We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Aaron Sharp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aaron thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The origin of my brand’s name, Mandeaux, is tied to a unique blend of personal history and cultural influences. Initially, my business started as a luxury men’s shoe line, where I aimed to create a luxury brand that educated and gave back to the community. This led me to the French word “éclat,” which translates to a showy display of brilliance. I named the company Blended Éclat. However, trademarking this name was near impossible due to its similarity to other existing trademarks. Despite investing thousands of dollars in branding and product development under this name, I had to pivot to a name that had a better chance at registration.

The name Mandeaux was inspired by my upbringing in Inglewood, California, where we would use the slang term “mando,” short for “mandatory,” to describe something essential—like grabbing fresh fries at McDonald’s. As a business owner, I want my products and services to be seen as essential, making them ‘mando’ for our customers. Additionally, to honor my wife’s New Orleans roots and add a Creole touch, I switched up the spelling from “mando” to “Mandeaux,” replacing the ‘o’ with ‘eaux,’ which not only enhanced its aesthetic but also ensured its uniqueness, allowing us to successfully register it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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.

In my late teens, I signed a bunch of contracts as a model and actor. Most models I knew just wanted to look great for the camera and book more gigs. Not me—I was different. Sure, I did those things, but I was also curious about the business side of things. Why were we creating this content? Who was it for? What tools and techniques were being used to get the message across? Being talent gave me a chance to learn about the business from a different angle.

After that, I spent over 15 years working as a Realtor, and then one day, I started my brand, Mandeaux, right from my living room in Alaska. Before I knew it, my brand was recognized as one of the top black-owned luxury brands in the world.

In the first couple of years, I got tons of compliments on the quality of our products and marketing. People even started asking me for help with their own websites and businesses. At first, I helped out for free, but I soon realized I needed to be paid for my time and expertise. So, I invested in learning web design, paid ads, SEO, and chatbot building. But I knew I couldn’t do it all alone. In 2023, I put together a team with over 25 years of experience, and in February 2024, we officially launched Mandeaux Digital.

Our main gig is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We help clients crush their competition in search rankings, which means more business and more revenue for them. We’re one of the only agencies that guarantees our SEO work—if we don’t boost your rankings by 15 spots each month and snag 5 new keywords, you don’t pay us.

Of course, we also create killer websites, funnels, ad campaigns, logos, and chatbots with the same high quality that our boutique products are known for.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Instead of talking about a single pivot, I want whoever’s reading this to understand that entrepreneurship is about embracing the art of the pivot. Giants like Blockbuster and Toys R Us failed because they chose not to pivot. They didn’t adapt to the rapidly changing ecommerce landscape. As an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to risk everything but also make smart decisions to avoid losing it all.

We originally started out as just a men’s shoe line. When COVID hit and coffee shops closed, people stopped going to their usual spots. I saw an opportunity to offer high-quality coffee to our target market—environmentally conscious business professionals who take pride in their appearance and want to feel their best. That was a pivot. I knew nothing about coffee, but I quickly dove into learning everything I could. I sourced specialty grade beans from microfarms around the world.

The most recent pivot was launching my own marketing agency. COVID changed everything, causing many businesses to collapse, but also giving rise to millions of new ones. Those businesses all need websites and marketing. I asked myself what every business needs most, and the answer was clear: customers. Without revenue, there is no business. So, I set out to create services that help other business owners attract more customers and increase their revenue.

Learn to pivot, and you’ll be just fine.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When starting a business, it’s easy to think your friends and family will be your biggest supporters. The cold, hard truth is that while sometimes that’s the case, often it couldn’t be further from reality. Most of your family and friends know you as a person, not as a business owner. They see you for who you are, not for your business acumen. On the other hand, a stranger only sees your business side first. People buy from those they like, know, and trust. If your friends already like and know you but haven’t seen your business side, you won’t get as many sales as you expect.

Having an amazing product or service doesn’t guarantee sales. People often need repeated contact—7-10 touches—before they decide to purchase. Posting about something once rarely leads to conversions. Sending a single email won’t get the results you’re looking for. You need a campaign that consistently delivers relevant content or messages about your product to your audience to be effective and maximize your conversion rate.

The gold is in the follow-up. The tricky part is that most business owners aren’t trained in marketing. They don’t know how to set up an email campaign or use automations to handle monotonous and tedious tasks. That’s one of the reasons I created my agency—to solve that problem for entrepreneurs who want to focus on other aspects of their business.

The goal for most entrepreneurs is to achieve financial independence, allowing them to work on their business instead of in it. By focusing on tasks that free up your time while also putting money in your pocket, you can create a balance that lets you enjoy life more while still growing your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: mandeauxdigital.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mandeaux_digital
• Facebook: facebook.com/mandeauxdigital
• Twitter: x.com/mandeauxdigital