We were lucky to catch up with Barbara Perpignan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Barbara, thanks for joining us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My superhero is my mother, she is a strong minority woman who came over from Puerto Rico, speaking very little English, and became the epitome of philanthropy and success. I was born in Puerto Rico and came to California in my early years not speaking any English. My mom raised my brother and I And made sure that we knew English, understood the importance of education, understood the importance of giving back and most of all understood the importance of culture. She always encouraged us to be strong in our faith and to never waiver about who we were or where we came from. My parents divorced in my early teen years and I watched my mother work hard as an OB/GYN, while giving back to underserved communities on a weekly basis. Since we lived in California, I grew up going over the border to Mexico with my mother every Saturday morning to administer immunizations and physicals to children, who had no medical care, all free of charge. It taught me early that giving back was the best way to have joy in your heart.
From my mother, I also learned the importance of being a strong Afro Latina woman. Because both the NFL and entertainment are male dominated industries, I had to learn to be strong, stand my ground, and be firm in all of my decisions. I believe that’s why I’ve had so much success over the last 18 years in the industry that is mostly dominated by men.
Although it was never easy, I always felt that my mom gave me an advantage by teaching me that women can do anything you set your mind to regardless of language barriers or gender discrimination, so I pushed harder, and I commanded a presence in every room that I went to , thus giving me the success I have today.
She is truly my superhero and a superhero to so many others.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the president and CEO of Barbwire VIP, which is a brand management and brand development company for both artist and athletes. I started doing what used to be called “PR” back in 2006 and evolved from there. I began working with several NFL players And a coach. I began to show them the importance of doing things off the football field. Because the playing time of the average NFL player is not more than five years, I wanted to teach these young men how to build their brand so that people knew who they were without a helmet on. I did that by having them do multiple community projects, such as building playgrounds, Habitat for Humanity, reading to kids are in elementary school, and giving back over the holidays. This became very important to these NFL players because it helped them build their brand and created future opportunities for them when they stop playing football. In 2013 I left the NFL and went to work in the Entertainment field with musical artists. I took the same blueprint that I had built for NFL players and transferred it over to music artists. Getting them involved in the community boosted their record sales, streaming and concert sales. A lot of the NFL players and artists that I’ve worked with currently now have 501(c)(3)‘s and businesses of their own That generate millions of dollars in revenue.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe what helped me build My reputation in the market was integrity. No matter what I did or who I came across, they could be sure that I was always going to be authentic and always gonna keep it real. In both the sports and entertainment world it is very difficult to find people who are genuine, and I offered that to my clients. Not only did I establish a working relationship with my clients, but I created an environment where we became family. In this industry trust is monumental and the only way to build that is through relationships. I have done my best to keep my face clean and always do well by my clients and that allowed me to build, maintain and propel my reputation within the market.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Again, I keep in touch with my clients because of relationship. I’ve been in this industry over 18 years so I’ve watched their children be born, and grow, and some graduate high school and have families over their own. So keeping the relationships, always checking up on them, following their stories and cheering them on has allowed for my clients to continue to come back to me when they need something. I also have clients who now have kids that either play in the NFL or do music and they have come to me to represent their children because of the job I did with them Years ago. I stressed to people all the time that is not about the money that you make in this industry, it’s about the relationships that you make. Money can’t get you into some of the doors that I’ve been in, and some of the rooms that I’ve been in and seated next to some of the people that I’ve seen. Relationship, trust, integrity, and character is how you keep clients and foster Brand loyalty.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.barbwirevip.com
• Instagram: Mrs.boss0411
• Facebook: Barbara Perpignan
• Linkedin: Barbara Perpignan

Image Credits

Michelle M2 Executive Headshots