Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Miriam Cohen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Miriam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

I love owning my own company. As a mother of three (ages 6 months to 6 years), the ability to create my own schedule is worth more than the stability in-house work provides. I can pick my kids up from school and be home for dinner and bedtime. I don’t have to worry about PTO — I can work from home, or San Francisco, or London. I can pivot quickly and roll out new initiatives without a constrictive approval process.

But there are downsides. The sometimes-unstable pipeline, the clients who come and go, the absurd amount I now spend on healthcare. There’s no denying it would be easier to just show up at a job and not have such a personal stake in the outcome.

Last September, while I was out on maternity leave (note the timing) we lost one of our anchor clients. Losing that stability while I was away focusing on my family was a blow. It wasn’t just the retainer. It surfaced one of my deepest fears: that I can’t have both. That I somehow need to choose between my company and my family.

That’s a false dichotomy, of course. But it’s hard to do both. To want both. To have dreams and desires that stretch from the boardroom to bedtime. Ask any working mother — we all have those thoughts. There’s no keeping them out 100% of the time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

At The Corner Communications, we handle strategic communications, media relations, branding, and communications coaching. Put simply: we help brands figure out what to say, how to say it, and make sure the right people are listening.

When I started the company, I was deeply burnt out. After two decades in corporate communications — first in the art world, then in venture capital — I had left my last position without a clear goal in mind. I took a few months off, fully intending to apply for a new position, and realized I just didn’t want to. I didn’t want to beg for employment, cram myself into a box, or mold into some nameless hiring manager’s needs. I didn’t want to work for yet another company whose mission I didn’t care about. It was time to build my own.

From the start, I knew I didn’t want to run a traditional agency. Too often, agencies treat in-house teams like they don’t know their own brand. That’s wrong. The people behind a brand are the ones breathing life into it — responsible for its success, its failures, and everything in between. So instead, we built a partnership model: we work alongside in-house teams, teach them the fundamentals of communications and media relations, and set them up to take over the reins once or our contract concludes. We don’t want brands to have to depend on us forever. Instead, we work to empower them to tell their own stories.

That philosophy has led us to our newest offering (and my absolutely favorite topic): communications coaching. We spend 90% of our days communicating, yet most people have never been trained in it. That’s absurd. We have always coached clients ahead of major media moments, but I thought, why not open it up? Why is this training reserved for only the C-Suite? Absolutely everyone could benefit from this.

We now work with clients at every level — managers, directors, senior VPs, even kids. Communications and public speaking is a skill. It is teachable, learnable, and is the single most important thing you can do to further your career.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

As a trained publicist, I’ve always had a strong network and solid networking skills. When we were starting out, I relied on friends and former colleagues to spread the word. Contracts came in, those led to others, and referrals remain our best source of new clients.

I’d much rather spend money on trips for in-person meetings than on paid ads. You really can’t underestimate the power of networking. If someone requests an informational interview, I do my best to oblige — you never know when they’ll land the job of their dreams and come back with a lucrative contract. It’s no accident that doing the right thing also tends to be the best business decision.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I know some people don’t enjoy managing teams, but I’ve always found the opposite to be true. I love working with junior employees, developing talent, and watching them take over accounts. My goal has always been to work myself out of the process so I can focus on new opportunities. Managing is simple. Treat your employees how you would want to be treated. Here are three tips to get you started.

Hire for your weaknesses. My very first boss gave me this advice when I was 22 and entrusted to hire our departmental interns. It solves nothing to hire a carbon copy of yourself. Take a clear look at your strengths and weaknesses and fill in the holes. For example, I’m a terrible copyeditor (always have been, always will be). Rather than beat myself up about that, I simply ensure that we always have a strong editor on the team.

Give employees autonomy over their schedules. This doesn’t apply to every situation, but in general, if someone on your team needs to leave early for their kids, a doctor’s appointment, or to walk their dog, let them. If their worth to you is measured only by hours in a chair, if you feel you need to micromanage them to be effective, then they don’t belong on your team. Good employees get the work done. Grant them autonomy, and you show trust. They’ll work harder and stay longer. And if they take advantage? Let them go. Micromanaging is a sign that something is wrong in the relationship. Allow yourself to find a better fit for the team, and allow them to find a role they’re better suited for.

Celebrate the wins. Years ago, I had my team take the CliftonStrengths assessment. While discussing new systems we could implement, my assistant social media manager made a simple request: “We’re all doing so much. Can we take a minute to celebrate the wins before we move on to the next project?” She was absolutely right. I was so focused on the mountains of work ahead that I wasn’t acknowledging what they’d already accomplished. Our solution: after each press preview, I’d take the team out to lunch. A simple pivot that made a world of difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cornercomms.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecornercommunications/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/104106883/

Image Credits

Headshot: Gary Sexton Photography

“Urs Fischer: The Public & the Private” at the Legion of Honor. 2017. Gary Sexton Photography.

Guest viewing the inaugural de Young Open. 2020. Gary Sexton Photography.

The food at Proposition Chicken. San Francisco, 2024. Audrey Kahn Photography

Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, 2011. Brad Feinknopf Photography.