Derry woman Shannon's positive stationery has thousands of fans across social media

Shannon Willox, from Pennyburn, launched her business ‘Women Empowerment Corner’ during lockdown, when she drew inspiration from the messages of positivity that were being posted across social media.

Her first ‘physical’ product, a desk diary, grew so popular that she has now expanded her business to include journals, calendars, notebooks, e-books and planners, that are the ‘must-have’ for those-in-the-know from all over the world.

The products include ‘Her Book of Inspiration’ desk planner, which is already on its second volume, the Sunshine Calendar, a 2025 weekly planner and a Fitness Planner, as well as Manifesting and Mindfulness digital planners.

Shannon found initial success with e-books focused on how to grow social media pages and she also sells digital downloads on topics such as the ‘Boss Babe Brand Builder e-book’ and ‘Grow Your Instagram from 0 to 5k in 50 days’.

The latter is something that Shannon herself has achieved, with her page becoming somewhat of an online sensation when it first launched. She now has over 380,000 followers on Instagram. Her social-media approved stationery and positive posts have gone viral.

Speaking to the Journal, 26-year-old Shannon told how she previously studied Chemistry at Queen’s University in Belfast and this is where she initially thought her future would lie. She had completed her placement at Seagate and had an interview for a job there, right before the Covid 19 pandemic hit.

“I was really stuck for what to do. I saw a lot of positive posts on Instagram, at a time when it was important to see them, really. I also saw that people were making money from social media and thought: ‘I could do that.’

"I started Women Empowerment Corner in August 2020 on Instagram and the page grew to 10,000 followers in 50 days. It reached 100k in six months. So, the first thing I launched was an e-book, on teaching people how to grow their Instagram. I wasn’t sure how well it would do, but it went really well.

“I did another one then, which was also a success. But, I really wanted to have a product of my own that I could hold in my hand. I started thinking about desk calendars, that had positive and motivational quotes on them, just like the ones I posted on my page.

"I designed them all myself and invested what I had made from the e-books into the company. I was very nervous! But I had a feeling and a hope it would do well and thank God, it did.”

After the success of the desk planner, Shannon then expanded the business. While Shannon designed the products, she, at first, outsourced to another company to make them.

However, earlier this year, she decided to do this herself. Now, every product Shannon makes – from the design to the binding – is done so at her home in Pennyburn.

She is proud that her business is female-focused and promotes empowerment and also helps other business women boost their business.

She has plans to continue to expand the range and recently launched a children’s mental health calendar.

She ships worldwide – with America one of her biggest markets – with free shipping in Northern Ireland.

See https://linktr.ee/womenempowermentcorner and ‘WomenEmpowermentCorner’ on Instagram and on Facebook.