Shayla Copas Lifestyle has grown from a single idea into a thriving collection of national lifestyle brands. Built by its namesake, the venture has blossomed into five branded startups leading Copas, a well-known Little Rock entrepreneur, author and style agent, to expand her executive leadership team to help shepherd the enterprise into the future.
She didn’t have to look far for the perfect leader to manage the day-to-day of her consortium, Shayla Copas Interiors, Shayla Copas Travel, Shayla Copas Collections, Copas & Co. Construction Consulting and The Hive Marketing & Public Relations. In December, it was announced that Scott Copas, her husband, longtime construction executive and member of AMP’s 2022 Influencers of the Year list, would serve as COO of the burgeoning business.
“Shayla Copas Lifestyle is a brand I’ve built on my own for so long,” Shayla said. “I’ve earned every dollar that this company has ever made on my own, starting from the bottom up. Scott’s always been there as a support and as that financial brain behind the brand. But because he was running a $300 million construction company, he didn’t have time to handle it to the extent that the brand really needed.
“The lifestyle brand has really exploded in the last couple of years, and we are excited for what the future holds. Now that Scott’s integrating full time, we’re going to be able to really fast-track things.”
Scott Copas distinguished himself with Baldwin & Shell Construction Co. for more than 40 years, starting as an estimator with the firm in 1977. He would quickly begin his rise in the company, eventually ascending to president and CEO in 2014. Under his guidance, Baldwin & Shell prospered mightily, growing annual profits from $80 million to more than $300 million on his watch.
Scott said the decision to leave and join his wife’s firm, years in the planning, was the right move at the right time for Shayla Copas Lifestyle.
“This is not something that we just now thought of; it’s something we’ve been talking about for three years,” he said. “I’ve always admired what she did. I love going to market. I love going to watch her speak. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It gives me a whole different kind of feeling than working 70 hours a week with a construction company.”
Scott said the final nudge was when Shayla published her first book, Four Seasons of Entertaining, in 2019, and he saw the time it would take her away from home on a book tour. While the pandemic ultimately cut into many of those appearances, Scott was convinced it was time to leave construction for a new challenge in support of his wife and her company.
“She was going to be gone eight or nine months of the year, and I’m thinking, I hate that she’s going to be gone all the time,” he said. “I’m very excited about being in this role to be able to be a part of things, day-to-day.”
The roots of Shayla Copas’s business empire extend well past the seminal interior-design business that put her on the map. The survivor of a difficult and abusive childhood, Shayla has always had to rely on her entrepreneurial grit and hustle to survive. At 19, she started selling silk plants in an era when such things weren’t as readily available through established retail. Relying on her wits, she negotiated with manufacturers and was so good at customer interactions, she brought the thriving business with her to Little Rock.
In 1997, she and Scott were married after a three-year courtship, and Shayla launched her interior design firm, Shayla Copas Interiors, another venture born and built by sheer will and the quality of her work.
Shayla Copas said she sees more opportunities than challenges ahead for her company.
“I think as an entrepreneur, you decide what your life is going to be, and you make it that. That’s what you do, and you go after everything that you have a passion for,” she said. “I was arranging things in my house since the time I was a little girl, rearranging the furniture. My parents might come home, and the sofa would be in a different place. I just really loved design, and it kind of radiated out of me.”
Her combination of astute eye for design and untiring work ethic soon built a solid book of clients in the luxury market, eager to adopt her “Southern glam” aesthetic. Industry awards soon followed, further establishing her reputation and putting her in demand throughout the South. Today, her portfolio of projects includes gubernatorial inaugurations, fundraising galas, luxury homes and commercial work.
From there, she successfully launched a high-end lifestyle goods collection for the home, published her book and established a marketing/public relations firm specializing in construction, design, architecture, culinary and retail clients. And there’s even more ahead in the new year, including a travel agency specializing in design-inspired tours and a construction-consulting business.
“I see far more opportunity than challenges,” Shayla said. “We don’t really have a problem with people purchasing, because people are now putting their money into their homes because they’re home more. That’s where all their extra income is going. They’ve continued to see their home as a place to unite people and a place to center their families and center themselves, so they’re willing to invest in that.
“They’re also ready to put money into travel, because they’ve realized that experiences are more important than materialistic items. They’re investing in trips because trips are experiences, and that’s something that you take with you the rest of your life.”
As for shifting from steel beams to occasional chairs and other aspects of the company’s myriad brands, Scott is equally confident about the future.
“Shayla has done a great job of incorporating different aspects into her design. She has furniture, she has hard goods, she’s working on soft goods. She’s fitting into several different categories,” he said. “I am convinced that the boom of people going back and recentering their lives around their home and their family is a pent-up demand that’s going to go on for a long time.
“I know how to run a company. I don’t know how to create what she creates — that’s her gift — but I know how to manage it, license it, sell it and so on. That makes us a good partnership, and working together is something that I’m just really excited about.”
READ MORE: AMP Influencers of the Year 2022
