Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Ayoub.
Vanessa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always worked and found employment in industries where I am surrounded by creative, encouraging, and fun-hearted people. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin, I worked for The Round Rock Express and assisted all facets of their franchise. As the season came to a close I was offered an opportunity to work at Southwest Airlines. I worked my way into the Marketing Department and was part of an amazing team that led the way into the online space. I learned from the best and interacted with customers, business accounts, and Fortune 500 companies. I LUVed my time at Southwest and attribute a lot of my knowledge, strength, and creativity to them. I retired from the company when my husband received orders that took us to Colorado.
While I lived in Colorado, I went back to school and earned my Master’s in Teaching and became a certified teacher. Although I never had my own classroom, I did sub and continue to sub to this day. I love interacting with the school, district, and children in my community. I am able to make an impact and know first hand what is going on with my children and their education.
I have four children – twin boys that just turned 8, a 6-year-old daughter, and a 4-year-old daughter. I am a stay at home mom, community volunteer, sub, and now Texas Madre. I am the face and voice of Texas Madre; however, my business partner and photographer plays a vital role in the business too. When I launched Texas Madre, I sat down at my office computer and was drawn to Instagram. I kept going back and forth on a name. In fact, I initially had a different handle and then switched it a day later. I called my partner and said this is going down. Prepare to have fun!
Long story short – Texas Madre came about innocently. While I worked in marketing for Southwest Airlines, I started a small embroidery business and began my journey creating and building a brand. Once children entered the equation I set that business aside. Fast forward seven years and I found myself looking to find a way to utilize my degrees and share my creative and social nature while remaining present for my family and friends. Texas Madre was the solution. Texas Madre offered me an opportunity to share content, meet people, have fun, and earn revenue.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an influencer today has challenges and a lot of rewards. You are entering a field where there are millions of influencers all over the world and some say it is oversaturated. The advice I would give you is there is always an opportunity for everyone.
I saw growth in the past two and half years with Texas Madre by prescribing to the following: consistency, solid content, ability to adapt to current trends, listening to my followers and their wants and needs, and alignment with other like-minded individuals in the same industry. Although my content is the same (fashion, family, lifestyle, and travel), my presentation is ever-changing.
The key to success is finding your niche and staying true to your mission and brand. The advantage of joining the industry today is all the channels of advertisement you have at your hands. Your blog is your main source of brand recognition. Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and more serve as your advertising tools to get your name out there and allow you to be noticed. Your goal is to be reposted by major brands to help spread awareness and gain followers through your advertising. It is also very important to engage with your followers, peers, and brands because through this networking your brand will have an infinite opportunity within your reach.
My advice to the men and women that want to embark in this industry is to stay the course. It takes time to achieve success and recognition as the “big” influencers (typically 2-5 years). Treat this as your full-time job. Yes, I know there are outside factors that will conflict, but go to your office each day and be prepared to work. Schedule your week ahead of time or find a day each week that will serve as office time, photoshoots, email, and more.
Also, look to your peers. There are several support groups on Facebook that are geared towards specific affiliate networks, local city influencers, and local influencer events. All of these present a unique opportunity to network and learn from the best. Join them, learn from them, and befriend them. You will learn a lot along the way and form lasting relationships!
Finally, don’t forget your followers. They are the reason you are able to influence. Their loyalty enables you to have growth and prosper monetarily.
Follow these steps and you are going to succeed whether you are a micro or mega influencer!
Please tell us about TexasMadre – what should we know?
I am primarily a fashion, lifestyle, family, and travel influencer. I share my experiences and life with readers on the daily. Whether it is a snippet in my stories that tends to highlight my family and friends, to my feed that showcases style ideas, or to my posts that go into detail on the why and how.
My goal in starting Texas Madre was to have a space to utilize my degrees and share my love for fashion, family, travel and more and inspire those along the way. I am most proud of moments when followers reach out to share how I influenced them to purchase a product, get involved in a cause, or attend an event due to the awareness I generated.
On the business front, I am also very proud of my role in the community. I have some big collaborations that allow me to share my love of volunteering and giving back. I am fortunate to land these deals and support causes that are near and dear to my heart.
I love to show my followers how they can achieve that wonderful life too. I promote this by always creating content that reflects a specific image or mood and try to make it attainable by all. I am a huge proponent of mixing high fashion with everyday affordable brands. Like they say, you don’t have to spend a million bucks to look good, travel the world, or live a good life.
What sets me apart from others I have found a way to incorporate my community and their needs into my brand. My collaborations are more about promoting great causes. I am always about the people and my followers. I love that I have a voice to share important topics on a public platform and do it in a respectful and grateful manner. By marrying these two areas of my life I have generated more attention and can stay true to my brand and goals.
Do you recommend any apps, books or podcasts that have been helpful to you?
There are a ton of apps that I use with Texas Madre:
I monetize content in the LIKEtoKNOW.it app or ShopStyle app.
I edit my photos and stories through LightRoom, VSCO, Canva, Splice, Momento, Mojo, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tik Tok, and YouTube.
I store my content and publish it in Word Press and Google Drive.
I plan content and visualize it on my feed with PLANN and Planoly.
Podcasts – LIKEtoKNOW.it with Amber Venz Box
Books – I’m in a book club and read any and all books. In terms of business development, I am currently reading Girls Who Run the World: 31 CEOs Who Mean Business and influencer: Building Your Personal Brand in the Age of Social Media.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.texasmadre.com
- Email: vanessa@texasmadre.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/texasmadre
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/texasmadre
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/madretexas
- Other: www.liketoknow.it/texasmadre
Image Credit:
All images are personal property of Texas Madre.
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