Community Highlights: Meet Shelia Matthews of Culture Pro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelia Matthews.

Hi Shelia, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
How Culture Pro Began

The inspiration for Culture Pro came from my years working for large corporations, and then eventually with startups. I’ve helped hundreds of entrepreneurs solve their toughest people and operational challenges, everything from hiring and culture clashes to communication breakdowns and leadership growing pains. Those experiences showed me that most leaders don’t need another HR department; they need a strategic partner who understands both people and performance.

My background spans People & Culture leadership, operations, and executive advisory roles. Before launching Culture Pro, After leaving corporate, I supported emerging companies where I served in Chief People Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief of Staff roles. Across every environment, one thing remained constant: culture determines whether a business scales smoothly or burns out.

Founding Culture Pro

I founded Culture Pro to bridge that gap—to bring executive-level People & Culture strategy to businesses that are growing fast but don’t yet need a full-time C-suite team. Our mission is simple: we build spaces where people thrive and businesses flourish.

Today, Culture Pro partners with leaders to design intentional cultures, strengthen leadership capability, and align people systems with business goals. We help companies turn everyday people challenges into growth opportunities.

Where We Are Now

What started as a one-woman practice has grown into a trusted partner for companies across industries, from tech and professional services to the green and landscaping space. Culture Pro stands at the intersection of strategy and humanity, helping leaders build organizations that not only perform but also feel good to belong to.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some things have been smooth and some have not. For example, networking and connecting with people comes naturally to me; however, as a business owner it is different. When I started, I continued to network with people as a W2 employee would. That won’t put sales appointments on your calendar. I had to learn how t0 network as a business owner and be more intentional when building connections and relationships.

Another struggle for me has been technology – I’ve always considered myself an early tech adopter, which is great – until you realize that randomly signing up for every tool or app that you “think” will make your life easier actually makes your life more difficult. So right now, I’m working on simplifying my tech stack and being more strategic with SaaS solutions.

As you know, we’re big fans of Culture Pro. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At Culture Pro, we sit at the intersection of strategy and humanity. We partner with small and mid-sized businesses to build intentional people systems, the kind that make work work.

Most of our clients are founders or leaders who’ve grown quickly and suddenly realize that “people problems” are slowing them down, things like communication gaps, unclear roles, managers who need guidance, or cultures that have lost their spark.

That’s where we come in. We act as their on-call Chief People Officer, designing processes, training leaders, and creating clarity and consistency across the organization. Our goal is to help leaders lead better, teams work smarter, and businesses grow stronger without losing their culture in the process.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I think luck and timing play a larger role in our lives than most of us are comfortable admitting. 🙂

Karma has helped me more than luck, to be honest. I have always strived to live a life of service – meaning, I enjoying helping others. I never helped someone with the expectation of receiving something back from them. I’m charitable and generous because for me, it is the right thing to do.

When I became a business owner, I was completely humbled by the number of people who saw an opportunity to help me and acted on it – maybe I had previously helped them with a problem, or gave them solid career advice, or helped them land a job or negotiate a better salary…or maybe I didn’t even know them, but they found me through some connection and felt compelled to help me become successful. I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.culturepro.co
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelia/