Meet Desirée Chavis | Business Owner & Wanderer

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

Hi Desirée, what do you want your legacy to be?
As a woman still creating my own sense of family and what legacy means to me, I want my legacy to be personal for those I affect. By this, I mean that I want to positively influence people, which is a huge underlying factor of why I started my business and what types of products and content I offer. Whether it’s through my business and work or within my personal relationships, I want my legacy to be a reminder that I did my best and made my own small change in the universe by conquering my own fears and issues. I want my legacy to remind you of your best, inspire you, comfort you, challenge you and give you a reason to get through the same ups and downs that my business has gotten me through and that life will continue to present.

What should our readers know about your business?
While I have been a full-time employee for my entire career, my childhood dream was always in entertainment. My 9-5 jobs have consistently left me feeling less creative or fulfilled than I want, and I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t find my dream job or feel excited enough about a gig to stay for more than three years (the longest I have been with one employer). I took to writing down songs and ideas throughout my twenties to help make sense of my thoughts and feel more creative. If anyone had told me a couple years ago that I’d be an entrepreneur today, I’d laugh. Just the word “entrepreneur” always sounded scary and too far away to have anything to do with me. Fast forward to late 2019, when I applied for my LLC while writing a business plan to open my online shop. Today, I am writing down ideas for scaling my business and expanding! As I continue to learn, so much of this progression is mindset, and my mindset shift has been one of the best things I could do for myself and my mental health. Changing your mindset is not easy and sometimes it’s not fast either. Mine has been gradual, with small moments cementing my new thoughts as patterns. One lesson I am learning along the way is that no two businesses are the same, with the same resources, marketing or motives behind the products and the work. So while so many of us are worried about a saturated market of boutiques, candle and craft shops, and other services we might want to offer or launch a business with, I have learned (and am still learning) what sets me apart from other small businesses. My energy, motives, influences and audience/customers are unique, as are everyone else’s. My product offering is a mix of decor and apparel, handmade and sourced, popular fashion pieces and statements you’ve never seen before and scents you’ve never smelled. I will continue to project the vision I want for my life and my business so that my mindset can keep up to push me forward.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Not being from the DFW area, one thing that has stuck out to me from my research is that it is a great place to open a storefront…so I might need to speed up this visit! I’ve asked my Texas native friends from the area where they would take me when I visit, and here’s what they said!

Interesting experiences: The Dallas World Aquarium, Six Flags Over Texas and the Cowboys Stadium
Best places to hang out: Deep Ellum and the Arts District
Best food: Let me not start a fight until I try it for myself! 😉 But I’m looking forward to trying Pappadeaux’s, Gloria’s and Aunt Irene’s among others.

What do you think DFW fam? Is this a good list?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Everyone in my story deserves recognition! I wouldn’t be who and how I am without the influences of those around me, especially my parents, my family and close friends. The discipline and hustle I learned from my mom and the confidence in forging my own path I learned from my dad have set the foundation for my journey. Along the way, my godmother and childhood mentor has been a lifeline since I was 10. Hailing from Houston, she has returned to her home city and now operates Stephanie’s Tea Cup where you can learn about and enjoy high tea from an OG tea-lover who has traveled for her passion! As an only child with a spread out family, the friends and chosen family that continue to hold space for me to lean on them (and vice versa) mean the world to me. The amazing Maya Angelou’s autobiographical series beginning with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a miraculous (how was her memory so intact?!) account of her own life, the good and bad, and a reminder that we are all on our own path in our own time, and it’s not too late to follow and develop your passion. Of course there have been more people and many more books that have enriched my experience, but this is a good start.

Website: www.shopshootingstarz.com / www.shootingstarzshopette.com

Instagram: @ShootingStarzShopette

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shooting-starz-shopette

Twitter: @_Shooting_Starz

Facebook: @ShootingStarzShopette

Other: Pinterest: @ShopShootingStarz

Image Credits
Personal Photo credit: Rachel McGiboney Additional Photo credit (photo of Desiree Chavis in orange jumpsuit): ShaDonna Jackson