March 18, 2024 • 41 mins
Monique Webber is the visionary founder of MLWPR Fashion and Beauty PR Agency. Her story isn't just about the sparkle of dressing celebrities in Herve Leger's iconic ensembles; it's a story about ambition, resilience, and a commitment to lifting up minority, local, and women-owned brands.
Monique started out as a teen model and progressed to publicity. She worked with A-listers and learned a lot during her two decade plus career. In 2020 she stepped out on her own and she talks about all the things that gave her courage to strike out and pursue a dream she visualized during an encounter with Oprah Winfrey....
In our conversation, we discuss the relentless drive it takes to flourish in public relations as well as the importance of diversifying your income streams to run a successful agency. We get into the merits of mentorship and how applying for grants can support you in your entrepreneurial journey. Monique also recently underwent treatment for cancer and she talks about how keeping a positive attitude got her through this difficult period.
Finally, Monique shares the best advise she has ever received, it was from her late father and it simply says: "Believe In Yourself."
LINKS AND MENTIONS
MLWPR Agency IG Profile and Website
Contact Monique: Monique@mlwpr.com
BeyGOOD Foundation
Unsun Cosmetics
Shea Radiance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kutloano Skosana (00:03):
Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers.
I'm your host, kutluanusKosanarichi.
Today, my guest isaward-winning beauty and fashion
publicist, monique Weber.
Her agency, mlwpr, representsbrands such as Melanin Haircare,
shea Radiance and UnsunCosmetics.
The latter two have both beenfeatured here on this very
(00:25):
podcast.
Monique started her agencyduring the final quarter of 2020
and hasn't looked back since.
She shares her ups and downssince then, including a recent
cancer diagnosis and a round oftreatment, and you find out how
that changed, how she definessuccess in the long run, and if
(00:46):
you've ever wanted to knowanything about the publicity
industry, raising funding inthat field, identifying and
serving a niche, and how tocreate something that's bigger
than yourself, then this is theepisode for you, and so I invite
you to enjoy this wide-rangingdiscussion with Monique Weber,
founder of MLWPR agency.
Monique Webber (01:10):
My name is Monique Weber and I am the owner
of MLWPR.
We are a full-service publicrelations agency that is based
in Las Vegas, nevada, and wespecialize in fashion, beauty
and lifestyle brands and, inparticular, I love to champion
minority-owned brands,locally-owned brands and
(01:31):
women-owned brands.
Kutloano Skosana (01:33):
And why did you choose this particular niche
to go after?
Monique Webber (01:37):
Well, I started PR over 23 years ago.
This has been half my life thatI've been in PR and I started
with BCBG Max Azria Group, and Iwas with them for 12 years.
And starting in fashion, yougrow a love for fashion and it
just became something that I wasjust highly interested in and I
(02:01):
wanted to stick with.
I loved doing the fashion showsthat we used to do and I did a
lot of celebrity dressing.
I don't know if you arefamiliar with the brand Herve
Leje, but Herve Leje was alsounder BCBG's umbrella, so in the
early 2000s I was dressingeveryone under the sun in.
(02:24):
Herve Leje.
So you saw Beyonce, britneySpears, kim Kardashian, paris
Hilton, mariah Carey I mean youname in all the A-list
celebrities.
I was dressing and thosedresses.
So having had that experienceis like something that you want
to continue.
And it's fun and I just alwaysloved it.
(02:47):
I actually fell into PR.
I was actually Max and LubaAzrias, who was the owner of
BCBG at the time.
I was their fit model.
Oh yeah, yeah, so.
I started off as their fit modeland I used to sing and model.
(03:11):
And just one day, out of theblue, mrs Azria just asked me
like Monique, would you everconsider like dressing some of
like your model or musicianfriends in our clothes?
And like maybe you should do PRfor us?
And I was, like you know, I'venever done PR.
That's not even what I do, likeI'm on the other side of things
(03:34):
, I'm the model.
Kutloano Skosana (03:36):
Right, right.
Monique Webber (03:36):
I didn't know.
I didn't know anything about PR.
So when she offered me thatopportunity I really took time
to consider it and just thoughthow hard can it be?
Kutloano Skosana (03:50):
Right being young is the best thing ever,
right, right.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
You don't know what you don't know.
Monique Webber (03:57):
Yeah, you're like you don't know what you
don't know right, but I'm likesure, yeah, just people in their
clothes, fine, and yeah, I wasjust bold and courageous and not
afraid of a no.
So, I went after like everyone,and it was successful and so I
(04:20):
ended up coming there.
Senior VIP relations manager.
Kutloano Skosana (04:25):
Right, right.
So I mean, what is it that madeyou want to carry on with PR?
Monique Webber (04:33):
It's just been a really exciting journey for me
and it's opened up a lot ofdoors.
Like I've met so many people inPR, yeah, and you know you have
to have a love for networkingand building relationships and I
feel like I'm really good atthat, yeah.
So this has given me an outletto meet new people and to try
(04:55):
new things, and it's just alwaysbeen fun.
Like I haven't lost that aspectof fun.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Right yeah, and.
Monique Webber (05:03):
I still get excited when one of our brands
gets a placement Like.
I still get happy about that.
So the joy in PR hasn't left meyet.
Kutloano Skosana (05:15):
Great, and is there a deeper meaning you
attached to your day to dayactivities as a PR person?
Monique Webber (05:21):
Well, you know now that I have children I have
two kids.
I have a 15 year old son and a14 year old daughter you start
thinking about your nextgeneration and building
generational wealth, and whatdoes that mean?
And so my why has kind ofchanged.
(05:41):
Yeah, so we're now.
My why has become more aboutwhat's next for my children.
What can I build for them?
How can PR, how can I leveragePR to open up doors for them in
the future?
So that has become reallywhat's important to me and
what's been driving me recently.
Kutloano Skosana (06:02):
Right, right.
And then, in terms of theactual work itself, we just
mentioned that you work withlocally owned businesses.
You work with people of colorfounded businesses, and you know
there's a lot of talk aboutdiversity and inclusion,
especially when it comes to theindustries that you work with,
that's fashion and beauty, andyou know what's your feeling in
(06:27):
this, I would say, post GeorgeFloyd world, of how things are
going.
Monique Webber (06:31):
No, I started my own agency during that George
Floyd movement.
So I was with an agency andduring COVID we were, they were
furloughing a lot of people andI was one of the lucky ones that
still kept their jobs.
But I was also given like 15accounts to oversee.
I know it's a lot of accountsand so I'm overseeing all of
(06:54):
these accounts and also, at thesame time, the George Floyd
movement is going on and beingone of the only people of color
at the agency.
It's it turns into.
Well, what does Monique think?
Yeah, let's see how should wephrase this?
What will be the best way to goabout?
You know the brand messagingaround these topics and I was
(07:19):
actually more concerned with.
Well, what do you think?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, because.
Monique Webber (07:23):
I mean, it really doesn't matter what I
think because, of course, I'mgoing to be on the side of the
minorities, because theyrepresent me.
Kutloano Skosana (07:32):
Right.
Monique Webber (07:32):
And I see myself in this movement.
So what do you think being a,not being a, minority like
what's your stance Exactly?
And though I was, you know theyhad a.
Really, they were more open andmore diverse than some of the
other places that I have worked.
I was still concerned with theidea that, oh okay, we haven't
really been thinking aboutdiversity.
(07:55):
Sure.
Yeah we weren't really activelypursuing founders of color and
it wasn't really something thatwas on their minds really.
So for the most part, when youhave these agencies, a lot of
the founders, they're reachingout for brands with founders
that look like them or you knowthey get their friends and then
(08:17):
their friends are referringtheir friends, and a lot of
their friends are the same.
Kutloano Skosana (08:21):
Right.
Monique Webber (08:22):
And so you don't get any diversity.
And so, when all of that washappening, I just decided like,
hey, I need to do somethingabout this.
I've now been doing PR for over20 years.
I obviously can do this on myown, since I'm already at home
working on 15 accounts, Ofcourse yes.
So now would be the time for meto just step out on faith and
(08:44):
go for it.
Perfect.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Though.
Monique Webber (08:45):
I did, and I know a lot of publicists.
When they're leaving an agency,they take their clients with
them.
I didn't that, so I startedfrom zero.
Wow I was just hustling.
Really.
I was reaching out to brandsthat resonated with me, that I
was actually using and reallyloved or that I had read about
(09:08):
and I really liked their storyand I thought, oh, I can really
do something with them.
So I reached out to them, sentthem like really heartfelt
messages Right.
And they respond it.
And so in my 20 plus career Ihad represented maybe five
Black-owned brands over the 20years.
Kutloano Skosana (09:28):
Wow, that's a lot.
Monique Webber (09:31):
Yes, so when I started, when I officially
launched in August of 2020, Ilaunched with seven Black-owned
brands.
Kutloano Skosana (09:39):
Wonderful, wow , wow.
And how did you go to marketwith this idea?
Monique Webber (09:44):
You know, at the time everyone was on the whole.
Let's support Black-ownedgo-front businesses, Of course.
It was that whole trend andthat whole bandwagon, which I
knew was going to just be atrend.
Because, nothing lasts foreverin fashion and beauty.
And especially, I don't know ifyou ever had the chance to see
(10:08):
the documentary on Beth AnnHardison.
Kutloano Skosana (10:13):
No, I haven't yet.
Oh my gosh, I really need toget onto that.
You know you're the secondperson I'm interviewing who's
asked me if I've seen thedocumentary.
No, not yet Getting onto it.
Monique Webber (10:24):
Amazing.
So, what she's been able to doin fashion is pretty much like
what I would love to do with PR.
Sure, so you know, there is acomplete lack of diversity in PR
, not just with the brands thatpeople represent, but even
amongst publicists.
Like, there's only 11% ofpublicists that are
(10:46):
African-American and a lot ofthat 11% is in, like, the
entertainment side of PR.
I mean, there's other aspectsof PR that we can do.
Kutloano Skosana (10:59):
There's hospitality, you're knowing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can see,though it's very, very obvious,
yeah.
Monique Webber (11:06):
Healthcare.
There's all kinds of otherthings that we can do as
publicists, aside from justrepresenting talent.
So I would love to see us startto move into these other
segments of PR and not just bean account executive.
We should be in higher levels.
We should be senior executivesor vice presidents or the
(11:30):
president or the CEO of thecompany, and a lot of women of
color do not hold thosepositions.
Kutloano Skosana (11:40):
Award-winning beauty and fashion publicist and
founder of MLW PR agency,monique Weber, is my guest on
Shades and Layers Today.
Monique is on a mission tochange the status quo in her
industry by contributingmeaningfully to diversity and
inclusion efforts.
Up next, we discuss scaling APRbusiness and what it would take
(12:03):
for women of color to have moreof an impact in the public
relations industry.
For Monique, entrepreneurshipwas the pathway, but for those
who don't choose that route,what are their options?
Let's find out.
Monique Webber (12:18):
What's really about community.
I think we all have to helpeach other.
So as soon as one person makesit out and becomes successful,
you have to look behind you andlook below you and reach down
and pull those people up.
So I am very happy to mentorother women of color who are
(12:40):
trying to get into PR.
I've actually been involvedwith a few PR mentoring groups.
So I would encourage them toget involved with like find a PR
group and form other relationswith other publicists and then
find other successful women ofcolor who are in the niche that
(13:02):
you want to be in.
Ask them would you mentor me?
Can you help me?
Can you be mine introducing meto XYZ?
And a lot of times you willfind that people will say yes.
It's just a lot of times peopledon't ask.
Kutloano Skosana (13:17):
It's a difficult thing, right to ask.
Yeah, no one wants to ask forhelp, For sure.
So how did you know you had aviable business and that you
could scale?
Monique Webber (13:28):
You know that first, my first year of business
, I did over $250,000.
Kutloano Skosana (13:34):
Oh, well done Gosh.
Monique Webber (13:36):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Monique Webber (13:41):
So, yeah, first year.
I mean, that wasn't my firstyear, that was my second year.
My second year I did 250.
My first year I started out at150.
Yeah, but still, I mean that'sit and then the next year I
doubled it and then I justnoticed that you know founders
of color, they're also lookingfor people of color to represent
(14:03):
them and you have to show upand you know, a lot of times
people don't want to do businesswith other like black people
get we really get a lot of badpress and people speaking poorly
about how we make, manage ourbusinesses.
So everyone's like you know youhave to show up and you have to
be good at what you do.
(14:24):
You have to deliver.
You can't just talk the talk.
You actually have to put actionbehind what you do and you know
like we are delivering results.
We're not just taking yourmoney and that's that.
Like you're just sitting on myroster, like no, I'm actually
working for you, as if yourbrand is my brand, because I
(14:44):
understand how hard it is tomake a dollar.
And I don't want to wastepeople's money, so I mean, I
wouldn't want anyone to waste mymoney either.
So I know PR is a long termgame, though it's not something
that you can.
You start and then in two weeksyou'll start to see a whole
bunch of placements in likethese top tier magazines.
(15:06):
It still takes time to getthere, so it is an investment.
But if you have someone thatyou, that believes in you, that
understands your mission, knowsyour story like they know their
own story, I would say that willbe the right publicist for you.
Kutloano Skosana (15:22):
Alright.
Monique Webber (15:24):
So scaling has just been like people have
referred other clients to me,like clients that I was working
with have referred other peopleto me.
So that has helped me scale.
And then last year actually hada really tough year, so I was
really disappointed in myclient's situation.
Oh yeah, Because a lot of myclients to have to rethink their
(15:45):
PR budgets because theirmanufacturing costs skyrocketed.
So, they weren't able tomaintain their PR budgets.
We lost a lot of clients there.
I also was diagnosed withbreast cancer, so I had a lot
going on emotionally, physicallyand then financially, but I
(16:07):
still, you know, was pushingforward and of course I had my
moments where I was like youknow, I don't know, Of course
it's part of the journey, isn'tit?
Kutloano Skosana (16:16):
Yeah?
Monique Webber (16:18):
This is a lot, especially since it's pretty
much just me.
I do have one employee who Ilove to death, so it's just the
two.
It was just the two of us,basically.
So, like it's tough to run abusiness and have all these
other and to have life happening, around you.
(16:42):
So, like I said, I was part ofthese PR mentoring groups and
they really helped me reallystart thinking about other ways
of finding like clients, otherways to promote myself.
How else can I build revenuewithout going the retainer out,
(17:02):
because a lot of PR agenciesyeah, I was actually going to
ask, like, what's the commonbusiness model in PR?
Yeah, the common business modelis retainers Right, so you sign
clients on anywhere from threeto six months and then you know
that keeps your your monthlyrevenue going.
But if you don't have that,then like what else can you do?
(17:23):
So then you can start doinglike projects, or you can do PR
consultations, or you can startmaking products yourself like
your ebooks, or there's evenlike one publicist that was
actually making like realproducts.
She was making like t-shirts.
Oh yeah, cool, cool yeah, ofcourse so you know it's thinking
(17:46):
out the box and like what areother ways for us to generate
income?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (17:51):
So I had to think about that, and then also
my mentor encouraged me to startapplying for grants, which I
never thought of Right I'm likeI'm a service, I'm a publicist.
They're not gonna like want togive me a grant.
Yeah, but I was wrong.
I start.
I mean, I was applying for themand lo and behold, in August I
(18:14):
won one.
I won $10,000 from Beyonce'sBaygood Foundation, which, yeah,
was very cool, yeah, so.
And then maybe, like two monthslater, I want to skip career,
wow.
And then at the end of December, I won another grant from our
Village United.
(18:34):
I won $20,000.
Kutloano Skosana (18:36):
Sheesh lady, You're on a roll.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I need to consult you .
Kutloano Skosana (18:43):
Oh, that's lovely.
Monique Webber (18:45):
Yeah, I was part of the.
So from the Beyonce Baygoodgrant, they enroll you in these
other programs and one of theprograms was in our Village
United cohort.
It's a business cohort and Ididn't even know that that was
going to turn into a grant.
But after going through the 12week sessions, like the business
(19:07):
sessions, they had a pitchcompetition for our graduation
and they selected five of thestudents from the cohort to
pitch for the pitch competitionand I was one of the five and
then I ended up winning secondplace and got the $20,000.
Awesome, Awesome.
Kutloano Skosana (19:24):
And that's how it happens.
So awesome.
Yeah, so put yourself out therebasically.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutelyyeah.
So we spoke about businessmodels briefly, yeah, and that
was the other thing I wanted toask you about.
You know funding.
So there's the grants, there'salso also the route of retainers
.
So do you think you would wanta loan or some other kind of
(19:49):
funding, or you are just finegrowing things organically?
Monique Webber (19:52):
So far I've been just fine, growing things
organically.
I, you know, I realized thatthat's a blessing.
I've been mainly cash based andI've been able to have like a
consistent flow of clients andbecause I don't have a super
large overhead, it all justworks out for me.
(20:13):
Yeah, I guess that is only twoof us, so it's myself and one
other employee.
So it's just the two of us andI basically work out of my house
.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So I don't have to pay for an office.
Monique Webber (20:29):
And a lot of the shipping and things like that.
Like our clients take care oftheir own shipping Right.
So the only real thing that I'mpaying for are, like the
programs that we use to do ourday to day tasks.
So, if we're pitching tojournalists, there's like you
use Cision or a muck rack andthose types of programs are
(20:49):
expensive but like I, only havethose types of operation costs.
Kutloano Skosana (20:54):
Yeah, and speaking of retainers, you said
you know a lot of clients referto to you, get referred to you
by other clients, etc.
But you know how do you?
What's the art of choosing theright client for you.
Monique Webber (21:08):
For me.
I really especially now that Ihave I've gone through all of my
cancer treatments like I reallyreally focus now on what's in
your product, especially sinceI'm in the beauty industry-
Absolutely yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
I want to know what's in your product?
Monique Webber (21:27):
Are you using natural ingredients?
Is it good for people to use?
Because I just don't want topromote just anything at this
point.
So if I don't feel comfortableusing your product, then I
probably will not be the one torepresent you.
Kutloano Skosana (21:42):
Right, so there's an ethical and.
Yeah so yeah.
Monique Webber (21:46):
And, like I said , I also look for founders of
color.
I love emerging brands.
Kutloano Skosana (21:53):
Yeah, at what stage of business should they
come to you?
Monique Webber (21:56):
I would say I mean of course they should have
their website built.
They should know who theirideal customer is.
I would say, if they're makinganywhere, if they're making over
150K a year, they should startlooking for PR.
Great, great.
(22:16):
And how do?
Kutloano Skosana (22:17):
you?
How do you judge?
Monique Webber (22:17):
success in your business.
I know you've got bottom lineconsiderations, clearly.
Kutloano Skosana (22:27):
But you know what?
How do you judge success?
Well, I look at like numbers.
Monique Webber (22:32):
So we're all about like the number of
impressions we're able to get,how many.
What's the engagement that wewe receive done on a campaign?
How many placements did we getwithin a year?
So I look at stuff like that asfar as what's successful for me
.
I know, for, like individualowners that we work with,
(22:54):
sometimes what they view assuccess is completely different.
I might have a founder thatthinks that success is oh, I got
on Tracy Ellis Ross, so likethat was successful for me Like
that's a major deal to me.
Or it could be like last year,we had one client and we had
over 115 earned media placementsfor them.
(23:17):
Oh, wow, so that's a way ofmeasuring success.
And then for me also, asidefrom those types of like numbers
, is my quality of life.
Yeah, and my happy doing thisstill.
Yeah, and especially I'll goback to the whole cancer thing,
because it really opens up youreyes.
(23:38):
No, absolutely Realize yeahlike what's important in life.
Yeah, so do I have the time nowto spend with my kids, or am I
always stressed?
Yeah, so success for me alsotakes into account my health and
how am I spending my time?
(23:58):
Absolutely time is so important, and I think a lot of people
don't value time as much as theyshould.
I agree, because it's somethingthat we can't buy.
Kutloano Skosana (24:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it doesn't come back.
There are no do-overs, you know.
Monique Webber (24:11):
Yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (24:11):
Yeah, no, I agree.
So quality of life, I'm totallywith you there.
This is Shades and Layers, andmy guest today is award-winning
publicist and founder of MLWPRagency, monique Weber.
We're about to get into herbackground story, but before we
do that, let's find out aboutwhat you can expect from a
(24:34):
publicist as a client and howbrands can stand out in a
crowded market.
What are the biggestmisconceptions about what you
can achieve for a client andwhat miracles can you not
perform?
Monique Webber (24:51):
Oh, that's a loaded question.
Kutloano Skosana (24:54):
Because I know PR.
You know you appear in nicemagazines and you see all these
brands and celebrities andwhatever you're like.
Okay, yeah, that's good PRworking.
But what are the misconceptionsabout what your PR can do for
you and what it can't do for you?
Monique Webber (25:10):
I think the main misconception is that
publicists are salespeople.
We are not salespeople, we'restorytellers.
So, though we can get youplacements a lot of, sometimes
those placements don't convertto sales.
So our job isn't necessarily toget you sales.
(25:31):
Our job is to tell your storyand to get your story out to as
many people as possible, andwhat people don't understand is
that how that helps them.
Is that people?
I read this article where itsaid that people have to see
your brand or your product atleast seven times before they
(25:51):
make a decision on whetherthey're going to buy you or not.
So if there aren't all thesevarious touchpoints of your
brand, then you're missing out,and that's what having a
publicist helps you with.
It helps get you in digitalpublications.
You're now on a broadcastnetwork, You're now in magazine,
so there's all these placeswhere people are seeing you, and
(26:12):
then it's like, oh okay, I'veseen them so many times, let me
check them out.
Let me check them out, yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (26:19):
Yeah, it's exactly how it works.
Yes, yeah, that's how it works.
Monique Webber (26:23):
Yeah, but a lot of people are like, oh my God,
okay, you were in L, but wedidn't sell anything.
So PR isn't working and it'slike no, you're in L.
Kutloano Skosana (26:33):
Exactly.
That's huge in and of itself.
Monique Webber (26:36):
Yeah, but you were in L, it worked.
We did our job.
Kutloano Skosana (26:41):
Great.
Monique Webber (26:42):
And the other thing that I would say that
people think is that, especiallyin fashion and beauty, a lot of
people think they look at these, they compare themselves with
these other brands and they see,especially if it's a well
established brand, and you seehow well that brand is doing and
maybe you're in this, maybeyou're you're doing black hair
(27:03):
care and you see, like a Mieleor something, and you see how
many celebrities they have andhow many placements they get,
and you're like, oh, you know,I'm in the same category, I
should be getting the same thing.
Right and it's like no, itdoesn't even.
It doesn't quite work that wayeither.
They have a completelydifferent budget.
(27:25):
Like you don't even know whattheir budget is.
Kutloano Skosana (27:27):
Right.
Monique Webber (27:27):
Marketing or for celebrity endorsements.
Like you know there's a budgetthat's allocated towards that.
So I mean, if you don't havethe same budget, you're not
going to get the same types ofplacements.
Kutloano Skosana (27:41):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (27:42):
Yeah, that those brands get, and also they've
been around for however manyyears.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Exactly.
Monique Webber (27:47):
If you're just starting, yeah, okay, like give
it some time.
Kutloano Skosana (27:51):
Yeah, but then how do you advise people to cut
through the noise, becausethere's so much out there,
especially in beauty and fashion?
Monique Webber (28:00):
Nowadays people are really like customers, are
really in tune with the founders.
So how you cut through thenoise is by being upfront and
personable and showing your faceand telling your story.
And I know a lot of foundersdon't want to be on IG and
TikTok and they don't want to bethe front person.
(28:22):
But it's so needed because,like, why did you start the
brand?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Right.
Monique Webber (28:26):
People want to know why now, and they want to
know what's your story?
Because your story touches andinspires your consumers and if
they can relate to you, they'llbuy from you.
Even for me, people have beensaying Monique, you got to get
yourself out of here.
You got to start doing morevideos.
Kutloano Skosana (28:48):
Yeah, yeah, what did you do?
Monique Webber (28:50):
Oh, my God, I am a background person, I'm a
publicist, I just it's not aboutme at all.
Right, but yeah even now for mein order to like lend new
clients that have never heard ofme or you know that's not
through word of mouth like theyhave to see me and be able to
relate to me and my story andwhat we're doing here at MLWPR.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (29:15):
All right, so let's get into the story of how
you got to where you are.
So and it involves either atime when you were growing up or
you know college, or whateveryou know your fondest memories
of.
Yeah, okay, you know it makessense that I would land up where
I did, because this and thisand that happened.
Monique Webber (29:38):
I always wanted to be a singer, actually.
Kutloano Skosana (29:41):
I wanted to be a musician.
Monique Webber (29:44):
So I used to sing and and I started modeling
too when I was in like the 11thgrade.
Okay, I'm very tall and 5 foot10.
Wow, that's impressive.
So I have always been infashion and in the entertainment
(30:06):
industry in some kind of way.
Yeah, so I guess it was meantto be for me to find some other
avenue to go into that stillsupports those those dreams or,
you know, still gives me accessinto that environment, yeah so.
(30:26):
Yeah, I mean I was with EliteModel Agency as a teenager and
like they were my first agencyand then from there I was like
with LA models and Q models andI got to do like really huge ad
campaigns as a model.
So I've been in like Paxson,I've done Macy's, I've done a
(30:48):
Prada ad, I have done all.
I did some ads for Carl Canai,I've done runway shows in LA and
I actually did a Miami FashionWeek runway show.
So like that whole world wasalways really exciting for me.
Yeah, yeah, and fun, I like tohave fun and I didn't want to do
anything.
That was going to be boring.
Kutloano Skosana (31:11):
Yeah, who are some of the people who
encouraged you in that directionand who did you look to in
terms of mentors, role models,etc.
Monique Webber (31:22):
Because I just would always hear it all the
time because I was tall andreally thin.
So I would have like friends inmy high school or like family
members that would say like, oh,you guys got to get.
They would tell my parents, youguys got to get money into
modeling.
And then when I became like oldenough to actually start
(31:43):
looking up the informationmyself, because I'm actually the
youngest of 11.
So my parents were like let meresearch and try to find out how
to find out how to model andthey're trying to.
They're trying to feed 11 kids.
They're trying to be a modelwas not at the top of their
(32:03):
priorities.
Kutloano Skosana (32:04):
Right, exactly .
Monique Webber (32:07):
But they were supportive.
So I had to go out and figureit out myself Like how?
Speaker 3 (32:14):
how do I?
Monique Webber (32:14):
find an agency Like what, how, like, how do you
even go about becoming a model?
Kutloano Skosana (32:19):
Right, right so.
Monique Webber (32:20):
I would just like do research and like I
think it was like Tyra Banks, Ilike read an article once on
Tyra Banks and, like her mom waslike her manager, and I read
their story of how they got Tyrastarted and I was like, okay,
well, maybe I should try that.
Kutloano Skosana (32:38):
Brilliant.
Monique Webber (32:38):
So yeah.
So I was like, let's see whathappens and let me just start
calling agencies that I see,that are in these magazines that
I love, so I will just startcalling them.
And then I found out that theyhave like open calls.
Oh, you can just show up andthen, if we like you, we'll sign
you.
So it's like, okay, okay, all Ihave to do is show up.
(33:02):
I needed to take some pictureswhich my my father is really
funny.
My father could not afford tohire a professional photographer
, which I completely understand,so he was like I'll take.
Kutloano Skosana (33:22):
Yes, dad hey problem solver okay.
Monique Webber (33:27):
That's the time, you know they had those
disposable cameras, oh mygoodness, oh dad he literally
took me to the park and to watchtowers.
He's like do your thing,Excellent.
So those were my first modelingpictures.
Kutloano Skosana (33:51):
I love it.
I hope you still have them,brilliant.
Monique Webber (33:55):
You know, I don't know, I don't think I do.
I have to look.
I have a box that's filled withphotos.
I have to look to see if I havestill have those Brilliant.
It's a great story, that's howthat started, and I was so upset
though I was like this is nothow you do it, daddy, this is
(34:18):
not what we're supposed to do.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
I can just imagine, I can just imagine, I can just
imagine you can't be in front ofthis building Like what are we
doing here, Brilliant?
Kutloano Skosana (34:34):
And from that time or even later, what's the
best advice you've ever receivedand that you live by to this
day?
Monique Webber (34:44):
Best advice I've ever received.
Wow, I would say this mightmake me cry.
Actually, it probably came frommy father.
My father passed away fromcolon cancer a few years ago.
The best advice I ever receivedprobably came from him.
He was like the ultimateentrepreneur, and it was just
(35:05):
two words believe in yourself.
You have what it takes.
Believe in yourself, trust thatyou can do it.
Kutloano Skosana (35:15):
That's really great advice.
Yeah, you say he was anentrepreneur.
What did he do?
Monique Webber (35:20):
He did real estate.
Actually, he did a little bitof everything he did real estate
.
He used to fill like Christmastrees.
He also had like a little jeanshop that was filled with these
vintage jeans which I love thatshop.
Kutloano Skosana (35:37):
I was like this is a.
Monique Webber (35:39):
I love this idea .
Yeah, he did a little bit ofeverything.
Kutloano Skosana (35:43):
That's great.
That's probably where I getlike my hustlers.
Yeah, it had to come fromsomewhere.
Yeah.
Monique Webber (35:52):
And you have to, I guess, be some type of like.
You have to be always pushingyourself and trying to generate
income when you have 11 kids I'mgoing to be these kids.
We're selling Christmas trees.
Kutloano Skosana (36:12):
So if you had to write your memoir, what would
it be called and why?
Oh, wow, oh that's my rapidfire.
Sorry, I should have introducedit Like okay, now we're coming
to the rapid fire.
So if you had to write yourmemoir today, what would it be
called and why?
Monique Webber (36:31):
What would it be called and why?
Monique Weber, the model ofresilience.
I think that I have had to pushthrough and overcome so many
things, but I pride myself inthe fact that I've remained
positive and steadfast and Idon't give up.
(36:52):
That's one thing about me, likeI'm not going to give up, so
like a no to me isn't a no, it'slike a not right now.
Kutloano Skosana (37:00):
You can circle back.
We'll revisit that idea soon.
Yeah, we'll revisit it.
Monique Webber (37:08):
So yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (37:09):
Great.
And if you had to turn it intoa biopic, who would you pick for
the lead actress?
Monique Webber (37:16):
Good question, who would I want to play me?
Actually, the first person thatcame to my head was Zoe Saldana
.
Kutloano Skosana (37:23):
Me too.
If you had to have dinnertonight you're the hostess which
famous black woman would youinvite to dinner, living or dead
?
Monique Webber (37:35):
Oh, without a question.
Kutloano Skosana (37:37):
Oprah Winfrey.
Monique Webber (37:40):
Who doesn't want to be Oprah?
I don't even know if I wouldeven speak.
That would probably be in suchawe of her.
It would just be great just tobreathe the same air.
Kutloano Skosana (37:57):
That's amazing .
Monique Webber (37:58):
Yeah, I went to see her.
She was in Los Angeles when shewas doing that tour.
I went to see her when she wasin LA.
In the journal because I gaveyou journals in the journal I
wrote in that journal becausethe whole thing was talking
about building your future andwhat do you want for your life
(38:19):
and what is your true dreams,and all of that In that journal
I wrote that I wanted to startmy own PR agency and I wrote out
what I wanted it to look like.
It was a year later that Iended up leaving the agency that
I was with and starting my ownagency.
Speak it and do it, man, Ilooked at that journal and I was
(38:39):
like man.
This came to pass.
See Oprah, the power of Oprah.
Kutloano Skosana (38:48):
Yes, you need to focus on those dreams and
speak them into being.
Monique Webber (38:52):
Focus on those dreams.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
You need to write them down.
Monique Webber (38:55):
You need to be clear about what you want.
Kutloano Skosana (38:58):
She's huge, huge, huge proponent you can
read that in the Bible too.
Monique Webber (39:01):
It's like in Habakkuk write down the vision
and make it so clear, and youwant others to see it too, so
they can hold you accountablefor it.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
Absolutely.
Monique Webber (39:10):
It wasn't just me.
I was there with my friend.
I even showed it to her.
This is what I want to doFantastic.
Kutloano Skosana (39:17):
Well, I'm glad it came true.
Yes, me too.
Congratulations, I'm glad thatwas probably the best.
Monique Webber (39:23):
Starting my own thing was probably the best
thing I've ever done.
Kutloano Skosana (39:25):
I love that, I love to hear that.
Monique Webber (39:28):
That's great, yeah, I mean it's tough being an
entrepreneur.
Kutloano Skosana (39:31):
Oh, I know.
Monique Webber (39:35):
But it was the best thing I've ever done.
I don't regret it at all.
Great.
Kutloano Skosana (39:40):
Thank you very much for your time.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to touch on that
maybe we didn't speak about?
Monique Webber (39:46):
No, I don't think so.
I would just encouragelisteners to do as my father
said trust yourself.
So if you are building abusiness or building a brand,
believe in your business,believe in what you're doing and
move forward.
A lot of times you are going tohear no and you are going to be
(40:07):
met with resistance, but ifit's really in your heart and in
your spirit to do this business, then do it, and don't even
listen to the may sayers.
Like you have to put oninvisible earmuffs.
Kutloano Skosana (40:22):
Just keep pushing forward Absolutely.
And where can people find youif they want to work with you or
just see the work that you do?
Monique Webber (40:29):
Oh yes, on IG at mlwpr, or you can visit our
website at wwwmlwfashionprcom,or you can always email me.
I am always available.
I love getting questions orpeople asking me about like what
should they do.
(40:49):
I don't mind answering yourquestions, great.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (40:55):
So you can email me at monique at mlwprcom.
Kutloano Skosana (40:59):
And that is all from me today.
Thanks to Monique for sharinghis story and thanks to you also
for listening.
If you liked this episode andthink it would be useful to
someone else, please do go aheadand share it.
I am Gullonus Kosanaritchi anduntil next time, please do take
good care.
Hello and welcome to Shades and Layers.
I'm your host, kutluanusKosanarichi.
Today, my guest isaward-winning beauty and fashion
publicist, monique Weber.
Her agency, mlwpr, representsbrands such as Melanin Haircare,
shea Radiance and UnsunCosmetics.
The latter two have both beenfeatured here on this very
(00:25):
podcast.
Monique started her agencyduring the final quarter of 2020
and hasn't looked back since.
She shares her ups and downssince then, including a recent
cancer diagnosis and a round oftreatment, and you find out how
that changed, how she definessuccess in the long run, and if
(00:46):
you've ever wanted to knowanything about the publicity
industry, raising funding inthat field, identifying and
serving a niche, and how tocreate something that's bigger
than yourself, then this is theepisode for you, and so I invite
you to enjoy this wide-rangingdiscussion with Monique Weber,
founder of MLWPR agency.
Monique Webber (01:10):
My name is Monique Weber and I am the owner
of MLWPR.
We are a full-service publicrelations agency that is based
in Las Vegas, nevada, and wespecialize in fashion, beauty
and lifestyle brands and, inparticular, I love to champion
minority-owned brands,locally-owned brands and
(01:31):
women-owned brands.
Kutloano Skosana (01:33):
And why did you choose this particular niche
to go after?
Monique Webber (01:37):
Well, I started PR over 23 years ago.
This has been half my life thatI've been in PR and I started
with BCBG Max Azria Group, and Iwas with them for 12 years.
And starting in fashion, yougrow a love for fashion and it
just became something that I wasjust highly interested in and I
(02:01):
wanted to stick with.
I loved doing the fashion showsthat we used to do and I did a
lot of celebrity dressing.
I don't know if you arefamiliar with the brand Herve
Leje, but Herve Leje was alsounder BCBG's umbrella, so in the
early 2000s I was dressingeveryone under the sun in.
(02:24):
Herve Leje.
So you saw Beyonce, britneySpears, kim Kardashian, paris
Hilton, mariah Carey I mean youname in all the A-list
celebrities.
I was dressing and thosedresses.
So having had that experienceis like something that you want
to continue.
And it's fun and I just alwaysloved it.
(02:47):
I actually fell into PR.
I was actually Max and LubaAzrias, who was the owner of
BCBG at the time.
I was their fit model.
Oh yeah, yeah, so.
I started off as their fit modeland I used to sing and model.
(03:11):
And just one day, out of theblue, mrs Azria just asked me
like Monique, would you everconsider like dressing some of
like your model or musicianfriends in our clothes?
And like maybe you should do PRfor us?
And I was, like you know, I'venever done PR.
That's not even what I do, likeI'm on the other side of things
(03:34):
, I'm the model.
Kutloano Skosana (03:36):
Right, right.
Monique Webber (03:36):
I didn't know.
I didn't know anything about PR.
So when she offered me thatopportunity I really took time
to consider it and just thoughthow hard can it be?
Kutloano Skosana (03:50):
Right being young is the best thing ever,
right, right.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
You don't know what you don't know.
Monique Webber (03:57):
Yeah, you're like you don't know what you
don't know right, but I'm likesure, yeah, just people in their
clothes, fine, and yeah, I wasjust bold and courageous and not
afraid of a no.
So, I went after like everyone,and it was successful and so I
(04:20):
ended up coming there.
Senior VIP relations manager.
Kutloano Skosana (04:25):
Right, right.
So I mean, what is it that madeyou want to carry on with PR?
Monique Webber (04:33):
It's just been a really exciting journey for me
and it's opened up a lot ofdoors.
Like I've met so many people inPR, yeah, and you know you have
to have a love for networkingand building relationships and I
feel like I'm really good atthat, yeah.
So this has given me an outletto meet new people and to try
(04:55):
new things, and it's just alwaysbeen fun.
Like I haven't lost that aspectof fun.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Right yeah, and.
Monique Webber (05:03):
I still get excited when one of our brands
gets a placement Like.
I still get happy about that.
So the joy in PR hasn't left meyet.
Kutloano Skosana (05:15):
Great, and is there a deeper meaning you
attached to your day to dayactivities as a PR person?
Monique Webber (05:21):
Well, you know now that I have children I have
two kids.
I have a 15 year old son and a14 year old daughter you start
thinking about your nextgeneration and building
generational wealth, and whatdoes that mean?
And so my why has kind ofchanged.
(05:41):
Yeah, so we're now.
My why has become more aboutwhat's next for my children.
What can I build for them?
How can PR, how can I leveragePR to open up doors for them in
the future?
So that has become reallywhat's important to me and
what's been driving me recently.
Kutloano Skosana (06:02):
Right, right.
And then, in terms of theactual work itself, we just
mentioned that you work withlocally owned businesses.
You work with people of colorfounded businesses, and you know
there's a lot of talk aboutdiversity and inclusion,
especially when it comes to theindustries that you work with,
that's fashion and beauty, andyou know what's your feeling in
(06:27):
this, I would say, post GeorgeFloyd world, of how things are
going.
Monique Webber (06:31):
No, I started my own agency during that George
Floyd movement.
So I was with an agency andduring COVID we were, they were
furloughing a lot of people andI was one of the lucky ones that
still kept their jobs.
But I was also given like 15accounts to oversee.
I know it's a lot of accountsand so I'm overseeing all of
(06:54):
these accounts and also, at thesame time, the George Floyd
movement is going on and beingone of the only people of color
at the agency.
It's it turns into.
Well, what does Monique think?
Yeah, let's see how should wephrase this?
What will be the best way to goabout?
You know the brand messagingaround these topics and I was
(07:19):
actually more concerned with.
Well, what do you think?
Speaker 3 (07:22):
Yeah, because.
Monique Webber (07:23):
I mean, it really doesn't matter what I
think because, of course, I'mgoing to be on the side of the
minorities, because theyrepresent me.
Kutloano Skosana (07:32):
Right.
Monique Webber (07:32):
And I see myself in this movement.
So what do you think being a,not being a, minority like
what's your stance Exactly?
And though I was, you know theyhad a.
Really, they were more open andmore diverse than some of the
other places that I have worked.
I was still concerned with theidea that, oh okay, we haven't
really been thinking aboutdiversity.
(07:55):
Sure.
Yeah we weren't really activelypursuing founders of color and
it wasn't really something thatwas on their minds really.
So for the most part, when youhave these agencies, a lot of
the founders, they're reachingout for brands with founders
that look like them or you knowthey get their friends and then
(08:17):
their friends are referringtheir friends, and a lot of
their friends are the same.
Kutloano Skosana (08:21):
Right.
Monique Webber (08:22):
And so you don't get any diversity.
And so, when all of that washappening, I just decided like,
hey, I need to do somethingabout this.
I've now been doing PR for over20 years.
I obviously can do this on myown, since I'm already at home
working on 15 accounts, Ofcourse yes.
So now would be the time for meto just step out on faith and
(08:44):
go for it.
Perfect.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
Though.
Monique Webber (08:45):
I did, and I know a lot of publicists.
When they're leaving an agency,they take their clients with
them.
I didn't that, so I startedfrom zero.
Wow I was just hustling.
Really.
I was reaching out to brandsthat resonated with me, that I
was actually using and reallyloved or that I had read about
(09:08):
and I really liked their storyand I thought, oh, I can really
do something with them.
So I reached out to them, sentthem like really heartfelt
messages Right.
And they respond it.
And so in my 20 plus career Ihad represented maybe five
Black-owned brands over the 20years.
Kutloano Skosana (09:28):
Wow, that's a lot.
Monique Webber (09:31):
Yes, so when I started, when I officially
launched in August of 2020, Ilaunched with seven Black-owned
brands.
Kutloano Skosana (09:39):
Wonderful, wow , wow.
And how did you go to marketwith this idea?
Monique Webber (09:44):
You know, at the time everyone was on the whole.
Let's support Black-ownedgo-front businesses, Of course.
It was that whole trend andthat whole bandwagon, which I
knew was going to just be atrend.
Because, nothing lasts foreverin fashion and beauty.
And especially, I don't know ifyou ever had the chance to see
(10:08):
the documentary on Beth AnnHardison.
Kutloano Skosana (10:13):
No, I haven't yet.
Oh my gosh, I really need toget onto that.
You know you're the secondperson I'm interviewing who's
asked me if I've seen thedocumentary.
No, not yet Getting onto it.
Monique Webber (10:24):
Amazing.
So, what she's been able to doin fashion is pretty much like
what I would love to do with PR.
Sure, so you know, there is acomplete lack of diversity in PR
, not just with the brands thatpeople represent, but even
amongst publicists.
Like, there's only 11% ofpublicists that are
(10:46):
African-American and a lot ofthat 11% is in, like, the
entertainment side of PR.
I mean, there's other aspectsof PR that we can do.
Kutloano Skosana (10:59):
There's hospitality, you're knowing.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can see,though it's very, very obvious,
yeah.
Monique Webber (11:06):
Healthcare.
There's all kinds of otherthings that we can do as
publicists, aside from justrepresenting talent.
So I would love to see us startto move into these other
segments of PR and not just bean account executive.
We should be in higher levels.
We should be senior executivesor vice presidents or the
(11:30):
president or the CEO of thecompany, and a lot of women of
color do not hold thosepositions.
Kutloano Skosana (11:40):
Award-winning beauty and fashion publicist and
founder of MLW PR agency,monique Weber, is my guest on
Shades and Layers Today.
Monique is on a mission tochange the status quo in her
industry by contributingmeaningfully to diversity and
inclusion efforts.
Up next, we discuss scaling APRbusiness and what it would take
(12:03):
for women of color to have moreof an impact in the public
relations industry.
For Monique, entrepreneurshipwas the pathway, but for those
who don't choose that route,what are their options?
Let's find out.
Monique Webber (12:18):
What's really about community.
I think we all have to helpeach other.
So as soon as one person makesit out and becomes successful,
you have to look behind you andlook below you and reach down
and pull those people up.
So I am very happy to mentorother women of color who are
(12:40):
trying to get into PR.
I've actually been involvedwith a few PR mentoring groups.
So I would encourage them toget involved with like find a PR
group and form other relationswith other publicists and then
find other successful women ofcolor who are in the niche that
(13:02):
you want to be in.
Ask them would you mentor me?
Can you help me?
Can you be mine introducing meto XYZ?
And a lot of times you willfind that people will say yes.
It's just a lot of times peopledon't ask.
Kutloano Skosana (13:17):
It's a difficult thing, right to ask.
Yeah, no one wants to ask forhelp, For sure.
So how did you know you had aviable business and that you
could scale?
Monique Webber (13:28):
You know that first, my first year of business
, I did over $250,000.
Kutloano Skosana (13:34):
Oh, well done Gosh.
Monique Webber (13:36):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Monique Webber (13:41):
So, yeah, first year.
I mean, that wasn't my firstyear, that was my second year.
My second year I did 250.
My first year I started out at150.
Yeah, but still, I mean that'sit and then the next year I
doubled it and then I justnoticed that you know founders
of color, they're also lookingfor people of color to represent
(14:03):
them and you have to show upand you know, a lot of times
people don't want to do businesswith other like black people
get we really get a lot of badpress and people speaking poorly
about how we make, manage ourbusinesses.
So everyone's like you know youhave to show up and you have to
be good at what you do.
(14:24):
You have to deliver.
You can't just talk the talk.
You actually have to put actionbehind what you do and you know
like we are delivering results.
We're not just taking yourmoney and that's that.
Like you're just sitting on myroster, like no, I'm actually
working for you, as if yourbrand is my brand, because I
(14:44):
understand how hard it is tomake a dollar.
And I don't want to wastepeople's money, so I mean, I
wouldn't want anyone to waste mymoney either.
So I know PR is a long termgame, though it's not something
that you can.
You start and then in two weeksyou'll start to see a whole
bunch of placements in likethese top tier magazines.
(15:06):
It still takes time to getthere, so it is an investment.
But if you have someone thatyou, that believes in you, that
understands your mission, knowsyour story like they know their
own story, I would say that willbe the right publicist for you.
Kutloano Skosana (15:22):
Alright.
Monique Webber (15:24):
So scaling has just been like people have
referred other clients to me,like clients that I was working
with have referred other peopleto me.
So that has helped me scale.
And then last year actually hada really tough year, so I was
really disappointed in myclient's situation.
Oh yeah, Because a lot of myclients to have to rethink their
(15:45):
PR budgets because theirmanufacturing costs skyrocketed.
So, they weren't able tomaintain their PR budgets.
We lost a lot of clients there.
I also was diagnosed withbreast cancer, so I had a lot
going on emotionally, physicallyand then financially, but I
(16:07):
still, you know, was pushingforward and of course I had my
moments where I was like youknow, I don't know, Of course
it's part of the journey, isn'tit?
Kutloano Skosana (16:16):
Yeah?
Monique Webber (16:18):
This is a lot, especially since it's pretty
much just me.
I do have one employee who Ilove to death, so it's just the
two.
It was just the two of us,basically.
So, like it's tough to run abusiness and have all these
other and to have life happening, around you.
(16:42):
So, like I said, I was part ofthese PR mentoring groups and
they really helped me reallystart thinking about other ways
of finding like clients, otherways to promote myself.
How else can I build revenuewithout going the retainer out,
(17:02):
because a lot of PR agenciesyeah, I was actually going to
ask, like, what's the commonbusiness model in PR?
Yeah, the common business modelis retainers Right, so you sign
clients on anywhere from threeto six months and then you know
that keeps your your monthlyrevenue going.
But if you don't have that,then like what else can you do?
(17:23):
So then you can start doinglike projects, or you can do PR
consultations, or you can startmaking products yourself like
your ebooks, or there's evenlike one publicist that was
actually making like realproducts.
She was making like t-shirts.
Oh yeah, cool, cool yeah, ofcourse so you know it's thinking
(17:46):
out the box and like what areother ways for us to generate
income?
Speaker 3 (17:50):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (17:51):
So I had to think about that, and then also
my mentor encouraged me to startapplying for grants, which I
never thought of Right I'm likeI'm a service, I'm a publicist.
They're not gonna like want togive me a grant.
Yeah, but I was wrong.
I start.
I mean, I was applying for themand lo and behold, in August I
(18:14):
won one.
I won $10,000 from Beyonce'sBaygood Foundation, which, yeah,
was very cool, yeah, so.
And then maybe, like two monthslater, I want to skip career,
wow.
And then at the end of December, I won another grant from our
Village United.
(18:34):
I won $20,000.
Kutloano Skosana (18:36):
Sheesh lady, You're on a roll.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
I need to consult you .
Kutloano Skosana (18:43):
Oh, that's lovely.
Monique Webber (18:45):
Yeah, I was part of the.
So from the Beyonce Baygoodgrant, they enroll you in these
other programs and one of theprograms was in our Village
United cohort.
It's a business cohort and Ididn't even know that that was
going to turn into a grant.
But after going through the 12week sessions, like the business
(19:07):
sessions, they had a pitchcompetition for our graduation
and they selected five of thestudents from the cohort to
pitch for the pitch competitionand I was one of the five and
then I ended up winning secondplace and got the $20,000.
Awesome, Awesome.
Kutloano Skosana (19:24):
And that's how it happens.
So awesome.
Yeah, so put yourself out therebasically.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutelyyeah.
So we spoke about businessmodels briefly, yeah, and that
was the other thing I wanted toask you about.
You know funding.
So there's the grants, there'salso also the route of retainers
.
So do you think you would wanta loan or some other kind of
(19:49):
funding, or you are just finegrowing things organically?
Monique Webber (19:52):
So far I've been just fine, growing things
organically.
I, you know, I realized thatthat's a blessing.
I've been mainly cash based andI've been able to have like a
consistent flow of clients andbecause I don't have a super
large overhead, it all justworks out for me.
(20:13):
Yeah, I guess that is only twoof us, so it's myself and one
other employee.
So it's just the two of us andI basically work out of my house
.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So I don't have to pay for an office.
Monique Webber (20:29):
And a lot of the shipping and things like that.
Like our clients take care oftheir own shipping Right.
So the only real thing that I'mpaying for are, like the
programs that we use to do ourday to day tasks.
So, if we're pitching tojournalists, there's like you
use Cision or a muck rack andthose types of programs are
(20:49):
expensive but like I, only havethose types of operation costs.
Kutloano Skosana (20:54):
Yeah, and speaking of retainers, you said
you know a lot of clients referto to you, get referred to you
by other clients, etc.
But you know how do you?
What's the art of choosing theright client for you.
Monique Webber (21:08):
For me.
I really especially now that Ihave I've gone through all of my
cancer treatments like I reallyreally focus now on what's in
your product, especially sinceI'm in the beauty industry-
Absolutely yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
I want to know what's in your product?
Monique Webber (21:27):
Are you using natural ingredients?
Is it good for people to use?
Because I just don't want topromote just anything at this
point.
So if I don't feel comfortableusing your product, then I
probably will not be the one torepresent you.
Kutloano Skosana (21:42):
Right, so there's an ethical and.
Yeah so yeah.
Monique Webber (21:46):
And, like I said , I also look for founders of
color.
I love emerging brands.
Kutloano Skosana (21:53):
Yeah, at what stage of business should they
come to you?
Monique Webber (21:56):
I would say I mean of course they should have
their website built.
They should know who theirideal customer is.
I would say, if they're makinganywhere, if they're making over
150K a year, they should startlooking for PR.
Great, great.
(22:16):
And how do?
Kutloano Skosana (22:17):
you?
How do you judge?
Monique Webber (22:17):
success in your business.
I know you've got bottom lineconsiderations, clearly.
Kutloano Skosana (22:27):
But you know what?
How do you judge success?
Well, I look at like numbers.
Monique Webber (22:32):
So we're all about like the number of
impressions we're able to get,how many.
What's the engagement that wewe receive done on a campaign?
How many placements did we getwithin a year?
So I look at stuff like that asfar as what's successful for me
.
I know, for, like individualowners that we work with,
(22:54):
sometimes what they view assuccess is completely different.
I might have a founder thatthinks that success is oh, I got
on Tracy Ellis Ross, so likethat was successful for me Like
that's a major deal to me.
Or it could be like last year,we had one client and we had
over 115 earned media placementsfor them.
(23:17):
Oh, wow, so that's a way ofmeasuring success.
And then for me also, asidefrom those types of like numbers
, is my quality of life.
Yeah, and my happy doing thisstill.
Yeah, and especially I'll goback to the whole cancer thing,
because it really opens up youreyes.
(23:38):
No, absolutely Realize yeahlike what's important in life.
Yeah, so do I have the time nowto spend with my kids, or am I
always stressed?
Yeah, so success for me alsotakes into account my health and
how am I spending my time?
(23:58):
Absolutely time is so important, and I think a lot of people
don't value time as much as theyshould.
I agree, because it's somethingthat we can't buy.
Kutloano Skosana (24:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it doesn't come back.
There are no do-overs, you know.
Monique Webber (24:11):
Yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (24:11):
Yeah, no, I agree.
So quality of life, I'm totallywith you there.
This is Shades and Layers, andmy guest today is award-winning
publicist and founder of MLWPRagency, monique Weber.
We're about to get into herbackground story, but before we
do that, let's find out aboutwhat you can expect from a
(24:34):
publicist as a client and howbrands can stand out in a
crowded market.
What are the biggestmisconceptions about what you
can achieve for a client andwhat miracles can you not
perform?
Monique Webber (24:51):
Oh, that's a loaded question.
Kutloano Skosana (24:54):
Because I know PR.
You know you appear in nicemagazines and you see all these
brands and celebrities andwhatever you're like.
Okay, yeah, that's good PRworking.
But what are the misconceptionsabout what your PR can do for
you and what it can't do for you?
Monique Webber (25:10):
I think the main misconception is that
publicists are salespeople.
We are not salespeople, we'restorytellers.
So, though we can get youplacements a lot of, sometimes
those placements don't convertto sales.
So our job isn't necessarily toget you sales.
(25:31):
Our job is to tell your storyand to get your story out to as
many people as possible, andwhat people don't understand is
that how that helps them.
Is that people?
I read this article where itsaid that people have to see
your brand or your product atleast seven times before they
(25:51):
make a decision on whetherthey're going to buy you or not.
So if there aren't all thesevarious touchpoints of your
brand, then you're missing out,and that's what having a
publicist helps you with.
It helps get you in digitalpublications.
You're now on a broadcastnetwork, You're now in magazine,
so there's all these placeswhere people are seeing you, and
(26:12):
then it's like, oh okay, I'veseen them so many times, let me
check them out.
Let me check them out, yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (26:19):
Yeah, it's exactly how it works.
Yes, yeah, that's how it works.
Monique Webber (26:23):
Yeah, but a lot of people are like, oh my God,
okay, you were in L, but wedidn't sell anything.
So PR isn't working and it'slike no, you're in L.
Kutloano Skosana (26:33):
Exactly.
That's huge in and of itself.
Monique Webber (26:36):
Yeah, but you were in L, it worked.
We did our job.
Kutloano Skosana (26:41):
Great.
Monique Webber (26:42):
And the other thing that I would say that
people think is that, especiallyin fashion and beauty, a lot of
people think they look at these, they compare themselves with
these other brands and they see,especially if it's a well
established brand, and you seehow well that brand is doing and
maybe you're in this, maybeyou're you're doing black hair
(27:03):
care and you see, like a Mieleor something, and you see how
many celebrities they have andhow many placements they get,
and you're like, oh, you know,I'm in the same category, I
should be getting the same thing.
Right and it's like no, itdoesn't even.
It doesn't quite work that wayeither.
They have a completelydifferent budget.
(27:25):
Like you don't even know whattheir budget is.
Kutloano Skosana (27:27):
Right.
Monique Webber (27:27):
Marketing or for celebrity endorsements.
Like you know there's a budgetthat's allocated towards that.
So I mean, if you don't havethe same budget, you're not
going to get the same types ofplacements.
Kutloano Skosana (27:41):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (27:42):
Yeah, that those brands get, and also they've
been around for however manyyears.
Speaker 3 (27:47):
Exactly.
Monique Webber (27:47):
If you're just starting, yeah, okay, like give
it some time.
Kutloano Skosana (27:51):
Yeah, but then how do you advise people to cut
through the noise, becausethere's so much out there,
especially in beauty and fashion?
Monique Webber (28:00):
Nowadays people are really like customers, are
really in tune with the founders.
So how you cut through thenoise is by being upfront and
personable and showing your faceand telling your story.
And I know a lot of foundersdon't want to be on IG and
TikTok and they don't want to bethe front person.
(28:22):
But it's so needed because,like, why did you start the
brand?
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Right.
Monique Webber (28:26):
People want to know why now, and they want to
know what's your story?
Because your story touches andinspires your consumers and if
they can relate to you, they'llbuy from you.
Even for me, people have beensaying Monique, you got to get
yourself out of here.
You got to start doing morevideos.
Kutloano Skosana (28:48):
Yeah, yeah, what did you do?
Monique Webber (28:50):
Oh, my God, I am a background person, I'm a
publicist, I just it's not aboutme at all.
Right, but yeah even now for mein order to like lend new
clients that have never heard ofme or you know that's not
through word of mouth like theyhave to see me and be able to
relate to me and my story andwhat we're doing here at MLWPR.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
Yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (29:15):
All right, so let's get into the story of how
you got to where you are.
So and it involves either atime when you were growing up or
you know college, or whateveryou know your fondest memories
of.
Yeah, okay, you know it makessense that I would land up where
I did, because this and thisand that happened.
Monique Webber (29:38):
I always wanted to be a singer, actually.
Kutloano Skosana (29:41):
I wanted to be a musician.
Monique Webber (29:44):
So I used to sing and and I started modeling
too when I was in like the 11thgrade.
Okay, I'm very tall and 5 foot10.
Wow, that's impressive.
So I have always been infashion and in the entertainment
(30:06):
industry in some kind of way.
Yeah, so I guess it was meantto be for me to find some other
avenue to go into that stillsupports those those dreams or,
you know, still gives me accessinto that environment, yeah so.
(30:26):
Yeah, I mean I was with EliteModel Agency as a teenager and
like they were my first agencyand then from there I was like
with LA models and Q models andI got to do like really huge ad
campaigns as a model.
So I've been in like Paxson,I've done Macy's, I've done a
(30:48):
Prada ad, I have done all.
I did some ads for Carl Canai,I've done runway shows in LA and
I actually did a Miami FashionWeek runway show.
So like that whole world wasalways really exciting for me.
Yeah, yeah, and fun, I like tohave fun and I didn't want to do
anything.
That was going to be boring.
Kutloano Skosana (31:11):
Yeah, who are some of the people who
encouraged you in that directionand who did you look to in
terms of mentors, role models,etc.
Monique Webber (31:22):
Because I just would always hear it all the
time because I was tall andreally thin.
So I would have like friends inmy high school or like family
members that would say like, oh,you guys got to get.
They would tell my parents, youguys got to get money into
modeling.
And then when I became like oldenough to actually start
(31:43):
looking up the informationmyself, because I'm actually the
youngest of 11.
So my parents were like let meresearch and try to find out how
to find out how to model andthey're trying to.
They're trying to feed 11 kids.
They're trying to be a modelwas not at the top of their
(32:03):
priorities.
Kutloano Skosana (32:04):
Right, exactly .
Monique Webber (32:07):
But they were supportive.
So I had to go out and figureit out myself Like how?
Speaker 3 (32:14):
how do I?
Monique Webber (32:14):
find an agency Like what, how, like, how do you
even go about becoming a model?
Kutloano Skosana (32:19):
Right, right so.
Monique Webber (32:20):
I would just like do research and like I
think it was like Tyra Banks, Ilike read an article once on
Tyra Banks and, like her mom waslike her manager, and I read
their story of how they got Tyrastarted and I was like, okay,
well, maybe I should try that.
Kutloano Skosana (32:38):
Brilliant.
Monique Webber (32:38):
So yeah.
So I was like, let's see whathappens and let me just start
calling agencies that I see,that are in these magazines that
I love, so I will just startcalling them.
And then I found out that theyhave like open calls.
Oh, you can just show up andthen, if we like you, we'll sign
you.
So it's like, okay, okay, all Ihave to do is show up.
(33:02):
I needed to take some pictureswhich my my father is really
funny.
My father could not afford tohire a professional photographer
, which I completely understand,so he was like I'll take.
Kutloano Skosana (33:22):
Yes, dad hey problem solver okay.
Monique Webber (33:27):
That's the time, you know they had those
disposable cameras, oh mygoodness, oh dad he literally
took me to the park and to watchtowers.
He's like do your thing,Excellent.
So those were my first modelingpictures.
Kutloano Skosana (33:51):
I love it.
I hope you still have them,brilliant.
Monique Webber (33:55):
You know, I don't know, I don't think I do.
I have to look.
I have a box that's filled withphotos.
I have to look to see if I havestill have those Brilliant.
It's a great story, that's howthat started, and I was so upset
though I was like this is nothow you do it, daddy, this is
(34:18):
not what we're supposed to do.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
I can just imagine, I can just imagine, I can just
imagine you can't be in front ofthis building Like what are we
doing here, Brilliant?
Kutloano Skosana (34:34):
And from that time or even later, what's the
best advice you've ever receivedand that you live by to this
day?
Monique Webber (34:44):
Best advice I've ever received.
Wow, I would say this mightmake me cry.
Actually, it probably came frommy father.
My father passed away fromcolon cancer a few years ago.
The best advice I ever receivedprobably came from him.
He was like the ultimateentrepreneur, and it was just
(35:05):
two words believe in yourself.
You have what it takes.
Believe in yourself, trust thatyou can do it.
Kutloano Skosana (35:15):
That's really great advice.
Yeah, you say he was anentrepreneur.
What did he do?
Monique Webber (35:20):
He did real estate.
Actually, he did a little bitof everything he did real estate
.
He used to fill like Christmastrees.
He also had like a little jeanshop that was filled with these
vintage jeans which I love thatshop.
Kutloano Skosana (35:37):
I was like this is a.
Monique Webber (35:39):
I love this idea .
Yeah, he did a little bit ofeverything.
Kutloano Skosana (35:43):
That's great.
That's probably where I getlike my hustlers.
Yeah, it had to come fromsomewhere.
Yeah.
Monique Webber (35:52):
And you have to, I guess, be some type of like.
You have to be always pushingyourself and trying to generate
income when you have 11 kids I'mgoing to be these kids.
We're selling Christmas trees.
Kutloano Skosana (36:12):
So if you had to write your memoir, what would
it be called and why?
Oh, wow, oh that's my rapidfire.
Sorry, I should have introducedit Like okay, now we're coming
to the rapid fire.
So if you had to write yourmemoir today, what would it be
called and why?
Monique Webber (36:31):
What would it be called and why?
Monique Weber, the model ofresilience.
I think that I have had to pushthrough and overcome so many
things, but I pride myself inthe fact that I've remained
positive and steadfast and Idon't give up.
(36:52):
That's one thing about me, likeI'm not going to give up, so
like a no to me isn't a no, it'slike a not right now.
Kutloano Skosana (37:00):
You can circle back.
We'll revisit that idea soon.
Yeah, we'll revisit it.
Monique Webber (37:08):
So yeah.
Kutloano Skosana (37:09):
Great.
And if you had to turn it intoa biopic, who would you pick for
the lead actress?
Monique Webber (37:16):
Good question, who would I want to play me?
Actually, the first person thatcame to my head was Zoe Saldana
.
Kutloano Skosana (37:23):
Me too.
If you had to have dinnertonight you're the hostess which
famous black woman would youinvite to dinner, living or dead
?
Monique Webber (37:35):
Oh, without a question.
Kutloano Skosana (37:37):
Oprah Winfrey.
Monique Webber (37:40):
Who doesn't want to be Oprah?
I don't even know if I wouldeven speak.
That would probably be in suchawe of her.
It would just be great just tobreathe the same air.
Kutloano Skosana (37:57):
That's amazing .
Monique Webber (37:58):
Yeah, I went to see her.
She was in Los Angeles when shewas doing that tour.
I went to see her when she wasin LA.
In the journal because I gaveyou journals in the journal I
wrote in that journal becausethe whole thing was talking
about building your future andwhat do you want for your life
(38:19):
and what is your true dreams,and all of that In that journal
I wrote that I wanted to startmy own PR agency and I wrote out
what I wanted it to look like.
It was a year later that Iended up leaving the agency that
I was with and starting my ownagency.
Speak it and do it, man, Ilooked at that journal and I was
(38:39):
like man.
This came to pass.
See Oprah, the power of Oprah.
Kutloano Skosana (38:48):
Yes, you need to focus on those dreams and
speak them into being.
Monique Webber (38:52):
Focus on those dreams.
Speaker 3 (38:53):
You need to write them down.
Monique Webber (38:55):
You need to be clear about what you want.
Kutloano Skosana (38:58):
She's huge, huge, huge proponent you can
read that in the Bible too.
Monique Webber (39:01):
It's like in Habakkuk write down the vision
and make it so clear, and youwant others to see it too, so
they can hold you accountablefor it.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
Absolutely.
Monique Webber (39:10):
It wasn't just me.
I was there with my friend.
I even showed it to her.
This is what I want to doFantastic.
Kutloano Skosana (39:17):
Well, I'm glad it came true.
Yes, me too.
Congratulations, I'm glad thatwas probably the best.
Monique Webber (39:23):
Starting my own thing was probably the best
thing I've ever done.
Kutloano Skosana (39:25):
I love that, I love to hear that.
Monique Webber (39:28):
That's great, yeah, I mean it's tough being an
entrepreneur.
Kutloano Skosana (39:31):
Oh, I know.
Monique Webber (39:35):
But it was the best thing I've ever done.
I don't regret it at all.
Great.
Kutloano Skosana (39:40):
Thank you very much for your time.
Is there anything else thatyou'd like to touch on that
maybe we didn't speak about?
Monique Webber (39:46):
No, I don't think so.
I would just encouragelisteners to do as my father
said trust yourself.
So if you are building abusiness or building a brand,
believe in your business,believe in what you're doing and
move forward.
A lot of times you are going tohear no and you are going to be
(40:07):
met with resistance, but ifit's really in your heart and in
your spirit to do this business, then do it, and don't even
listen to the may sayers.
Like you have to put oninvisible earmuffs.
Kutloano Skosana (40:22):
Just keep pushing forward Absolutely.
And where can people find youif they want to work with you or
just see the work that you do?
Monique Webber (40:29):
Oh yes, on IG at mlwpr, or you can visit our
website at wwwmlwfashionprcom,or you can always email me.
I am always available.
I love getting questions orpeople asking me about like what
should they do.
(40:49):
I don't mind answering yourquestions, great.
Speaker 3 (40:53):
Yeah.
Monique Webber (40:55):
So you can email me at monique at mlwprcom.
Kutloano Skosana (40:59):
And that is all from me today.
Thanks to Monique for sharinghis story and thanks to you also
for listening.
If you liked this episode andthink it would be useful to
someone else, please do go aheadand share it.
I am Gullonus Kosanaritchi anduntil next time, please do take
good care.
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