We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anneston Pisayavong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Anneston, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
Growing up as one of the very few Southeast Asian kids in my town, I always felt unique. Growing up as an only child, I’ve always felt a sense of independence. Notice how I use the words “unique” and “independent” to describe my upbringing rather than “wierd” or “lonely”. I have my parents to thank for that. By them being who they are, I have become who I am. From taking me to dance classes to now traveling across the country with me for bookings, my mom has never ceased to support and treasure me, and my passion. And to know that she left her home country of Laos at such a young age to pursue life here in the states, is the most remarkable thing. She is the best momager, sidekick, and travel besti I could ask for. If I didn’t have the mindset and determination they supplied me with, I wouldn’t be strong enough to push for a career that takes so much. I truly believe that being an independent artist is like being an entrepreneur, a sales woman, and a creative all in one. My dad is the one who’ has structured the way my brain grasps business, and I am beyond blessed to continue learning from & with him. For instance he had me read the book called “think and grow rich” by Napoleon Hill in the 7th grade which is quite young to fully comprehend the entire book. However I listen to the audiobooks to this very day. My parents have endured so many hardships and have sacrificed so much to help the 12 year old little me whose dream was to become a singer, songwriter, dancer. Without them, 12 year old me wouldn’t be able to smile upon present me.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Anneston Pisayavong also known as “Anneston”. I’m a singer, songwriter, performer based in Southern California and I’ve been in this career starting at age 11. I began dancing when I was 3 years old but booked my first ever gig dancing in the NBA as a “kid clipper”. Moving forward, I spent a lot of time training in well established studios such as Movement lifestyle and Millenium in LA leading me to begin my professional dance journey. During all of this, my parents and I continued investing in vocal lessons along with connecting with amazing producers who really helped me shape sounds I enjoy. I’ve always had such a love for being on stage and creating an experience for crowds of people, but as I grow up and approach 21 years old, I’m still to this day am finding my sound and myself. I think that one of the greatest bumps in the road for any independent artist like myself is finding the beautiful balance between passion, creativity, marketing, and business. As I am figuring out this balance I’m very proud of all I’ve been able to accomplish while figuring out how to fill so many shoes; such as performing at the first ever southeast Asian music festival in the states, recording background vocals for wonderful artists like Kendrick Lamar & Dominic Fike or being able to perform at Universal City Walk along with the Wiltern in LA for house of blues music forward foundation. With all of the struggles that come with it, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. All the hours I spend choreographing my pieces, rehearsing, stamina training, and freestyle writing are always so worth it the moment I’m on stage. Regardless who or however many people are in the audience, my mission is to leave them feeling something. Whether that’s leaving them on a high of wanting more, or even just making them sing along or smile, I get the joy of providing them that experience and feeling that can’t be replicated until found again.
How did you build your audience on social media?
To be quite honest, my social media journey began in the 6th grade. My mom created an instragram account purely to post my dance videos on, and after a while the videos started to gain traction. My audience in the beginning were mainly dancers or people of love the culture of hip hop which is what I was heavily training in at the time. From there on I loved creating content, since it was something I loved doing. Over time I would create many singing videos and my own dances to post which had helped me tons on social media which is a very strong tool nowadays. I think my biggest tip would be record what you’re doing and share it, you might be surprised by how many people are actually interested in your life and artistry
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
I have two that I can confidently say I live by. One, would be “Think and Grow Rich” by napoleon hill. This book was introduced to me by my dad who hustles like no other and has a brilliant mind. This book has given me the greatest foundation as an entrepreneur, and the more I listen to it, the more I’m able to relate more of these lessons to different aspects of my present life. The next book would definitely be “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel. This book was a book I was infatuated by because of how real it is. It explains how our human experience can change the way we handle and/or view money and rewards. Although these are books that have nothing to do with singing, dancing, performing, or hosting I live by these books because if I think just a tad harder every time I listen, I’m able to find ways to use these tactics and use this knowledge to build my brand and business to the well oiled machine it one day will be.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anneston1?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://fb.watch/tZoaGjZs3o/?mibextid=cr9u03
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@anneston1?si=uZ9o2_zoTraDqyF2
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/anneston/1396870620https://open.spotify.com/artist/5WD8VE2KOGmefSQIbbERWL?si=vgbBwIYdT3icJEueuxGicQ
Image Credits
Daniel Gonzalez
Jade Kamchamnan