Meet Andy Tabar

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andy Tabar a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Andy with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I suppose my work ethic was always there from the start, but it was really fostered by coming up in the DIY punk and hardcore music scenes. In that world there is an understanding that no one is coming to save you. No record label is going to scoop you up and make you successful, no venue is just going to book you out of the blue. So you learn to do it yourself. That means handling everything from finding a basement or a rented hall to throw the show, cobbling together a PA, making your own flyers and busting your butt to get them out to everyone. You put out your own records, act as your own promotional machine, book your own cross country tours. Your success lives and dies by the amount of effort that you are willing to put in.

That extends over to my business. I work with a variety of artists and makers to bring my vision to life, but at the end of the day it’s just me. If I don’t get out of bed and do the damn thing, it doesn’t get done.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve been vegan for 17 years, and a few years into that journey I wanted to wear shirts that spread a message of liberation for all beings, But I couldn’t find anyone making designs that resonated with my vibe and style, and certainly couldn’t find any that were being produced with respect to the workers or the environment.

So 13 years ago I created Compassion Co. I knew that if I wanted something done right, I had to do it myself. A decade of DIY touring in bands and managing merchandise had already built up my network of friends that were artists and screen printers, all I had to do was figure out how to actually run the business side of things and off I went!

From day one, everything I produce is USA made and sweat shop free. For our clothing, I use organic and recycled materials, and print with water based inks. It’s important to me that our clothing not only reflects a message promoting veganism and animal rights, but that the production of the product also reflects those values.

I started off with an online shop and vending at local Vegfests. Slowly I expanded my travel radius to include more and more live events. Ultimately I was traveling to a different vegfest nearly every weekend of the year, all over the country, and I decided to ditch my apartment and move into my van full time so I could spend even more time on the road. I spent 5 years on the road in that manner until the pandemic forced me to slow down and find a stable place to live. But I still travel to about 35 events a year.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Before you start, the most important thing is to recognize what you are already good at and what you want to be good at. Everything that isn’t on that list, you should outsource to others as soon as possible. For me that meant hiring a great accountant to make sure I was doing everything by the books and staying on track.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

As solo business owner with a lifelong ADHD diagnosis, I often get overwhelmed. Over the years I’ve learned to release some amount of control and just go with the flow of my brain. For me, that means recognizing when my brain is going to cooperate and when it isnt. When it is, and I enter into a state of hyper focus, I try to clear my schedule and ride that wave as long as possible. When my brain isn’t playing along, I try my best to be gentle with myself allow for that rest to happen.

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