Meet Shequan Smith | Mentally Ill- in real life and business

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

Hi Shequan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was that I needed to be able to create a job that fit my lifestyle. The mentally comes from my own struggle from mental illness and the Ill is for my battle of cancer. Those two things influence the majority of my life, even when I get the “clear” from my doctor there’s always that thought of will my next results be good or bad, the moment I feel bloated or a pain I quietly panic, and there’s constant thoughts of the unknown with my health overall. My mental state has been rocky for years, my entire adult life I have been a mother and for 7 years I was a wife. I lost myself. 2021 intensified everything. The year started by a drunk driver crashing into our home, a very good friend of mine dying by suicide, my grandmother passing away, and getting diagnosed with cancer to name a few. In October, I thought about death constantly no matter who I was around or what I was doing. The only thing I felt was alone. I always seemed to brighten someone else’s day even though I was not able to do that for myself. One day, I stopped caring so much that I started being brutally honest about how I felt and what I was going through. In doing that, people in my own community and some across the country opened up to me in ways that I have never experienced. I realized that by me being open and trying to raise awareness for mental health and ovarian cancer I was helping others know that they were not alone in this fight of life. I got together with a few women from Creations at the Edge and put a plan in place for what i should do next. Mentally Ill covers my entire life, it is MY lifestyle. Creating a business that is me and not just something that I do makes a huge difference. Yes, I create custom items, but I struggle, create and survive while being mentally ill but also because of it. I want people that deal with the same or similar struggles to understand that going through hard times can change your outlook on how to keep going instead of ending everything because you could not imagine continuing. The world has made alot of us feel as if something is wrong with who we are or how we are, but truth is, the biggest problem is that too many of us are afraid to be open because of the lack of knowledge and understanding. We can all find strength in pain and the meaning behind my business is my way of finding that strength.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart from others is that my business helps keep me alive. My therapist is not always with me, so I created this as a form of self-therapy. Mentally Ill makes me see a glimpse of my own light and purpose. Getting to this point was not easy. It took me a long time to stop standing in my own way of success. What helped me overcome the challenges are the people in my support system, understanding that I too am worthy of success whether I believe that or not and that I can do this just the way I am. The biggest lesson I have learned is that once again this isn’t easy, owning a small business does not make you work less but more, and things will definitely not go as planned but giving up should not be an option. I just want people to know that above anything else, I am a human just like them.

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.
I am more so a homebody and go with the flow person, but a few must go/see would be: Coati for the experience and Luchal’s for food
Manitou Incline
Chinook Center
Creations at the Edge
Community Works
Bowling and Laser Tag at the Summit
Single Barrel for drinks
My home
Drive around the city listening to local musicians.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Heather and Pryncess- owners of Creations at the Edge Fawna Bridges Charles – owner of Mindful Hippie Candles
Chinook Center (everyone but specifically Shaun, Jon and Sam)
My community!! – SOUTHSIDE COS
My mama- Donna DeCarolis

Website: www.MentallyIllShop.com

Instagram: MentallyIllShop

Facebook: Mentally Ill LLC

Other: 719-922-4098 Business line

Image Credits
The Friendly Shooter- Will