Meet Trailblazer Rylie Manross

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rylie Manross.

Rylie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It starts all the way back to when I was 13 years old. I became part of a young entrepreneurship program called Million Dollar Butterflies owned by Mary Grothe. This program inspired me to start my very first business as a 13-year-old kid! It was called Dance To The Pointe, a source for dancers to find tips, tricks, and inspiration. I eventually expanded it into a clothing line. I wanted to get other kids excited about entrepreneurship, so I became more involved with Million Dollar Butterflies. I co-hosted a radio show with them and we had a local tv show teaching about business and entrepreneurship in a fun way that kids would be able to understand. It was the time of my life. I learned so much about business at such a young age, I wouldn’t be where I am today without Million Dollar Butterflies and Mary Grothe. I think it is important that all kids start learning about business, a lot of schools still don’t teach these skills. I learned about taxes, money, organization, and responsibility and I have continued to use what I learned in each new endeavor.

When I was about 15, I decided I wanted to move to LA and really focus on my dance training and I also became interested in acting. In LA, I really found my voice and confidence. I figured out what I believed in and who I was. Being a part of the entertainment industry is difficult. There was a lot of rejection, but that also made the wins feel so much greater. My manager was a large influence in helping me find my true self. He constantly challenged me. I had to create a business plan, 1-5-10-15 year goal plans, and fill out packet after packet about who I was, what I wanted, and how I was going to get there. Each time I had a meeting with him, I had to bring in updated versions of these packets. He was very tough on me during the meetings and really challenged me to know my stuff and would test me on how much I wanted it. I thank him for being tough on me, he taught me to always be strong and prepared walking into meetings. About a year ago, I connected with Mary Grothe, and she had the perfect marketing role open for me at Sales BQ. Marketing was something I was becoming really interested in through my college courses, and it just wasn’t an opportunity to pass up.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It was not a smooth road. It’s rare to come by someone who has just been able to skate by without too much conflict or struggle. But nothing worth having is easy. My five years in LA were the best and worst years of my life. It was hard because the reasons you may not have been picked for a role were because you weren’t pretty or skinny enough. It wasn’t because you weren’t a talented actor, often times it was because of things I just couldn’t change about myself. There were way more “no”s than there were “yes.” I really struggled to have everything based on physical appearance. I wanted people to accept me for my talent and my smarts, but that just doesn’t matter all that much in LA. It’s just if you “look the part.” I have one standout moment, that has followed and haunted me for a long time. During my first acting class with this woman, she says to me, “It’s a good thing you pretty cause you’re not very smart.” I was absolutely devastated when she said that to me. She didn’t know me at all, I had maybe talked to her no more than 15 minutes. However, I knew I was smart. I had a 4.0 in school, and I’m a quick problem solver. After that, I felt like I constantly had to prove myself to people. It took me a long time to stop caring about what other people perceived me as. I think my advice for other women would be to be “pretty smart,” you can be both. I saw a lot of girls dumb themselves down in LA because that’s what they thought was cool or accepted. They thought guys liked them better if they weren’t smart. But girls be smart, be pretty, be confident. Don’t hold yourself back, and don’t let someone tell you who you are. Only you truly know who you are.

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I work at Sales BQ in Marketing. I used to tell my mom I would never have a desk job, she laughs at me now because I love my desk job. I get to be both creative and strategic. Marketing has a method that needs to be followed, but you also get to create art. I specialize in designing websites, brochures, and other sales collateral. Sales BQ works to (re)build sales teams, so I have also had a chance to learn about how sales teams operate and how to best serve them. The brand is the face of the company, and if the branding doesn’t embrace the mission of the company then potential clients and customers may lose interest or not trust that the product or service is good. Having bad marketing material is like walking into a meeting with unbrushed hair and dirty clothes. I think marketing is often overlooked for a lot of companies, but it is a very important aspect. Especially with how digital everything has become.

Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
I was lucky enough to find my mentor at such a young age and by fate. I think the best places to network and find potential mentors are at business networking events that are related to the industry you’re interested in.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salesbq.com
• Email: rylie@salesbq.com
• Instagram: @rylie_manross
• Twitter: @rylie_manross

Image Credit:
Julie Manross

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