Meet Rochelle Edrington | Digital Marketing Specialist

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

Hi Rochelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Since childhood, I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I have started many ventures since I was a teenager. When I became a mother, I decided to seriously embark on my entrepreneurial journey. It was important for me to have more control over my time and earning potential.

I wanted to create a business that would show my children how it’s possible to create the life they want, by improving their skills and knowledge. With a marketing degree, from Virginia Union University, 10+ years in sales, and multiple digital marketing certifications, I knew it was time to prove myself.

As I continue to progress, push past barriers, and succeed, my legacy will have a blueprint of who they have to become to pull out their greatness and live with purpose and on purpose.

Since I saw first-hand how many small businesses did not realize how marketing directly affected sales, I decided to start my own digital marketing company. My goal is to assist other service-based businesses to master marketing and strengthen their sales, so they too can leave a legacy.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Vpro Marketing & Sales provides digital marketing support to service-based businesses and nonprofits who want to achieve better results from their online marketing efforts.  By integrating sales/outreach, marketing, and content strategies, I help my clients achieve this goal.

What sets me apart from other digital marketers is, I do marketing from a sales perspective. My clients understand that we are implementing marketing initiatives with the goal of positively impacting their bottom line. Marketing is not just about being appealing to the eye or trendy, it is meant to be effective to keep the businesses doors open. I approach marketing initiatives with ‘how is this going to help my client’s potential client say yes”.

I am proud to hear my clients share how thankful they are for helping them understand the moving parts of marketing. They often say how appreciative they are of my professionalism and the work done on their behalf.

Right now I am most excited about an initiative of Vpro Marketing & Sales called Campaign4ACause which is a T-shirt fundraising program for nonprofit organizations that teaches them how to launch T-shirt campaigns and leverage online marketing to amplify their message. It has been in beta for the last few years. The nonprofits involved are aware of what it takes to maximize fundraising through online marketing.

Being able to provide an effective solution at no cost for the nonprofit organizations who are doing impactful work in our communities is something I am grateful for.

How did you get to where you are today?

Grit, goals, and the belief I have been called to use my skill set, knowledge, and zest for life to uplift others, through my business.

Was it easy?

Absolutely not! Lol Absolutely not. I started my business when I became a first-time mom, maybe I will talk about that in a book one day, but there are so many lessons in becoming a first-time mother. I was in my 30’s. I was used to living my life the way I wanted to. Motherhood brought its reality checks, it strained time and mental and emotional energy. I was changing and becoming a different person, and also starting a business at the same time. There are so many parts to building a business. I don’t know what I was thinking. But I wouldn’t change it, because it put me on a fast track of having to learn about myself, it humbled me in so many different regards, and it still is.

How I overcame the challenges

To be very practical, I journaled. Still to this day, I write down my thoughts which gives me the opportunity to go back and assess them. I use my writings to remind myself of why I started, why I am doing what I am doing, and why I am who I believe I am. I keep my goals and my why’s in front of me and remind myself that, whatever I am feeling is just a low point of the valley. If I step back and look at the journey, I am still going uphill even though I might feel like I am in the valley.

What are the lessons you have learned along the way?

There are so many. The lesson that I have learned. You have to believe in yourself. Sometimes it’s not an easy thing to do because there are so many distractions that plant seeds that you are inadequate but you have to believe in yourself and develop systems to remind you of who you are. It has been within the last year that I really started to set the whole imposter syndrome ablaze. I have second-guessed so many things in my business, I paid for services that I probably should not have paid for because I didn’t believe in myself. You have to undoubtedly believe in yourself.

What do you want the world to know about you, your brand, or your story?

My story is all about being on a continuous journey of  pulling out the greatness I have inside. By setting goals, becoming self-disciplined, always self-improving this is what is helping me to become the version of myself I have always envisioned.

I hope my journey inspires others to reach their maximum potential.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

We usually travel with our kiddos, so many of our activities would be kid-friendly. However, I would be sure to take them to This Is It for Soul Food. When we are ready for Mexican food, I would take them to Hacienda in McDonough, Georgia. They have good food and a great environment. I would definitely make sure we visit Yumi Japanese Sushi & Steakhouse to get some of that delicious fried sushi.

If it is hot weather, we would take a trip up to Callaway Resort & Garden to spend a day at what my kids and I call the “Lake Beach”. It looks like a lake but feels like a beach.

To keep the kiddos active we would visit places like Sea quest, the Children’s Museum of Atlanta, Fun Spot, Urban Air, and the McBrayer Park splash pad.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

My father, Derick Edrington, is the person who planted the seed of entrepreneurship in my mind when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. He has always supported my entrepreneurial endeavors.

I am also surrounded by my champions who remind me of who I am and what I am capable of when the low moments of entrepreneurship hit. I have to shout out my significant other, Dewayne, my mom Elaine, my sisters, Emerelle, and Lee, and my sister-friends Elizebeth and Kevanique.

I am so grateful to be surrounded by people who may get tired of me talking about business but understand the mission that I am on. I love them to pieces.

Website: https://marketingvpro.com/

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

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

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOUvs1jISCnBjZIHIJvOKHw

Image Credits
Aubrea Thompson (for some of the photos)