Your Badass Journey Guest, Alexandra Avila

For the past three years, Alexandra Avila has been instrumental in bridging JG Black Book's assets in sales, marketing, branding, social media and public relations, offering clients increased ROI and added value in an increasingly competitive market where brands need a unified voice.

As president, she works closely with the executive team as the company continues to evolve as a fully integrated one-stop sales and marketing agency. The focus is on growing new business, attracting fresh talent, and maintaining superior client service, while building on the agency’s expertise and A-list contacts within the luxury hospitality industry in North America, Latin America, and the United Kingdom.

But here’s one of the most badass things about her journey to president – 10 years ago, she started her career as an intern at the very same company!

Around the World & Back

“Where my career is at is where it started coming up.” Alexandra came to JG Black Book as an intern, was paid the minimum wage, dove in, and absorbed everything that she could from the company.

But Alexandra didn't stay with the company the whole 10 years – she had a lot to learn before she could be a great leader!

So she moved to Italy and Spain to work for the Guggenheim Museum, worked in the young fashion company ideeli, briefly transitioned over to the publishing world, then came back to travel to open a hotel in the hotel in the Cayman Islands “So, I’ve been around the world and back.”

Every stop on this journey gave Alexandra something she uses today and valuable perspective on how to lead.

One of the most important things that Alexandra leader was that “in order to lead a business, you have to be in the trenches with them.” It's important to understand what every person's role in the company is, how it contributes to the company’s goal, and what everyone’s workloads look like.

“When you're in the trenches with them and you understand their challenges, and just bandwidth and time, it allows you plan more accordingly. And, also, they know that you respect the work that they do.”

So, you gain your respect from your team that way, but you don’t have start as an intern in a company to get this perspective. Just taking time to get in the trenches with them really will pay off in the end. “Even when you're as high as the president, you can still be a team player.”

Remember, you don't shine unless your team shines!

Resources:

• Check out https://jgblackbook.com/

• Connect with Alexandra: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandraavila/