We recently connected with Vanessa Abron and have shared our conversation below.

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?

My name is Vanessa Abron, and I am the founder of Agency Abron. I am an artist with several years of experience working in corporate environments. I spent most of my life studying dance, music, theater, visual, and media arts. I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in arts management, and more than 15 years of experience in marketing and public relations after working with companies and firms such as Atlantic Records, Ch’rwed Marketing & Promotions, Weber Shandwick, Hill + Knowlton Strategies, Ebony/Jet magazine, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, and Nielsen to name a few.
After running my own PR company, which is now eight years old, I decided it was time to merge the two worlds after noticing that artists had problems connecting to the business world, and those strong in the business world had difficulty relating to their artistic sides. Thus, I evolved Agency Abron into a creative and artistic direction agency while showcasing who I am as an artist in music and visual arts.

Every incredible thing starts with an idea. For me, every idea is born from ingenuity, intuition, and a little magic. Consulting with Agency Abron is more than a consultation. It’s a guided creative experience designed to invoke my motto: “No idea is too crazy or too big.” With the combined services of creative brainstorms, artistic concept direction, experiential marketing, and more, Agency Abron takes clients down a path less traveled and gives clients the means to bring their most significant and craziest ideas to life.

I pride Agency Abron on not following “industry standards.” I recognize that every client is different, from their artistic vision to their background to their values, and I rise to meet them where they are. From there, I set to guide them to their fullest potential as creative visionaries. The beauty of working with Agency Abeon is that we bridge the gap: you bring your big idea, and we will give you the extra boost you need to manifest it.

Right now, I’m practicing what I preach as I also indulge in my creativity as an artist with content you can now consume. I’m preparing for my first artist exhibition, where I will display various paintings, and my album “Ctrl Alt Delete” is available on your favorite streaming platform under my stage name, V-Aye.

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

I had to unlearn so many lessons. Working in corporate America and being an entrepreneur requires very different skill sets. One of the biggest lessons I learned was that you have to make room for failure. Everything will not always go as planned. That is guaranteed. I had to learn how to quickly bounce back from my setbacks, regroup, and try again. Resiliency is key.

I also had to leverage my innate creativity more. When you work for another brand or company, you must fit into the confines of how they want you to appear. I did this so much that I almost forgot who I was authentically. But the innate characteristics that make you who you are are what’s required to show up for you to stand out business.

I also had to get more comfortable “jumping out the window” and taking more calculated risks. Risks are scary but are necessary for success.

Vanessa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

You want me only to tell ONE story of failure? To be transparent, I have several tales of failure. Every success story, regardless of mine or others, starts with a story of failure. But I’ll share one for now. As I was starting my business, I had a particular friend who had been a good friend of mine for YEARS tell me that because I was struggling with my business, entrepreneurship wasn’t for me. This was like a kick in the gut. It hurt so much, mainly because it came from someone I had loved and considered a friend at the time. Luckily, while I felt broken and defeated, I didn’t allow her words to determine my future, especially since she was never a full-time entrepreneur, nor has she tried to do anything I have done. I began to venture out and talk to other entrepreneurs, and they told me about how they experienced something similar and encouraged me to persevere and keep going.

I’ve also had some challenging clients. The challenge of those clients made me question my ability and skillset at the time. However, each of those challenges has allowed me to improve my business and service the next client even better. For every client that wasn’t happy, I had ten that were beyond satisfied. I had to learn that my business and what I had to offer was only for some. Trying to please everyone is a death sentence for your business. For example, Taylor Swift is one of the most successful pop artists today. But, as popular as she may be, several others don’t care for her. Taylor doesn’t spend time trying to convert those who don’t care for her. She focuses her attention on those who already do.

Failure is inevitable. We all have failed at something. When we first learned to walk as babies, we fell. Those first attempted steps were a failure. But, we kept going until we walked.

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

I have five approaches for reaching new clients that work for me.

The best source for new clients for me starts with constantly building authentic relationships with people. Often, we overlook the people we meet daily. But when you treat those people with kindness and show up genuinely, they look out for you. Thus, they serve as potential clients or as a word-of-mouth funnel.

I love to create experiences, so hosting networking events, workshops, and panel discussions has also been a great marketing approach for acquiring clients.

Next, I’m constantly trying to meet new people. But I don’t necessarily do it just by attending your typical networking party. I meet potential clients at dance classes, birthday parties, galas, sporting events, you name it.

Volunteering to speak in front of new audiences has been helpful, too. I love speaking to groups of young professionals, seasoned professionals, students, artists, musicians, etc.

Last but not least, the best source for new clients is by doing right by your current clients. Happy clients refer other clients. So many businesses focus so much on getting new clients that they forget who they have already supporting them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.agencyabron.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agencyabron/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgencyAbron/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessaabron
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/agencyabron
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@agencyabron