We recently connected with Tatiana Phillips and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Tatiana 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 get my work ethic from my grandmother. She was a bit of an overachiever, in a good way, which I now see as an adult has its pros and cons. But, her tenacity and passion for the goals she wanted to reach were something I strive to emulate.
My grandmother was valedictorian of her high school in Puerto Rico when she was only 16. She went to Columbia University to become an optometrist. Even though it was the late 1940s/early 1950s, she knew she wanted to be more than a housewife and mother, and a receptionist, or an assistant. She was the only woman going to the School of Optometry back then and would later meet my grandfather while in school.
Growing up, I saw my grandma become her own boss as she ran her own optometry practice while also juggling being a mother to three children, and later a grandmother. She was an active community member, mentor, and served as a board member at various organizations.
Learning from a young age what it meant to be dedicated to your goals and dreams and the impacts you can make on your community were things I wanted out of life. I knew I would have to work hard. And it would be 1000% worth it in the end. She lived a very happy life.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I learned from a young age that the path to my goals would not fit the typical mold that most people follow. When I was in my 20s, I sincerely thought I needed to work up the corporate ladder before I could even dream of working for myself. But because life had other plans for me, I didn’t get the opportunity to restart my career until I was in my mid-thirties.
In 2019, I was freelancing on and off while looking for full-time marketing work. I had just finished my Master’s in Integrated Marketing Communications and felt energized to find work.
But then the pandemic hit, and everyone was trying to secure work. As a result, I took a part-time position working for a small e-commerce company while I launched my digital marketing agency. I knew marketing an agency would yield better results than marketing myself as a freelancer with a variety of marketing skills. It only took a few months of marketing before I received a few clients. Then things kind of took off from there.
Last year, I was able to leave the part-time job and begin the journey to working for myself full-time. Over the past three years, I have served non-profits, small businesses, and passion projects with social media marketing, blogging, copywriting, content strategy, and as a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer.
What I love about working as an agency is the opportunity to serve my local community in a variety of ways. Many of my clients and leads come from small vendors who sell at the Lakeland Farmer’s Market, the Buena Market and have e-commerce sites.
Since I’ve seen the economy change in the past few months and want to continue helping small businesses as much as possible, I’m putting together some low-cost options for potential clients. Right now, I’m launching my webinar, “Social Media Marketing: Taking Control Today and In the Future,” which will be held on September 14th.
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?
If I looked hard at the areas that were the most impactful with my journey, it would be determination, focus, and agility.
Determination is absolutely required to be a business owner. You must be hungry enough to want it and to keep going. Many times over the past three years, I have been stressed out or overwhelmed by things not turning out how I wanted, or because of a really tough challenge,
and I have wanted to give up. Being a business owner is a lot of work. Sometimes, it’s even more work than the marketing contracts I have.
I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t remain focused on my goals and have control over my daily schedule. The amount of focus it takes to get the work done every day, and not even done, but done right, often challenges my workaholic and perfectionist ways. I try to have a much better-balanced work/life than my grandmother did. But I also know I need sometimes to push myself just to start working in the mornings. That’s tough.
And every business owner will tell you that your environment and what is happening worldwide will absolutely affect your business. Remaining agile at all times allows you to be flexible to those changes and helps you make strategic moves to go with the flow rather than against it. Technology and the economy will always change the needs and desires of your clients, customers, and anyone involved in the buying process. So, being open to those changes and creating new opportunities is crucial to being a business owner.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I suffer from anxiety and depression, so feeling overwhelmed is a common occurrence. But overcoming those feelings has been like building muscles. Each time it happens, it feels less scary. There are seasons in business that I’ve noticed occur like clockwork each year. For example, every year, I know summer will be slow, and I will have a smaller client roster. The first couple of years, I was extremely scared and overwhelmed. I thought my business was over. But this time, I’ve learned to trust the process and put my faith in the universe. It also helps that I now know how to better prepare financially for those seasons.
Every time I’m put in a situation where I think, “Is this it? Is my business done? Do I need to start applying for full-time work somewhere again?” I find that I start to see things working in my favor to continue on this path of working for myself. When I trust that everything will work out, rather than exert the same energy worrying, I find more solutions present themselves. I find myself making new connections, refreshing a skill, or learning a new skill, and things turn out better than I expected.
If anyone else feels overwhelmed with trying to follow their dreams, the number one piece of advice I would give is every time you get scared, take a moment to say to yourself, “But what if it works out?”. Changing your perspective from fear to trust can truly make an impact and put you in a better position to seize opportunities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.letstacoboutmarketing.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/taco_bout_marketing
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/letstacoboutmarketing
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/tatiana-phillips-digitalmarketer
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@letstacoboutmarketing
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@letstacoboutmarketing
