Today we’d like to introduce you to Aquila Mendez-Valdez.
Aquila, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Haute in Texas started as a blog in 2011 when I was newly married and moving to San Antonio for the first time. I wanted to get to know my new city, and blogging was a great way to make connections with the local community back then. I actually landed my first internship and then a full-time job through my blog. After about 4 years of working for one of the top PR agencies in San Antonio, I went off on my own in 2014 to combine my blog and PR consulting under the Haute in Texas name. We’ve grown steadily and organically since then, and have now evolved into a full-service agency with a team that’s expanding rapidly. We propel and curate our client’s online and in-person presence, and I still write on the blog when I can in the hopes of providing women with fun and intelligent content they can use in their everyday lives.
Has it been a smooth road?
Oh, I wish! For me, becoming a mom was a defining moment in my life, so I spent the first few years of my career also juggling being a new mom and finding the work-life balance that was ideal for me. I wouldn’t trade it for the whole world, but owning your own business means a lot of sleepless nights, crazy hours, and hard work. On the other hand, it also means I can go on field trips, pick up my daughters from school, and be there for them when they need me. I find myself driven a lot by the notion that my girls are watching my every move, and I want them to know they can do it, too. I remember the pivotal moments of starting my business, starting to hire a team, and reaching for bigger clients have all come with a sense of fear and lack of control, but if you don’t forceyourself to feel those things you’re not pushing yourself to your full potential.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Haute in Texas story. Tell us more about the business.
We focus on three main areas in the PR/digital marketing world. First, we offer digital marketing services which include social media marketing, influencer marketing, and email marketing. Secondly, we provide traditional media relations services for reaching the public through traditional media. And lastly, we offer what we call community programming, which can mean planning an event from the ground up or connecting you with other events going on the city where you can be face-to-face with your target demographic.
I’m the proudest of our team, as each of us in pursuing our own definitions of the haute life. We’ve built a fantastic client roster, with projects and businesses I am honored to support as a (hopefully) essential part of their company. We are probably most known for our combination of blogging and PR since that’s not a particularly common business set up, but it helps sets us apart in the growing field of influencer marketing since we know both sides inside and out.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think influencer and organic marketing is truly the way of the future. Of course, I’m biased because that’s where we focus our efforts, but I just think the average consumer and even business owner is becoming completely inundated with advertisements, however subtle they may be. Authentic, real engagement with your target customer or prospect is essential to building legitimate traction in any industry in the 21st century.
Contact Info:
- Website: hauteintexas.com
- Phone: 2106065251
- Email: aquila@hauteintexas.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hauteintexas
- Facebook: facebook.com/hauteintexas
- Twitter: twitter.com/hauteintexas
- Other: pinterest.com/hauteintexas
Image Credit:
Melissa Raelynn Photography
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