We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Autumn Enoch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Autumn below.

Autumn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Core to my mission is diverting from the status quo! In PR specifically, a lot of agencies are stuck in the past, pitching traditional media outlets, for legacy media companies, and it’s not enough in today’s evolving media landscape. Simply put, people are getting their news from social media, newsletters and influencers more than traditional news outlets and mediums (magazines, newspapers, news sites).

The main differentiator between working with me vs. any other consultant, agency or even an in-house professional, is that I work with media the way they want to work with brands, as opposed to the way brands want me to work with media. Clients often forget that the field of PR is in service to our media/journalist counterparts, which in turn, is in service to its publication’s readers and consumers! I keep this end goal in mind 100% of the time while I’m writing pitches and crafting press trip itineraries, and guess what – 100% of the time, both media and clients get what they want.

I am a creative at heart, first and foremost, so I structure my day around my creative needs for each client. I can only achieve this as an independent consultant – I get to cut out all the nonsense corporate to-dos, meetings and admin and focus on pitching, writing, landing top-tier media coverage, collaborating with influencers and getting highly-relevant content on the platforms where my clients’ target customers are.

Autumn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was a shy, creative only child, born and raised in Encinitas until a military move prompted my family’s relocation to Baltimore in middle school. I graduated high school early when I was 16 and after a few years of college, moved back west to LA to be near family and finish my degree at CSU Long Beach. I was completely broken out of my shell when I got my first customer service job at 16 as a barista, and fell in love with coffee. All throughout college I was a barista and a bartender at multiple Fortune 100 companies and a AAA four diamond resort, and my second love emerged: hospitality.

After a seven-year bicoastal career in food and beverage, I spent six years at PR agencies big and small servicing beer, wine, spirits, coffee, CPG, destination, hotel, resort and restaurant clients.

I have launched new hotels, restaurants, product lines, global tourism campaigns and brand partnerships around the U.S., landing my clients in top tier publications from The New York Times to Forbes and coveted annual accolades like TIME’s World’s Greatest Places, AFAR’s Where to Go, The New York Times’ 52 Places to Go and more.

My expertise in authentic media relations, a deep understanding of the evolving digital media landscape and a sharp creative eye are just a few of the reasons clients entrust me with the future of their brand. I love my job and I love to meet new people, which is why I offer a complimentary one-hour consultation for anyone interested in learning more about how I can help their brand – from image and identity to bottom line. Let’s chat!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

My network! It’s a common answer for freelancers of all trades, but it’s true. My close industry friends who also freelance will often be propositioned but don’t have the capacity to take on more work. That’s where I come in. They will shoot it over to me and next thing you know, a prospective client becomes a new client.

LinkedIn is also by far my favorite social media platform – and not just for networking, for learning and keeping up with industry trends. But for networking, it’s a powerhouse not to be underestimated!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Within California specifically, everyone in the industry knows where I’m based, knows I was born and raised here, and that my whole family is based all throughout the state. So, they know me as the “California media expert,” but they also know my passion for coffee runs deep.

Once upon a time, I was more active in the coffee industry in my downtime. I still have a blog, “Coffee Mate,” where I review coffee shops, roasters and products, focusing on providing the information that isn’t found elsewhere on the internet. I used to do individual product reviews on my Instagram, formerly “@LACoffeeMate,” and I wrote blog posts for brands all over North America. There came a point where roasters were sending me coffee in exchange for reviews on my Instagram and in my mind I hit the big time, “I’m getting free coffee and being asked to talk about it – life goal achieved!” However, the times, and algorithms, have changed, and my not-so-9-to-5 took over my life for the next several years.

Today, I’m further building up my reputation via a consistent, authentic LinkedIn presence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.equinochsconsulting.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equinochsconsulting
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/equinochs-consulting/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/autumn.enoch/