We recently connected with Valencia Neptune and have shared our conversation below.

Valencia , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

As a young child, I was always singing and participating in extracurricular activities. I was always creative. When I watched musicals, or Disney channel, New York was the place to be, my biggest dream. Who knew, after receiving my Masters in music I would journey to New York to chase after my dream of being on Broadway. After much prayer, advice and courage, I packed my 3 bedroom, 1 ½ bath home into my Jeep Liberty and began to drive 11 hours to New Jersey from Columbia, SC, alone. I stopped halfway at my best friend’s house in Virginia because the drive was so long. Trust me, I can tell you something about courage and hoping for the best. I had never seen a toll in my life, didn’t know having someone pump gas for you was a thing, but in NJ they do (and it became one of my favorite things). I had no idea what to do; so much newness was overwhelming at times. I was embarking on so much uncertainty. I told myself daily that I could do it, and my parents believed in me. It would all be worth it to pursue the dream, my music dream.

As I pursued my music dream, I faced a lot of inconvenience, pain and hardship. The plans I made didn’t always work out. I had nowhere to go in NY and couldn’t find a roommate so I lived on a friend’s couch in NJ for two weeks. Soon after, God provided me with a wonderful family to stay with for six months until I finally moved into their basement apartment for two years. However, my mind was made up, I was going to move to NY, eventually. Talk about a detour. I was so close but so far away. Culture shock is real and I needed to prepare for NY and prepare, I did.

While in NJ, I still needed to pay rent so I ended up working as a server, sales associate, and eventually got a full-time job while occasionally driving into NY to audition. At this point I started feeling more settled, thinking this isn’t so bad, I can do this, I like NJ and the friends I’d made were great. But, this isn’t my dream, I thought. My mind was racing, always filled with thoughts. I told myself “I just can’t stop here in New Jersey, could I? I didn’t come this far to be a receptionist, did I? I didn’t drive all the way from Alabama just to be a receptionist.I have to go all the way”. So I created a three-month game plan to quit my job and move to New York. I had to. I refused to live my life with regrets.

The time had come for me to move to Manhattan, New York. Inwood to be exact. Around that timeI was in a living situation and a romantic relationship from hell. I was all the way uptown commuting downtown working two jobs. Living up four flights of steps and feeling exhausted like what am I doing here? Is this worth it? But I kept submitting auditions. Eventually, I ended up landing a call back for Hamilton on Broadway and was asked to audition for Frozen on Broadway after auditioning for MJ: The Musical. As I waited all day in the audition rooms, got the perfect headshots, practiced my sides, went to acting classes and waited for my moment, I realized that this wasn’t the moment I wanted anymore. I didn’t love this life, I didn’t love the trains, I didn’t love the hustle and bustle. Could I have landed  those roles eventually if I kept at it? Yes. Was I passionate about it? No. My heart wanted to write lyrics, produce music, perform in the studio, collaborate with other people and keep uplifting women singer-songwriters through my business. It turns out that my passion wasn’t in musical theater, but I would’ve never found my true passion if I hadn’t taken the risk and moved to NY. Although my dream wasn’t in NY, my experience there provided me with so much more. Clarity! Clarity about what I wanted to do with my life. I got to experience the city known as “the best place in the world”. New York provided me with so many amazing memories. I mean, I found the love of my life in New York, I experienced breathtaking views and met wonderful people. I didn’t sing on Broadway but I did sing at Carnegie Hall. I can say that I took the risk of pursuing a dream that refined my character, faith, hope and aligned my dream of music. I believe that taking a risk and stepping out on faith is always worth it. Don’t choose to live with regrets, take the leap and see what happens, it’ll be worth it. I promise.

Valencia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Originally from Montgomery, AL. I received my Bachelor’s of Music in voice and performance from UAB and Master’s of Music in voice and opera from USC. I’ve always been a lover of music and earned many awards and scholarships for talent and excellence. However, the journey has not always been easy. Participating in a major and in extracurricular activities that elevated my white peers, I started to feel like I didn’t belong. I soon realized more often than not I was the “token” of diversity in the group. It took determination, passion and courage to face the judgment, criticism, and biases that the music field offered as well as the everyday struggle of being a Black Woman in America. I’d been overlooked multiple times because of my gender and skin color.

As an avid participant in the music industry it’s no secret that prejudice towards women, especially minority women is common practice. I created So Am I-Worthy to elevate women, especially Black Indigenous Women of Color (BIWOC) singer-songwriters. Coming from a marginalized community I understand the financial struggle and lack of access to certain resources. To learn a music skill takes money, time, effort and networks, and it’s hard. I created So Am I-Worthy for women first to have a safe space to do music and express themselves freely. I created So Am I-Worthy to open doors, and alleviate the emotional and financial burdens women in music face regularly.

We help female singer-songwriters dominate their music careers by offering: record deals, where singer-songwriters keep their ownership rights. Voice, guitar, & songwriting music lessons, We host live events to build connections, and allow our audience to network with like-minded individuals. Mission focused initiatives after social good to implement change into our community and music industry.

I am very proud of So Am I-Worthy and everything my team and I have accomplished. We received an award for being the most empowering female-owned record label, gave back to our community, provided paid gig opportunities and have just made people’s day, and that is something to celebrate.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

My advice is to really get to know your coworkers and make sure you are treating them as human beings. Human beings who have feelings, emotions and a life. Everything isn’t about sales or business but about treating another person with respect and dignity. My approach is to really play on my team’s strengths, I want to know what they are passionate about. I ask myself “Do they love the work that they are doing?”. I keep a keen eye for behavioral changes. “Are they distant? Are they uninterested?” As a leader, this helps me assess and plan accordingly to keep my team excited and ready to perform the tasks needed. One other tip that works for me is to make sure I am mentally and physically prepared to lead my team. If I am exhausted, I rest because I need to be my best self for them.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn is that “it is unnecessary to plan so far ahead since I don’t know if I’ll make it to that point in life”. I was operating out of fear, choosing not to plan ahead because who knows what tomorrow holds. As an entrepreneur, I wear many hats and it takes a lot of mental work, personal development and self-reflection. I realized that I grew up as more of a reactive person than a proactive one. I discovered this philosophy in marriage, from my husband who is an avid planner. He helps me see that I am someone who reacts based on impulse or waits until a situation happens to fix it. That behavior has not been good for my business and some of my team members have seen the repercussions of me not planning far enough ahead. I’m coming to like planning ahead (years ahead to be specific), and it’s a great skill. Although it takes time, precision and flexibility it’s worth it and I would encourage anyone to develop those skills.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.soamiworthy.com
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• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/65656512/admin/
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