Meet Victoria Downes | Business Coach, Strategist and Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Victoria Downes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Victoria, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I decided to start my business because I was laid off at the start of the pandemic in 2020. We were on lockdown and my role at the Elizabeth Warren 2020 Presidential Campaign had just ended. I had been an entrepreneur for 15 years and owned a paint party company coincidentally shut down around the same time.

I had 2 choices – go out and get another job or use my skills to start another business that could thrive in the online space. Going out to find another job wasn’t an option due to the pandemic so I decided to leverage my skills in Project Management, Human Resources, and Operations to help small business owners who wanted to delegate tasks in their businesses.

A few clients and projects into this new business, I realized that I wasn’t just providing services in terms of deliverables, but I was also involved in defining brand strategy and designing strategies so the projects to be profitable. And while I enjoyed working with my clients, I realized that I was undervaluing myself. I also realized that I had a knack for taking a client’s vision and creating a roadmap to profits so I decided to focus there and so the Brand to Profits Academy was born to help Women of Color accelerate their learning and grow their business with intentional strategies that doesn’t overwhelm them.

What should our readers know about your business?
Building and growing a profitable business is hard work especially when you are a woman of color in a society where access and resources are not fairly distributed.

The Brand to Profits Academy is committed to helping women of color succeed in business. We offer holistic strategies for growing your profitable, scalable and sustainable brand so you can do what matters most while also earning a living that allows you the freedom of time with family & friends

The academy has helped scores of women, who like me are black moms who are entrepreneurs strive towards financial stability through our education and resources designed especially around their needs!

In the last year, I have worked with over 150 business owners to grow their businesses with one of my clients doubling her 2020 revenue and making over $2.5 million in sales in 2021 and
another securing national distribution deals for her handmade products.

This work is not easy but the rewards are so worth it. To hear a client talk about being able to take time for herself or quit her 9-5 because they have surpassed their business goals and feel clear and confident to run their business like a business is the most rewarding experience for my soul.

I want every woman who chooses entrepreneurship as a vehicle to freedom to follow her heart, hang in there becase their breakthrough is just a action, connection or referral away. The journey is not easy or straightforward, but with the right strategy, skills nad support, you can create impact and be profitable.

So if you are a woman of color if black CEO mom who is overwhelmed in her business and unsure of what to do to grow, we have the solution to get you from overwhelmed to overjoyed in life and business.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My shoutout is dedicated to my husband of 11 years, Derek Downes. He is the reason I have been able to fly – to travel the world and grow my businesses knowing not only that my children were safe, but that I was supported and encouraged to try out every crazy idea i came up with.

I also want to shout the rest of my village – my siblings, my husbands family, friends, collaborators and co-conspirators who stepped in watch the kids, offer a kind word, make a referral or join me on a business trip to keep me company- they are the real MVPs. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am.

Website: www.brandtoprofits.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandtoprofitsacademy/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriadownes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandtoprofitsacademy