Heartcore Business Founder Shanda Sumpter Reveals 4 Ways She Helps Leaders Achieve Financial Freedom

Heartcore Business describes itself as “the premier training and coaching company for driven entrepreneurs who want to create a massive impact and generate financial freedom without sacrifice.” Those values are embodied in Heartcore’s founder, Shanda Sumpter.

“I consider myself a trailblazer because I did everything first in my family,” Sumpter says. “Leaders forgive first. They step up first, and I think it’s really hard to make it in business today if you’re not a trailblazer.”

Heartcore is, by Sumpter’s telling, an “eight-figure company” that works with entrepreneurs at every stage of their business who find they “are not reaching enough people.” It also owns an AI-specialized virtual assistant outfit that handles everything from design and marketing to online summits, and Heartcore organizes 28 events each year to help business owners grow their companies. 

Sumpter says more than 70% of her clients are “creating results each quarter.” But Heartcore is about more than just business results. The company also helps entrepreneurs drill down and define their culture—their values and identity.

“My hook is to show you how to reach more people,” Sumpter says. “I love entrepreneurs because I think they’re leaders. And what better than to train a leader to be a better human being in the world and to be more responsible for what they see is important and to expand that through their family and friends and help more people to change the world?”

Sumpter laughs, saying she might be “crazy enough” to believe she can change the world. Here’s how she aims to do that.

Known for advocating for work-life balance, she unabashedly works 15 days a month and then takes one week off to do whatever she wants—except work. “That’s really what it takes to be successful, so I’m intense at taking time off,” she says. During that week off, her online show, Shanda on Demand, goes dark and her staff knows not to contact her except for emergencies.

“Everybody wants to know how to create the content, how to create the message, how to create the business, how to grow it,” she says. “And I say: Start with accountability first. What is the structure you want to put under your life? I take one week off a month.”

Calling workaholism, all-day multitasking and the lifestyle of “everything in moderation” until you retire “middle-class mindsets,” Sumpter preaches instead a “freedom-based mindset” centered on finding both emotional and financial success. Make your free time count and surround yourself with people who challenge you while simultaneously claiming your share of the wealth. 

“It’s easier to become a millionaire than it ever has been,” she says.

In her 2015 book, Core Calling: How to Build a Business That Gives You a Freedom Lifestyle in 2 Years or Less!, Sumpter discusses  research that has indicated income doesn’t always directly impact emotional well-being. She writes: “Striving for more money will not necessarily give you a better life unless you put the same emphasis on building your life as you do on building your financial freedom.”

“The way through to success is who you spend your time with and how you lead yourself on a daily basis,” she says. “I think leadership is more important than absolutely anything you can study on the entire planet.”

And it’s about more than financial success. Sumpter says there are a myriad of ways to get to the top, “but income is a great measuring stick because it tells you how much you have contributed,” she says. “As it goes up, I’m telling you, you see the contribution in the human being and the heart of the person. They don’t need another car. They don’t need another house.”

Sumpter says a trigger for her is when people make enough money and then say, “I’m good. I don’t need anymore.” Considering all the problems in the world, she notes, that mindset is limiting. “There are places in the world that need you right now,” she says. “At what point does humanity just say your money isn’t about you?”

Heartcore’s website says Sumpter has “given over $400,000 in the last 24 months to meaningful causes like ending human trafficking,” and the company is “tithing 10% a month as our stand to make the world a better place.” 

Inspired by scripture, Sumpter advises: “Make enough money to be a blessing to others.”

Sumpter is Christian, and her website mentions God frequently, though she is clear that she coaches and trains people of any faith or background and resists the idea of eschewing dialogue out of fear over differences. “My value system is to provide a platform where everybody has a voice,” she says.

“If we could just stimulate that in people: to be a safe place for people to have their value systems and to be OK if other people are not a safe place for them, to still walk in their value systems,” Sumpter says. “That’s really the underlying core of what we do really well in the world.”

“Generosity” is the first word Sumpter uses to describe her business. Heartcore offers much of its training content online for free. “I get that it’s generosity and contribution that actually unhooks me from my small thinking, and I want that blessing for everybody,” she says.

“Yes, I teach business and financial freedom, but I’m in a humanitarian project because I just think the world’s better if there are stronger leaders in the world,” Sumpter says. “They stop pointing fingers, and they start contributing. They start changing things.”

While she describes her childhood as difficult, including some emotional and physical abuse by a stepfather figure, she doesn’t believe her battle has been different from anyone else’s.

“Heartcore Business is called Heartcore Business, not Shanda Sumpter, because I always wanted to be behind the scenes,” Sumpter says. “I knew that I wanted to be rich, and I’m not going to apologize for that. I knew God had a reason for me to be successful, but I never had a desire to work harder. I’ve had to hack the system. I’ve had to put myself into triathlons to mentally strengthen myself. I’ve had to hire coaches.”

If she hadn’t experienced getting back up after being knocked down, Sumpter’s not sure she’d have achieved financial freedom. She tells people, “Don’t hire me because I’ve been successful. Hire me because of the amount of times I’ve gotten up off the middle of the living room floor and was successful despite the odds.” 

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2024 issue of SUCCESS magazine. Photo courtesy of Shanda Sumpter.

Jennifer Green has been writing about the entertainment industry for more than two decades, and her work (archived at filmsfromafar.com) has appeared in a variety of international publications and websites. She splits her time between the US and Spain, and when she's not teaching or spending time with her family, she can be found in front of a movie screen.