We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica R. Shely and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica R., is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
GPD Creative Agency was founded on the pillars of sustainability and social justice. Those two pillars are what drive our decision-making. Our business purpose is Doing Business and Doing Good. We live out this purpose every day by supporting small businesses and non-profit organizations to increase their brand image and awareness. There are so many organizations that are doing great work. Our Agency seeks to help them become more visible in the marketplace and increase their conversion rates.

One of our success stories comes from the work of GPD with the Cincinnati Chapter of the NAACP. In 2020, at the height of civil unrest in the U.S. and the COVID-19 pandemic, GPD assisted the organization in revamping its digital presence. Within the first month after the launch of the new website, the organization received more than $150K in donations, saw a 265% increase in membership sales as compared to 2019, and was able to hire a full-time staff member. Prior to working with GPD, the primarily volunteer-based organization had no way to accept donations or memberships online.

In 2021, GPD developed a program specifically for minority entrepreneurs to assist them in becoming digital-ready. Since the coronavirus pandemic, Black business ownership has decreased by 41% with research pointing to the inability to digitize their companies for consumers to access their services or products online as a key factor for the decline. The program provides black-owned businesses and black-led nonprofits with the opportunity to receive a free domain name registration and web hosting package for one year, and website design and build services provided by GPD at no cost.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Green Pasture Designs, also known as GPD Creative Agency (GPD), is an award-winning creative agency that assists organizations in creating meaningful and memorable digital marketing strategies through digital emotional intelligence and digital storytelling. GPD is a one-stop creative agency for building brand awareness, through web design, photography, videography, graphic design, and more. Our goal is to have a positive impact on our client’s bottom line by building effective digital platforms that enhance their digital strategy.

In business since 2015, GPD has been the recipient of many awards including Emerging Business of the Year, Marketing Pinnacle for Best Digital Strategy and Execution, and the Together Digital Community Builder Award.

GPD’s team of creatives is proud of the work done on a daily basis to build brand awareness for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. We are most proud of the work we do to support minority leaders in becoming digital-ready. This work directly tackles the digital disparities within Black and Brown communities in Greater Cincinnati and beyond by offering resources and education on digital transformation.

Our founder and fearless leader, Jessica R. Shely, continues to overcome the many obstacles that come with being a Black woman entrepreneur. As a brain aneurysm survivor, she uses her story and platform to inspire others and to promote health and wellness to avoid burnout.

GPD’s motto is “You Rest … We Create!” We live this out by putting our client’s minds at ease when it comes to the creative process. By working with GPD, they know that they receive high-quality creative work with high-quality customer service.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Cincinnati is the the heart of the Midwest with so much to offer its residents and guests. We would visit all of the local favorite places to eat including LaRosas Pizzeria and Skyline Chilli and we would visit several of our favorite Black-owned eateries like Conscious Kitchen, Soul Secrets.

We would show our friends why Cincinnati is quickly becoming known as the sports capital of the world by taking them to professional sports games from the Cincinnati Bengals, to the Cincinnati Reds and FC Cincinnati.

A place that is rich in history and culture, we would give a tour of Downtown at The Banks and stop by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center before heading to the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.

In just a week’s time we have worn out our friends with the beautiful scenery Cincinnati has to offer so we invite them to visit again when they have more time!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shout out my sister, Lawanda. She has inspired me my entire life providing mentorship and a real-life example of hard work, dedication, and persistence. Being a first-generation college graduate, she inspired me to pursue my baccalaureate and master’s degrees while supporting me along the way.

What I admire most about her is her giving nature and willingness to help others in need.

Website: https://www.createwithgpd.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/createwithgpd/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicashely/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/createwithgpd/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/createwithgpd/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC77Upy7NYnaqGPLNNFjwOg

Image Credits
Jessica Simone Photography Angelique Johnson

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutOhio is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.