Meet Shavonne: Acting with Purpose

Shavonne Davis is a Founding Member of The Everyday Series and founder of quite a few business endeavors including Banks Entertainment and Kids Acting with Purpose. Shavonne and I were co-theatre teachers together for a school in DISD back in 2014-2015 and since then, our friendship has only grown— her heart for giving children every opportunity they deserve through the arts is unmatched, and I hope you find as much joy as I do as getting to know her as I have in our friendship!

  1. Tell us a little bit about who you are and your journey to where you are now at this point in time.

My name is Shavonne Davis. My journey started at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia! I have always had a passion for entertainment and business. Because of that, I started my company Banks Entertainment a few years after college, which was a talent booking and event planning agency for actors and actresses. Moving back to Fort Worth, I ended up becoming a serial entrepreneur. I started other ventures underneath Banks Entertainment! These different ventures got me more into directing plays which led me to teaching and education. To me that was something where I could take my business skills, run a theater program, and use my directing skills plus passion all in one! This is my fifth year of teaching! I most recently started Kids Acting With a Purpose to provide theatre workshops, activities, and productions for youth in the community- to give them an opportunity to nurture their creative side, alongside academics.

2. What is the mission of your brand? How does it empower women?

I would say that my new venture, Kids Acting with Purpose, alongside Banks Entertainment LLC, which is still in existence, empowers women to provide a platform for them to carry out their vision. You don't have to just have a nine to five job you know. When you go home, take some time to plan, dream, and write out your goals and set some time out every day to work on those and to continue your legacy and start new ventures. Both of my businesses have been a way for me to fulfill my purpose and extend my purpose beyond the classroom. I feel that every woman, every person, has a gift or something that they need to give to other people and mine is through Theatre Education. Theatre is an experience interacting with real life which is why I love theater workshops to tie in the power of everyday life.

3. What is the biggest challenge that you have had to press through as an entrepreneur? What are the steps you take to overcome it or to be overcoming?

My biggest challenge would be past mistakes that I've made. I also feel like those were my biggest motivator. I think that we all have a story, and we have all have made mistakes. We all have a path, but I choose to be motivated. I choose to be inspired, not broken by my past. So I think that the biggest challenge has been getting to that point right there, where I'm not ashamed of what happened to me in the past or the way I've been treated by certain people or doors that were closed on me. I persevered. I've kept going. Just getting to this point right here where I just feel so good. I'm at peace and confident. There's nothing to break me down.

4. How do you collaborate with others working towards a better world?

The main thing is I have a vision for starting a school with a best friend of mine. That is a collaborative idea. I’ve said that for some years now. Also just day to day, I work alongside some amazing teachers. We've had to share visions for the past three years to give kids a theatrical experience. I do enjoy being an independent, creative person to have the autonomy to do my own thing, but I also truly enjoy working alongside like-minded people. I do look forward to expanding Kids Acting with Purpose to have multiple theatre teaching artists working alongside me so I look forward to having that collaboration as well!

5. What advice would you give to a female entrepreneur in the beginning stages of launching her brand?

The number one thing I would say is don't give up. Don't get discouraged. Don't give up, keep going. And don't feel like you have to have a million dollars or $100,000. Don't feel like you have to break the bank to fulfill your dream. Take your time, plan it out, write it out, get advice. Take your time and put something real together. Be diligent and be true to what you want to do, and stick to it! Learn from others and always be a listener.

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