Are we really in October 2019? Last year around this time I wrote about how time can zoom by and make you feel as if you can never catch up to it. As a business owner I believe that mastering the intersection of time management and execution determines your success. Staying ahead of the calendar can be the difference between a great year and an average year. Or even a terrible year. Speaking to my business owners and entrepreneurs, it is imperative to stay on top of your vision, finances, goals and how they relate to your calendar every day. Lose sight of something in regards to timeline and everything can be thrown out of wack.

I wish I could say I excelled on handling time and my calendar this year but I didn’t. Truthfully, I feel like time got the better of me. I lost sight of the vision I have for my company because I started reacting more than taking action. Wasn’t a year that I felt particularly enlightened or aligned…in part due to mental health. I will always speak about how the personal journey of an entrepreneur or business owner affects the business. So although this year won’t stand out in our company memoir one day, I still want to talk about what was accomplished and what we learned. Because growth, whether big or small, is still growth.

So see below for some updates from the past ten months and ways to partner with us. If you ever have any questions or suggestions don’t ever hesitate to reach out to me at tanisha@therebelleagency.com.

Prioritizing Social Good

When we brought on Tequilla White as a Senior Account Executive she made it clear that she was interested in focusing on and cultivating brands that prioritize social good and non-profit efforts. We loved that enthusiasm and jumped right in finding brands that met those requirements. Brands like BLK & Bold, a coffee and tea brand based in Des Moines, Iowa that gives 5% profits back to community organizations, Yo Stay Hungry, a culinary competition that helps inner city youth fall in love with food and hip hop on their annual Biggie Day and She Builds Black, a meet up group that spawned a one day conference for Black women in technology. We used media relationships to feature clients on NBC, Bold TV, The Quintessential Gentleman, World Tea News, Essence (screenshot above) and more. Our primary service offering is always media relations but when it comes to social good and non-profit brands we want to expand on the opportunity for additional services like helping brands build out their giveback processes, creating experiential events to parallel their efforts and creating stronger community relations.

The Intersection of Talent and Ambition

A good portion of this year was spent ramping up our Talent Division and signing clients that authentically intersect talent and ambition. Entertainment public relations is a sweet spot for me, my team will say that I am in love with it. I will say that it is definitely a top interest for the agency to acquire new talent clients in 2020 and overall. This year we have had the pleasure of working with:

Rappers like Sweetsound, a Mexican American songwriter, producer and rapper with lime green hair and Lambo Anlo, a DMV born and bred artist with a unique sound under Rostrum Records,

Actors like Marija Abney from Black Panther and The Cher Show on Broadway and Shannon Wallace from BET’s American Soul and;

Singers like the incomparable Grammy award-winning Elle Varner, a newly solo R&B songstress out of Atlanta by the name of Talea and our newest client the trap Jodeci and R&B Migos aesthetic that is Hamilton Park.

There is a special skill in managing public relations for talent brands. We love to be a partner to our talent clients — helping them surpass their personal communications goals and navigate the saturated entertainment industry.

Real Beauty Conversations

Every year we like to focus on doing more for our clients than press placements and media relations. This year we were successful in securing opportunities for our beauty clients that helped drive the conversation way past digital clicks.

We secured AJ Crimson of AJCRIMSON Beauty as a panelist for the Essence Beauty Carnival in New Orleans along with a brand activation within the Shop Essence booth at the convention center. AJ had the amazing opportunity to engage with consumers in person and build those personal relationships that drive brand loyalty which is always a plus for consumer brand founders.

Due to the vision and tenacity of Tequilla White we confirmed Jamelia Donaldson, of TreasureTress, as a member of the AdAge 2019 Women to Watch Europe list. As seen below, Jamelia was the only woman of color on the list and represented as the Founder & CEO of her own company amongst executives at Uber, Facebook, etc. This was special due to its impact — we hope to continue to elevate and promote the brands, founders, products that truly work to change the world as trailblazers.

New Kids on the Block

Business growth requires venturing into new fields of industry and services. Every year we look to find new ways to expand and this year we ventured into a few firsts working on the winning political campaign for Councilwoman Farah Louis, signing the fast-growing Gentlemen’s Factory, a co-working space dedicated to the support and growth of Black men and starting a talent management branch of the company entitled Rebelleion.

Throughout the year we have had a lot of fun with Rebelleion; currently representing content creators like Ty Alexander, Tiffany M. Battle and Tracy G. So far we have worked with brands and publications like Essence, State Farm, StriVectin, Tamron Hall Show, Squarespace, Bumble Bizz, GENIUS, Well + Good, Rent The Runway, DOVE, OWN, Peter Thomas Roth and more.

Every Year We Aim To End Strong, Then Start Again Stronger

We are continually grateful for the support of personal and professional relationships that have aided in the growth of the company in any way. As we continue with the same momentum and gratitude into 2020, below are some ways that old and new supporters can continue to help Rebelle Agency:

1. Build Clientele: Introduce our agency to brands or organizations you know that are interested in Communications services. We are currently looking to expand further into Talent, Apparel & Accessories, Beauty & Wellness, Home & Interiors and Tech specifically but are open to all industries.

2. Increase Company Awareness: Share our content with your network (sites like LinkedIn and Facebook and social networks like Instagram and Twitter are easy ways to disseminate info about what we are doing with clients.)

3. Provide Value: Identify companies for us to partner with on our tentpole events like the “More Than Grunt Work” intern coaching initiative. We are currently looking for a location and company to partner with for the next event in January.

Here’s to the next Quarter!

Read our latest newsletter and stay connected with Rebelle Agency on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter for all updates.

Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.