Scottsdale socialite, Cynthia Sassi is a stunning example of a social media “influencer.”  Not to mention, she is setting the bar for all aspiring female entrepreneurs who want to dominate the Webosphere. There is so much to learn from Cynthia and the beautiful thing is, she is willing to share it with you.

We were fortunate enough to sit down with Cynthia and get to know her personally. From her post-graduate career to fulfilling her passion project, Fabulous Arizona,  a digital reference for the best restaurants, events, promotions and stores in the valley. Cynthia shares the challenges and rewards of being a one -woman show and proves that with enough drive and determination, anything is possible.

Cynthia Sassi

What is your educational background and what did you do in college to initiate your career?

I went to Arizona State University and majored in Marketing at W.P. Carey’s School of Business. What I like about Marketing is the psychological aspect of purchasing or researching a product.  My senior year, I interned with SheKnows.com, which was a company of about 10 people at that time. I worked closely with the owner and was able to absorb so much. At that time they didn’t have a marketing department, so I was able to fulfill that role when I graduated. That was such a fantastic way to get into the online publishing industry because with marketing, you can do so many different things with it and initially, I had no idea what I was going to do. Soon after, I fell in love with the analytics of web marketing. I am very fortunate that I got to work for such a small, but rapidly growing company because it allowed me to get my hands in everything.

 What career moves have you made in the past?

After spending a part of my post-graduate career at SheKnows, I decided it was time for a change when the ownership of the company was sold. It was a great decision for me at the time because switching jobs can be the ideal opportunity for growth.

Shortly after I left, I took a job with a company that does business-to-business style magazines who wanted to grow the online platform of their business. I was fairly young at the time and this was an old school print company so I ended up having quite a few challenges. Everybody was so resistant to change, so I just didn’t feel I could have an impact there. I stayed for about three months and decided that I need to find a job that I was excited about again. I was fortunate enough to come across Arizona Foothills Magazine and had the opportunity to launch a true online presence to complement their successful and well-known print publication. Now, I am working on social media efforts for various clients and online publishing for Fabulous Arizona.

What made you decide to launch Fabulous Arizona?

After my experience at Arizona Foothills Magazine, I grew a true passion for helping local businesses reach their consumers. So I launched my own local website, FabulousArizona.com. Of course, that required a crazy amount of networking while simultaneously working a full-time job at WomensForum.com. Eventually I reached a point where I had so much going on with FabAZ, the events I was hosting and the clients that I was taking on, I realized it was time to take the plunge – it was time to sink or swim. October 1, 2014 was my first day of full-time self –employment. It was the scariest thing I have ever done – your livelihood is dependant on your drive and hustle.From a cash–flow perspective, you don’t have a paycheck just dropping into your account every month like you would at a normal job. Every hour you work, or don’t work, affects your paycheck. And initially you have to play the role of everyone – accounting, sales, editorial director, legal, etc. It’s incredibility stressful but at the same time it is absolutely 100% worth it because I love every single minute of what I do.

Cynthia with client, Field Fit

What is the secret to building a personal brand?

You have to be prepared to live, eat and breath your business. I didn’t charge for the first few events that I hosted because I didn’t know exactly what I could provide. This was new territory for me, and the last thing I wanted to do was take someone’s money and not give them a return. I learned so much from those first three events and am so grateful to those clients for allowing me the opportunity to host their events. Those clients were so pleased with the results, they have referred me to paying clients, so it certainly paid off in the long run. Bottom line, you have to be willing to do some free stuff and put in the work. If you don’t want to do that, you are better off working a 9-5 traditional job.

How do you establish a work-life balance?

I don’t, I haven’t figured that one out yet haha.  I think the reason why I have been so successful in my business is because I am single, I have no kids and I don’t have anyone else to worry about. If I wasn’t single, I wouldn’t be able to put in all this time and effort. Right now, me being Cynthia Sassi, is almost more valuable than Fabulous Arizona and people are encouraging me to monetize my name. I don’t believe that is a sustainable solution, I want to use my personal popularity to build Fabulous Arizona so it can turn it into a household name with a solid team supporting it. This isn’t the time to be worrying about my personal life, now is the time to live, eat and breath my career if I want my business to survive.

Cynthia at a work event

How do you stay up-to-date on the latest trends in food, fashion and what is happening in the local scene?

Well thank God for social media, right? Haha I don’t follow any news websites. I get all of my information from social media. I don’t have time to look anywhere else so it’s a combination of press releases and of course, being immersed in the community all the time, I get a lot of news from other people. It’s also networking, its all about who you know. I have a small group of close friends that truly understand and support what I do and then I have those friends that don’t get what I am trying to build, and we have grown apart over the years.

What is Networking 101 from Cynthia Sassi?

Well, there was a point in my life where I realized just how much I wanted this. I was a shy person and it was difficult for me to put myself out there the way I do now.  So I had to push myself to show up at events with a handful of business cards where I didn’t know a single person there. It was completely out of my comfort zone, it took months of me doing that until I started to see some familiar faces. It comes down to building confidence and pushing yourself. Now, I can go to any event and it’s natural for me.

Also, you never know who you are going to meet and how they can be an asset to you in the long run. As soon as I meet someone, I follow them on Facebook and that is a great way for them to get to know me as well and see what I do. People start to feel like they know me on a personal level because they see my posts. Funny story, I pitched a local news station for a client but I didn’t get my hopes up because I knew she probably received a million pitches a day. She actually responded and told me she follows me on Instagram and loves my dogs. I ended up getting the segment because of that.

It’s important to be a truly genuine person.  I care about my clients and it’s my passion to connect the consumers with these local businesses so they can be successful. There have been instances where I have helped entrepreneurs save their business and that is the most rewarding feeling.

Cynthia with her dogs, Mercedes and Bentley

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

Long-term I really want to focus my efforts on  Fabulous Arizona and have that become a fully sustaining career.  I am working extremely hard now to make that a reality and after all the experience I am gaining, possibly becoming a consultant for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to launch their own online business.

What is some advice that you have for aspiring female entrepreneurs?

Find out what you are passionate about and figure out how to make a living doing it. It’s not going to be easy and if it was, everybody would do it. My favorite quote is “work hard and be nice to be people,” you can’t go wrong with that mentality.

How would you describe your personal style?

Casual and athletic, I take meetings in workout clothing haha. I have quite a few gym clients so they definitely don’t mind me dressing in athletic attire. I don’t like wasting time getting ready especially if it is going to take an extra hour just to do my hair and makeup. I would rather be getting work done. However, I totally believe that first impressions and how you present yourself makes all the difference.  When I take first meetings, I am always dressed to the nines. It’s extremely important to “dress the part.” I am a firm believer in minimalistic professional looks. My style icon is Ivanka Trump because she always dresses classy and mature.

Cynthia is a true “mover and shaker” in the valley of the sun. She is currently looking for dedicated interns to assist her with Fabulous Arizona so if this sounds like the ideal resume builder for you… reach out to her through Fabulous Arizona.com