A Singer Finds a Place in the Music Business Via Peter J. Burns’ Millennial Queenmaker Program
Valerie Grace Vadas describes herself as a girl from a small town in Alabama who’s been singing ever since she could talk.
She’s working to turn her passion for music into a viable career through the Millennial Queenmaker program founded by serial entrepreneur Peter J. Burns III.
Making music is a creative endeavor, but Vadas knows it’s also a business.
“I took classes at NYU for music as well as for business,” says Vadas, 21, who now lives in San Diego. “If you’re a woman going into the music business you have to know what you’re talking about.”
Making A Music Career
At 16, Vadas found herself in Southern California because her dad was in the military. She joined a band that did covers and worked as many small gigs as possible.
She also earned money as a nanny until a friend introduced her to modeling.
“I was never interested in being a model, but my friend convinced me that modeling was similar to being an entertainer on stage,” Vadas says.
She did some fashion modeling in New York, as well as some commercial shoots for hair and makeup on the West Coast. In 2020, COVID put a damper on some of those efforts.
Another friend who was already involved in the Millennial Queenmaker program, aimed at entrepreneurial-minded young women, encouraged Vadas to give Burns’ program a look.
“Music is a business—just a different type of business,” Vadas says. “It’s a lot of hard work, and it’s all about making connections.”
Hard work and connections are Burns’ specialties.
Funding Wagon
For Vadas—and other interested creative artists—Burns is reviving his Funding Wagon venture and incorporating it into the Millennial Queenmaker program.
Funding Wagon came to life when Burns was working with up-and-coming hip-hop artist LV Sharp.
“I treated her career as a business,” Burns says. “We raised capital for her and created a business plan. We did a very comprehensive plan and a forecast to see the expenses and returns of her business.”
Thanks to the connections he has made while doing business for nearly half a century, Burns is able to match talent (be it in the music field or the fiscal world) with lenders who are receptive to certain products or interests.
* * * Valerie Vadas is a participant in the Millennial Queen program for business-savvy women. To get more information, reach out through the chat feature to the right of this page.
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