We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chante Joanne. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chante below.
Chante, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
Yes! When I had my skincare brand, I was 24 years old and I started it very spontaneously and sort of just for fun without any real goal, purpose or intention behind it and it grew pretty quickly in it’s first year! At the time I was the Marketing Coordinator for a Luxury Yacht Brokerage in San Diego and we had got the news that they were going to be closing our San Diego office. I had the option to quit, or find another office to go to within our Marina. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and so I saw that as an opportunity to go full time with my skincare brand. After 5 years of running & owning that business, I decided to close the doors after having my son & took the leap to launch my own Marketing Agency and now have been doing that for the past two and a half years!
Chante, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I was first introduced to Marketing when I was 17 after my boss at the time kept telling me that I needed to get into it. After a few years of doing Marketing for small businesses, I went on to do Marketing for Wyndham Resorts where I worked for a short period of time before going to work for Landry’s Disney locations in Anaheim where I was the Marketing & Event Coordinator. I then moved to San Diego and started at the yacht brokerage, started my skincare brand, ran that for 5 years and then went back to marketing which brings us up to speed with today!
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I love this question because I feel like so many people think that you have to start with X amount of dollars, or that people came from money, or had help or that you have to have this extravagant plan. I started my skincare brand with $150 and launched 2 weeks after I had the idea of it. I worked with friends who could help in the areas where I needed it. For example, I had a friend who went to FIDM for Graphic Design – I had her make me a logo, etc. I just sourced where I could with what I had and a lot of it I did myself. When there was down time at work, I logged on to the computer and taught myself how to build a website. For the first year of my business, I used my paycheck from work to fund my business and I started small, with only one product for the first 6 months! I always waited until one product did really well on it’s own before launching the next and just gradually grew my line.
When I decided to launch my Marketing Agency I did a lot of the same things & I already had a few clients that I had met through my skincare brand actually who had been long time followers and even customers and had been with me my whole journey through that.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I really think being raw, real & relatable is the best tip! I think people love to meet the owners, engage with them & connect on more than just a business level. I love to chat with people over DM and treat everyone as if they’re a friend, host events & send them personal invites and really just connect with your audience as if they’re someone you have always known. I am really big on that & I truly feel like that has worked for me, along with collaborating with other entrepreneurs. Use a local photographer for your next shoot, promote small, local businesses. Find a like minded people who equally want to support you and what you’re doing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nouveauagencyco.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nouveauagencyco/
- Other: My personal instagram is @chantejoanne
Image Credits
@shotsbysylva