We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Indya “Icy” Wright a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Indya “Icy” thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

As a boutique service-based business, in the beginning I offered a number of discounted & pro-bono projects in order to build relationships, and also fill my agency’s portfolio with case studies. There wasn’t enough profit to hire staff so I operated as a soloprenuer which was incredibly taxing. I was overworked and underpaid for some time. I then learned ways to automate certain tasks & create systems to lighten my work load. By streamlining those tasks, I had more time for outreach which helped me scale and attract larger projects.

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?

My name is Indya “Icy” Wright, I’m a DC native and founder of the pr & production firm Artiste House. I started my business after quitting my job at the Superior Court with no plan or money saved. I offer strategic communications, media outreach and digital production to brands from various industries. I’m incredibly passionate about amplifying stories from marginalized communities. What sets us apart is the creative component we put into every project & the expertise in multicultural communications.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Artiste House’s commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and representation, along with expertise in multicultural communication and impactful storytelling, has contributed to building a strong reputation within the market. Also, our amazing results! Since 2020 alone we have earned over 3 billion media impressions for our clients. Additionally, being a Black-owned agency with a sense of responsibility, positive client testimonials, and successful collaborations has further enhanced our credibility and recognition.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My best advice for any brand is to be authentic. Don’t try to cater to everyone. Be true to your values and brand voice and your dream clientele will find you. You don’t have to follow every single new trend and you don’t have to make every single post aesthetically pleasing. Just post and they will come.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artistehouse.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/artistehouse
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/artistehousedc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artiste-house
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/artiste-house-washington