We recently connected with Udlin Etienne and have shared our conversation below.
Udlin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
Well being a photographer I learned my skills under my mentor (Shelton Seraphin) I shadowed my mentor to every photoshoot/meetings. One thing I can say for sure is that he always told me the cold hard truth no matter what I did he always gave me the constructive criticism that I needed. Knowing what I know now about being a creative, I probably should’ve applied myself more back then and be more confident in my skills, that would have sped up my learning process. The skills that I know were most essential are being able to work under pressure, the ability to see things that most people overlook, and the ability to never give up on your craft. The obstacle that stood in my way of learning more was (Me), I let doubt and procrastination get in my way of fully applying myself to my work, most people fail to realize that if you don’t surround yourself with people who will motivate you and push you to your limit you will never get to where you want to be in life.
Udlin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
If you’re reading about me for the first time my name is Udlin Etienne and I am a entrepreneur/creative based out of Gainesville Florida. I moved to Gainesville about 2 years ago from west palm beach Florida, My cousin/mentor persuaded a couple of family members and I to move to Gainesville to better create opportunities for ourselves. At the time I just picked up my first camera and decided to become a photographer while learning under my mentor, fast forward to a year later I launched my first business (Prestige Marketing Agency) I wanted to provide a solution to business owners who weren’t too familiar with the social media marketing space, so I made that my niche and focused on providing social media advertising, content creation, marketing, and etc. I am proud of where my business is headed, I just recently partnered with a few talented people who I will be working with to produce some amazing work and I can’t wait for the world to see what we have been planning.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My main goal right now is to get to a position in life where I can create opportunities for others around me, I am surrounded by so many hard working/talented people and I want all of us to succeed no matter what it takes.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
When it comes to funding your business always look at it as an investment, trust me when I say that in the long run that small amount you spent to get your business up and running will come back triple the amount you initially invested. How can you go about funding your business? I would work a 9-5 job while having a decent side hustle that is bringing in additional revenue, then I would create a spread sheet of everything that your business will need to get up and running, make a budget and then use the income from your side hustle to fund your business. Who knows that side hustle might be your actual business that just funded itself. 
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.prestige-a.com/
- Instagram: Udlinetienne / Prestigeagencyy
- Linkedin: Udlinetienne