Los Angeles, California (The Hollywood Times) 12/11/2020 – Sophia Felix is an award-winning entrepreneur and devout philanthropist. She has been honored, awarded, and nominated by many distinct organizations including 2018 Latina Corporate Executive of the Year nominee & Honorable mention by Latina Style Magazine, recipient of the 2017 California Hero award presented by Senator Joel Anderson, as well as Inspirational Woman of the Year and Rising Star nominations hailing from the National Latina Business Women’s Association of Los Angeles.
Tell us about HBM Talent & Management.
HBM Talent & Mgmt is a boutique talent and management agency, I manage models, actors, musicians, motivational speakers, and influencers. My clients are based in Los Angeles, NYC, Las Vegas, London, Milan, and Switzerland. I also specialize in business development and branding for entrepreneurs.
What do you look for in talent?
I look for talent who are authentic and true to themselves. Everyone on my team has a strong faith and good values. I look for clients who can deliver under pressure and work hard to accomplish all of our goals. I also look for talent with who I can have enjoyable working relationships and who are open to being challenged. Being a manager is a long term job, my first client I signed in NYC has been with me for 6 years and we just resigned him for another two. So when I decide to sign talent it’s because I see us being a strong team, which’s important to being successful in this industry.
How are you helping to create opportunities for the USA LatinX market?
The USA LatinX market is having huge growth and is going to grow even more in the next few years. There are a lot of opportunities coming into play with advertising companies spending billions on ads targeting the LatinX market. I am helping create opportunities for the USA LatinX market by spreading awareness on the issue of equal pay for Latinas and by partnering with a production studio where I can personally negotiate, produce and develop projects for my clients and community.
Tell us about the Partnership Agreement with TeleAmerica Television Network.
This year I landed a partnership agreement with TeleAmerica Television Network to have access to their 30,000 sq ft production studio. There are a few stages, green rooms, music studio, makeup room, dressing room, prayer room, and executive offices. They partnered with me so they can expand into the USA LatinX market and it’s great because it’s providing me the tools to create new projects and job opportunities for businesses. Our production studio is huge and in California.
What excites you the most about your work? What can people expect when working with you?
What excites me most is when on set shooting my clients and they rock it out. I have creative shoots where we go to the middle of the desert or on a rooftop when it’s snowing. I love seeing the passion and feeling the energy. I also get excited when I do my charity work. When working with me people can expect that I deliver when it comes to business. They can expect to be safe, learn how to reach their full potential, and maybe hear a few sarcastic jokes. Haha.
You received the 2020 ABC 10News Leadership Award. As a leader in your community, what are you doing to help during COVID?
In my community, I’m helping to support children in need whose parents are facing financial issues due to COVID. I’m donating brand new gifts to a few families this month and will also provide food. I am trying to keep everyone positive and give them encouragement. I also received a grant from RoboThink for my Dream Development Program for America’s Children of Fallen Heroes charity. The grant will be used in 2021 to provide classes for 36 children to learn STEM, robotics, and coding! What was awesome was RoboThink told me they saw my story on tv on ABC 10News for my Leadership Award and they immediately wanted to reach out to support us. So the award was a blessing.
Tell us about your work as the Southern CA Chapter President of America’s Children of Fallen Heroes charity.
ACoFH supports children of fallen military heroes, police officers, and firefighters. My work includes implementing our EOA (Expression of Appreciation) and Dream Development Program. I believe that these children who have lost their hero parents who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country should know how much they are loved, respected, and appreciated.
Mentorship is huge for the Children of Fallen Heroes. Tell us about Jeep’n For The Kids and the Dream Development Project.
Right now we are working on fundraising for our Dream Development program which is a 10-year mentorship program for the kids to help them realize and pursue their American Dream. It will provide what the child needs whether it’s therapy, music classes, educational class, our off-road Jeep’s For The Kids adventure in our custom jeep, meet and greet a celebrity, etc. Mentorship is so vital, I have had 5 mentors so I want to provide that to the kids. It’s a very special role for me, I volunteer my time and I’m very proud to serve as Southern CA President.
What are the ways the organization is helping families during the holidays?
We are helping families by dropping off gifts and food for the holidays and I am planning events with supporters for next year. To donate or volunteer you can reach us at www.heroeskids.org
How can people reach out for support when losing a loved one?
I am trained in TIC Trauma-Informed Care and youth suicide prevention so sometimes people reach out to me directly and I’ll refer them to professional resources in their area that can help. Having a strong emotional supportive team around someone who is experiencing the loss of a loved one is so important.
You are also the Co-Founder/President of the International Cannabis Business Women’s Association (ICBWA). Tell us about the organization.
ICBWA is a nonprofit business organization that supports women in the cannabis space. We provide educational programs, networking events, digital events, access to our resources, and a platform for women to reach their full potential as viable business owners in the cannabis industry. Our team on ICBWA is phenomenal!
As we move into 2021, what is your hope for the future?
My hope for the future is to see more people supporting each other and to continue to work on my business and charities so I can help others. I hope that our world shifts and becomes peaceful and safer and to see more people go after their dreams!
www.hbmtalent.com www.heroeskids.org www.icbwa-ca.org IG: @hbm_talent FB: Sophie Felix LinkedIn: Sophie Felix