Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Taylor.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Shannon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Savin’ it for Hubby saved me first. This company was born from the emotional pain experienced at the beginning of my marriage. Savin’ it for Hubby started as a blog with me writing and sharing everything that I’d learned on my journey to being healed in my mind and my heart concerning my past sexual history. After a few years of blogging, came speaking engagements and the opportunity to help create a purity program at my church which I co-facilitated for four years. At the end of my facilitating the purity program, an opportunity arose for me to facilitate at a purity retreat. The retreat was amazing and I knew I’d found my calling! I love the intimacy of retreats and the atmosphere that fosters security and vulnerability. This leads each woman in attendance on their journey of healing from their sexual pasts. This year, I will hold our third purity retreat entitled, Purely Loved – You Are Royalty. I’m so excited about it and can’t wait to meet the ladies and hear their stories!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This journey has not been a smooth one! There have been many struggles, internally and externally. Before Savin’ it for Hubby I had my own event planning company and to say I was in over my head is an understatement! I didn’t know what to do with myself once I closed my business. But God did. I struggled with starting Savin’ it for Hubby because it required me to be vulnerable and it required me to share not only the good things about me but the ugly as well. I’ve learned that people relate to the ugly just as well or even better than the pretty areas of our lives. There seems to be no freedom, no positive or encouraging outlet to allow people to show the ugly sides of our lives. In this social media driven world we’re in now, there’s so much energy put into showing only the prettiest of photos. It is my goal that my retreats and courses allow women that opportunity. Even my husband thought I was crazy for starting this company and actually thought that I didn’t want to work, LOL, but as word got out about what I was doing and the results obtained, the company began to gain attention. My husband saw that I was on to something greater than me playing it safe and working for someone else! My advice to anyone starting out is to be true to yourself. Sometimes, we are called to be pioneers and start something that’s not been done before, that there’s no prototype for or something that will cause you to bear your soul. Just know that you will appreciate it more. You will be fulfilled and you will respect yourself! Those you are to serve will find you!
What should we know about Savin’ it for Hubby? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a people person so I do a lot of talking! I speak, teach, and mentor/coach women in the area of sexual purity mainly but also in helping them walk in their purpose/calling. So, depending on the person, I help with anything from guiding them in discovering their purpose to coaching them in the area of time management, life schedule, relationship advice, career advice, even marital advice. I also write. I still continue the Savin’ it for Hubby blog. I published my first book, ‘Love. Jesus. Sex: Experiences & Lessons Learned’ in 2017 and am currently writing two more books to be published hopefully by the end of this year or early 2020. I’m so very proud of the work that I do because I’ve met so many wonderful women and I’ve had the privilege & honor of seeing a few of them get married and give birth to their first child. I allow them the freedom to be themselves and work with who they actually are and not who they pretend to be. I believe what sets me apart is my faith in Jesus Christ. Without Him, I’m not capable in myself to love these ladies unconditionally and help them through their good, bad and ugly moments. My faith keeps me strong, humble and grounded. I also believe that my being transparent with the women that I serve sets me apart as well. I’ve been married 15 years and we have three children together. It’s not always easy or as cute as portrayed on television or social media and the women really appreciate my honesty and ability to ‘give it to them straight’!
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
I believe the age we’re in now presents many amazing opportunities for women! I feel that women truly can do anything they put their minds to. I don’t look at this as in competing with men but in that, we as women can do the same things just differently which sometimes may work better depending on the situation. Women have different strengths and abilities than men and these strengths and abilities can serve to be very fruitful to any business genre or opportunity.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.savinitforhubby.wordpress.com
- Email: savinitforhubby@gmail.com
- Instagram: @savinitforhubby
- Facebook: @savinitforhubby
- Twitter: @savinitforhubby
- Other: www.instagram.com/simplyshannonnicole
Image Credit:
Personal photos, Melissa Walthour, Omari Cudjoe
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
Melissa
March 27, 2019 at 3:06 am
You’re amazing, Shannon! Thanks for your sacrificial obedience. Lives have been and are being forever changed.