Ever since I was a senior in high school, I have always been obsessed with entrepreneurship and the world of business. I loved how people were able to start businesses, no matter what age they were, and from anywhere around the world, even in the comfort of your own home. While I was in high school, I became obsessed with learning about the stories of business owners, and how they got from an idea to the current success that they had.
There was a specific podcast, called How I Built This by Guy Raz, which did a deep dive on many successful entrepreneurs and their journey on how they got to where they are today but also the lessons they learned and hardship that they faced. After learning about these amazing entrepreneurs, and hearing their stories, I decided that it was my turn, and I was going to give it a shot.
I noticed that I was a very big consumer of content, and I loved to watch really big influencers on YouTube and what they were posting. I never thought that I could be a content creator one day, and that wasn’t even the word for it back then. People were not known for being a content creator or influencer, it was mainly just Youtubers.
I didn’t have a fancy camera or any expensive equipment to begin making videos on YouTube so I decided to start filming some videos on my phone throughout quarantine back in the spring of 2020 and while most of those videos are now deleted or archived, I fell in love with filming and editing. It was really fun for me to film these videos just being at home, and then editing them with the possibility of anybody around the world to see them.
Throughout this time, I had also gotten accepted into my dream college, which was the Fashion Institute of Technology based in New York. As someone who rarely went to New York, but was living in New Jersey I was really nervous when I got accepted because I had no idea how I was going to learn to take the train to get there, but that was a problem that I would figure out much later on. When I got accepted, I wasn’t sure if I was even going to take the opportunity just because it seemed so far out of my reach and I didn’t know if I could do it. The main reason why I was so nervous about going to college is because I felt that I was going to be surrounded by students who were going to have so many passion projects and hobbies under their belt. Meanwhile, I had nothing.
I was applying to tons of internships and different opportunities but while I landed nothing, I decided to take a different approach which most people don’t usually do. Since I couldn’t find any experience, I was going to create it for myself, and that was how I launched my first business, which was my blog. My blog is called Glamour and Guide which you’re reading right now. Glamour and Guide is a virtual fashion, journal and guide on all things, fashion, business and more. This was going to be my new hobby and passion project and from the beginning, I was very optimistic about where it could lead. I’m really proud of myself for being a big dreamer, because from day one I would write out business plans, and ideas on how I can take this business to the next level without even having a website built.
After hours of watching YouTube videos and reading articles on how to build a website on WordPress, as well as listening to advice from other bloggers, I decided that a week after I graduated high school I was going to launch the blog. I secretly spent months doing this in my room and decided that this was going to be the thing for me. When I launched it, I had so much support from friends and family, which I never thought was going to happen, and my honest thought was that I was going to be judged because no one at my age or especially in my town was doing something like this, and I almost felt embarrassed.
We have all heard the quote that everything happens for a reason, and I cannot agree more with that. The fact that I started this blog, while being a senior in high school, taught me so many lessons, and really built the path that I took for the rest of my life. Although I am still very young, and I’m only 21 years old, deciding to start that blog opened up so many doors for me in so many other ways that I could’ve never imagined.
Pamela’s Business Ventures
Fast forward to many years later I am now a woman that wears many different hats, and I am involved in different industries all around. Over the last few years, I have built multiple different streams of income that are now held under my media company called Valdez Agency. Within Valdez Agency, I have my newsletter, my blog, my podcast, and my influencer marketing agency. Outside of my company I also do content creation in which I work for brands and do partnerships.
My newsletter is called Spill The Success which is a daily email that goes right into your inbox full of job and internship opportunities as well as news that is going on throughout social media. Oftentimes there will also be interviews that are shortened and more. Spill The Success was built as a way for anyone who is on the go to find new opportunities, delivered right into their inbox. Not many people have time to spend all day going through LinkedIn or indeed to find job and internship opportunities so I decided that all that time I was spending looking for myself I can just compact it into a daily newsletter for other people to look through. It could be very hard for people to find these kinds of jobs or really cool opportunities, so to be able to put it into a newsletter was my way of simplifying time for others.
As I mentioned before my blog, Glamour and Guide, which is my oldest running business, is still up and running to this day. Here I post influencer interviews and interviews in general with people who are making a change in their industry. I am also keeping my audience up-to-date on trends, and anything that is going on within the fashion or business industry.
On my podcast, called Pretty & Prepared I make episodes on how to be prepared for whatever life throws at you and how to be the best version of yourself. I really love self-care and self growth tips so I decided to turn it into podcast episodes where people can listen for longer periods of time. Podcasts are great forms of content because you can listen anywhere at any time.
With content creation I’ve also been doing this since around the time that I started my blog because I knew that if my blog were to get a big one day people would need to know who I am, and who the founder is behind the blog. I was also tired of just being a consumer of other people’s contacts and I wanted to make my own. It’s very fun to be creative with the kind of content that you post and the amount of fun I was having while doing it, really helped me bring out the creative side within myself.
My last business is my influencer marketing agency in which I am able to connect brands with influencers and creators within my community. I relaunched this idea in September 2023 and since then I’ve been able to land Pandora as one of our first clients. I was able to connect them with 10 influencers for a campaign idea that we completely created and ran.
How The Businesses Will Scale to 6-figures
Every income stream is different and they can bring in different kinds of success. My heart is in so many different ideas all the time so I decided why not try all of them and see where it can go? It can be so fun and a journey that I am very grateful for. These are the ways I am taking all my businesses into the 6-figure mark.
Newsletter
With a newsletter, there are so many streams of income and ways that you can monetize including sponsored content, sponsored emails and affiliate marketing. With sponsored content you can partner with advertisers such as brands that want to sponsor certain sections of your newsletter. These brands need to align with your core values and the niche that your audience likes to read about or browse through, or else the partnership won’t make sense. Sponsored emails are great too because a brand or advertiser can sponsor your entire email for the day for a fee and your subscribers can gain certain promotions just for being one of your subscribers. Lastly, which is the most popular form of having a newsletter is affiliate marketing. This is when you recommend certain products or services to your audience with links. If your audience shops through your links, then you can make a small commission from that while using affiliate platforms. Some of the most popular ones are LTK, Amazon and Benable.
Blog
A blog is very similar to a newsletter in terms of content and monetization. With a blog, you can earn money through display advertising and using ad networks. The most popular ones are Google AdSense or Mediavine in which you’re paid for the amount of page views your blog gets or how many people visit your site. Many bloggers also use Pinterest to get more attraction to their posts and this has been a successful tactic. Sponsored content and affiliate marketing are also another popular method of making money through a blog because a brand or advertiser can sponsor a portion of a post you make. With affiliate marketing, you can also link products or services you are talking about within the post for your readers to purchase. Digital products are another way that bloggers monetize their site because you can create and sell your own. Some bloggers use Etsy to hold their digital products while others use Shopify. These guides, books, courses or templates that are relevant to your blog niche can often be successful.
Podcast
A podcast is a great source of passive income as well once you land the right audience and listeners. You can monetize a podcast through the amount of people that listen and also through sponsorships or affiliate marketing. Podcast hosts can partner with brands that can put ad spots in your episodes or mentions. With affiliate marketing, you can put links in your episode notes for listeners to browse during or after your episode which can make you commission for each sale earned. Some podcasts are also given special promo codes that only their listeners or audience can use which is a great incentive.
Content Creation
Content creation is one of my most successful streams of income because with this, I am able to land partnerships and brand deals with big brands that are looking to have creators on certain campaigns. Some of my most notable ones include Microsoft, Under Armour, Kate Spade New York, IKEA, CeraVe, Aquaphor, Clinique, Prada Beauty, Dove, Hallmark, Vince Camuto and more. Brands are also taking more interest now in UGC content which is User Generated Content. With this, you can be paid by a brand to work with them but not have to post the content yourself on your social channels.
Valdez Agency
My influencer marketing agency, Valdez Agency offers different services to brands. From service packages to retainer agreements and project based pricing, we do it all. With service packages, we can offer different kinds of support to clients based on what they’re looking for such as building ambassador programs, custom influencer campaigns, focus groups or surveys and more. With retainer agreements, we work with clients on longer partnerships so that we can foster a more long-term relationship. With project based pricing, we work with clients that want a certain amount of type of influencers for a type of campaign they’re looking to launch and create.
Why Choose Entrepreneurship?
The benefits to being a business owner are endless. It comes with its ups and downs but it is worth seeing all your hard work come into fruition in the end. Some reasons why you should consider being an entrepreneur include:
Independence and Creativity
The amount of independence you get from being a business owner is something that you simply can’t get anywhere else. You can stretch your creativity as far as possible and achieve everything you set your mind to.
Unlimited Growth
There are unlimited growth opportunities with being a business owner. You can constantly hit new goals and grow at your own pace. When working under a manager, you may find yourself only getting one promotion a year versus unlimited when trying out your own business. The possibilities are endless.
Personal Development and Learning
Learning is something we should be doing everyday, no matter what age we are. You can learn from reading books, articles, watching videos online, listening to podcasts, finding documentaries and more. In everyday interactions with people, you can also gain immense education. Learning is one of the best things we can do to feed our mind.
Opportunity for Impact
Having the opportunity to change the world is something not many may have the chance to do, so why not be one of those very few? There are a small percentage of people that are in the top ranks of the world in different categories and industries. You can be a part of that small percentage and it starts with the small steps and action you can take in your everyday life.
Glamour & Guide 