Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Marie Agderian

Hi Gina Marie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?

My name is Gina Marie Agderian. I am the author of a novel titled The Letters in the Old House, and I am the Chief Development Officer of Conrad’s Concessions Events.

I started my career in franchise development 13 years ago with an established education franchise brand, and later transitioned to a role with a growing home services franchise brand. During my tenure in franchise development, I wore many different hats, from sales to copywriting to contract management. I’ve always been a very direct person and took a no-nonsense approach to the sales process. It was important to me that the candidate knew exactly what was entailed with owning a franchise, and I wanted to make sure that they were 100% on board. I had no problem telling someone that they weren’t a good fit for the brand, even if it meant losing a deal, and I wanted to make sure we were bringing the right franchise owners into our franchise system. I loved the feeling of helping someone make a life change and start their own business, and I loved watching so many of those folks become very successful and build wealth for their family.

Eventually, the home services brand I worked for was acquired by a large organization. There were some changes made by the acquiring organization that did not align with my values, so I made the difficult decision to resign from the organization in Q1 of 2024.

My husband Adam and I had been talking for a while about having me eventually jump on board and help him take his business to the next level. We weren’t exactly sure on the timing or what that would look like, but we figured we would know when the time was right. His business has been experiencing tremendous growth over the past several years, and when I decided to leave my corporate job, we knew that having me join the business full time was the next step. My background in sales and business development complement his business management knowledge and fluency in the event rental industry. As of April 2024, I have been serving as the full-time Chief Development Officer of Conrad’s Concessions, a premier concession rental company servicing NJ, NY, CT, and PA.

I am also the self-published author of The Letters in the Old House, a novel that takes place down the Jersey Shore in a fictional town called Ocean Corner. It is a love letter to the Jersey Shore and a nostalgic look at the Jersey Shore through the eyes of a young woman in her 20s. In addition to writing, I am a nano content creator and film book reviews that are available on my YouTube channel.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Nothing is a smooth road for anyone, ever! Success doesn’t happen overnight.

Deciding to leave my corporate job to jump into my husband’s business full time was a huge struggle in many ways. I was petrified of leaving my job and the benefits that came with it. I knew I was smart and capable of growing my husband’s business, but I was filled with so many “What ifs?”, which is the story of my life since, like so many other people, I deal with an anxiety disorder. I was afraid of failing, of not living up to what I had promised my husband, and more importantly…was I able to work with my husband, or were we going to drive each other nuts?

I also struggled with other people’s perception of me joining my husband’s business, which is unusual for me since I don’t typically put much stock in other people’s opinions of me. But I didn’t want to be perceived as the stereotypical wife that “works” in her husband’s business, but really only puts in five hours a week and is going shopping and getting her nails done every day. I’ve always been a hard worker, and I’m a smart, strong woman. I made myself crazy trying to prove my worth, even though my husband was constantly praising me and telling me how lucky he was to have me working with him.

I have maintained a great relationship with my very first corporate boss, whom I had worked for at the education brand and who hired me again when she moved to the home services brand. She is a fantastic role model and has taught me so much over the time I’ve known her. It is rare to find a boss who not only completely trusts you, but with whom you work together seamlessly. The fact that she had faith in me taking this next step meant so much to me and gave me the boost of confidence I needed to move forward.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

Aside from my role as Chief Development Officer of Conrad’s Concessions, I am a self-published author. I published my novel The Letters in the Old House in 2018 and am currently revising my second novel The Faceless Woman.

I consider my writing projects to be my best professional achievements. It takes a lot to come up with an idea for a novel and find the time to execute it, especially when you are working full time and have other obligations. I write stories that I would want to read and pray that others enjoy my work. You can’t write what you think your audience would want – you have to write and understand that your audience will come to you. The brilliance comes when you are writing a story that you love and believe in. My work will either resonate with someone or not, and it is difficult to not take it personally if someone doesn’t enjoy my work.

My mother is 100% Italian-American, and my father is a mixture of German, Irish, Scottish, Welsch, and British. I have always identified with the Italian culture and am proud to be Italian-American. (My father is basically an honorary Italian-American – nobody loves garlic more than him!) I love writing stories about Italian-American characters. Italian-Americans are too often stereotyped as being involved in organized crime, and while nobody loves a good mafia movie more than I do, the majority of us are hardworking people who go to work every day, feed our family and friends, and get a little too loud sometimes (my husband, who is also part Italian-American, is always asking me why I am “yelling”…I tell him that’s just the way I talk!). Italian-American culture is what I grew up around, and it’s what I enjoy writing about.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?

The quality that contributes mostly to my success is my resilience. I’ve mentioned this many times, but it’s the truth. We cannot achieve success if we give up. We must keep getting back up after being knocked down, keep moving forward, and let each challenge just be a notch of experience in the belt of life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gsellsseashells.com
• Instagram: gsellsseashells
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GinaMarieAgderian/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@gsellsseashells