Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Madison Hernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Madison, thanks for joining us today. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?

Quality is our top priority. On the client side of our business, we need to do everything in our power to ensure the final product they receive absolutely blows them away. I will accept nothing less. For our musicians, we do everything in our power to ensure they are taken care of so they can arrive prepared, confident, and safe for each performance.

I believe the best thing a Leader and Business Owner can do is learn what it means to be in the trenches with your employees. I spent years singing for a variety of cover bands, running sound, and learning about the events industry from every angle so that I could understand and address the pain points of those that I serve and hire. I still jump in wherever I’m needed. By no means do I know everything, but now I know enough about each sector of our industry that I can speak the language and delegate tasks to those who are more skilled than I in a particular area. Which brings me to my next point…

Your team is everything. As you grow, you need to be able to effectively communicate your expectations, standards, and vision to your team so they can help you achieve excellence. At the end of the day, it all falls back on you as a business owner if something goes wrong. In the early days when you’re building a brand, you need to do what is necessary to exceed your client’s expectations, even if it means you lose money.

Finally…shut up and LISTEN! Listen to and have compassion for where your clients are coming from. While they may be one of 50, 100 or even 1,000 clients, they need to feel heard, and that they can trust you. It’s also highly important to listen to your team. Even if you are the boss, you should be in the mindset that you can always grow by learning the perspective of those who are doing the work with you.

The overarching theme here is: never lose touch with your business. Even if you grow to the point where you can oversee the business from a beach in Hawaii, find an opportunity to get back in the trenches with your team. You can steer the ship for a while, but eventually you have to go help your crew. Make up your own metaphor for this.

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.

I started this journey as a musician, and that has been my biggest asset to this business. I’ve loved creating connections with other local musicians and songwriters over the years. I discovered how hard it is for most musicians to negotiate fair terms and pay for our work. Oftentimes we make unnecessary sacrifices for what we think is a good opportunity, but ends up biting us in the butt, or putting us in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately, there are still many promoters and talent buyers out there that take advantage of artists. It has been my goal to help advocate for musicians who struggle with this problem, and give them the tools to protect themselves and their art. I’m very proud to say that is at the core of everything we do. On the client side of things, we design full day custom entertainment experiences for their private events and weddings. This can include a combination of DJ/MC services, production, and live music provided by (mostly) local independent artists. I personally get a real thrill from designing, and executing an experience that perfectly reflects our couple’s’/client’s personality, vibe, and style. It is my belief that we are limited by our own imagination and dedication to our work. Otherwise, the possibilities are endless. We have accomplished so many interesting experiences for our clients over the years just because we decided to say yes to a crazy idea.

Most entertainment companies do not offer that kind of customization because it’s honestly really challenging to pull off. I don’t think many people are willing to do the work. I try to always have to have the big picture in mind; not just play the short game to make a quick buck. I believe this has kept me on track when I’ve felt discouraged or overwhelmed.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My side hustle turned into my full-time career at the beginning of 2022. It was wild, and unexpected. That’s how things seem to go in my life. Transitions are forced upon me before I believe I’m ready, and then I figure out a way to swim instead of sinking. I’m learning to trust when things like that happen, and lean into it.

Before that was a Career Nanny for many years. I worked for a handful of families, but I worked with my last family for about two years before I decided to move on. It was beginning to become hard to help another family achieve their dreams and neglect my own. I was also 25 and I had nothing to add to my professional resume other than “Professional Diaper Changer, Arts and Crafts Specialist, and Expert Mac n’ Cheese Maker.” That was another unexpected transition for me. I didn’t know whether to just find another family to work for, or do the harder thing which was to start from the bottom in a new career. Luckily, I chose the latter.

I was offered an entry-level position with my family’s consulting company. I was invited to sit in on Executive Team Meetings, take notes, and work closely with their Business Development Team. I got to shadow my entrepreneur parents, learn what it’s like to run a company, and most importantly: sales. Without that experience I would be very lost.

Eventually I came to a weird place where I was becoming too busy to commit to my full-time job, because my business was picking up. However, it wasn’t generating enough revenue to leave my comfortable 9-5 yet. Too bad. Another unexpected transition.

I had no money, lots of credit card debt, one employee I had no idea how I was going to support, and a summer’s worth of weddings to plan. I’m very grateful I had such a supportive husband who was a few years ahead of me in his business that allowed me to stay afloat for a couple of months until I became cash positive. I also had to sell my booty off, and take on more odd jobs like coaching and singing for weddings myself. It feels like I am just now starting to turn a corner.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

The best source of new clients for us is our vendor friends or “Friendors” as we like to call them. (Shoutout to our friends Brindle & Oak who coined the term)

We work with some of the most amazing planners, caterers, venues, photographers, florists, and other event companies that refer us 99% of our business. It is highly important that we not only deliver on the day of the event, but go above and beyond during the pre-event planning process. If your Friendors love working with you, and you clients love working with you, they will market your business for you. We are very fortunate to have that going for us.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vignetteartists.com
• Instagram: @vignetteartists

Image Credits
John S. Miller