In this interview, we sit down with Shante Bacon, CEO and founder of One35 marketing agency in New York. Bacon recalls working at a corporate job that gave her what she called “Sunday night anxiety,” as she dreaded the week ahead. Till one day, she met with her mentor, who helped her see working for someone else had run its course. The revelation inspired her to resign and start her own agency. The agency’s priority is helping Black-owned businesses and media move forward.
A challenge Bacon says she faced early on was having “Confidence to know our value and that if necessary, I could walk away from a good piece of business… if we’re going to have to sign on for this again, the price needs to go up…significantly.” She stunned the clients, her staff and herself when she took that step. Bacon attributes a lot of her fortitude to her grandmother and her mom, who she says always displayed fearlessness.
“Fearlessness is that you feel the fear, and you do it anyway…you’re still able to execute even through the fear.”