops at Legacy and Addison Walk.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest supporter is my husband Elly! He pushes me every single day and reminds me of my “WHY”. He has supported and joined hands with me in every endeavor and/or idea that I have. We run our business together and he is my right hand. My mom is also a big part of my success. She never takes “CAN’T” or “TOO HARD” for an answer. She believes in me and pushes me to my limit. I saw her leadership and work ethics since childhood and that has been more than enough to use as a guide to my business and life in general. Watching my dad’s leadership in his career and business was also a major key. I admired his leadership skills and have always applied them in my life. My sister inspires me as well- her leadership skills and hardworking nature have contributed a lot to my growth. Need I say that I was born in a family full of leaders and go-getters! And that has been a big blessing!

My 10 year old son Elly Jr inspires me as well (Believe it or not). As young as he is, I see him fight through all that he does in school and in basketball. I have always nicknamed him “Simba” because I see a lion in him. He never gives up. Every time I am discouraged, he tells me not give up. He also helps in some of our design projects when he is off school. I work hard to show him and our newborn son Elson, that ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible if you put God first and work like never before.

Lastly, Ayesha Curry- Stephen Curry’s wife, is my role model. I admire her family and work(entrepreneurial) life balance. She makes it look easy and fun! Watching her Instagram posts and TV shows really inspires me and reminds me that I can still be wife, mom and a business owner despite how challenging it can get.

Website: www.zawadiempire.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zawadi_empire/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zawadiempire

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zawadi_empire-108732220555012/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/zawadi-empire-mckinney

Other: Houzz- https://www.houzz.com/professionals/interior-decorators/zawadi-empire-pfvwus-pf~633038177? Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/zawadiempire/_created/