We were lucky to catch up with Avita Broukhim recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Avita, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I get my resilience from my parents. As a child of immigrants, I know what it took for my parents to get to the United States, to be able to own their own businesses, live freely, and achieve the dreams they had in their hearts. I know how many trials and tribulations they went through in order to provide their children with a better life than they had. I learned that if I can advocate for myself, work hard, remain consistent, and treat people well, I can achieve anything I want. From my parents, I learned that if I’m going to bet on anything, I’m going to bet on myself, and I’m not going to let rejection or fear of judgement get in the way of creating the life I want to live and support the people I’m passionate about supporting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I founded Advanced Brand Communications, a PR agency that specializes in helping small businesses grow through the power of online marketing and media. Both my parents are small business owners and I grew up with a creative, problem-solving, entrepreneurial spirit. I, myself, took the leap of faith in myself to start my own business, and I must say it was the best decision I ever made. That’s why I know how sensitive business owners can be when it comes to marketing and publicizing themselves. I know what it’s like to take that leap of faith in yourself and make your business basically an extension of yourself. I know how scary it can be to put yourself and your business out there and how every single decision must be calculated with love and care. Starting your own small business is no easy feat and I hope to support small business owners in making the best decisions for marketing their businesses. There is so much information out there, it can be incredibly overwhelming to decide what to do and how to do it. There are also so many agencies prying on new and vulnerable small business owners by charging them a fortune each month. I help business owners get rid of that overwhelm with effective PR and marketing strategies crafted with the greatest care possible.
My newest service, the Turnkey PR Package, is incredibly cost-effective, it allows small business owners to be a part of the marketing process and foster relationships with media representatives, and helps their business get the attention it deserves from magazines, news outlets, podcasts, blogs, and more! I curate a package to help get small business owners in front of the right audiences to grow their brand awareness and lock in media attention. By crafting the perfect pitch and curating a customized list of media contacts, I provide small business owners with all the tools they need in order to put their business out there in the most time and cost-effective way!
Our Public Relations services are designed to not just enhance your brand visibility but to also create meaningful relationships with your audience in an effective and affordable way. We believe that empathy, authenticity, and affordability are not just buzzwords; they’re the core of what we do.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three qualities that were the most impactful in my journey were 1) starting before I felt “ready”, 2) seeking out advice and support when I need it, and 3) finding or creating a safe space to let out emotions so they do not affect the quality of my work. 1) So many people wait to take the leap of faith or take that necessary next step in their business because they feel like they need to “feel ready”. I quickly learned that I will never feel ready. For anything. That feeling just doesn’t happen. I learned that I had to create that feeling through action. I had to just jump in and do the thing I was scared of, otherwise it would literally never happen.
2) Rather than beating myself up about not knowing something or feeling inadequate, I learned that I needed to lean on my support system and ask for help when I needed it. Even though I started my business myself, I didn’t have to do everything alone. My friends have been incredibly supportive, and even if they didn’t know the answer to a question I had, they would help me find someone who did. That was how I found most of my mentors. I didn’t try to reinvent the wheel, I just searched outside of myself for the support that I needed. Go to networking events, reach out to people on LinkedIn, ask the people in your community for support and guidance. The right people will help you get to where you want to go!
3) I’m a very emotional person, I always have been. For a long time, I tried to suppress that part of myself or shame myself for having as many emotions as I have. Especially as a business owner, when deals don’t follow through or things don’t go according to plan, it can be incredibly frustrating and feelings can come up. I learned through this journey that the more I try to suppress my feelings and shame myself for having them, the more those feelings come up and affect my self esteem, productivity, and working capabilities. It is so important to have a safe space to let these feelings up and out so you can do the work you are called to do. Therapy, journaling, trauma healing and releasing, having a good cry, venting to a trusted friend, these are all great ways to release the negative emotions so they do not hang over your head and prevent you from doing what you need to do. A lot of the time we procrastinate and we’re not completely sure why. The real reason behind procrastination (most of the time) is anxiety. When those feelings come up, rather than distracting yourself and procrastinate, allow yourself to feel those feelings, explore them further, and try to get to the bottom of the anxiety. Once that is released, you’ll feel better and you’ll get back to doing the things you were meant to do!
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client is a small business owner who is dedicated to growing and making their dreams come true. They are self-starters, passionate about what they do, and they understand the importance of the digital landscape for their business, regardless of what their business is. My ideal client is someone who is focused on helping people by providing them with their quality products or services. They are excited to put themselves and their business out there, they understand business growth does not happen overnight and they are willing to be patient to see the long-term fruits of their labor. My ideal client is someone who understands that you don’t need to spend boatloads of money to get great results, but it does require time, effort, and quality work. My ideal client is someone who thinks “if success can happen for other people, it can happen for me, too.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.advancedbrandcommunications.com
- Instagram: @advancedbrandcommunications
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/avita-broukhim/
Image Credits
Michael Marom
