15 valuable pieces of advice for female hustlers

Miami, a city known for its luxurious, mostly out-of-reach lifestyle, is a party promoter’s dream. There are droves of beautiful people spending buckets of money to appear larger than life—but that wasn't enough for Julieanna Goddard.

Better known as YesJulz, Goddard got her start as a party promoter in Tampa, Florida, but later launched her own marketing agency that focuses on “bridging the gap between cool and conscious.” One example of this ethos in action is #hashtaglunchbagmiami, a recent project that brought more than 1,000 lunches to children in the community in need.

But the self-proclaimed "Director of Vibes" still knows how to throw one hell of a party. Goddard's 1AM Vibes parties bring out boldfaced names like Wiz Khalifa, Future, DJ Esco, Ian Connor, and Joey BadA$$, among others. Those who aren't able to attend a YesJulz party can always vicariously catch the vibes via Snapchat, a platform she uses to broadcast her fast-paced life, as well as the highs and lows of being an entrepreneur.

NTRSCTN sat down with Goddard in her Miami home, where she shared 15 lessons she’s learned on her path to success. 

Not only does playing to your strengths help you stand out as an individual, Goddard learned, but it also helps build your business.

“I’ve always had a knack for connecting the dots,” she said, “so I realized I had relationships with a number of individuals from all walks of life—from athletes, to singers, to people who owned agencies, to the people who were representing brands.”

“Having all these relationships, I thought: Wait a sec—I can do my own events! And not only can I do it, but [I can also] improve upon things and make it better. So I decided I would start my own agency."

Once brands began sponsoring YesJulz events, she quickly realized that there was more money to be made.

“I started thinking, if they’re giving me X amount of dollars for this one event, how much money are they spending on events for the whole year, and who’s doing their events? Could I be the person doing their events?”

Shortly after, Goddard began proposing ideas to people she knew at various brands, and the rest is history.

Realizing there were few female promoters working in Miami nightlife, Goddard made it her mission to both run the scene and hire other women to join her. 

“In this scene, you usually find women serving, bartending, or hosting, and the minute I felt I was ready to step out of that—let’s just say it was not welcomed," she said. "So I felt I should take matters into my own hands, and not only run the scene, but also give women that wanted to be a part of this world the opportunity to be a part of it, as well, but on the business side."

"That’s one of the reasons I prefer to hire girls. I’ll look specifically for female graphic designers, female DJs, or any girl who’s doing their job just as good as a man.”

Goddard and her team work hard, but they also love what they do—something she feels is important to succeed. 

“We’re like the working Spice Girls. We’re a collective of six fly-ass girls that all have our own swag, personalities, and following. We’re friends, but the majority of day, we sit around and talk about cool ideas that excite us, and we connect the dots and find ways to do it and get paid for it. That’s how I look at it," the entrepreneur said.

"It’s crazy, because we say #NeverNotWorking because it doesn’t feel like work. As corny as that sounds, you really have to love what you do."

“Ask for equity; don’t build somebody’s brand for a small check. Yes, you have to put your work in, to establish yourself, so yeah, maybe advertise for people at first, " Goddard advised. "But going into my second year with some of these brands, I’m like, where’s the ownership?” 

She broke down one particularly pertinent example:

For instance, I have this one potential client, a style website. They want me to come in, and curate content, and pick the writers, so I mapped out a whole three to four months worth of content for them. And I’m like, damn, these ideas are good—wait a minute, I should do this for my own site. A month retainer may not be good enough; so now, instead of giving them everything, I’ll go into that meeting, give them three or four key ideas, and then explain to them that I have a vision for your brand, and it deserves more than just a monthly retainer. I would like to really be a part of the company.

“You can’t just ask for things. I always come to the table with my own plate before I ask for something off of someone else’s plate," Goddard cautioned.

"I pitch it like: 'I have X,Y, and Z I can do for you, and by the way, can you do this for me?' You gotta have a little finesse."

The biggest lesson Goddard says she's learned so far in her career was about people—and how they don't always have the best intentions.

“People lie. People lie everyday! So unfortunately, you have to go into situations with your guard up," she said. "You have to protect yourself, your brand, your feelings. Always set yourself up to be protected.”