Meet Taylor Staggers | Creative Entrepreneur + Marketing Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Staggers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
Legacy and impact.

Before making decisions regarding my professional life and business, I evaluate how these decisions fit into the legacy I wish to create and the impact those choices will have on my family, team, and community.

At the end of my career, I hope my campaign and challenge of “It’s Not Business As Usual” is a standard business practice where leaders of organizations are evaluating their practices and using their platforms and resources to make the industries they serve more inclusive and equitable.

I also hope my career has a positive impact on others, especially Black girls and women. I hope they can view my journey as a proof point that there is room for their uniqueness and creativity in any space they choose to occupy. Even those not commonly occupied by individuals like themselves. And on the contrary, I hope my work product serves as an example to those in decision-making positions, that good quality and high-performing talent comes in many different forms of background and experiences.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
From fashion and commercial real estate to beauty and entertainment, being a professional creative has brought me down many different paths within many different industries. Topics and audiences may change, but I’ve learned that strategy and being goals-first-oriented is a constant and reliable way to start any creative project. This broad range of experience has put me in a great position to build an agency and grow an amazing team of creatives. Handberry Creative specializes in creative strategy, content creation, brand activations, and other marketing and PR services.

I am very excited about my new role as Marketing Director for Centennial Yards in Downtown Atlanta. Centennial Yards is a 50-acre mixed-use development in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. Directly across the street from Mercedez-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena, Centennial Yards will completely transform downtown with 8 million square feet of retail, commercial office, residential units, and hotels. If any project were going to pull me from full-time entrepreneurship, it would be this one.

The transformative nature of the project was not the only benefit that led me to accept this position, it was the opportunity to represent Atlanta. Centennial Yards has historic equal business and opportunity plans, and in this role, I’ve made it my business to speak up for and provide opportunities to small businesses and creatives from communities who have historically been excluded from discussions and game-changing projects of this magnitude.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would start the week off with a Melanated Monday Yoga flow at HC Creative /hous/, grabbing cocktails and a lobster roll from Beetle Cat afterward.

After working from The Gathering Spot, the rest of the week would include more cocktails and yummy bites from the likes of Bellyard Hotel, The James Room, Marcels, The Lawrence, Daddy Dz BBQ, and Girl Diver.

The weekends must involve a walk on the Krog St-Reynoldstown-portion of the Beltline, brunch at Home Grown, plant shopping at Goat City Plants, and nightcaps at Vesper.

I’m a little biased with this, but we of course would go to Centennial Yards to grab some drinks before walking over to a concert or game at State Farm Arena or Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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?
It’s hard to pinpoint one person in my life that I’d like to recognize for my success thus far. I truly am the poster child for “It takes a village.” So many members of my family and network have made sacrifices or given me opportunities that have allowed me to thrive.

Snoop Dogg ruffled some feathers when he thanked himself when accepting an award, however as a creative, I appreciated that. We often don’t give ourselves enough credit for the courage and determination it takes to be an entrepreneur or go after the career we want. So I’d like to give myself a little shoutout for never giving up on the dreams and passions that have always been in me.

Website: www.handberrycreative.com

Instagram: instagram.com/tayhand

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

Twitter: twitter.com/tayhand

Image Credits
Connor Barber Photography