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

Estee, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so we’d love to hear about how you got your first client or customer. What’s the story?

Many people in my circle are all about online networking. Although super effective and a must-do, I decided to incorporate more face-to-face connecting too. As soon as I launched my agency, I started attending events — like local Chamber meetings and grand openings.

I signed up for an event on a whim and a gentleman who was in attendance came over and asked for my card.  Turns out he was looking for advertising and marketing services and didn’t know where to go. We ended up grabbing coffee a few days later, and it turned into him being my first client. There’s something special about those one-on-one meetings where you get to connect and really understand what they’re looking for.

That coffee chat turned into a full-blown collaboration. It was our first real gig, and it felt amazing. It wasn’t just about the money; it was proof that getting out there, making personal connections, all still counts for something.

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?

For two decades I worked in the radio industry. I was a morning radio personality, then eventually a Director of Branding and Programming. Throughout my career I worked on ad campaigns for nationally known clients like McDonald’s, Kit Kat and the OWN network. My career highlight was launching the first Spanish-language media brand for our company—a challenging experience, yet super rewarding. The experience taught me many valuable lessons about brand building from the ground up.

Fast forward to COVID-19, where many of us were becoming way more introspective and rethinking things, I began imagining a pivot in my career. This time off lead me following through with a dream I had for years: starting my own media advertising agency. At its core, our agency is dedicated to helping businesses grow their brand presence, driving sales through strategic advertising.

We offer advertising services tailored to the unique needs of each client. Whether it’s creating compelling TV or radio campaigns, making a statement with billboards, engaging audiences on social media, or optimizing paid search engine ads, we manage it all. Our goal is to let business owners focus on what they do best—running their businesses—while we take the reins on planning, negotiating, executing, and reporting on their advertising strategies.

What truly sets us apart, is our deep-rooted understanding of Central Florida’s diverse market. Our ability to create a comprehensive marketing plan with competitive rates and exclusive insights is a huge benefit of partnering with us.

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

One big lesson I had to unlearn was taking every “no” to heart. It used to feel like I was getting turned down flat. But I learned that “no” isn’t always a full stop. It’s more like a “not right now” or “not like this.”

Once that clicked, it was a game changer. It meant I could bounce back quicker, change my approach, and not feel so down about it. Realizing this made things a lot less personal and way more about finding the right fit or the right moment. Definitely a game changer in how I see setbacks now when I am pitching to clients.

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

My reputation in the market stems from a strong work ethic, loyalty, and honesty. I’ve always believed in going the extra mile, but I also learned the importance of owning up to mistakes. Once, when a project didn’t go as planned, I immediately took responsibility and was transparent with the client about it all. This approach not only resolved the issue, but also strengthened our relationship. It’s the consistent, genuine actions—like admitting faults and correcting them—that build a lasting reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: thevivaagency.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/estee.santoni/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martinestee
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/estee-santoni-38b9b85/

Image Credits
These were taken at events I’ve been a part of but all taken with my device.