One day in health class, the teacher asked who knows what PMS stands for.
The first student to raise their hand was 12-year-old Hailey, who exclaimed, “Pantone Matching System!”
That’s just part of the core curriculum when your mom is Kelly Shearer, branding expert, admitted print geek, raconteur and perpetual hustler.
“I don’t sell anything without asking a question,” Shearer says. “I’ve learned that people think they know what they want, but when you explain things to them, they might not want it.
“For example, this woman was opening a deli and wanted logoed sandwich wrapping. It would’ve been mailbox money for me, but I asked if she really wanted to do that and suggested investing in coffee mugs instead. After I explained my psychology to her, she said, ‘I think you’re right.’”
Kelly Shearer
Brand Solutions Specialist
Considering her unbridled passion for promotional products, it’s hard to believe that Shearer ever left the industry. But after a failed business venture, a broken marriage and Mother Nature kicking her to the curb, she found her way back home.
‘You Just Can’t Stop’
When Shearer dies, she wants to be buried in her pajamas.
How’s that for an ice breaker? Morbid? Sure, but it’s also something of a mantra.
While working for a paid search company, the New Jersey native was engulfed in a blizzard. Commuting to the office would’ve taken an hour and a half, so she told her boss she’ll work from home. She says he screamed at her, demanding she make the trek to the office. When she refused, he said, “You’ll never make it in the real world. You’ll never be anything but a pajama girl.”
That inspired her to open Corporate Pajamas Marketing Solutions, a branded merchandise distributorship in Tabernacle, New Jersey, in 2010.
Working from home would also allow her to be with her four children – all under the age of 5 – whom she adopted from foster care. “I couldn’t have kids, but I wanted a family,” Shearer says. “So, my ex and I became foster parents. We had our first one for 16 months before she went back to her mom, which was heartbreaking.”
Eventually, they adopted two sets of siblings – brothers and a brother/sister combo – and moved to a property with 300 acres behind the house. To keep the children entertained, Shearer says they fostered hundreds of dogs and raised pigs, chickens and other farm animals.
“Trying to run a business while going through that adoption process was just insane,” she adds. “But I have a good support team. I’m an only child, so I rely on very good friends. My graphic designer best friend from kindergarten worked tirelessly on ads, mailers and campaigns. You just can’t stop. I was bound and determined to get that company up and running.”
Even though Shearer started the business to be home with her children, the firm’s success meant she was often on the road. She crisscrossed the country, attending various trade shows and conferences, including the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo. A social butterfly, she fluttered across every room, making connections and landing deals with Six Flags, the Franklin Institute and iPlay America, among other well-known brands.
“I make plans with my clients – it’s consultative selling,” Shearer says. “I take the time and sit down with them. That’s why the people I work with adore me.”
Losing Everything
While Shearer was selling and designing, her ex-husband was responsible for administrative tasks, such as sending quotes. Well, he was supposed to.
Promo was his fallback after being laid off from his construction job. He knew enough about the business, so Shearer figured she could rely on him. After all, being a one-woman operation was taking its toll.
“I let him have carte blanche on the back end and he systematically destroyed it,” Shearer says. “I didn’t know what was going on until customers told me they were having issues.”
To help him keep up, Shearer says the firm joined iPROMOTEu, PPAI 100’s No. 6 distributor, as an affiliate in 2014. Although she loved being part of the network, receiving extensive resources and personalized support, her company was a lost cause.
“I was fighting a losing battle,” she says. “I lost a lot of business because of him, so we shut down the company.”
- Corporate Pajamas Marketing Solutions officially closed at the end of 2018.
- Shearer’s divorce shortly followed.
“I left my ex in the middle of the pandemic,” Shearer says. “I said, ‘Let’s get counseling.’ He said, ‘You go.’ So, I did. I threw all my stuff in the car and moved to Florida by myself. The kids were settled and had their friends and didn’t want to come.”
While living with her partner in St. Petersburg, Shearer worked on numerous projects for various organizations through freelancing platform Upwork, helping with sales, writing, social media, event planning and all other exigencies.
Keeping one toe in the promo pool, she also worked for PrintFactory, an international business service provider. Let go right before Hurricane Helene, she and her partner sought refuge from the storm in South Carolina. Just when they thought the coast was clear, Hurricane Milton hit.
“We lost everything,” Shearer says. “We left our furniture and everything with the intent of coming back for it. But when we checked, everything was gone.”
Coming Home
Since October, the couple have been making their way up the Eastern Seaboard, taking freelance gigs to cover essentials as they rebuild their lives with the eventual goal of returning to New Jersey. After a job interview with a San Francisco-based supplier, Shearer realized how much she missed being in the promo industry.
So, in March, she posted in the Promotional Products Professionals Facebook Group that she was currently seeking a position. She shared the SparkNotes of her career and situation and hoped for the best. Floored by the dozens of responses, she went on several interviews before accepting a position about a week later.
“I don’t understand how you do commission sales in this economy with all the changes going on,” Shearer says. “Years ago, I probably would’ve taken it on, but I’d be a nervous wreck doing just commission at this point. I used to make $65,000 a year at one of my corporate jobs, but that salary doesn’t cut it today, and most people are offering way lower than that.
“Promo just isn’t keeping up with the salaries of today because it has traditionally been commission-based, but companies need to realize the world is changing.”
Rochelle Moneta, MAS, president of Delaware-based distributor LeRoe Promotional Marketing, has known Shearer for 15 years. They met through Meeting Professionals International and later reconnected at Promotions East in Atlantic City, a trade show hosted by the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York. At the time, Moneta had just joined iPROMOTEu as an affiliate, and her experience influenced Shearer to follow suit.
Rochelle Moneta, MAS
President, LeRoe Promotional Marketing
“Kelly has always had a deep passion for promo – it’s truly in her blood,” Moneta says. “I was so happy to see her return to the industry, and I have no doubt that with her drive and enthusiasm, she’ll be a tremendous asset to her new employer.”
Despite enduring the briar patch of operating her own business, Shearer considered opening another one. “But after talking with a couple people, we decided it was easier for me to find a perfect company,” she says, “and I think I have.”
Next Chapter
On April 7, Shearer started as a brand solutions specialist at Oklahoma-based distributor IGG Screen Printing – a stateside, family-owned business that checks all her boxes.
“It’s big enough that I have the support I need to grow the company, but small enough that it’s intimate, so everybody knows everybody,” she says.
Josh Wylie, co-founder and COO of IGG, says he instantly connected with Shearer over her sales philosophy of focusing on how to help clients grow rather than simply pushing products. She demonstrates this customer-centric mindset by asking the right questions, such as “How can we make your event go smoother?” and “What do you want your brand to deliver?”
“This decision represents an exciting strategic step for IGG,” Wylie says. “Hiring a remote sales professional is new territory for us, as Kelly’s expertise opens doors to customer segments we haven’t been able to reach previously. Her understanding of relationship-based selling and genuine commitment to client success made her the ideal candidate to expand our market presence.
Josh Wylie
Co-founder & COO, IGG Screen Printing
“We’re looking forward to Kelly building strong partnerships in these new markets while maintaining the quality and service that define the IGG brand.”
Of course, the plucky firebrand has hit the ground running, creating content on social media, making inroads in new markets and reacclimating herself to the world of promo.
“I tried to leave the industry, but once you’ve been bitten by the bug, that’s all there is,” Shearer says. “Doing it yourself is hard. Now, I have a team, customer service reps and graphic designers. I’m even starting a podcast for the company, covering alternative sports.
“This is my life now.”
