JoAnn Aubry-Smith

I'm so passionate about what I do and I love people. I'm so passionate about putting smiles on people's faces and getting the excitement from the staff. Going out of my way for them, and when they recognize it and go out of their way for me, I feel so appreciative. I think being appreciative is so important - when my staff takes care of me just as much as I take care of them, that's what I get so excited about and why I want to do this so much. I don't have children, so I kind of put everyone under my wing, no matter how old you are. I just try my best to make them happy in every way possible. I want everyone to succeed - it's not about me. I need them to succeed. I always tell them, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today. That's why I want to let you know I appreciate you. The first thing I say in a text message or when I talk to them is thank you so much, thank you, thank you, thank you. I always try to motivate them and say I know you'll do an outstanding job, you are phenomenal, I know you'll be the best that you can be on site. If you're saying those things over the phone, that makes them want to work for you. You want to praise them and make them believe in themselves so they'll do a phenomenal job on site to represent you. I try to build relationships with every single person that works for me, and I tell everyone if they have a problem, if they have an issue, if they need to talk, they can reach me. Communication is so important by talking over the phone, not just sending a text. My clients say they want me to hire staff because my staff can never say no to me - I pull them into the conversation.

The most important lesson I learned came from watching my mother, who became the defining example of resilience in my life. My parents were married for over 50 years - my dad was an engineer and we had a huge farm. My mom took care of the farm while raising 10 kids, all from the same mom and dad. She worked her rear end off, and it was amazing watching her be such a strong leader. When my identical twin sister had a brain aneurysm when we were in 8th grade, going from 12 to 13 years old, all hell broke loose. My sister was in a coma for about two and a half to three months, and the doctors literally asked my mom to pull the plug - they kept pulling her aside and I kept seeing the tears come down her face. They wanted her to let Teresa go, but my mom would not give up on her. Even though my dad wanted her to let her go, she wouldn't do it. My twin sister started waking up little by little, but she was like a baby when she woke up - her head was bald, she didn't know how to talk or walk, and had to learn everything over again. My mom gave up her time and her life to bring her back. She was at DuPont Hospital every day and would not leave her sight. Watching her bring Teresa back and never give up - that shaped everything about who I am. And even while she was at the hospital with Teresa, she took care of all the other handicapped kids in there - she would bathe them, comb their hair, spend time with them, bring food. She was volunteering at the hospital while Teresa was in a coma, taking care of other patients. She instilled in me caring for other people and putting others before you. She would hug all these kids and tell them she loved them. That's why I try to bring kindness back - this world is so messed up. Holding doors, saying pardon me, helping the elderly - I just want to bring that back out to the people that work for me.

I would tell them to be careful and make sure you have the right person that's representing you. Be honest, be direct, and just be yourself. Be yourself with the agent or the agency that you're working with and tell them exactly who you are. In this industry, there are so many agencies now, so many of us. A lot of people just want to hire you and they don't even get to know you - they're making money off you and they have no idea what your name is. All they care about is making a dollar. You want to work with an agency that cares to represent you to the fullest. That's the most important thing to me, because there's so many of us now. I'm more family-oriented with my agency. Don't let them take advantage of you - you deserve the best that you can get. Whatever rate you want to get paid, you want to fight for that rate. I try to pay my staff well - it's not about me making all the money, I just make a small fee. You deserve what you think you deserve of making the money that you want on site for any program that you work. These agencies now, they don't even know you. They have these different apps now where they just put programs on and people just book the events, but they don't know your name, they don't check your resume, they don't know if you're gonna get paid on time. These people promise you one thing and then do the opposite. You just want to make sure that you're taken care of and treated with respect. When I was younger, people would hire me left and right and they didn't even know my name - that really upset me. Names are so important. If someone doesn't know my name, I get very upset. When I used to work these shows and they didn't even make time to know who I was, I would not work for them again.

One of the biggest challenges I see is that with AI and texting, there's no communication anymore. Everything is a text and people don't like talking on the phone. Communication is the most important thing to me, so I try to build relationships with every single person that works for me. I think communication is so important by talking over the phone, not just confirming things and sending a text saying you're good to go. I think talking is so important still, which I think we're losing in today's world. Another challenge is working with Gen Zs today - everyone is so into themselves. I'm trying to break that with my staff. I'm trying to teach them that it's not about always taking, it's about giving. If you give, it will always come back to you one way or the other. If you're helping others, you're paying it forward. In terms of opportunities, I'm looking to expand into other branches. One of my goals is to eventually have a branch for people that are handicapped to work in the industry as well. I'm so overwhelmed with what I have going on right now, but my goal is to expand. Another opportunity I'm working on is starting a charity organization where my staff can donate 10 cents or 25 cents out of their check and put it into a fund, and then all of us can donate it to a charity at the end of the year which they can write off.

The most important values to me are kindness, treating people the way you want to be treated, and never thinking you're better than anyone else. We're all created equal, and I try to pass that down to all my staff. Kindness is the most important thing, especially when you're interacting with consumers. I always want to treat people the way you want to be treated - that's my motto with everyone that I deal with. I never put myself on a pedestal, even though I'm the president of the agency. When I show up at events, I'm just like one of them. Communication is also so important to me - I think talking over the phone and building relationships is critical, not just texting. I try to build relationships with every single person that works for me, and I tell everyone if they have a problem, if they have an issue, if they need to talk, they can reach me. Being appreciative is another core value - I always say thank you and let my staff know I appreciate them. The first thing I say is thank you, thank you, thank you. I want everyone to succeed because it's not about me - I need them to succeed. I always tell them if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today. I also believe it's not about always taking, it's about giving. If you give, it will always come back to you. If you're helping others, you're paying it forward. My mother instilled in me caring for other people and putting others before you, and that's something I carry with me every day. I want to bring back basic courtesies like holding doors, saying pardon me, and helping the elderly.