After majoring in music and business, Shantel Dow moved to Chariton, Iowa for her husbandās job and decided to combine her two degrees into something she loved. In August of 2004, Shantel opened Dow Artists, Inc. Dow Artists is a performing arts booking agency. Shantel books live performing art shows for performing arts centers, fairs, festivals, school, corporate events, and more across the U.S. and internationally.
Dow Artists had a difficult time getting started due to how unique and specific the market of her business is. Shantel reached out to Bryan Ziegler of Indian Hills SBDC in order to get new ideas of how to continue to move her business forward. Bryan has helped her get in touch with the Iowa Entrepreneur public television show and she hopes they feature Dow Artists next fall. He has also assisted her in hiring an office manager. Shantel said, āSBDC is a great tool for small businesses. Bryan Ziegler is very approachable and available and has many tools to help a small business owner establish his/her business and support business growth.ā Shantel also gets the help from her family, with her four children having a big role within the business.
Although Shantel has struggled with the networking side of her business, she is pleased with the success that Dow Artists has found, and the steady growth it had. Dow Artists had acquired two grants to help her get started in exporting and start booking shows in Mexico, Canada, and China. She was also selected as the 2018 Arts Midwest Conference Co-Chair.
Outside of work, Shantel helps regional performing arts series with finding talent for their venues. Other Iowa towns such as Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Oelwein, Sioux Center, Des Moines, and more utilize her expertise to assist with finding outstanding talent.
For more information about Shantel Dow or Dow Artists, Inc., please visit their website at www.dowartists.com.