We recently connected with Tara Coomans and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tara thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back at the decisions you made early in your career, particularly whether to join a firm or start your own, do you feel you made the right choice for that stage of your career?

I first started a firm in my twenties; I had three business partners. I loved the business and working for myself, but in my twenties, I wanted more stability and less work.

When I started this agency, I decidedly did it differently. For one, I did it on my own. Additional entrepreneurial experiences since my first agency taught me that piles of business partners and investors take away a key feature of being small: the ability to be nimble. Today, I believe our size is our superpower, well, that and our people. But people are drawn to work for us because it offers very satisfying work conditions.

I was really fortunate when I started this firm; I was in the right space at the right time and could flourish quickly. Something no one talks about regarding entrepreneurship is luck. It matters. Yes, hard work. Yes, relationships. Those things matter too, but an entrepreneur can control those factors; luck is harder to collect. Yet, there are plenty of stories of smart, hardworking people with great ideas who have bad luck. I’m grateful for the chance I had, which included meeting some fantastic people, including a significant mentor who is still a vital part of my life today.

I was a solo practitioner for many years, and that felt very right for a long time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I majored in communication in college and loved everything about it. The most obvious work category was marketing, so I gravitated there. All my businesses have been marketing-related—an event design firm, a magazine and tradeshow, and now, a PR firm.

A lot of people misunderstand what PR is – and isn’t.

The essence of PR is reputation management. We work with emerging industries and ambitious brands. Our clients are growing, thriving, and ready to take it to the next level. Almost all our clients are privately held, but we’ve had the privilege of taking clients through their IPO. For our firm, earned media combined with content is at our core. Securing coverage in credible publications for our clients is incredibly rewarding for us and our clients.

What thrills us is what we achieve for our clients. In the last few months, we’ve secured coverage for our clients in Fortune, Inc. and the Los Angeles Times, to name a few. And our clients have been winning industry awards and recognition, including from Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. I’m proud of our work. We value our client relationships, and they respond to that. We’ve received recognition for our client satisfaction, including Inc. Magazine’s Power Partner award and the #1 Boutique PR agency in Los Angeles.

We’re successful because we have an outstanding team. Our core values include valuing the client and respecting each other. Our team is 100% executive level, that’s not the typical PR agency model.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As a business owner, I’ve been tested—no doubt about it. The magazine and tradeshow I co-owned were purchased on September 10, 2011. Of course, the next day was one of the most tragic occurrences in American history—9/11. Besides the national grieving, the economy changed that day, and it impacted our business, and our clients’ business considerably.

My current agency was founded in 2008, in the wake of another economic meltdown.

Of course, there was the pandemic, which of the three experiences was not the hardest economically. The challenge then was mental health and managing uncertainty.

All this has taught me is to control everything you CAN control and don’t let the things you can’t control dominate your decision-making. Decision-making from a place of fear is horrible. I’ve also grown to assume that some kind of economic catastrophe happens about every fifteen years. And it’s not that I “predict” it, it’s more that I don’t assume the status quo is inevitable.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Undoubtedly, growing our clientele is most often attributed to the people we’ve known and our clients. We get a lot of referral business, and of course, we value that kind of business; it’s incredibly rewarding.

The most important lesson, though, is that as an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that the people you surround yourself with will dictate your success.

What do I mean by that? I mean, find people more successful than you and be with them. Am I suggesting a person dump your best friends? No, not at all.

But do know that mindsets are contagious. Are you absorbing a success mindset or an apathetic mindset? Are you surrounding yourself with people who expect you to win and celebrate your wins? That’s important.

For most of us, being a successful business owner is a long haul. It’s not overnight, and protecting your mindset, taking care of yourself is a difference maker.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://avaansmedia.com
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/taracoomans
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@avaansPR

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