Meet Shari Schroeder | Co-Founder Dems for Action

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

Hi Shari, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
This isn’t the first business for me, but my reasons have been the same when looked at from a broad perspective. Seeing an unmet need that I can approach in a completely new way really fuels the creative business process for me.

On it’s face establishing a new business may not seem like it’s a creative process, but when you’re looking at something thru a new lens it is. The process of getting from problem to solution requires jettisoning the entire process as established by everyone who came before you and creating a new set of rules.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
While I’ve been a lifetime Democrat, my political advocacy didn’t start until 2016. Initially I started by volunteering a few phone banking or door knocking shifts in 2016 to phone banking for several shifts per week in 2020.

But Jan 6 2021 was a day I won’t forget. I sat glued to the TV watching in horror, much the same as I did on Sept 11th. In 2001 we were attacked by outside forces wanting to do us harm, and hoping to destroy our country. But 20 years later we were attacked from within.

After that I went from occasional advocate to full time activist. But being disabled and largely homebound my activities were limited to social media, but I knew I needed to do more. I wanted to make a real difference. A friend got me involved in a group of social media influencers where I eventually met the people I work with today.

We founded Dems for Action in March of this year. It’s been a fast and furious pace of working 12+ hrs per day 7 days a week but we’ve already been branded as the group to watch. We are unique in our approach and our goals. We work with new, unknown candidates and we’re focusing on state races. These are candidates who get no notice and little funding. We train them on all social media platforms. We amplify their voices and increase their name recognition. We provide them with graphics and video content. And we do it all with volunteers and at no cost to the candidates.

Innovation and business agility have been our stock in trade from the outset. And when we identified an unmet need in the realm of Democratic messaging we did a pivot and started the research. Five weeks ago we began the arduous task of programming that will result in Democrats ability to approach messaging with a unified voice. And just this week we started providing demos to several interested parties.

I am incredibly proud of this team and what we’ve accomplished in such a short time. When I say a messaging portal for democratic messaging is an unmet need, I sell our accomplishments a bit short. Many, many people have tried. But this week we heard the word “revolutionary” multiple times during our demos.

My personal challenges during this time has been dealing with my health. But one thing the pandemic should have taught the world is that working in an office is absolutely not necessary. That you can actually get more productivity out of workers when they have your trust. That payment should be based on results and not hours worked. Not many employers learned the lesson but had they, they would realize there’s a workforce to be had in the “disabled” community.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My co-workers and I span 6 states and two continents. If we ever have the luxury of meeting in person our itinerary would depend on in whom’s hometown we are meeting.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Everyone you meet in life has the ability to shape who you are if you let them. But like most of us, my family has had the biggest impact. My father was an entrepreneur and served our country both in the Army and later in life in the state legislature. My mother nurtured my independent streak and showed me daily what it looked like to be strong woman. I knew from a young age that I would eventually have my own business. Without the support of my husband and both sides of our family, I would not have succeeded.

Website: www.demsforaction.org

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Image Credits
Shari Schroeder Martin McSweeny