WOMEN OF NAMM I BY CASSANDRA SOTOS The Setup for Success
S ince my partner and I took over AmpRx nearly three years ago, we’ve experienced a whirlwind of change — and even more since I attended the Women of NAMM Leadership Summit just over a year ago. We’ve had the good fortune of more than doubling our business since 2022 and this year, following the Summit, have experienced similar growth — ex- ceeding our 2023 sales by the third quarter of 2024. This growth has challenged us and pushed us to reflect on the key factors driving our progress and, more importantly, what we should focus on as we continue to forge ahead.
your team, your customers, your products and yourself. THE TEAM What makes this truly work is that I have a great partnership and a great team. Clark, my partner, and I started out as just the two of us, so we know “how” to do most ev- erything that makes our machine run. Delegating with a deep un- derstanding of the day-to-day and approaching team building with a coaching mindset have been crucial. As a result, we have an incredibly dedicated and talented team. As with most small business owners, we’re fully invested both personally and professionally and I believe that shows in the quality of our work, the strength of our team and our overall growth. “MOST IMPROVED” IS THE REAL WIN We’re not the biggest, we haven’t been around the longest, and in an industry like ours where so many brands have longstanding worldwide impact, it can be easy to feel like a speck on the map. Regardless, we choose to celebrate our wins, big and small. I never allow the fact that we’re a small business, a small team or that we carry niche products to diminish our efforts. We should all show up and play ball like we mean it and like we were invited. And when I’m not invited, I invite myself. No matter where we stand — whether it’s in terms of sales or dollars — my goal is that we always strive for “most improved.” Because in the end, the only true loss comes when we stop looking forward, stop learning and stop growing. MI Cassandra Sotos is the co-owner and CEO of AmpRx and was awarded the 2024 NAMM Female Entrepreneur of the Year. She’s also a member of Women of NAMM.
We’ve streamlined, updated, documented, improved, advanced … what other buzz words am I missing … but we all do that, right? I can tie everything back to asking the right questions, truly caring about your mission, and of course, having the right people on your team. ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS Every time I find myself truly at an impasse, I’m asking the wrong question. Sometimes you need to be in the right room with people willing to point you in the right direction. For me, the right room was the WoN Summit. In addition to the skills that I learned at the Sum- mit, participating in a community of people like WoN allows me to step out and take risks. Knowing people I trust often gives me the confidence to drill down to the right questions and find those answers myself. And when I need it, help is there.
“I can tie everything back to asking the right questions, truly caring about your mission, and of course, having the right people on your team.”
THE ROAD WILL RISE TO MEET YOU I’m responsible for creating demand for my prod- ucts. I’m not just talking about marketing and social media — I mean creating an internal culture that truly values the impact our products have on our customers and their experiences. I should believe in what we do more than anyone, and I remind myself to consider that at every juncture. When we took over the brand, we brought a fresh perspective, vigor, curiosity and excite- ment for a new chapter. We were ready to create
and collaborate and in that stance, we have been met with the same energy. I believe this positive shift contributed to the demand grow- ing to meet our supply. Our customers care deeply about their gear, and even more, they care deeply about their experience playing music. Our team meets them in that care and it has paid back in spades. As professional musi- cians first, this has been a natural yet critical facet of our approach. We must always follow our core principles and be an image of what we hope to see in our community. Nothing beats truly caring about
30 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2024
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