Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Amendola.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Angela. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
For starters, I was born and raised in NY State and will forever consider myself a New Yorker! I studied Communications at Boston University and spent 11 years living in Manhattan building a successful career in the fashion industry. I started out as an assistant in the public relations department at Michael Kors. I was so starry-eyed after landing my dream job, I still remember what I wore on my first day of work! From there, I went on to work for a range of luxury & contemporary fashion, beauty & lifestyle brands in New York, LA, and London, climbing the ranks and overseeing everything from PR to marketing to events and brand partnerships.
For all intents and purposes, I loved my career. The fashion industry has such a stigma around it, but it’s also a really close-knit family, and the lines between professional and personal relationships often get blurred. I am forever grateful for the contacts I made and the relationship I have to this day.
However, when we had our daughter, we felt it was time to make a change. We were living in a one bedroom apartment in Soho, and I knew that going back to the daily grind with a new baby was not for me. So we decided to come back to my husband’s hometown (he grew up in the Gables), so we could be closer to his family and embrace a slightly slower pace.
I had no idea what I was going to do when I got here! I had no friends, no contacts, and no clue why it was so hot (we moved on Labor Day weekend). Luckily, shortly after I arrived, I had the opportunity to start consulting for Glamsquad, helping them ramp up for launch in Miami. That turned into an incredible three-year journey. I was so fortunate to have been able to help build a brand from scratch here in Miami, expand the business to Broward and ultimately serve as the General Manager for South Florida. It was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to build a very strong professional network here and meet so many great people.
I fell in love with the idea of helping brands grow and be a part of that success and started ama Consulting to do just that. I offer services such as content creation, email, and digital marketing, public relations, blogging, strategic partnerships, and even web design and development. I’m now so fortunate to work with an amazing roster of clients around the country across the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries.
When I am not wearing my marketing hat, I’m also a clean beauty advocate, working with a brand called Beautycounter and blogging about the journey at BeautyWellnessMama.com.
What started out as a side gig has become a true passion. I educate families on the benefits of switching to safer personal care products, advocate for more health-protective laws in Congress, and most importantly, inspire other women to follow their passion, earn additional income and make an impact through the clean beauty movement.
Lastly, I can’t forget my most important job, mommy to my two crazy toddlers, Blanca and Joaquin. The best part about all of this? I work for myself, and they get to always come first.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not! I wear so many hats, sometimes I feel like a full-time juggler. I think this is something that mothers struggle with, especially. Being a business owner and a mom to two littles is not easy. There are never enough hours in the day, and you never feel like you’re giving enough – some aspect of your life always demands more. But, I think the benefits outweigh the challenges. Finding a really good mom tribe has been critical in keeping me sane.
Please tell us about Ama Consulting.
I like to say I’m a marketing multi-tasker. I’m so fortunate that I had such a diverse background – I’ve worked with start-ups so early stage I was one of four employees, to major global retailers with hundreds of retail locations and thousands of employees. Especially when you are a small business (many of my clients are female entrepreneurs with a team of just two or three), the concept of “marketing” can be overwhelming – and so nuanced. Having experience working with different stages of business allows me to help my clients map out what they should be focusing on, when, and why. I’ve managed everything from multi-million dollar global marketing budgets to $0 budgets where I had to be really scrappy and just make it work. I love showing my clients that there are ways to grow awareness and drive business without spending a ton. And as a consultant, I’m typically in the trenches with them, doing the work and seeing the results. I chose to set up a consultancy as opposed to a typical agency because I recognized that entrepreneurs and small businesses have different needs and different preferences – some business owners want help with a certain project or mapping out the strategy and then prefer to run with it. Others want me to take over as their marketing guru and just let the magic happen. Being a consultant allows me to bring that vision, whatever it is, to life.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
How much time do we have?! (kidding) There are always lessons learned along the way, but overall I’m really happy with my path and where it’s led me. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so I know that every mistake and hurdle I’ve overcome along the way had its purpose. I’m not sure I would do anything differently, but maybe I would just go work for a hedge fund out of college so I could be retiring soon! (Kidding, but seriously though…)
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amaconsulting.co
- Email: angela@amaconsulting.co
- Instagram: @angelamamendola
- Other: www.beautywellnessmama.com
Image Credit:
Courtney Ortiz
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