Sheila P. Coates

Be Your Own Brand (BYOB) is the culmination of Sheila Coates’ two decades of experience as a marketing executive specializing in artist development, branding and imaging. Coates understands the importance of creating and maintaining a consistent visual presentation that is authentic and generates a sense of confidence and character in order to, succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. She has the background and expertise to help people to “Be Their Own Brand” by combining the power of words and images to develop memorable first impressions that, “Speak Volumes Without Saying A Word…”

During her tenure in the music industry, Coates worked with some of the most recognizable names in the business. She inspired, cultivated, and provided guidance to many artists who went on to achieve multi-platinum-selling status. Her client list reads like a “Who’s Who” in popular music — Mary J. Blige, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Toni Braxton, Lenny Kravitz, Barry White, Jill Scott, Babyface, Monica, Faith Evans, Angie Stone, Q-Tip, Lalah Hathaway, and many others. She has created images for more than 100 videos, red-carpets events and television programs such as: The GRAMMY® Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, BET Awards, Good Morning America, The Today Show, Oprah, The Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman.

Coates held senior executive positions with Sony/BMG, Arista Records, EMI/Capitol, Virgin Records, MCA Records, Perspective Records and Hidden Beach Recordings, where she managed budgets exceeding $50 million and developed successful cross-promotional initiatives such as the soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning film “Training Day.” Through BYOB, Coates has consulted with executives at Fortune 500 companies, media organizations, and entertainment and lifestyle industries, including Toyota North America, AARP, Coca-Cola, NBC/Universal, Comcast, Fox Films, State Farm Insurance, Nielsen and Neutrogena to name a few. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and organizations such as Dress For Success,The Kanye West Foundation, Women’s Step Up Network, the Coalition for At-Risk YouthFoster program and numerous colleges and high schools.

Her creativity and business acumen is boundless. In honor of National Black History Month, Coates developed the "Discover Your Brand" campaign, which resulted in major national retailer Macy’s partnering with BYOB in 2009. In 2010, Macy's launched “Discover Your Brand,” a 10-city tour of special events and "live" presentations led by Coates, that helped the Macy's customer be their personal best and identify their own unique brand. As a result of the successful and well-attended tour (netting a 22% increase in sales YTD), Macy's will continue their partnership with BYOB and selected Coates to represent Macy's at numerous Macy's sponsored including the Essence Women's Conference and a new Macy's/BYOB platform. Macy's and BYOB share several common goals: to create great shopping experiences, help people be their unique best, leave a lasting impression and be “fashion savvy!"

In 2009, BYOB won the British Airways “Face-to-Face” Entrepreneurship Award, visited The Oprah Winfrey Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended the British Airways Entrepreneur Training in London, England. In 2010, BYOB won a second British Airways contest from over 1,000 entries.

Coates was a contributor for the nationally syndicated “Steve Harvey Morning Show” and a frequent guest on Rushion McDonald’s weekly radio program “Money Making Conversations”. Her first book, “Mama Used to Say: Be Your Own Brand!” published by Our Little Books is available now and her latest project to help people stay hydrated and safe while we fight COVID!9 is the “BYOB Sip Safe Drinking Mask”.

In 2009, BYOB won the British Airways “Face-to-Face” Entrepreneurship Award, visited The Oprah Winfrey Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa, and attended the British Airways Entrepreneur Training in London, England. In 2010, BYOB won a second British Airways contest from over 1,000 entries. Coates, a Sacramento, California native, loves people, style and traveling. She has traveled extensively abroad with her favorite places being S. Africa, Portugal and Italy. A Goldman Sachs 10K Small Business graduate, Coates is an Entrepreneur who uses her brand to empower and mentor young women to always BYOB (Be Your Own Brand!).