Today we’d like to introduce you to Alessandra Madrid.
Alessandra, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a fan of writing and sharing stories. I remember writing a letter to the editor-in-chief of Seventeen Magazine when I was in middle school asking what I should do to one day be an editor in chief as well. She wrote me back with the sweetest response!
After graduating from Trinity University in San Antonio, I moved to New Orleans on a whim and began exploring the citie’s culture and hot spots. Shortly after, I met my now Babes & Beignets co-babe, Maggie Robert, and we immediately became friends and months later business partners.
Fast forward to 2019, I now live in Houston and co-run one of the region’s top food, travel, and lifestyle blog geared toward young women in our region called babesandbeignets.com. Through the blog, I’ve been able to collaborate with a number of exciting brands including Kendra Scott, Cambria Hotels, Magnolia Hotels, Winc, Morton Salt, PJ’s Coffee, Visit Dallas, and many more!
Our content aims to inspire women in Houston, New Orleans and beyond to enjoy life’s simple pleasures while hustling hard!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s definitely not been a smooth road because when we started influencer marketing was such a new thing, we had to constantly learn and adapt to make our content and our partnerships better.
Additionally, I’ve taken the role of dealing with the finances of the company; I had to teach myself how to keep up with the books, file taxes, file other legal paperwork and make sure we continue to have money in our bank account to keep the website alive!
Finally, being young women, we’ve had to navigate the struggle of getting people to take us seriously. Not everyone understands the value of influencer marketing and the amount of work we put into it – it takes a lot of education and follow-ups to get businesses that want to work with us to actually want to pay us. It’s crazy to think that some people out there want to demand you do work for them, for free!
If you’re just starting out on your journey, the best and simplest advice I can give you is this; be relentless – networking and building a reputation takes time and sometimes you’ll feel like you’re failing at making connections but don’t give up! Before moving to Houston, I researched people in my industry and sent out emails introducing my blog – about 90% of people responded with very enthusiastic responses and that’s how I started building a network. All it took was a personalized email. I will say, I have to do a better job and networking in real life, but that’s the beauty of the internet and social media – we can make many connections online that will eventually develop into personal relationships. Take advantage of these tools!
Also, I think, above all, people appreciate honesty and bravery; go up to someone you admire and introduce yourself. Let them know you’ve been following their work and tell them about what you do.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
From 9-5 during the week you will find me at a Houston-born marketing agency that represents some of the biggest CPG brands in the world. I work in the influencer marketing department, creating and managing campaigns for a major beauty brand. At all other hours and days of the week, you will find me brainstorming content, sending out invoices, capturing content, editing photos and writing blog posts for Babes & Beignets.
I think what sets me apart is that by not being a full-time blogger, I’ve also had my 9-5 career teach me a lot about the blogging world and partnerships. I think this really makes Babes & Beignets stand out because both co-founders have a deep understanding of the marketing and PR world. I deliver the value I want the influencers I work at my job deliver for me as well.
What I’m most proud of is that the brand is huge in New Orleans and when I moved to Houston this May, it was already known by some and most importantly, I was welcomed with open arms by local businesses like the Derek Hotel, Royal Sonesta Houston, Hotel Alessandra, Eunice Restaurant, Chef Dominick Lee at Poitin, to name a few!
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Podcasts:
How I Built This
Diet Starts Tomorrow
Other resources:
I’ve found that thanks to Google you can literally find the answers to any of your questions. This is how I was able to learn about filing for an LLC, what business checking accounts are the best for small business owners, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: babesandbeignets.com
- Email: babes@babesandbeignets.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/babesandbeignets
- Facebook: facebook.com/babesandbeignets
- Twitter: twitter.com/beignetbabes
- Other: instagram.com/alessbarcelona
Image Credit:
Alessandra Madrid
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