The week is young - and so is your spirit. Yes, I’m talking to you. 👋🏽👋🏿👋 I’m excited to have you meet Estee Santoni. The CEO and founder of the VIVA Agency has such a great spirit. But there was a time when that inner flame was stifled. In today’s newsletter, you’ll learn the following:
🌴How Estee Santoni got her mojo back after a pivotal setback
🌴A real-life example of defining your niche
🌴How to channel your “vibe” into becoming your signature selling point
🌴In Part One, let’s get to know Estee Santoni and how the marketing maven used a renewed focus on her inner spirit to become a small business owner.
Viva: In Spanish, the word loosely conveys a sense of exuberance, vibrancy and being full of life. And that’s who Estee Santoni, the owner of a Central Florida marketing and branding communications agency, is at her core.
But there are two events that Estee Santoni says changed her life and almost changed who she naturally is.
THE TIP JAR (Tips provided courtesy of Estee Santoni)
STARTING OUT: “I think it’s identifying your niche. You have to think about your niche. You can’t paint with broad strokes. You can’t be everything to everyone… You want to become the expert in something.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: “For me, it was helping general market companies communicate authentically with the Hispanic audience… I knew everything that I do has to go through that funnel.”
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “Laying the groundwork while you are where you are. Not to say that you need to abandon your work or be less interactive at your [current job]. But how can you do this simultaneously with what you’re doing now?”
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
Is it a weekend project?
Is it taking on a side hustle?
Is it just releasing content?
STARTING OVER: Santoni approached this question in terms of how to break it to your current employer.
POSSIBLE SCRIPT: “So grateful for this opportunity. But my side hustle, my passion, has now become something that I think I can live off. And I want to give this opportunity a shot.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: Santoni says she knows someone who was baking cakes as a side hustle. He told his current employer, “Hey, I’m doing this on the side.”
Santoni says, “When this company started doing events, they said, ‘Hey, you already work for us. You’re doing cakes on the side. You know, maybe you can… help us out at these events?’”
Santoni adds, “I think there’s always a way to finesse it. It’s not easy. It might not always be the easiest cross-promotion or cohesion, but there is always a way to tie these in…”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: Santoni says she’ll never let fear get the best of her. It’s become a mantra for her. “Always do what you’re afraid to do.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: : “There’s a saying, ‘Dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres.’”
TRANSLATION: Tell me who you hang out with, and I’ll tell you who you are.
“We all make friends and you kind of grow and you find yourself. And that was a constant reminder… who you keep around your circle is who you become. I still keep that with me today because I still try to surround myself with like-minded people… It’s people who want more, who want to grow and who want to constantly learn.”
DO NOT LET PEOPLE QUIET WHO YOU ARE
There was a day when Santoni was told to, basically, quiet her vivacious personality.
It came from a doctor she had visited about hives she had developed. She remembers exactly how the conversation went.
She was in the middle of explaining her problem to the doctor when he stopped her and asked, “Can you just bring it down?’”
Santoni looked at him with confusion.
He said, “Your energy. Can you just bring it down?”
DON’T LET ONE BAD INCIDENT CONTINUE TO AFFECT YOU
She felt so insulted. Still, following that incident with the doctor, she found herself trying to tamp down her natural energy.
In professional circles, she says she would purposely make herself “… more monotone. More calm. Like I was so insecure to have my vibrance. Nobody ever told me not to have it necessarily. I just felt like I had to fit in…”
The second pivotal event happened when she was 13 years old and was up on stage.
EVERYONE HAS A BAD DAY, EVERY NOW AND THEN
“I’m singing. And I’m looking at the audience, and I see them cringing… And everyone is looking at me funny. And, so, I am thinking, my voice is the worst thing these people have heard. Because they’re staring at me like I am insane. And, so, I finished this song. I think it was Selena’s ‘Dreaming of You.’ I get off the stage. And I am like trembling, and my mom’s looking at me. And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, mami, what happened?’”
Her mother told her there was something wrong with her microphone. The reason people were squinting at her was because they couldn’t hear her.
DON’T MAKE YOURSELF INTO A MARTYR
But Santoni didn’t believe it. She was convinced it was her and her voice.
It became the day she stopped singing and performing locally.
It wasn’t until a few years later when she took some voice lessons for radio hosting that it hit her.
GET BACK “ON STAGE” OR “ON TRACK,” REGARDLESS OF WHAT HAPPENED
“I started realizing that I missed out on a potential opportunity to grow my voice and just have cool experiences performing locally - all because of this fear. I wish I would have been stronger and said, ‘Ok, that’s what it was. And even if it wasn’t, and let’s pretend that it was my voice, I need to get back on that stage and sing my little Selena heart out.’”
Finding her “voice” and sharing it again took time.
Then, one day, after nearly 20 years of working for the same media company, Santoni decided she would go out on her own.
LOOK FOR WAYS TO REBUILD YOUR CONFIDENCE
She had regained her confidence after becoming the go-to person at the company for checking copy in Spanish to make sure it not only resonated with various Latino nationalities but also didn’t offend certain Hispanic audiences.
Santoni became so busy at the media company where she had worked that she realized there was a need for this service in the community.
CREATE YOUR “NEXT PHASE”
“I knew there was a next phase for me. I felt like I could make a bigger difference.”
Instead of launching one specific brand, she asked herself, “What if I can help other brands, several [of them], speak authentically to this community?”
And that’s when she decided she’d be that bridge to the community with her own agency.
AUTHENTICITY WINS THE DAY
She called her company the VIVA Agency. This time, she was going to make sure she reflected her true vibrant self and the spirited nature of the Latino culture.
Santoni resolved not to “bring down” her energy and not to let anyone mute those qualities that defined who she is.
It was a process, but once she celebrated who she was, that’s when she permitted herself the opportunity to thrive.
“I can be me. This is my energy. I talk with my hands. I’m a little loud. I’ll get a little fast-paced. I’ll work on it. But this is who I am. Once I authentically embraced that person, my confidence came into the workplace.”
She’s now using that expertise, those experiences and her authentic voice to help others communicate their message, loud and clear.
And she will never let anyone keep her from singing her little Selena heart out.
INDUSTRY: Communications Targeted at Hispanic/Latino Audiences (Marketing, Branding, Social Media)
STARTED BUSINESS: August 2022
LATINO CONNECTION: Both parents were born in Cuba
EDUCATION: University of Central Florida – Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications with a Minor in Business Administration
DREAM JOB AS A KID: “Acting and singing when I was a kid. Everything that I was drawn to was in front of people.”
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “I'm passionate about creating my own project from the ground up and celebrating Latin American heritage in a genuine way. I want to make sure our culture is properly represented here in the United States.”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Accounting: The Fundamentals
So math isn’t your strong suit? No problem. You can still learn the basics for your business. This one-hour lesson will teach you what you need to know to “get by.” It’s in an easy-to-follow format, especially for your busy schedule. See the link below for registration info:
U.S. SBA (Small Business Administration)
“Basic Accounting in 60 Minutes”
Monday, January 23, 2023
1:00 p.m. EDT - 2:00 p.m. EDT
Online Webinar
FREE
https://www.sba.gov/event/7078
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Let Your Personality Pay Off
Since Estee Santoni discussed how she went from muting her effervescent personality to realizing that was her calling card, I thought this would be a great webinar to help you leverage what makes you “you” as a key to selling more. This is an invaluable skill to have. Note: This is the second part of a three-part series. Here’s more info:
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) through the National Entrepreneurship Center
“How to Leverage Your Personality to Sell More” – Part 2 of 3
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
5:30 p.m. EST – 7:30 p.m. EST
Online Webinar
FREE
https://nationalec.org/event/score-how-to-leverage-your-personality-to-sell-more-part-2-of-3/
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
I can’t think of many things that I would find more terrifying than doing stand-up comedy. I have a pretty serious personality. So, truth be told, it’s not something I aspire to do.
But doing anything that puts you “out there” or exposes your vulnerabilities to others can set you up for harsh criticism. It can also set you up, mindset-wise, for doing more daring things that allow for true growth.
Of course, when criticism comes from left field and you don’t expect it, like what happened to Estee Santoni at the doctor’s office when he told her to “bring down” her energy, it can really knock the wind out of you.
Even when criticism comes while you’re doing something that you know can expose you to mean comments or accurate but hurtful feedback, it’s up to you to find a way to bounce back.
I know. Far easier said than done.
But the sooner you let it roll off your back and not let it destroy you, the better off you are.
Estee admits it took her years to get over the perceived “bad” audience reaction when she was on stage.
In the end, she finally realized she was the one who was hurting herself.
Many of us have let something unkind or unwelcome hold us back at one time or another.
Conscientiously fighting through that can be a real struggle.
Just remember, oftentimes, it’s those quirks or things that make us different that are also the ones that can make us stand out.
Even though the world can lob harsh criticism at you, it’s your inner doubt that can cement the consequences.
Since we’re in a new year, we probably can all stand to back off from being our own harshest critic and take a chance on ourselves, regardless of what the outside world says. Write your own story, instead of leaving it up to someone else. #theskyisNOTthelimit
🌴 Did this story resonate with you? Please share it. Our community is all about paying it forward with advice and encouragement.
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🌴 Thank you for reading Generation Si! I appreciate you so much.