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

Alright, Angelia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I started Eagle Productions LLC in 2020 after working in the marketing field for 25 years. While beginning in the year of the great pandemic had been a challenge it was also a blessing because my business was launched in a time when businesses were in dire need of marketing solutions to reach their consumers. One of the reasons that I left my career position, was because I felt that I had hit the glass ceiling as marketing vice president and my income had become stagnant. I had only two choices: get another job or start a business. It was in that moment that I decided that I would embark on the journey of becoming an entrepreneur. It was the best decision that I ever made!

Having a long-tenured and successful career in nonprofit and governmental communications, truly enabled me to garner valuable connections and business contacts throughout my community over the years. Many of the clients and media partners that I have today, I met in the capacity of my former job. Eagle Productions has been profitable from Day 1 because of divine timing, experience and excellent connections.

Angelia , 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?

My name is Angelia D. Bills and I am President and CEO of Eagle Productions, LLC, a full-service marketing firm that specializes in advertising, public relations, social media, diversity marketing and special events management. I have over 25 years of communications experience and formerly served as Vice President of Communications of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc., a multimillion-dollar nonprofit agency headquartered in the St. Louis area serving 100,000 residents per year with 50 programs, and Senior Public Information Specialist at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. My education includes having a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Howard University and a Master of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis.

I created Eagle Productions in 2020 with the mission of helping our clients to SOAR. With that model, we have helped businesses which include Midwest BankCentre, Annie Malone Children & Family Services, Places for People, the City of East St. Louis, the City of St. Louis, the Missouri Minority Business Development Agency and many more. In addition, Eagle Productions’ strength lies in Diversity Marketing and the accumulation of various media partners which include local NBC, CBS, Fox tv affiliates, iHeartRadio-St. Louis, Audacy, the Post-Dispatch. St. Louis American, etc. Eagle was recently recognized for its Diversity Marketing Services by Midwest Prestige USA. Eagle Productions also has a television newsmagazine called Destined II Soar on the AH! TV Network on Roku which highlights successful entrepreneurs and community leaders.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Having started my business in January 2020, I immediately had to pivot 3 months later with the onset of the pandemic and then 3 months later with the loss of a major client. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint at heart, but it takes a large amount of faith to effectively succeed. As business owners, we can never give up because we have people counting on us and if not, we have to count of ourselves.

When the pandemic hit, I had to think of new ways to communicate to my clients. We went from in-person to zoom meetings and presentations. Social media marketing became the principal way of communicating in most businesses. At that time, many of my clients were ill-prepared for the change so it gave my company the opportunity to create immediate impact. Advertising was also key to helping our clients move traffic. At Eagle, we specialize in making sure that our clients are successful.

Proper planning is also important. As business owners, we have to constantly be on the lookout for new clients. I learned this lesson early when I unexpectedly lost a client after 6 months in business. Thankfully, I attended an entrepreneurial training program early in my journey which taught me the secret to effectively pitching my business in target markets. These lessons were invaluable, and I still use them to this day.

How did you build your audience on social media?

In 2022, having a strong social media presence is the crucial building block that all businesses must take and master. Not only is social media the wave of the future, it is the wave of today. Being in the marketing field, I manage over a dozen pages for myself and my clients. Social media is completely valuable because it is the only free marketing that you can find to get the word out about yourself and your business. In this way, it is crucial for entrepreneurs and companies to create and build a substantial following for themselves. More people will look at your social media page than your website to get current news about your company, therefore it must be kept up-to-date at all times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.eagleproductionsllc.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/eagleproductions2022
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelia.bills
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelia-d-bills-m-s-w-66235b2/

Image Credits
Angelia Bills