Today we’d like to introduce you to Shonda Berry.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
This is the beginning of how my story/testimony starts. I was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. I’ve lived in Atlanta for over a year now. I had a decent life growing up and my family is extremely close. I must thank my grandmother for how close-knit my family is, the love that she had for each of us is the glue that made us stick together. My mom worked often, so the majority of my time was spent with the matriarch of our family, my grandmother. My pre-teen years were spent mostly with my family. I did very good in elementary school and shared great moments with classmates that I’m still in touch with today.
When I entered high school, my world shifted a bit; well it shifted tremendously. I witnessed and experienced things that I never imagined. My Freshman year was nothing like I expected. During my Sophomore year, at the age of 15 I became pregnant. I was in denial the majority of the time. I was afraid to tell my mother, nobody knew, but the father of my child (who cared less at the time), some classmates, my close friends and a few of my cousins. Eventually, my mother did find out. When I was about five months, I was removed from school due to a high-risk pregnancy and put on bed rest. When I was about six months pregnant, my mom took me for my checkup and the doctor told us that I needed to be admitted to the hospital to be monitored. I went home that evening packed a bag and came back to the hospital. I remember sitting in the waiting room for about 5.5 hours all alone; I was waiting for a room to become available. I remember doctors checking my son’s heart rate and my blood pressure constantly. That last time he checked, he said “you’re having an emergency c-section now” and “the baby’s heart rate is dropping.” I’m sitting there 15 years old, scared out of my mind and I had no idea what the documents were I was signing. My son was 1lb 7oz. He spent two days in an incubator, needed surgery and spent this remaining five days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit. After seven days on earth, he passed away. He never made it home from the hospital. At 15, I had no idea how to process my emotions. It’s the worst pain and hurt I’ve ever experienced.
Now, I’m 16 and returned to school for my Junior year. It started off well and I had some decent moments. Although I did well on my assignments, I got into arguments and fights. I literally couldn’t wait to graduate. High school should be enjoyable and just to be transparent, it wasn’t for me. I had the same boyfriend from my Junior year until I graduated. Initially, he was really good to me, but he became extremely jealous, controlling and abusive once I started working and hanging out with my friends more. We literally would fight everyday. I recall one point he had a pool stick and I had a knife, we were ready for battle. Being with him, put me in situations that could have killed me, I literally was caught in a crossfire, the bullet was so close to my face that I saw it go pass my eyes. It got to the point where I was not even afraid of him; just tired of him. I started distancing myself from him as much as possible. Thankfully, the relationship ended without anyone being seriously hurt.
In my twenties, I met my daughter’s father. He was literally my best friend if you saw me; you saw him as well. Life was good and peaceful. I had my own money, car and a great job. Eventually, I move to the Western Suburbs of Chicago with him, we were saving all our money, doing great things and just enjoying life. Together we created our beautiful daughter. Although that relationship ended we still remain good friends today and our daughter is his world.
Fast forward to my thirties, I’m a single mom, working and going to school. It was challenging, but I managed. I knew I wanted more for myself and my daughter, so grinding hard was the route I chose. I graduated with my degree in Legal Studies in 2014. In October 2015, I started BIYOND unintentionally. I didn’t realize at the time I was actually birthing a business. Earlier that summer, I was off work sick and the long term relationship I was in was coming to an end, so needless to say I had a lot going on during this time. The job I had was no longer fulfilling and neither was my relationship. During this period, I got closer to GOD. I prayed more and more, in addition to meditating, journaling and reading books. Shortly thereafter, I started getting visions and guidance on what I needed to do to help myself. Those visions came as words on a T-Shirt. Hence, that’s how the “Selfie – Checklist” was created. I thought to myself, surely I couldn’t be the only person that needed to keep my “Self in Check,” so I created about 12 shirts and gave them away for free. A few ladies wore those shirts on Facebook and from there BIYOND was birth.
The past few years of my life, I experienced some challenges. Due to the challenges, I wasn’t able to consistently work on BIYOND, however those visions wouldn’t stop coming. I would always write those visions down. I had to focus more on my 9-5 to remain afloat. Then unimaginable happened and I also became very ill. I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis at 24 years old, but between the ages of 37-39 the symptoms were out of control. I lost 19 pounds, experienced severe blood loss and some other terrible symptoms of UC. I was being treated by doctors, but I wasn’t getting any better. I’m so grateful God whispered in my ear to go to the ER on August 2019. I was admitted and after that my health started improving. Now, today I have normalcy. My health is better, my family is even closer and BIYOND is growing. I’ve been intentional about my business and extremely thankful for God’s guidance and those visions that never left me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it hasn’t always been a smooth road. In the beginning, I didn’t know anything about what I was doing. I remember paying $1400 for shirts that didn’t look how I wanted. I didn’t know anything about screen print & vinyl. I didn’t have a clue about the different shirt & hoodie brands/style. I had no idea about apparel pricing. So here I am with boxes of shirts that I wasn’t satisfied with and out of $1400. I had to educate myself on the various apparel styles, pricing and printing. Thankfully, I was able to donate all of the shirts (I didn’t feel right charging people for something I wouldn’t pay for). Donating those shirts lead to unexpected marketing opportunities and future sales.
Please tell us about BIYOND (Boldy Inspire Yourself Over Negativity Daily).
BIYOND is a motivational and inspirational apparel company. The mission of BIYOND is to enforce the importance of maintaining a positive outlook on life’s circumstances in a negative society by inspiring men, women, and children with bold statements of self-affirmations, motivation, and positivity. I’m most proud that BIYOND remained relevant, although I took a small hiatus.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t believe in good & bad luck. What I’m blessed with is for me & what I’m not blessed with is simply not mines.
Pricing:
- Hoodies are $37
- T-Shirts are $27
Contact Info:
- Website: www.biyond.net
- Email: info@biyond.net
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