35 www.CharlestonWomenPodcast.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.Instagram.com/CharlestonWomen Working in a local grocery store as an energetic, driven teenager gave Shelby Ivery the foundation for not only her work ethic, but also her entrepreneurial spirit. The owner of multiple companies, including Ivery Solutions, I Am Logistics and Assured Contractors, Ivery is quick to proclaim, “When I say I am blessed, I am blessed.” Ivery described her time spent working at the grocery store as the beginning of her drive to be a business owner. When her manager saw Ivery on the schedule, he would breathe a sigh of relief knowing things would run smoothly while she was on the clock. She started as a cashier and quickly learned to fill just about every position at the grocery from u-scan, to customer service, to bookkeeping to finally working as a technician in the pharmacy department. Ivery recalled, “The pharmacist needed help and asked me, ‘You’ve done everything else here, why not got give this a try?’ And so, I did.” After graduating from Charleston Southern University with a degree in business and marketing, Ivery returned to school to earn her prerequisites for pharmacy school. She was accepted into pharmacy school but soon decided being a pharmacist was not her passion. Ivery remembered her mother was not thrilled upon hearing that her daughter had quit her job as a pharmacy technician, as well as pharmacy school and gave her the side eye while declaring, “I know you playin’.” However, Ivery was doing anything but. She thought back to her early days at the grocery store, deciding that business was her niche. Some of her customers remain investors in Ivery’s successful businesses today. When deciding which business to pursue first, Ivery took her time thinking and planning, eventually realizing, “People keep moving to Charleston. People must need help moving here.” With that, Ivery Solutions was created. “It just skyrocketed. I went from thinking the phones won’t ring, to realizing the phones won’t stop ringing. My first client was Miss Jody. I removed some floating docks for her. Word-of-mouth took over from there, and it just skyrocketed” Ivery added, “Clients began asking, ‘You move, do you clean?’ I told them, ‘I don’t but I can!’” From there, she began offering move-in, move-out cleaning services as add-ons. In addition to the moving company, a hardworking Ivery began delivering as an independent contractor for nationally recognized corporations with rented delivery trucks. This led to her acquiring her own fleet. Delivering from Charleston, South Carolina to Albuquerque, New Mexico (and everywhere in between), Ivery found herself grateful for another successful income stream. Assured Contractors, Ivery’s most recent business venture, specializes, but is not limited to, bath and kitchen remodeling. While Ivery’s drive and self-assuredness shine through in her passionate way of describing every encounter she has had, she is quick to point out that her family and her team are integral to her success. “My family is my everything. My world revolves around my family.” For more information, please call 843-345-2680. A Business Mind, a Grateful Heart Meet Shelby Ivery BY LAURA FOGERTY Charleston Women in Business Photo by Rachel Basye, Cooper River Photography.
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