Down to Business: Marketing, Management, & Everything In Between
ITECH DESIGNS: My early experiences in business (click to expand)
My first experiences in the business world came at a very young age. In 2003 my father guided me through the process of setting up my own LLC, ITech Designs. We designed and maintained interactive websites and fully-functional online stores for clients in a strategic alliance with The Worthwhile Company. As an airline pilot, my dad described ITech Designs as the Pinnacle Airlines of The Worthwhile Company. Just as Pinnacle acts as a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, we worked with The Worthwhile Company for web hosting and support as a parent company. Perhaps my most influential business experiences to date, ITech Designs gave me my first glimpse of the simultaneous struggles and thrills of launching a new company and taught me invaluable lessons about creating competitive advantage through synergy in a corporate environment.
INTERNSHIPS: Life as a marketing intern (click to expand)
It's all about your connections! While most of my colleagues assumed my acting, modeling, and singing were entirely unrelated to my ultimate business goals, I used these outlets for constant networking that landed me both of my internships. Through my modeling connections, I met Brian Dowling of Runway Newswire, who eventually offered me the position of Marketing Intern with the company. The Los Angeles-based company allowed me to perform most of my duties online, but my favorite parts of the job were definitely the semiannual trips to NYC for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week! My second marketing internship was with South Carolina Children’s Theatre, a company that has been a big part of my life since middle school. As their Marketing Intern, I organized promotional material, assisted in the distribution process, prepared press releases, and contacted over fifty local schools to identify advertising opportunities.
ISELL: My time as Sales Manager and Vice President of Technology (click to expand)
During the spring semesters of my final two years of Clemson undergrad, I served first as a Sales Manager and then as the Vice President of Technology for the Tiger Paw Classic, part of the ISELL program for Clemson Marketing students hoping to earn the University's sales certification. The program requires the successful completion of two upper-level sales courses, Professional Selling and Sales Management, and the approval of the head of the sales department. Only the best applicants were selected as salespeople then placed under the top-performing salespeople from prior years, who served as sales managers. This phenomenal program instilled in me just how critical teamwork is to the success of an organization and gave me the opportunity to develop my management skills as I led my team members to exceed their quotas. In my last undergraduate semester, three of the top performing managers were invited to return as vice presidents. Thanks to my abundance of technological experience, I thrived as the Vice President of Technology. My duties included creating and maintaining all web outlets, promotional materials, and the master spreadsheet of all transactions. Furthermore, I organized, managed, and troubleshot the NetSuite CRM system and led the training program I designed to instruct every salesperson and manager in its proper use. Ultimately, I am extremely grateful for the invaluable experience I gained from the ISELL program.
CAROLINA SOMA: My current position as Director of Marketing (click to expand)
Presently, I work as the Director of Marketing for Carolina Soma, a luxury fashion brand that has relocated to the Greenville area. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have a fantastic position at a great company in a field I love. I get to collaborate directly with the CEO and designer to evolve the brand and create a unified platform message as a luxury fashion label. Furthermore, I lead a team of talented people to conduct quantitative market research and to perform qualitative research to create a detailed profile of the luxury fashion consumer. Additionally, I manage all B2B sales ventures, negotiating with executives of high-end fashion boutiques, and network with media personnel for PR opportunities.