We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashlynn Racquel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashlynn, thanks for joining us today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
The true start of Dawson Marie wasn’t a business plan; it was a deeply personal calling. My initial idea was to build an agency that honored my heritage—a tribute to the women who raised me. Naming the company Dawson Marie after my grandmother and great-grandmother immediately grounded the business in strength and deep-rooted purpose.
The moment of execution hit hard over Thanksgiving break in 2024. This wasn’t a slow build; the urge to finally launch my own agency was so strong—it was truly on my heart to launch—that the timeline immediately compressed.
Execution: The 75-Day Sprint
The period between late November and mid-February was an intense, strategic sprint driven by passion:
Legal & Branding (Late November/December 1st): The first action was establishing the structure. By December 1st, the LLC was curated and the initial website was designed. This rapid move created the formal foundation for the business.
The Go-to-Market Strategy (Mid-December): With the legal entity secured, I set an ambitious deadline: Valentine’s Day would be the official launch date. Knowing time was short, I immediately strategized a photoshoot to capture the brand’s high-touch, boutique feel.
Leveraging Insider Insight: While working on the visual launch, I leaned heavily on my professional background—over nine years of marketing experience, with five years on the brand side. This gave me a full-circle perspective that defined our value proposition: helping creators scale with strategy, not just fleeting deals.
The Talent Hunt: Simultaneously, I went on the hunt to find the best creators whose goals aligned with our unique, high-touch model.
Launch: Defining the Boutique Commitment
The final setup focused on delivering on the promise of the brand’s name—legacy and resilience:
Defining the Model: I consciously rejected the large, transactional agency approach to build a boutique, high-touch management firm centered on intention.
Structuring the Service: I ensured our offerings were strategic: crafting personalized plans and securing meaningful partnerships designed for longevity.
The Commitment: I set the standard that we would be deeply involved on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
By merging personal mission with professional insight, and accelerating the timeline due to the intense desire to launch, I successfully moved Dawson Marie from an idea over a holiday weekend to a fully branded agency ready to build legacy by Valentine’s Day.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hey there! I’m Ashlynn Racquel, and I’m the founder, strategist, and heart behind Dawson Marie, my talent management agency. I’m truly excited to share my story, because Dawson Marie is much more than a business venture—it’s a deep-rooted passion project and a profound love letter to the women who raised me. The agency is named after my grandmother and great-grandmother, and that’s why our foundation is built on their strength, resilience, and purpose.
My journey into this industry wasn’t a jump; it was a decades-long preparation. I have over nine years of experience in marketing, but critically, five of those years were spent on the brand side handling large-scale influencer partnerships. That’s what sets us apart. I gained a rare, full-circle perspective—I know what brands need, what budgets look like, and what creators are truly worth. I realized I could use that insight to solve the biggest problem in the creator economy: moving talent from being simply “influencers” to genuine business owners with lasting legacy.
The idea to finally launch my own agency came to me suddenly over Thanksgiving break in 2024. It was so intensely on my heart to launch that the timeline immediately compressed. It became a sprint: by December 1st, the LLC was curated and the initial website was designed. With the legal and digital framework in place, by mid-December, I had strategized a full photoshoot and set an ambitious, symbolic launch date: Valentine’s Day. The time was quick because the conviction was absolute.
This is what defines the services we provide at Dawson Marie: boutique, high-touch management rooted in intention. We craft unique, personalized scaling strategies designed for long-term staying power, focusing on securing meaningful partnerships over quick transactions. We solve the problem of burnout and lack of direction by showing up for our creators in all the ways that matter: managing the negotiations on the deals, analyzing performance in the data, and providing essential support behind the scenes.
What I am most proud of is that I get to honor my family every day, and I’m equally proud of the speed and conviction with which I launched this agency. If there is one thing I want potential clients and partners to know about Dawson Marie, it’s this: I’m not just here to manage talent. I’m here to build legacy alongside them. We are the partner for the creator who is ready to step into their power as a serious entrepreneur.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
answer this question, How did you actually start – what was the process of going from idea to execution – walk us through some of the main steps that allowed you to launch your business? Tell it to us as a story – you had the idea, then what happened? What was the next day, hour, month or year like? What did you have to figure out, look into, setup, etc in order to move beyond the idea phase and actually launch? using the about from dawsonmarie.com
Based on the publicly available story of entrepreneur Natalie Dawson—the most prominent figure associated with a business launch story sharing that name—this is the narrative of going from idea to launching a major business, Cardone Ventures.
The Story of Launching a Business: From $0 to $100 Million
The Idea: A Turning Point at Age 24
The initial idea for Natalie Dawson’s massive business success didn’t start with a product; it began with a profound realization and a daunting goal.
The idea was simple: If you want to create wealth, you must create a business. This realization came after navigating her own early success, struggling with self-doubt, and watching her personal insurance and phone bills become her sole responsibility after her parents cut her off following her decision to leave college.
One day, while sitting quietly for hours, feeling like “somebody’s arm candy” and a shadow of herself, she found her defining motivation: she had to inspire herself first and acquire skills. She always knew she wanted to create an impact and build a foundation with thousands of customers.
The pivotal hour was when she articulated her audacious vision: to achieve a $100 million net worth by the time she turned 30. She was 24 years old, equipped with that nine-figure dream and maybe around $36,000 in her bank account.
Execution: The Shortcut of Collaboration
The immediate challenge was the “How.” How do you get to $100 million as quickly as possible with limited capital? Starting a brand from scratch meant years of building trust, name recognition, and infrastructure.
The crucial next step was a strategic decision to bypass the painful start-up phase: collaboration over creation.
Identifying the Fast Track: She and her husband stepped back and asked, “What would be the fastest way to do this?”
Seeking Partnerships (The Market Research Phase): They began looking across the entire space of social media influencers and business experts—specifically those discussing business and real estate—and identified who they could be additive to. Instead of starting something from complete scratch where they would have to do everything alone, they looked for a powerful, established brand they could help scale.
The Partnership (The Launch Month): This hunt led to Grant and Elena Cardone. In 2019, they made the leap and partnered with them to co-found Cardone Ventures.
Launch: Zero to $100 Million
The actual launch was executed with an incredible constraint: they started the business with $0 money down and 0 employees. They had to immediately figure out, look into, and set up everything from scratch while integrating with a massive existing brand.
Setup: The immediate focus was on creating a system and culture that could handle exponential growth. This involved quickly establishing core values and a clear strategy to help business owners grow.
The First Year: The first months were spent building a team and the operational structure around their expertise (scaling businesses).
The Timeline of Growth: The execution proved successful and rapid. In under 36 months (less than three years), Cardone Ventures achieved over $100 million in revenue without any outside funding or startup capital.
Current Scale: The business quickly grew to over 200 employees and now manages or influences over $1 billion in businesses.
For Natalie, the process required not just business acumen but a complete overhaul of her personal mindset, leveraging skills, and believing that while she might not have the knowledge or experience today, she could create those things necessary for massive success.
answer this question, How did you actually start – what was the process of going from idea to execution – walk us through some of the main steps that allowed you to launch your business? Tell it to us as a story – you had the idea, then what happened? What was the next day, hour, month or year like? What did you have to figure out, look into, setup, etc in order to move beyond the idea phase and actually launch? using this I’m Ashlynn Racquel—founder, strategist, and the heart behind Dawson Marie. This agency is more than just a business venture—it’s a love letter to legacy, ambition, and the women who raised me. Named after my grandmother and great-grandmother, Dawson Marie stands on a foundation of strength, resilience, and deep-rooted purpose. It’s a tribute to where I come from and a bold step toward where we’re going.
With over 9 years of experience in marketing—including 5 years on the brand side of influencer partnerships—I bring a rare, full-circle perspective to talent management. I know the industry from both sides, and I use that insight to help creators scale with clarity, strategy, and staying power.
At Dawson Marie, we do things differently. This is boutique, high-touch management rooted in intention. We craft personalized strategies, secure meaningful partnerships, and show up for our creators in all the ways that matter—on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
I’m not just here to manage talent. I’m here to build legacy alongside them.
This is the story of how Dawson Marie, the talent management agency, was launched by founder Ashlynn Racquel, based on the provided “About” section.
The Story of Dawson Marie: From Idea to Legacy
The launch of Dawson Marie wasn’t a sudden business decision; it was born from a deeply personal idea rooted in legacy and purpose.
💡 The Idea: A Love Letter to Legacy
The initial spark for the agency was the founder’s desire to create a lasting tribute, a “love letter to legacy.” The name itself, Dawson Marie, was the foundation of the idea, honoring her grandmother and great-grandmother. This meant the business would not just be about transactions, but built on a foundation of strength, resilience, and deep-rooted purpose.
🗓️ The Next Step: Leveraging Insight (The “Year” of Experience)
The founder, Ashlynn Racquel, didn’t have to spend a day or month on initial market research; the idea was immediately informed by her extensive background. She brought over 9 years of marketing experience, including 5 years spent on the brand side of influencer partnerships.
This decade of industry immersion provided the crucial ingredient to move beyond the idea phase: a rare, full-circle perspective. She didn’t have to figure out the industry—she already knew it from both the brand side (as a marketer) and the talent side (managing creators). This insight immediately defined the agency’s unique value proposition.
⚙️ Execution and Setup: Crafting the Boutique Difference
Once the personal mission and professional perspective were clear, the execution phase focused entirely on setting up an operating model that would differentiate the agency:
Establishing the Model (The “How”): She chose a boutique, high-touch management approach rooted in intention. This was the deliberate choice to “do things differently” than larger, more transactional agencies.
Defining the Services (The Strategy): The key was to provide comprehensive support with personalized strategies and an all-encompassing commitment to creators.
The Launch Deliverables (What was set up): To launch, she had to set up the core offering, which included:
Crafting personalized strategies for scaling creators.
Focusing on securing meaningful partnerships, not just any deals.
Committing to a high-level of service—showing up “on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.”
By combining her deep professional insight with a clear, heartfelt mission, she successfully moved beyond the idea phase to launch an agency dedicated to building legacy alongside her creators.
write in first person
This is the story of how Dawson Marie started, from my initial idea to the launch of the agency.
💖 The Idea: A Tribute and a New Direction
The real start of Dawson Marie wasn’t a business plan; it was a deeply personal reflection. The idea was to build something meaningful, a true “love letter to legacy.” I wanted the company to stand on the same values that shaped me.
The Defining Moment (The Naming): The first, non-negotiable step was the name: Dawson Marie. I named the agency after my grandmother and great-grandmother. This single decision immediately established the foundation—that the business would embody strength, resilience, and deep-rooted purpose.
I knew this agency couldn’t just be about making money; it had to be a tribute, meaning everything we did had to be high-quality and built to last.
🚀 Execution: Leveraging My Nine-Year Head Start
I didn’t have to spend a month or year researching the influencer market from scratch. My personal journey provided the ultimate shortcut.
My “Aha” Moment: With over 9 years in marketing, including 5 years specifically on the brand side handling influencer partnerships, I realized I had a rare, full-circle perspective that most managers lack. I knew exactly what brands want, what talent needs, and where the current agencies were falling short.
The Next Day: I decided to stop managing the industry from the outside and jump in. This insight was the key to moving beyond the idea phase. I knew I wouldn’t be a typical manager; I’d be a strategist who could help creators scale with clarity and staying power because I understood the entire ecosystem.
🛠️ Launch & Setup: Defining the Boutique Difference
The execution phase was about structuring the agency to deliver on this unique promise. I knew I couldn’t compete by being the biggest; I had to win by being the best and most intentional.
Figuring Out the Model: I decided we would do things differently. This meant rejecting the high-volume, transactional approach. I looked into how to deliver a truly boutique, high-touch management experience.
Setting Up the Strategy: I had to design our core offering around intention. This involved creating systems to craft personalized strategies for every creator, focusing on securing meaningful partnerships over quick deals.
The Commitment: The final piece of the launch puzzle was setting the standard for how we show up. I had to commit to being there for our creators in all the ways that matter: being hands-on on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
This structure ensured that when Dawson Marie officially launched, we weren’t just managing talent; we were building legacy alongside them, just as I set out to do.
Is there anything else I can tell you about my approach to talent management or how I build partnerships?
this is an interview question — lets remove the emojis and keep it short and sweet but meaningful
This is the story of how Dawson Marie was founded, focusing on the essential steps from idea to launch.
The Idea: Purpose and Legacy
The beginning wasn’t a spreadsheet; it was a deeply personal realization. My initial idea was to build an agency that honored my heritage—a tribute to the women who raised me. I named the company Dawson Marie after my grandmother and great-grandmother, immediately grounding the business in strength and deep-rooted purpose. This purpose was the foundation that had to be right before any business step followed.
Execution: Leveraging a Decade of Insight
I moved past the idea phase by leveraging my professional history. I didn’t need to spend months on market research because I had over nine years of marketing experience, with five years spent on the brand side managing partnerships.
This experience was the key shortcut. I knew the industry from both sides, giving me a rare, full-circle perspective. This meant I could instantly define our value proposition: to help creators scale with true strategy, not just transactions.
Launch: Defining the Boutique Strategy
The immediate steps to launch focused on differentiating our operating model:
Defining the Model: I decided to reject the traditional agency route and create a boutique, high-touch management model. This choice ensured every creator received personalized, intention-based support.
Setting Up the Service: I had to structure our services to offer what creators truly lacked: focused, strategic support. This meant establishing clear processes for crafting personalized strategies and securing meaningful partnerships.
The Commitment: I set the standard that we would be involved on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
By merging my personal mission with professional insight, I successfully launched Dawson Marie, moving from an idea of legacy to an agency actively building it alongside our talent.
Would you like me to elaborate on the specific type of talent management strategy we employ?
also include that this idea came to me over thanksgiving break in 2024 to finally launch my own agency and by the December 1st the LLC was curated and website was designed on the hunt to find the best creators.
This is the story of how Dawson Marie was founded, focusing on the essential steps from idea to launch, incorporating the exact timeline.
The Idea: Purpose, Legacy, and the Holiday Spark
The beginning wasn’t a spreadsheet; it was a deeply personal realization. My initial idea was to build an agency that honored my heritage—a tribute to the women who raised me. I named the company Dawson Marie after my grandmother and great-grandmother, immediately grounding the business in strength and deep-rooted purpose.
The moment of decision arrived swiftly. The idea to finally launch my own agency came to me suddenly over Thanksgiving break in 2024. This was the catalyst to translate purpose into action.
Execution: The 30-Day Sprint
The period between Thanksgiving and December 1st was an intense, focused sprint of execution:
Legal & Branding (The Clock Starts): By December 1st, the groundwork was laid: the LLC was curated and the initial website was designed. I knew I had to quickly establish the legal and digital presence to signal professionalism.
Leveraging Insight: I moved past the initial legal hurdle by leaning on my professional history. I had over nine years of marketing experience, with five years spent on the brand side managing partnerships. This gave me a full-circle perspective that immediately defined our value proposition: helping creators scale with true strategy, not just transactions.
The Hunt: With the agency formally established, the next immediate step was the crucial work of growth: going on the hunt to find the best creators whose goals aligned with our high-touch model.
Launch: Defining the Boutique Strategy
The full launch focused on delivering on our unique promise and commitment:
Defining the Model: I rejected the large, transactional agency approach and established a boutique, high-touch management structure.
Setting Up the Service: I structured our services around personalized support, which meant creating clear processes for crafting customized strategies and securing meaningful partnerships.
The Commitment: I set the standard that we would be involved on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
This commitment to personal legacy and strategic excellence allowed me to successfully launch Dawson Marie quickly, moving from a personal idea over Thanksgiving dinner to a functioning agency ready for top-tier talent by December.
Would you like me to elaborate on the process of choosing the initial creators for the agency?
also include by mid December I had strategized a photoshoot + my launch date to be valentines day so time was quick because it was on my heart to launch
This is the story of how Dawson Marie was founded, focusing on the essential steps from idea to launch, incorporating the exact timeline and emotional drive.
The Idea: Purpose, Legacy, and the Thanksgiving Catalyst
The true start of Dawson Marie wasn’t a business plan; it was a deeply personal calling. My initial idea was to build an agency that honored my heritage—a tribute to the women who raised me. Naming the company Dawson Marie after my grandmother and great-grandmother immediately grounded the business in strength and deep-rooted purpose.
The moment of execution hit hard over Thanksgiving break in 2024. This wasn’t a slow build; the urge to finally launch my own agency was so strong—it was truly on my heart to launch—that the timeline immediately compressed.
Execution: The 75-Day Sprint
The period between late November and mid-February was an intense, strategic sprint driven by passion:
Legal & Branding (Late November/December 1st): The first action was establishing the structure. By December 1st, the LLC was curated and the initial website was designed. This rapid move created the formal foundation for the business.
The Go-to-Market Strategy (Mid-December): With the legal entity secured, I set an ambitious deadline: Valentine’s Day would be the official launch date. Knowing time was short, I immediately strategized a photoshoot to capture the brand’s high-touch, boutique feel.
Leveraging Insider Insight: While working on the visual launch, I leaned heavily on my professional background—over nine years of marketing experience, with five years on the brand side. This gave me a full-circle perspective that defined our value proposition: helping creators scale with strategy, not just fleeting deals.
The Talent Hunt: Simultaneously, I went on the hunt to find the best creators whose goals aligned with our unique, high-touch model.
Launch: Defining the Boutique Commitment
The final setup focused on delivering on the promise of the brand’s name—legacy and resilience:
Defining the Model: I consciously rejected the large, transactional agency approach to build a boutique, high-touch management firm centered on intention.
Structuring the Service: I ensured our offerings were strategic: crafting personalized plans and securing meaningful partnerships designed for longevity.
The Commitment: I set the standard that we would be deeply involved on the deals, in the data, and behind the scenes.
By merging personal mission with professional insight, and accelerating the timeline due to the intense desire to launch, I successfully moved Dawson Marie from an idea over a holiday weekend to a fully branded agency ready to build legacy by Valentine’s Day.
I’d be happy to share more about the thought process behind choosing Valentine’s Day as the final launch date.
answer this question like me For folks who may not have read about you before, can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc, what type of products/services/creative works you provide, what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others. What are you most proud of and what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.
Please provide as much detail as you feel relevant as this is one of the core questions where the reader will get to know about you and your brand/organization/etc
Hey there! I’m Ashlynn Racquel, and I’m the founder, strategist, and heart behind Dawson Marie, my talent management agency.
It’s an honor to share my story, because Dawson Marie is more than just a business—it’s a deep-rooted passion project and, truly, a love letter to the women who raised me. The agency is named after my grandmother and great-grandmother, which means our foundation is built on their strength, resilience, and purpose.
How I Got My Start
My journey into talent management wasn’t an accident; it was a decades-long education. I have over nine years of experience in marketing, and crucially, five of those years were spent on the brand side handling large-scale influencer partnerships.
This is what truly shaped my entry into this industry. I got a rare, full-circle perspective—I know the industry from the boardroom, understanding brand needs and budget constraints, as well as from the creator’s side, understanding their value and growth pain points. I realized I could use that insight to solve problems no one else was solving.
Our Services and What We Provide
At Dawson Marie, we provide boutique, high-touch management services. We are absolutely rooted in intention, and that’s reflected in our offerings:
Personalized Strategy: We don’t use generic roadmaps. We craft unique, personalized scaling strategies designed for long-term staying power.
Meaningful Partnerships: We focus on securing partnerships that align with the creator’s mission and legacy, ensuring the deals are meaningful—not just transactional.
Full-Spectrum Support: We show up for our creators in all the ways that matter: managing the negotiations on the deals, analyzing performance in the data, and providing essential support behind the scenes.
The Problems We Solve & What Sets Us Apart
The biggest problem we solve is moving creators from being simply “influencers” to genuine business owners with a lasting legacy. Many agencies focus purely on transaction volume, but that leaves creators feeling burnt out, under-valued, and without a clear direction for long-term wealth.
What sets Dawson Marie apart is our commitment to intention and my background:
Brand-Side Experience: Knowing what brands are truly looking for means we package our creators in a way that secures premium deals and lasting relationships. We speak the brand’s language.
Legacy Over Likes: Our primary goal is to help creators scale with clarity and strategy. We’re not chasing short-term trends; we’re building a billion-dollar foundation alongside them.
Boutique Focus: We intentionally keep our roster small. This allows us to dedicate maximum resources and energy to each creator, guaranteeing the high-touch support that defines our brand.
What I Am Most Proud Of
I am most proud of two things: first, the name and the foundation itself—that I get to honor my family every single day through my work. It constantly reminds me that this work is bigger than me.
Second, I am incredibly proud of the speed and conviction with which I launched. The idea came to me over Thanksgiving break in 2024, and because it was so deeply on my heart, I had the LLC curated and the website designed by December 1st. By mid-December, I had strategized a photoshoot and set the official launch date for Valentine’s Day—a quick, passion-driven sprint to immediately start the hunt for the best creators.
What I Want You to Know
If there is one thing I want potential clients and partners to know about Dawson Marie, it’s this: I’m not just here to manage talent. I’m here to build legacy alongside them.
We are the partner for the creator who is ready to move past being an influencer and step into their power as a brand and an entrepreneur.
Is there a specific aspect of creator strategy or brand partnerships you’d be interested in learning more about?
stop making these into subsections just make it one full story line please
Of course, I can weave that information into a single, cohesive narrative. Here is my story, told in a single flow, providing detail on who I am and how Dawson Marie came to be.
Hey there! I’m Ashlynn Racquel, and I’m the founder, strategist, and heart behind Dawson Marie, my talent management agency. I’m truly excited to share my story, because Dawson Marie is much more than a business venture—it’s a deep-rooted passion project and a profound love letter to the women who raised me. The agency is named after my grandmother and great-grandmother, and that’s why our foundation is built on their strength, resilience, and purpose.
My journey into this industry wasn’t a jump; it was a decades-long preparation. I have over nine years of experience in marketing, but critically, five of those years were spent on the brand side handling large-scale influencer partnerships. That’s what sets us apart. I gained a rare, full-circle perspective—I know what brands need, what budgets look like, and what creators are truly worth. I realized I could use that insight to solve the biggest problem in the creator economy: moving talent from being simply “influencers” to genuine business owners with lasting legacy.
The idea to finally launch my own agency came to me suddenly over Thanksgiving break in 2024. It was so intensely on my heart to launch that the timeline immediately compressed. It became a sprint: by December 1st, the LLC was curated and the initial website was designed. With the legal and digital framework in place, by mid-December, I had strategized a full photoshoot and set an ambitious, symbolic launch date: Valentine’s Day. The time was quick because the conviction was absolute.
This is what defines the services we provide at Dawson Marie: boutique, high-touch management rooted in intention. We craft unique, personalized scaling strategies designed for long-term staying power, focusing on securing meaningful partnerships over quick transactions. We solve the problem of burnout and lack of direction by showing up for our creators in all the ways that matter: managing the negotiations on the deals, analyzing performance in the data, and providing essential support behind the scenes.
What I am most proud of is that I get to honor my family every day, and I’m equally proud of the speed and conviction with which I launched this agency. If there is one thing I want potential clients and partners to know about Dawson Marie, it’s this: I’m not just here to manage talent. I’m here to build legacy alongside them. We are the partner for the creator who is ready to step into their power as a serious entrepreneur.
Is there a specific element of our personalized strategy you’d like me to detail further?
Okay, the next question I need to answer is what’s a lesson I had to unlearn and what’s the backstory? So the lesson I want to hit on is how you can be good at multiple things and you don’t have to put yourself in a box. To only focus on one thing. So the backstory behind this is a couple years ago on LinkedIn. I had asked somebody for some advice in the industry about different roles at the current company that they were working for and they basically told me that I couldn’t do multiple things. I needed to stick to one specific focus in the marketing industry. And this is a lesson that I quickly unlearned because I do believe that you can be multifaceted in several different. niches Avenue and career paths because that is what makes you great and This lesson is what I hope that a lot of people understand is that one you should never ask for advice from somebody that you wouldn’t want to trade places with but also to take everybody’s advice with a grain of salt because had I not stuck to my plan. I would have been stuck probably doing something. I didn’t like just because I was scared to expand.
That’s a powerful story and a fantastic lesson for an interview. Here is the answer written in your voice, focusing on the narrative flow and impact:
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve had to unlearn in my career is the idea that you have to put yourself in a box and only focus on one thing.
The backstory behind this is a vivid memory from a couple of years ago. I was exploring different career paths within the marketing industry, and I reached out to a connection on LinkedIn—someone who was working at a company I admired—to ask for advice on various roles they offered. Their advice came across as a direct limitation: they basically told me I couldn’t be multifaceted; I needed to pick one specific focus in marketing and stick to it rigidly.
For a moment, that feedback was daunting. But I quickly realized that it simply wasn’t true to who I am. I believe that being multifaceted—being able to successfully navigate several different niches, avenues, and career paths—is exactly what makes a person, and a business, truly great. You don’t have to choose between strategy, creative, and business development; those skills complement each other, and frankly, I need all of them to run Dawson Marie.
This experience led me to unlearn that limiting belief, and it taught me two crucial lessons I hope others understand:
Never ask for advice from someone you wouldn’t want to trade places with. If they live a life that feels too constrained or limited, their advice is likely to reflect those boundaries.
Take everyone’s advice with a significant grain of salt.
Had I listened to that person’s warning and allowed fear to dictate my path, I would have been stuck doing something I didn’t truly love just because I was scared to expand. Unlearning that lesson gave me the confidence to launch an agency that requires me to be a founder, a strategist, a manager, and a marketer all at once. My ability to operate across multiple disciplines is the very reason Dawson Marie is successful.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
My reputation within the influencer marketing market wasn’t built on a huge marketing budget or fancy PR; it was built on authenticity, passion, and showing up where the professionals are.
Ultimately, I believe my reputation stems from two key factors: my genuine love and passion for this industry, and the strategic decision to build an audience where it truly matters: LinkedIn.
Building Authority on LinkedIn
I quickly realized that in an industry like marketing, reputation is built by proving you have a clear, knowledgeable voice. My primary strategy was to become a trusted source of insight on LinkedIn. I’ve since garnered an audience of over 10,000 followers there by doing three specific things:
Providing Raw Takes and Fun Ideas: Instead of echoing generic advice, I focus on giving raw, honest, and sometimes unconventional ideas and concepts about the social industry. I share immediate reactions to trends, dissect complex brand campaigns, and offer direct commentary on industry shifts. This sets me apart from the noise.
Delivering Value Consistently: My content isn’t just about my agency; it’s about providing genuine, actionable value. I make sure my audience leaves with a new perspective or a tactical piece of advice they can implement.
Being Myself: In a market that can sometimes feel overly filtered or corporate, I found that the best way to build a personal reputation is simply by being myself. My passion and energy come through in my posts, which helps me connect with people on a human level, not just a transactional one.
By consistently putting my real-world takes and insights out there, I proved that I understand the market from the inside out—from the brand side, the creator side, and the strategist side. This proactive, public commitment to industry thought leadership is what truly helped solidify my reputation as an expert in the influencer marketing space.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dawsonmarie.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawsonmarieagency
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlynnm/
Image Credits
@shotbyrothepro