PPB January 2018

Br enda Ange l i n i , MAS A t age 20, Brenda Angelini, MAS, says she learned one of her greatest lessons when she started her first job as a flight attendant with United Airlines: no matter what is going on in your life, when you walk in the door at work, you put a smile on your face. She has used that same determination and positivity to propel herself into the entrepreneurial world. Angelini’s first foray into business ownership was a ladies’ clothing boutique in Houston, which she opened in response to her love for fashion and sales. She sold the boutique several years later to try her hand as a fashion expert and personal shopper at Macy’s, and then sold Yellow Page advertising for Southwestern Bell. Although she was the No. 1 salesperson in the U.S., she made the decision to leave so she could go back in business for herself again. What led you to the promotional products industry? I was looking for ideas to start a business in Entrepreneur magazine, when I saw an ad for a large industry distributor and I went to their discovery day. I didn’t really know what promotional products were, but I was excited about the opportunity and felt like my background in sales and fashion would be a good fit. I decided to go all in and bought a franchise. That was almost 20 years ago. Whatwas your vision for thebusiness, and howhas that vision changedover theyears? Immediately after my training, I set three goals: get certified, sell $1 million in products and win a [PPAI] Pyramid Award. So far, I’ve achieved two of them. I earned my CAS and then my MAS because I saw the importance of being knowledgeable and credible. I also succeeded in reaching the $1 million mark. But the Pyramid Award continues to elude me—maybe this will be my year. As the business evolves, my goal is to foster growth. In 2010, I decided to join Proforma. I saw the opportunity to offer more products and services that wouldmeet my client’s needs. I knew utilizing Proforma’s outstandingmarketing and recruiting programs would helpme to expand. I started out as a one-woman shop, but now we have an office manager, two customer service reps and four salespeople. Over Brenda Angelini, MAS, owner of Proforma Angelini & Associates, runs her business by the golden rule. Now she’s taking that philosophy to the next level by bringing distributors and suppliers together. by Terry Ramsay Making Kindness Cool 94 | JANUARY 2018 | CONNECT