Deacon Sports Xtra: Power Moves
10/13/2023 8:46:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Lessons learned as a Wake Forest volleyball player have helped program alum Hailey Brooke Weiss navigate her way through the world of business and marketing.
It's been more than four years since Hailey Brooke Weiss competed in Varsity Arena in Reynolds Gymnasium for the Wake Forest Volleyball team.
A superstar libero and team captain, Weiss made a huge impact on the court, but her time as a Wake Forest student-athlete continues to impact her professionally as she grows 'Power Move Marketing,' a full-service digital marketing agency she started shortly after finishing her Master of Science in Management program.
She has 25 full-time employees and hires dozens of interns each semester. They work with a vast array of clients with advertising, social media and email campaigns.
"I'm in charge of managing a team, checking in with them and making sure everything is good. I follow up with the team and keep tabs on client satisfaction," Weiss explained. "I'm the person who somebody on the team would go to with a problem or if they were unsure what to do with a client. I meet with new potential clients. I'm consistently prospecting on Linkedin and Instagram.
"Our social channels do well, so I make videos about what is new and what is working in marketing. I want people to be up-to-date and that stuff helps drive more leads as well."
While Power Move Marketing does its work in a virtual environment, Weiss understands that building a solid team culture is just as important for her business as it was in collegiate athletics.
"I'm big on culture building, and that's something I learned from being on a team and from being a captain on a team," she said. "That comes from upholding a high standard of yourself. I take the team on a yearly retreat. So many of them haven't met in person. We do such a great job getting everyone to know one another, despite the physical limitations at times."
Resilience, responding to feedback, leadership and time management are all skills Weiss honed during her time both on and off the court at Wake Forest.
"Being a student-athlete takes a lot of resilience, and you have to take in a lot of feedback," she said. "Especially in the creative fields, it can be somewhat subjective. So it can be frustrating at times in those fields to deal with difficult feedback, but I have no problem dealing with that largely from my experiences as an athlete.
"That coaching you get prepares you for any real-life feedback you get. Whether you have a bad day at work and you've messed everything up, or had a horrible game on the court — if you want to succeed, you have to be resilient."
Weiss finished with a career-high 372 digs as a senior in 2018, with 20 each in matches against Air Force and on the road at Notre Dame.
"I was captain of the volleyball team, so now I feel like I'm just the captain of the people in our company," she said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself. So, the leadership, resilience and ability to ingest feedback are some of the biggest things I learned from being a volleyball player at Wake Forest."
Weiss married professional baseball player Ryan Weiss in October of 2021 and the two live in Fuquay-Varina. Together, they enjoyed watching the recent, incredible Wake Forest Baseball run to the College World Series in Omaha.
"Ryan and I watched every game down the stretch," she said. "It was amazing. It was beyond exciting. I really like baseball and enjoy the atmosphere. My parents probably donate as much to Wake Forest Baseball as they do volleyball.
"There's no reason Wake Forest Volleyball can't rise in prominence like baseball and football have in recent years. We have every single tool to get that accomplished. I love to cheer them on, and I love the opportunities I have to call the games. It's been so cool to see how much all of these programs have taken off. It makes it a ton of fun."
Taking the lessons learned in the classroom and in Varsity Arena, Weiss is building a company that's making a positive impact for its clients while also setting the course for her future.
"I'm eternally grateful for the support from the athletic department and the MSM program," Weiss said. "Everybody was so amazing. I'm always promoting how great Wake Forest is, maybe to a fault. What we have going on at Wake Forest is so different in a positive way. It's exciting that I got to be a part of something, and I'm looking forward to continuing to give back in whatever way I can."
A superstar libero and team captain, Weiss made a huge impact on the court, but her time as a Wake Forest student-athlete continues to impact her professionally as she grows 'Power Move Marketing,' a full-service digital marketing agency she started shortly after finishing her Master of Science in Management program.
She has 25 full-time employees and hires dozens of interns each semester. They work with a vast array of clients with advertising, social media and email campaigns.
"I'm in charge of managing a team, checking in with them and making sure everything is good. I follow up with the team and keep tabs on client satisfaction," Weiss explained. "I'm the person who somebody on the team would go to with a problem or if they were unsure what to do with a client. I meet with new potential clients. I'm consistently prospecting on Linkedin and Instagram.
"Our social channels do well, so I make videos about what is new and what is working in marketing. I want people to be up-to-date and that stuff helps drive more leads as well."
While Power Move Marketing does its work in a virtual environment, Weiss understands that building a solid team culture is just as important for her business as it was in collegiate athletics.
"I'm big on culture building, and that's something I learned from being on a team and from being a captain on a team," she said. "That comes from upholding a high standard of yourself. I take the team on a yearly retreat. So many of them haven't met in person. We do such a great job getting everyone to know one another, despite the physical limitations at times."
Resilience, responding to feedback, leadership and time management are all skills Weiss honed during her time both on and off the court at Wake Forest.
"Being a student-athlete takes a lot of resilience, and you have to take in a lot of feedback," she said. "Especially in the creative fields, it can be somewhat subjective. So it can be frustrating at times in those fields to deal with difficult feedback, but I have no problem dealing with that largely from my experiences as an athlete.
"That coaching you get prepares you for any real-life feedback you get. Whether you have a bad day at work and you've messed everything up, or had a horrible game on the court — if you want to succeed, you have to be resilient."
Weiss finished with a career-high 372 digs as a senior in 2018, with 20 each in matches against Air Force and on the road at Notre Dame.
"I was captain of the volleyball team, so now I feel like I'm just the captain of the people in our company," she said. "I have a lot of confidence in myself. So, the leadership, resilience and ability to ingest feedback are some of the biggest things I learned from being a volleyball player at Wake Forest."
Weiss married professional baseball player Ryan Weiss in October of 2021 and the two live in Fuquay-Varina. Together, they enjoyed watching the recent, incredible Wake Forest Baseball run to the College World Series in Omaha.
"Ryan and I watched every game down the stretch," she said. "It was amazing. It was beyond exciting. I really like baseball and enjoy the atmosphere. My parents probably donate as much to Wake Forest Baseball as they do volleyball.
"There's no reason Wake Forest Volleyball can't rise in prominence like baseball and football have in recent years. We have every single tool to get that accomplished. I love to cheer them on, and I love the opportunities I have to call the games. It's been so cool to see how much all of these programs have taken off. It makes it a ton of fun."
Taking the lessons learned in the classroom and in Varsity Arena, Weiss is building a company that's making a positive impact for its clients while also setting the course for her future.
"I'm eternally grateful for the support from the athletic department and the MSM program," Weiss said. "Everybody was so amazing. I'm always promoting how great Wake Forest is, maybe to a fault. What we have going on at Wake Forest is so different in a positive way. It's exciting that I got to be a part of something, and I'm looking forward to continuing to give back in whatever way I can."
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