"The easiest and hardest way to gain success as an entrepreneur is always through hard work"
Isabella Bedoya, founder of Fame Hackers, an artist accelerator that helps independent artists establish profitable and sustainable music careers so they can get paid doing what they love. As a former A&R for a label under Sony Music, and working for an award-winning social media marketing agency in the past, Isabella helps artists excel in the new music industry by using strategies that work in today’s social media.
Isabella has been invited to speak at the Musicians Institute, BoldTV, Ticker News, iHeartRadio, NBC, KCAA Radio, Beat The Clock Podcast, and published on Medium, Thrive Global, and many more!
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Table of Contents
Thank you for joining us today. Please introduce yourself to our readers. They want to know you, some of the background story to bring some context to your interview.
Isabella Bedoya: Hi there! I’m Isabella Bedoya, founder of Fame Hackers, an artist accelerator and I help independent artists establish profitable and sustainable music careers so they can get paid doing what they love. After working as an A&R for a label under Sony Music, I use industry experience coupled with cutting-edge strategies to help musicians monetize their music careers, attract their loyal fan base, and reach the levels of success they desire.
During my time as an A&R, I discovered that as long as an artist knows social media marketing and e-commerce strategies, they can create wildly profitable careers without signing record deals.
Shortly after, I set off to learn digital marketing and invested close to six figures in coaches and consultants to accelerate her knowledge and her growth. In the meantime, I worked for an award-winning influencer marketing agency where I had the opportunity to work with multiple Fortune 500 brands including but not limited to Snap, Google, Bud Light, United Healthcare, and more. I also managed two TikTok accounts for Sony Music LATAM, and so much more!
I have worked with many celebrities, influencers, and award-winning industry professionals over the past 6+ years, and have also helped independent artists become viral sensations. I have been invited to speak at the Musicians Institute, BoldTV, Ticker News, iHeartRadio, NBC, KCAA Radio, Beat The Clock Podcast, and published on Medium, Thrive Global, and many more!
You are a successful entrepreneur, so we’d like your viewpoint, do you believe entrepreneurs are born or made? Explain.
Isabella Bedoya: Entrepreneurs are made. No doubt! The easiest and hardest way to gain success as an entrepreneur is always through hard work. I believe that setting yourself up for success is through continuously improving yourself and adapting to the changes that the world throws at you. It sounds tacky but there’s no permanent thing in the world other than change.
If you were asked to describe yourself as an entrepreneur in a few words, what would you say?
Isabella Bedoya: I’m a PROJECTOR. That means that I was placed on this Earth to lead and guide people.
Tell us about what your company does and how did it change over the years?
Isabella Bedoya: Fame Hackers is a Music Consultancy community whose vision is to disrupt the new music industry by transforming ‘starving artists’ into a generation of profitable music artists that can create a positive impact in the lives of their fans and empower the world with their music.
WE ARE IMPACT-DRIVEN. We believe in having multiple degrees of impact. You see, when we help an artist with a positive message get their music out there. We are having a direct impact on the quality of the life of the artist. The artist then goes out and creates a positive impact within their fan clubs.
So the artist now has a direct impact on the quality of the life of the fan. This means the fans now radiate that empowerment into their own homes and communities. Empowered people, empower people. WE are in constant change and adapting through the world’s digital evolution. We constantly stay up to date with recent trends, styles, strategies, and techniques. So we can assure you, that the Fame Hackers of today is definitely not what it was a year ago.
Thank you for all that. Now for the main focus of this interview. With close to 11.000 new businesses registered daily in the US, what must an entrepreneur assume when starting a business?
Isabella Bedoya: An entrepreneur should always assume that his/her business is up for evolution. Being an entrepreneur, we should rid ourselves of complacency because what works now may not work in the coming months, or what is trendy now can easily be a bygone in just a few days. We must always ADAPT, CHANGE, and EVOLVE.
Did you make any wrong assumptions before starting a business that you ended up paying dearly for?
Isabella Bedoya: One of the failures that I encountered early on is accepting all types of clients and compromising my services and what they’re worth because I was just starting. That particular client ended up derailing most of my plans for growth, ate up my time for other clients, and made me devalue the worth of my services.
Since then, I have lived and learned from this ordeal. Know your worth and stick to it!
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what advice would you give yourself and why? Explain
Isabella Bedoya: My advice to ‘past’ me would be to never doubt yourself, your path, and your purpose. Stick to what you know you’re worth and be the positive energy that you are in this world!
This is a piece of absolute, solid advice to myself because back then a lot of people told me that there is no career in where I’m heading.
What is the worst advice you received regarding running a business and what lesson would you like others to learn from your experience?
Isabella Bedoya: The worst advice would probably be one of the most well-known. They say just start it and if it’s the right product, your customers will come. And this is certainly not true! For starting entrepreneurs out there, know your target audience and how to market yourself because everybody has their own cup of tea. If you know who you’re offering your services/products too, you can make offers that sell well.
In your opinion, how has COVID-19 changed what entrepreneurs should assume before starting a business? What hasn’t changed?
Isabella Bedoya: COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, some for the better and some for the worst. One of the positive impacts is that people are now fully grasping and accepting the idea of remote work. Sure it has been around for some years now, but people use to look down on people who work from home. Now it’s quite the norm!
But some stuff definitely hasn’t changed, you still have to grind and get yourself out there (now digitally and virtually).
What is a common myth about entrepreneurship that aspiring entrepreneurs and would-be business owners believe in? What advice would you give them?
Isabella Bedoya: It’s a common myth to never say no when starting a business. Take any clients who want to deal with you no matter how horrible or devaluing the deal is. And that’s a big NO in my book. Learn to be selective because it’s not worth the trouble of selling yourself short and possibly burning out before your business takes off.
What traits, qualities, and assumptions do you believe are most important to have before starting a business?
Isabella Bedoya: You have to be RESILIENT yet sensitive, ADAPTABLE yet firm, and OPEN yet selective.
How can aspiring leaders prepare themselves for the future challenges of entrepreneurship? Are there any books, websites, or even movies to learn from?
Isabella Bedoya: You have to set yourself up for success so that you can attract success. One book from Rhonda Byrne, “The Secret” is a good read, not just for any starting entrepreneurs but for just about any person in general who wants to succeed in life.
You have shared quite a bit of your wisdom and our readers thank you for your generosity but would also love to know: If you could choose any job other than being an entrepreneur, what would it be?
Isabella Bedoya: I would absolutely love to be a DJ! Mixing music is my passion and I’ve gotten a few gigs under my belt despite being a total newbie. It’s really how you choose to market yourself and improve your skillsets!
Thank you so much for your time, I believe I speak for all of our readers when I say that this has been incredibly insightful. We do have one more question: If you could add anyone to Mount Rushmore, but not a politician, who would it be; why?
Isabella Bedoya: Totally silly, but I would add my mom. She’s the most wonderful person I know and she has been an ardent supporter in all of my endeavors. Some would be pressed that my mom is on Mt. Rushmore, but you can add your moms, too! 🙂
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Isabella Bedoya for taking the time to do this interview and share her knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Isabella Bedoya or her company, you can do it through her – Instagram
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