Claudette Brown
Claudette “Minnie” Brown is a versatile real estate professional and creative entrepreneur based in Staten Island, New York. She supports her husband’s real estate brokerage, Interstate Home Properties, by maintaining their online presence and managing social content, while also serving clients directly as a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson. Her work combines strategic marketing, client-focused service, and an eye for design to ensure both her personal and professional ventures thrive.
Minnie is the founder of Smash Media NYC (established 2017), through which she manages multiple creative ventures focused on web and graphic design. She specializes in image manipulation and branding for clients in the entertainment and related industries, producing clean, maintainable websites—often built from scratch—and compelling print and digital collateral. Her professional philosophy prioritizes thoughtful design, ongoing skill development, and solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs.
Her career in design began during college in the early 2000s, initially focusing on publishing and graphic design before expanding into web design and entrepreneurship. Minnie previously ran a successful artisan soap business, NYC Metro Girl, before relaunching her design business. Today, she serves over 100 clients across web, print, and branding projects, including law and real estate websites, expo materials, and specialty creative projects tied to her product brand. With a Certification in Digital Design from Baruch College and a BS in Business, Marketing, and Spanish from the College of Staten Island, CUNY, she combines technical expertise, business acumen, and creative vision to help clients achieve measurable results.
• Certification, Digital Design: Graphic Web Design
• Twitter for Creatives Badge
• Get Started On Twitter
• Digital Web Design
• City University of New York-College of Staten Island - BS, Business, Marketing, Spanish
• Interstate Home Properties
• STEM in the Rockaways
What do you attribute your success to?
Claudette attributes growth largely to strong client relationships and word-of-mouth, together with practical family support (her husband helping win business) and persistence.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Keep technical skills up to date; understand how things work under the hood rather than relying solely on drag-and-drop builders; continual learning is essential.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges include rapidly changing software (Adobe updates) and the complications created by site-builder tools that can leave messy backends. Opportunities include productizing creative work (brand/products/pop-ups) and leveraging community events and partnerships.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Family, creative practice, hands-on education for her children (homeschooling), and community engagement.