Today we’d like to introduce you to Shay Gist.
Hi Shay, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
ShaCa Gurus started as a blend of friendship, purpose, and the skills Cara and I already found ourselves using to help people around us. The name itself is personal — “ShaCa” is a combination of Shay and Cara, and it’s also a fun play on Chaka Zulu, with “Gurus” representing how people already saw us: as trusted go-to resources for tech, websites, and digital support.
Before ShaCa Gurus officially became a business, we were both already helping friends, family, small business owners, and community organizations figure out how to bring their ideas online. With our backgrounds in engineering, web development, and problem-solving, we realized there was a real need for web support that felt approachable, honest, and easy to understand — especially for people who had a vision but did not know how to make it functional online.
We officially established ShaCa Gurus in 2021 as a women-owned, minority-led web solutions business founded by two engineers with over 20 years of combined experience. Since then, we’ve grown from being the people our community called for help into a business that supports nonprofits, consultants, entrepreneurs, and growing organizations with website development, redesigns, updates, eCommerce setup, booking systems, domain support, hosting, maintenance, and custom web solutions.
What has gotten us to where we are today is really our client-first approach. We don’t just build websites; we build relationships. We listen, communicate clearly, and create websites that are beautiful, functional, user-friendly, and flexible enough to grow with each client’s business. That mix of technical expertise, creativity, integrity, and genuine care for our clients is what continues to shape ShaCa Gurus today.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. Like many small businesses, we had to learn that having the skill to do the work is only one part of building a business. Some of our biggest challenges have been on the administrative side — creating clear process flows, organizing our systems, figuring out how to fund growth, and learning how to consistently market ourselves while still serving our current clients.
In the beginning, a lot of things were built as we went. We had to refine how we onboard clients, manage timelines, communicate project expectations, price our services, and create a more structured experience from start to finish. Marketing has also been a learning curve because much of our growth came naturally through referrals, but we realized that in order to scale, we had to be more intentional about showing up, sharing our work, and telling our story.
What has felt more natural for us is the client-facing side. Customer service, honesty, and transparency have always been strengths for ShaCa Gurus. Our corporate and engineering backgrounds helped us understand how to solve problems, communicate clearly, manage expectations, and think through business needs beyond just the website itself. We try to help clients understand not only what we are building, but why it matters for their overall business.
So while the road has had challenges, those challenges have helped us grow into a more organized, thoughtful, and client-focused business.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ShaCa Gurus is a web solutions business built to help small businesses, nonprofits, entrepreneurs, and growing organizations create a stronger, more professional online presence. We specialize in website design, website development, redesigns, maintenance, hosting, eCommerce setup, booking systems, forms, logos, templates, and custom web solutions.
What we are really known for is making the web design process feel less overwhelming. A lot of our clients come to us with a vision, but they may not know how to organize it, present it, or turn it into a functional website. That is where we come in. We help take their ideas and turn them into something polished, user-friendly, and aligned with their goals.
What sets ShaCa Gurus apart is the combination of technical experience, creativity, and genuine customer care. Cara and I both come from engineering and corporate backgrounds, so we bring structure, problem-solving, and strategy into every project. But we also understand that many of our clients are not technical, so we pride ourselves on being transparent, approachable, and clear throughout the process. We do not just build a site and disappear. We try to educate, guide, and support our clients so they feel confident in what they have.
Brand-wise, I am most proud that ShaCa Gurus has become a trusted resource for so many people and organizations. Our growth has come largely from relationships, referrals, and the quality of our work. That means a lot to us because it shows that people not only value the websites we create, but also the experience of working with us.
At the heart of ShaCa Gurus, we want people to know that we are more than just web designers. We are problem-solvers, partners, and advocates for our clients’ visions. Whether someone is launching a new business, refreshing an outdated website, improving their online systems, or needing ongoing support, our goal is to help them show up online with confidence, clarity, and professionalism.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I would say the resources that help me most are a mix of business tools, tech resources, and everyday systems that keep me organized. For ShaCa Gurus, tools like Dubsado, Slack, Jira, QuickBooks, Google Workspace, WordPress, Elementor, and other web platforms help us manage projects, communicate clearly, stay organized, and deliver quality work for our clients.
I also rely heavily on online learning resources, documentation, tutorials, and industry blogs because technology is always changing. In web development, you have to be willing to keep learning, test new tools, and adapt as client needs change.
Outside of specific apps, one of the biggest resources that helps me do my best is having a strong network of people I can learn from, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of. As a business owner, wife, mother, and professional, I have learned that success really comes down to staying organized, remaining teachable, and surrounding yourself with people and tools that help you grow.
Pricing:
- Custom Websites: $800+
- Template Websites: $400+
- Website Maintenance : $45+/month
- Logos: $210+
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shacagurus.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/shacagurus
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/shacagurus
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/shaygist
- Other: https://linkedin.com/company/shacagurus
