Service, strategy and solutions are three guaranteed absolutes that Deaundra Waddell delivers her clients through Haute Blue, her new marketing collective. But when it comes to community, her passion is to empower others to reach potentials they never thought possible. Whether Waddell is crafting stories for her clients, mentoring young women in business, or serving nonprofit organizations that tug her heart strings, she does it all with love and grace–traits she learned from her mother. Waddell shares her background, beliefs, and the building blocks of her multi-faceted consulting business.
On the winding road that led to today:
When I look at where I started in my career versus where I am now, the journey can be summed up with time and experience. From my first corporate job after graduate school in sales for FedEx where I climbed the ladder until I ended up in a VP role for another technology company, to my transition into healthcare marketing, then into the creative agency world and then into entrepreneurship, I learned about many industries and the customer needs in each space. This diverse background allowed me to understand what truly impacts and serves people. The competitive nature of the areas I worked in prior to San Antonio kept me on top of marketing industry trends and solutions. Over time, I became an expert storyteller because I was forced to craft messages and find innovative approaches to reach and engage decision makers. Each and every job has prepared me for the leadership position I hold now.
On Haute Blue:
Haute Blue’s approach is unique because of my background in the corporate business world. I am in tune with the needs of my clients because I have been on their side of the table navigating the many demands of leading multiple projects and people while reporting to various internal and external stakeholders. Because I have shared their experience, I see the big picture.
I also know and understand that we are working with a client to solve a problem or to add value to their company, so everything we do has to reflect the bottom line. Revenue is an easy measurement of success. My marketing approach allows me to achieve business goals based on strategy, while incorporating sales, marketing, communications and cultural improvements that will move the company forward.
On investing in the lives of other people:
I believe in giving back and I believe in people. This sounds simple, but it isn’t always the norm. To me, every individual has something to contribute and the potential to succeed. Sometimes a person may not be in the right situation for their gifts to shine, but discovering the position in which they can succeed is part of the journey. My passion outside of work, and really even inside of work, is mentoring, leading and serving. I have worked with people and organizations to uncover their strengths and weaknesses to better themselves and their world. I am always amazed at what can be accomplished through the nurturing and encouraging of others.
On her personal female hero:
My hero is my mother, Nancy Eubanks Bacot. She came from very humble beginnings, but she managed to live an adventurous life devoted to the things she loved most: my father, her family and education. My mother was born in a house on a gravel road in Mississippi county Arkansas to a mother who was a homemaker and a father who was a farmer, but she had big dreams and she dared to chase them.
Her early years were filled with plenty of adventures for a small-town girl that took her on several school trips throughout the United States. She graduated from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), where she was president of her sorority and met my father. They married and began to travel the world together. They lived in England, Morocco and Mexico, and raced around in their Austin-Healey, on their boat and their motorcycle, and their horses. They shared a zest for life and experiencing other cultures. My mother’s life suddenly changed with the untimely death of my father, but she didn’t let that slow her down. She wasted no time in working toward her legacy in education, her other life love, as a teacher at Arkansas State University.
Above all things, my mother taught me the practice of love and grace. She once told me she was never angry with God, and I believed her. I am so grateful to my mother for her example of unwavering character, and for her many lessons that have made me the woman I am today.
Connect with Deaundra Waddell at HauteBlue.com, via email at deaundra.waddell@gmail.com, and on LinkedIn.
This profile was (Em)Powered by Haute Blue, A Marketing Collective.
Edited from an interview by Eleanora Morrison.