We recently had the chance to connect with Sharmon Lebby and have shared our conversation below.
Sharmon, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
My day starts with my ever-insistent and spoiled Yorkie Poo, Teddy, whining in my ear that he can see the sun rising and it’s time to get up. If I don’t move fast enough, he’s sniffing in my ear to make sure I’ve heard him. After begging for a few extra minutes of sleep, I relent and get up to take him for a walk. While he sniffs about and explores the neighborhood like it’s the first time he’s seen each blade of grass, I listen to music or prayer videos on YouTube. It helps me relax and ground my day. After 30 minutes or so, we make it back to the house where I give him fresh water and food. On good days, I get a short workout in and sit and read to start my day as slow and calm as possible, but more often than not, I’m on my phone checking my email and social media notifications. I long for those slow mornings and even more so to be as fearlessly tenacious as Teddy when it comes to making sure my needs are met.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My life is full of twists and turns and constantly feels like a never-ending roller coaster. But, the fun kind. The kind that reminds you that life is an adventure and no matter how much you plan, stuff happens, and you have to be flexible. I’m Sharmon Lebby, currently a Nonprofit Consultant for social and environmental impact organizations. In a not-so-distant former life, I was a Neuroscience Research Associate moonlighting as an ethical fashion designer and nonprofit founder working with ethical and sustainable businesses. I’ve done a lot, most of it all at once, and enjoyed every minute of it. And it’s all brought me to this point in my life as CEO and Founder of Blessed Designs Consulting.
I started Blessed Designs Consulting because I got tired of watching passionate people with big ideas fizzle out before they even had a chance to take off. I’ve been in those shoes — overwhelmed, underfunded, and trying to figure out if I was doing it “right.” What I realized is most folks don’t need another textbook definition of a nonprofit. They need someone who’s actually been in the trenches, who knows the mess (and the magic), and who can guide them through building something real.
What makes us different is that I don’t believe in cookie-cutter strategies or competition for the sake of ego. My whole thing is collaboration over competition, progress over perfection, and building organizations that are strong enough to last. I’m not here to drown you in jargon or theory. I’m here to help you cut through the noise, focus on what matters, and get your nonprofit moving in a way that actually feels aligned with your mission.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
The hardest thing for me to unlearn was the idea that I had to be perfect. The perfect daughter. The perfect student. Whatever it took to make the lives of those around me easier and my life easier in return. But perfect was nothing but an illusion and never obtainable. The wild thing is that I never saw myself as a perfectionist because I could never actually be perfect and I’d beat myself up over it constantly.
It wasn’t until I saw other small business owners and sustainable fashion lovers try to have perfect businesses, exhausting themselves trying to be as ethical and sustainable as possible, that I realized we were doing this all wrong.
What I know now is that the magic is in the journey. The moments I’ve taken a leap, even when things weren’t perfect, are the moments that actually moved me forward. It’s messy, unpredictable, and yes, sometimes uncomfortable, but that’s where the growth happens. I’ve also learned that “perfection is a journey, not a destination.” And honestly, that is freeing. It means we can give ourselves, and others, a little more grace. At Blessed Designs Consulting, that is why “progress over perfection” is more than just a phrase. It is how I live, and it is how I guide organizations, because the work is too important to wait until everything looks flawless.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I feel like I give up at least once a day. Entrepreneur life is hard and it’s so easy to doubt yourself. What’s kept me going is having a community. And by community, I don’t just mean one big group of people cheering you on. Sometimes it’s one person who lifts you up, sometimes it’s someone holding a mirror so you can see yourself clearly, sometimes it’s just folks reminding you that you’re not out here alone.
It took me a while to understand that community doesn’t have to look one way. I used to think it had to be family or close friends. But honestly, some of the strongest encouragement I’ve received has come from the most unexpected places. Like the random Black women on Threads hyping me up just because I was out there being vulnerable. That’s community too.
And that’s the key: you have to be willing to open up and be vulnerable if you want to build community. But you also have to trust your gut. Not everyone deserves access to your vulnerability. Not everyone who presents themselves as a friend or confidant is actually worthy of your trust. Knowing the difference has been just as important as knowing I can’t do this work alone.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
There are two lies I think we tell ourselves in the nonprofit world, and both of them come back to collaboration. Lie number one is that nonprofits are always doing great work. That’s just not true. Sometimes it’s less about the mission and more about the ego of the founder or executive leaders.
The second lie is that every organization has to go it alone to survive. That mindset makes people feel like they need to be everything, chase every dollar, and stretch themselves thin just to keep the lights on. I don’t subscribe to that, and it’s definitely not what I teach at Blessed Designs Consulting.
What I value is real collaboration — not just the kind where you slap a corporate sponsor’s logo on your flyer and call it a partnership. Collaboration means working with other nonprofits to expand your reach, but it also means collaborating with the community you serve. They should be sitting right alongside you as partners in the work, not treated like passive recipients.
The savior mentality has to go. If you’re not willing to be neck-deep in the trenches with your community, then you’re not really serving them. At the end of the day, it should always come back to the mission.
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I hope that’s what I’m doing already. I hope that my work comes before the need to be recognized for it. We talk a lot about legacy and what we want to be remembered for, but I’m not even sure how much I want to be remembered. I want the work and the organizations to be at the forefront. I want the causes and the impact to be remembered. Because I don’t know that the work is really being done if I’m focused on my name being printed in a history book.
I think about the multitudes of people who marched during the civil rights movement or the thousands who participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We’ll never know all their names, but each one was essential to the success of the movement. The names we do remember are powerful, but they’re also frozen in time, and it’s often the people who loved them that make sure we don’t forget. Compared to the multitudes who actually carried the movement forward, those remembered names are only a small fraction.
That’s the way I think about my own work. If the people and organizations I’ve guided can continue to grow, thrive, and create impact long after I’m gone, that’s enough for me. Recognition fades, but the ripple effect of good work lasts. That, to me, is legacy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blesseddesignsco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blesseddesignsco/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmon-lebby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blesseddesignsco
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sharmonlebby
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
