Founder and president of Big Spirit, Shanne Soulier, started his marketing and promotional products company to serve Native American organizations and entities with quality work. His personal and business mission is to foster prosperity, build awareness, promote culture, and contribute to clients’ success.
Discover Big Spirit’s humble beginnings, challenges faced, and their current mission as a full-service marketing agency.
How Did Big Spirit Begin?
In 2008, when the economy turned, and the US went into a recession, Shanne wanted to give back to his community. He was also at a point in his life when he wanted to find his spirit because it had become lost working in corporate America.
Living in an urban Native American community in Minneapolis, and being Native, he wanted to become more involved in his culture. He also wanted to be more supportive of the people of the community.
A vision came to him that told him that his new business should be a big spirit. Within 15 days, he incorporated and started his entrepreneurial journey.
Initially, he provided pro bono marketing support to South Minneapolis nonprofits at an expert level similar to larger corporate departments. His work continued to grow to support these nonprofit groups with marketing.
Shanne knows the Native community takes a long time to build relationships. Now, after over 12 years, he has quite a large and diverse group of folks that he supports. And Shanne feels very honored by that.
How Big Spirit Was Named
When thinking of a name for his new marketing company, the name “Big Spirit” was presented to Shanne in a vision. As Big Spirit evolved, Shanne learned why the name came to him.
First, there are several ways of speaking about Mother Earth in the Native American community. Different spirits that are channeled are part of a larger picture of something guiding them. So Big Spirit made sense to Shanne.
Secondly, the company name connects with the Native American community when they’re looking for marketing companies.
Finally, Big Spirit ties into Shanne finding his spirit in working with Native groups and cultures. He had lost the joy of making a difference when he worked with Fortune 500 companies. He felt as though his spirit had been taken away. Starting his company was his way of finding his spirit again through supporting others.
Making the Leap from Corporate Work to Owning a Company
Big Spirit was not an overnight success. It took Shanne about 10 years to figure out he could make a living with his marketing company. Shanne’s father is an entrepreneur and so was his grandfather. His father always taught him it’s wise to have multiple sources of income, so one can still support oneself if something happens and an avenue of income disappears.
So, as soon as Shanne lost his position with an agency, he stumbled across an opportunity to have a side hustle as a bartender. He took the job and for ten years, he was a bartender on weekends and evenings. During the day, he built Big Spirit. Around the 10-year mark, Shanne was getting to a point where he no longer needed to bartend and was thinking about building his business on a full-time basis.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened, and bartending came to a full stop. With more time on his hands because of the pandemic, Shanne went all in on Big Spirit.
Success Through Referrals
Eventually, Shanne came across a couple of great referral partners. They connected him to some larger entities that supported several smaller entities within the Native community. One of those groups was Great Lakes Intertribal Epidemiology Group (GLIEC). They support tribal clinics around the tri-state area and in building relations, they began hiring Big Spirit for projects. They needed designs and products to promote health and fitness among Native Americans. Working with GLIEC helped Big Spirit grow quickly.
Overcoming Roadblocks
We all have roadblocks or myths about money that we believe. Shanne was no different.
Working in corporate America, Shanne felt stuck in the mental belief that the salary he was making was at the top of what he would get. Then, he realized he was worthy of making more money. But he also realized his business journey with Big Spirit is not necessarily about the money; but rather, continuing the path he’s trying to accomplish. His “why” for his business is to help others and be open to something bigger than just making money.
Helping Clients Find their Marketing Spirit
Shanne helps clients achieve their marketing goals with effective strategies. He uses the approach of figuring out what the result should be. He does this by finding out where a client’s journey currently is, and what their journey should feel or look like.
Shanne likes to ask clients a lot of questions they’re not necessarily thinking about or could articulate. He really digs to find a client’s mission and purpose, as well as the spirit of what’s really driving their focus.
Knowing that spirits are intangible and a feeling, Big Spirit helps clients build a model to find innovative ways to clarify what makes sense to get great end results.
Spirits can also be in the energy and culture of the business. Such as the colors used in logos and graphics, and what those colors represent. For example, in the Native community, there are colors like red, yellow, and white that have meanings. Big Spirit looks at those colors with more purpose to find not just the best visual impact, but the overall impact of the feelings they should evoke.
For nonprofits, there can be many phases within the project that Big Spirit guides them through. The goal is always to take the spirit of what the client is trying to accomplish and make it grow.
Advice for Other Entrepreneurs
Shanne knows that being an entrepreneur and getting a business to grow can be an arduous process. He encourages other entrepreneurs to find the “why” of their business. Clarifying their “why” and not focusing on just the money-making part can bring strategies and goals into focus.
Maybe an entrepreneur’s “why” is the freedom to spend time with family. Or to help others. Shanne’s “why” is to make an impact and bring prosperity within the Native community.
His experience of running a business gives him insight into understanding how important it is to continue on the right path, knowing a “why” should fulfill one’s spirit and make them feel good. If an entrepreneur can accomplish that, the money will come.
Find Your Marketing Spirit
If your business or nonprofit needs help with getting a clear vision for your marketing, please contact Big Spirit.