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Luis Vento started working at E11EVEN Miami at the age of 19 years old and hasn’t stopped since.
During his 6 years with the company he is the longest tenured employee in the Host Department in which he is the VIP Services Manager for the entire Host Team producing up to $750,000 dollars in sales and has developed strong relationships with the best Hip Hop Artists, Top NBA/NFL/NHL/NBA players and high end clientele.
At his current age of 25 years old, he is only getting started and we are all excited on what’s to come once he reaches his full potential.
City where you’re from: Miami, FL
Favorite quote: “You Cannot Be A Leader Without Having Followers”
Social accounts: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
Tell us about a little bit about yourself and how things got started for you at E11EVEN.
Luis Vento: I could honestly go on about my experience at E11EVEN but in order to summarize it all up: I started off young in this industry (19 years old). So although I was in a leadership position it was challenging telling these 30 years old men with wives and kids on how to do their job to our company standard but luckily I’m what you would call a “players coach”.
I’m a firm believer that everyone needs help so I try to keep them as happy as possible even if it means I’m going to inconvenience myself. Without a team we can’t make our dream a reality. Nightlife is a business in which tomorrow is not promised, but I love it because each and every night I get to do it again.. I started off by being Security and then slowly moved up to a the VIP Hosts, now I find myself as the VIP Manager at E11EVEN. But the hunger for more continues..
Related: read about Nick Manca, also a VIP Manager at E11EVEN.
How did you promote E11EVEN in the early days?
Luis Vento: When I first began working at E11EVEN I literally did not have a network at all and had a hard time bring in guests, tables, celebrities and athletes but through hard work and persistence I took it upon myself to use my personal time to go meet concierges at hotels, managers at high end restaurants, collect business cards and reach out to them the next day to thank them for coming by, invite them to come back and refer any guests that they would like me to take dare or on their behalf.
Till this day, I still do these networking strategies that got me to where I currently am in my career, the hustle never stops and any opportunity I have to network I definitely try to take advantage of.
Conventions, Events, Concert and Dinners where I could get to know my clientele on a personal level is huge for solidifying the relationship with them. It gives both me and the client a chance to get to know each other for more than booking a table for them leading to loyalty between the client, E11EVEN and myself. We become a friends and family, developing a trust between us all.
How have you been able to grow E11EVEN’s business? Go specific.
Luis Vento: I have been able to grow the volume of sales I bring to the business on a yearly basis by setting goals for myself based on the numbers I produced the prior year. I come up with different marketing strategies depending on my target market. Anything from suggestive selling, personal tests, email campaigns, building a stronger social media and engaging with my followers. Supporting any projects, they might be working on as a gesture since I know they would do the same for me, I don’t do it expecting anything in return but just out love. One single individual doesn’t make or break the season.
What are some secrets on IG?
Luis Vento: Instagram is in my opinion the most powerful platform in social media due to the fact that it provides the best interactions between users. Word of Mouth in my opinion is one of the best secrets in succeeding on these platforms, a lot of the followers on my page come from a secondary source, meaning that a personal friend or a long term client referred my social media handle over to them and that creates a domino effect as the client referred to me will do the same with a friend of their own.
Cross Promoting with influencers and friends, even if my account isn’t as strong as theirs, a lot of the users are willing to feature you on their social media handle depending on the experience you have provided to them every time they’ve come by our establishment.
Read more about growing your account on Instagram. Also, how to get verified on IG.
Teach us something we don’t know about {internet marketing, social media ads, fundraising, volunteering, yoga, sales funnels or another topic you like}
Luis Vento: Very broad question, but here is a broad answer. Everyone wants to be successful but not everyone is willing to put in the work it takes. You have to set yourself apart from the pack in order to stand out. I don’t really believe in people who speak out of power, I listen to those who speak out of intelligence. People want to see you do good, but they don’t want to see you do better than them. I keep a small circle of friends and family, same ones that I grew up with.
Doing what we do, we have so many people that are trying to befriend us just to take advantage of the perks that come with being our friend. Whether it’s the hookup at E11EVEN, tickets to a concert or sporting events, connections to high profile guest. It’s all conditional and fake to an extent, so I keep loyal to those who stood next to me when I didn’t have much, those who believed in me and those who lifted me up when I was down.
What are some of the best books you’ve ever read?
Luis Vento: The best book I have read has to be “The Road to Character” as it taught me a lot of self-growth, reminded me to stay humble, not worry about things that are bigger than me and outside of my control. Just to focus on the things I have the power to change and let the rest come together on its own.
What are some of your strengths?
Pursuing a goal of mine till I reach it, then I am on to the next one. I also think consistency plays a big role in being better than most people, some people get too comfortable in life to the point where they’re just running through the motions instead of being innovative and coming up with new ideas or ways to do things.
Why did you pick Nightlife as a career?
Luis Vento: Hmm… honestly speaking I didn’t choice nightlife, it chose me. I started off as a 19-year-old kid looking for a part time job to have some money while I was getting through college and then everything changed. I fell in love with what we do at E11EVEN, the people we work with, the people we meet and the fact that every night we get the chance to put memories in someone’s life that they’ll never forget.
We’ve had people propose on our rooftop, celebrate birthdays, celebrate anniversaries, people who have fallen in love with each other because they met at E11EVEN and at times just people who have had a bad day that come to us to escape reality. Where else would I be able to provide these lifelong memories?
Where do you see yourself and your product in a couple years? What’s your dream?
Luis Vento: Over the next couple of years I definitely see myself growing into a bigger role at E11EVEN and doing more for the company with artist bookings and business development, but my dream is in music. Whether it’s working with E11EVEN Music, Managing Artists or another Music Label I see myself growing in this market.
I truly believe that it’s the industry I belong in due to my passion for all the behind the scene work that not many fans listening to their favorite artists even pay attention to. Discovering new talent and helping them become stars or just negotiating deals for an established artist is one of my personal goals that I’m working towards in hopes of just getting the right opportunity that I know I could execute.
I’ve learned so much from some of the best artist managers in the game and the advice they’ve given me is unmatched so with that and my creativity I know somewhere along the next couple years I would be a part of an artist’s career living a life I never thought was possible as a kid.
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