Shanicia Boswell is a thought leader, CEO, mentor, and mother. As the creator and founder of Black Moms Blog and the author of Oh Sis! You’re Pregnant!, Shanicia inspires and encourages more than 600,000 women across her social media platforms everyday and she recently sat down with Black Women Mean Business to break down the importance of self-care as a business owner.
This serial entrepreneur wears many hats as she continues to create new, innovative ways to uplift women of color. Shanicia is the curator of the Self-Care Retreats, where she not only gives women impeccable self-empowering experiences, but she prides herself on making women aware of their power and self-worth.
The Black Moms Blog creator, who spends her downtime moonlighting as a freelance writer, has graced the pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The HuffPost, and Parents Magazine. As a single mother, she wants women to know that finding your lane as a mompreneur doesn’t mean that you have to lose yourself in the process.
In this segment of The Wind Down, we discover Shanicia’s perspective on self-care and how she prefers to wind down after a very hectic work-week.
BWMB: What do you do for a living?
Shanicia: I am a serial entrepreneur. I am the founder of Black Moms Blog where we talk about parenting culture and lifestyle from a black mom’s point of view. It’s an online community platform. We focus on different initiatives that are related to Black maternal birth and breastfeeding. Our current events include the Period Party and the Menstrual Wrap, [which both] focus on menstrual normalization in the homeless community.
You wear multiple hats. What’s the most stressful part of your job being a serial entrepreneur?
Shanicia: I think it’s just that right there. It’s trying to figure out how to juggle it all. It’s trying to get organized. It’s trying to find the structure to put it all together so that things aren’t getting lost.
How do you create boundaries between your personal and professional life?
Shanicia: I think a person that understands how to gain the audience is making sure your audience feels like they’re a part of your life while also keeping some part of your life private. I don’t talk about my love life on the internet. I don’t share where I am in real-time. I don’t share the details.
“I operate in this way so that people can know that there is a real person behind this brand, but this is also a person that requires peace.”
What is your work schedule like these days?
Shanicia: My work schedule is very intense because I am doing the period party and menstrual drive this month. I’m working 10- to 12-hour days. It’s a lot of planning. Working 12-hour days as an entrepreneur is still on my schedule.
You mentioned the Period Party. Can you briefly explain how you think this type of conversation shapes your daughter’s perspective of her body?
Shanicia: My daughter is eight years old now. I’ve been hosting the menstrual drive since she was six years old. As her mother, I started to see her changes. It was more of an energy shift or a mood shift. I knew that it was time to start talking to her about her menstrual cycles.
How do you keep yourself fit and healthy during crazy on the go work hours?
Shanicia: I re-signed up from meal planning with Hello Fresh because I don’t have time. My diet is the least healthy when I have a lot going on because it’s easier to pick up something fast or order to go.
Do you use any hacks or apps to help manage your schedules?
Shanicia: I use my calendar on my iPhone. If it’s not on my calendar, it doesn’t exist. I also use the Microsoft app for my to-do list.
How do you fit dating into your busy schedule?
Shanicia: I always make time for pleasure. How do I fit it into my schedule? I’ll write it in.
Speaking of relationships, in a recent article, you opened up about how your relationship with your daughter’s dad helped you level up your mindset and catalyze your hustle. Can you tell me how that relationship made you better as a person, a mom, and an entrepreneur?
Shanicia: When things didn’t work out, I moved out. I had been a stay-at-home mom for three years at the time. I didn’t have a job or any money. When I finally decided to do so, I was upset, angry, and bitter. One day I just said I’m tired of being upset so it forced me to level up and forgive him.
Let’s get into the wind down. Are you a morning or a night person?
Shanicia: I’m a seasonal person. When it’s cold outside, I’m a night person. I don’t do well in cold weather. When it’s hot outside I’m a morning person.
How do you spend your off days and your weekends?
Shanicia: On my off days, I spend them doing things that I love to do that I don’t necessarily want to share with other people. I think that is a part of having a balance.
Do you practice self-care? And why is that important to you?
Shanicia: I practice self-care in every part of my life but also understanding that self-care is a privilege. We have to normalize self-care as first starting off as survival before we start to thrive.
What are the dangers of not having a self-care routine?
Shanicia: I think the biggest part of not having a self-care routine is losing yourself and whatever it is that you’re doing or that you are. When you become a mom, you tend to give up all of your goals to be there for your family. That is the biggest consequence of all!
What’s your nighttime routine?
Shanicia: After I put my daughter to bed every night around 8:00 p.m. I tend to my self-care — that self-care could be catching up on a Netflix show or it could be having a glass of wine. I am a notorious bather so I take baths all of the time. I don’t crack my computer open after a certain time. If it’s not something that’s pertinent, I will get it done the next day.
What are your must-have self-care essentials?
Shanicia: Epsom Salt for my bath, good music, my friends, and a nice chill playlist are my must-haves. My mentors and my friends are people that I look up to. They’re a huge part of my self-care because they’re the people that I get to take off the shield for.
And lastly, what advice do you have for on the go women who don’t have time to wind down?
Shanicia: My advice would be to redefine what it means to wind down so that you can start to incorporate it into your life so that you have longevity in being successful.
“There’s no way to be consistently successful if you don’t understand what it means to wind down. You’ll be successful for a little while, but then you’ll burn out if you don’t figure out how to find that balance.”
To keep up with Shanicia, follow her on Instagram and purchase her new book, Oh Sis! You’re Pregnant here!
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