Her company has won numerous awards in the past six years including being named by Colorado Biz Magazine in the top five fastest growing women owned companies in Colorado, in the top 100 women owned businesses in Colorado and in the top 250 privately held companies in Colorado. Her client list includes companies ranging from telecom to technology to health care.
In addition to running her own business, Sheila sets aside a serious chunk of time each week to dedicate her time and skills to helping various non-profits around town. “Even though I work a lot,” she says, “It’s important for me to give back. “
“So much of my drive stems from growing up in a small town,” she says. “It was natural for me to be very competitive. I always knew I didn’t want to live the rest of my life there and in order to make it somewhere else. I needed to be very goal oriented and strive for more. So at an early age, I got in the habit of setting very high goals for myself, and I still do that every year.”
Sheila grew up the youngest of five children and due to the big age gap between her and her siblings she says, “I feel like I grew up and only child and I was really spoiled and needed a lot of attention.” Before opening her own company, Sheila worked in four-star resorts and headed a division for an ad agency in Denver.
Sheila has been married to husband Charles for 10 ½ years and for now, she’s choosing to focus on her career. She and Charles spend their free time antiquing, and as far as future plans go, Sheila says, “My goal is to build the company now, so I can take more of a visionary role in the future and travel more. I’d like to semi-retire early and maybe have kids at some point.”
What are your volunteer activities? I’m the incoming Publicity Chair for Cancer League Of Colorado, and the Past PR Chair for the Business Marketing Associate and I'm involved with the Red Cross. I also do frequent public speaking engagements at universities to college kids about topics ranging from goal seeking to marketing. I’m also involved with the Battered Women's Shelter and RAAP (Rape Awareness and Assistance Program)
Which social event is your favorite? The Denver Polo Classic, because it’s just a really fun event!
Favorite Restaurant? Carmine’s on Penn
Who is your hero and why? Oprah Winfrey because she has become a successful woman and has remained very grounded throughout. She also is very focused on “giving back” and is a huge part of the community.
Who is the most interesting celebrity you have ever met? Deborah Norville. She is a very interesting woman who overcame a lot of career adversity that most people don’t even know about and I admire her for that.
If your life were a movie, whom would you want to play your part? Probably Julia Roberts and not necessarily because I look like her, but she has her own sense of style, a great sense of humor and seems to be very well balanced.
Do you have any Pets? Yes, a Pomeranian dog named Sammy
When you move, what will your home tell its next owner, about you? That I wasn’t home very much
What words describe you best? Driven and fun
What words would you like others to use to describe you? Fun, genuine and sincere
What was your first job? I was a dishwasher at the age of 12, for 50 cents an hour, in my hometown in a restaurant called the Prairie Vista.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My lack of patience
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Insincerity
What is your greatest indulgence? Shoes
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My husband, Charles
What is your current state of mind? Energized and optimistic
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement? Starting my own business with very little money in the bank and building it into a successful organization.
What is your most treasured possession? My husband and I are avid antiquers so an antique Italian lamp he bought me for my birthday.
What is the quality you most like in a man? Self-confidence
What is the quality you most like in a woman? Same
Favorite books / Writers? I read a lot of self-help and business related books- anything from Jack Welch to The E-Myth
What is the best advice you have ever received? There is no traffic jam when you go the “extra mile.” A mentor early on in my career told me that and I have always remembered it.
