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From Side Hustle to Scaled Strategy: Vanessa Suarez on Building a Marketing Agency That Grows With You
What happens when your side hustle starts as a class project… and slowly grows into a full-fledged marketing agency?
In this episode, I’m joined by Vanessa Suarez, the founder and Chief Marketing Officer of VCD Marketing — a boutique agency that gives service-based businesses the strategy, structure, and support of an in-house marketing team (without the overhead).
Vanessa didn’t plan on becoming a business owner. She spent years in fundraising, studied graphic design, and was building her career in higher education when a professor saw her potential and encouraged her to form an LLC. From there, one small project led to another — until the “side hustle” became a calling.
In our conversation, we talk about:
✔️The emotional moment she decided to leave her full-time job
✔️Why strategy should always come before execution
✔️Signs a business is ready to invest in marketing
✔️The biggest mistake early-stage entrepreneurs make
✔️Building a lean freelance team that supports real growth
✔️Why your personal brand still matters — even in a referral-based business
Vanessa’s perspective is grounded, thoughtful, and full of permission to build your business in a way that works for you. Whether you’re starting your journey or scaling your services, this episode is your reminder: you don’t have to have it all figured out to begin.
Connect with Vanessa
• Website
Connect with Anastasiia:
• Weekly newsletter for women in marketing: Subscribe here
• Instagram @anastasiia_mann & LinkedIn
• Website: www.marketingyourwaypodcast.com
Join the Marketing Your Way Community
AI and automation are changing marketing faster than ever — but you don’t have to figure it out alone. That’s why I created the Marketing Your Way Community on Slack: a free space where women in marketing can share AI tools, swap automation workflows, and run ideas past each other.
Whether you’re leading a corporate team, running an agency, or freelancing on your own, you’ll find support, inspiration, and real-world examples you can put into action right away.
It’s free, it’s collaborative, and it’s built to help you work smarter, not harder. Join us here: www.marketingyourwaypodcast.com/community
Thank you to our affiliate partners:
This episode is brought to you in partnership with two of my favorite tools for building and managing a marketing business:
✔️ AI Playbook - my favorite community for learning how to actually use AI to simplify your business and gain back 5 to 10 hours a week by automating your workflows. It’s hands-down the best resource I’ve found for marketers and entrepreneurs who want to leverage tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Relay, and more — without needing a tech degree.
Subscribe & Review
Don’t miss what’s next — hit follow, leave a quick review, and share this episode with a fellow marketer who’s quietly dreaming of what’s next.
Episode Website
View all episodes
By Anastasiia MannWhat happens when your side hustle starts as a class project… and slowly grows into a full-fledged marketing agency?
In this episode, I’m joined by Vanessa Suarez, the founder and Chief Marketing Officer of VCD Marketing — a boutique agency that gives service-based businesses the strategy, structure, and support of an in-house marketing team (without the overhead).
Vanessa didn’t plan on becoming a business owner. She spent years in fundraising, studied graphic design, and was building her career in higher education when a professor saw her potential and encouraged her to form an LLC. From there, one small project led to another — until the “side hustle” became a calling.
In our conversation, we talk about:
✔️The emotional moment she decided to leave her full-time job
✔️Why strategy should always come before execution
✔️Signs a business is ready to invest in marketing
✔️The biggest mistake early-stage entrepreneurs make
✔️Building a lean freelance team that supports real growth
✔️Why your personal brand still matters — even in a referral-based business
Vanessa’s perspective is grounded, thoughtful, and full of permission to build your business in a way that works for you. Whether you’re starting your journey or scaling your services, this episode is your reminder: you don’t have to have it all figured out to begin.
Connect with Vanessa
• Website
Connect with Anastasiia:
• Weekly newsletter for women in marketing: Subscribe here
• Instagram @anastasiia_mann & LinkedIn
• Website: www.marketingyourwaypodcast.com
Join the Marketing Your Way Community
AI and automation are changing marketing faster than ever — but you don’t have to figure it out alone. That’s why I created the Marketing Your Way Community on Slack: a free space where women in marketing can share AI tools, swap automation workflows, and run ideas past each other.
Whether you’re leading a corporate team, running an agency, or freelancing on your own, you’ll find support, inspiration, and real-world examples you can put into action right away.
It’s free, it’s collaborative, and it’s built to help you work smarter, not harder. Join us here: www.marketingyourwaypodcast.com/community
Thank you to our affiliate partners:
This episode is brought to you in partnership with two of my favorite tools for building and managing a marketing business:
✔️ AI Playbook - my favorite community for learning how to actually use AI to simplify your business and gain back 5 to 10 hours a week by automating your workflows. It’s hands-down the best resource I’ve found for marketers and entrepreneurs who want to leverage tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Relay, and more — without needing a tech degree.
Subscribe & Review
Don’t miss what’s next — hit follow, leave a quick review, and share this episode with a fellow marketer who’s quietly dreaming of what’s next.
Episode Website