Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatiana Bolanos.
Tatiana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started interning at age 17 with top designers and brands. I learned the ins and outs of the fashion industry both with production and marketing. After gaining experience interning for several years, I decided I really wanted to work in the fashion world~! I felt ready to take that next step! That’s when I started working for a jewelry company, CC Skye in Malibu at the age of 18. I learned how production design worked, wardrobe stylist pulls, PR Placement and customer service sales. I wore many hats!
From there, I ended up working in Corporate America due to financial restraints and trying to survive the LA world at such a young age. Living on my own with no financial help other than myself. I worked for this company for five years, after I felt constrained and grew tired of the industry! I knew I wanted to work in a creative field. Therefore I started looking into PR!
PR has always intrigued me. I had no clue how certain brands were placed in traditional media. I wanted to learn all about it! I interned for The Ross Group for three months and I felt ready to take that leap and start looking for potential PR / social media jobs. I picked ten brands that I wanted to work with, wrote them in a sheet of paper and made those ten companies my ultimate focus to apply and get that interview! I searched their specific HR person on Linkedin and guessed their direct emails, some bounced and some went through! I hit the jackpot with Bellami Hair and I ended up as their social media manager for a year! I had 0 clue how the beauty industry worked, but I sure loved meeting every single influencer. We through the best parties and I remember meeting Nikita Dragun, Bretman Rock, Manny Mua and Lilly Ghalichi. That’s when I knew and found my niche! I absolutely loved the beauty community and everything it offered!
After 10+ years of being in both fashion and beauty I knew I wanted something more. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and I wanted to follow those footsteps. That’s when I dyed my hair lilac and decided I wanted to help brands connect with influencers. At the time, I named my company, Lilac PR. It has now been rebranded to The Lilac Agency. After so many ups and downs servicing PR and Marketing we found our niche, and that was representing talent! It is strange how it all came about but it worked!
Our first influencer signed to The Lilac Agency was @ethanisupreme with just 80k followers. Now Ethan holds 520k followers on Instagram and almost at 100k subs on youtube. Who would have known Ethan and ourselves would grow together and this far! Now we have a total of 11 clients and counting!! Our clients are in music, lifestyle and beauty.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all! I think I would be lying if I say there wasn’t any struggles. It’s like any business you have to try things in order to see if they work or not. For example, when we first started back in 2016 we thought we knew a lot about PR but it was not easy to have an editor just pick up your client’s story. We thought writing the story for them would be an easy in but it wasn’t! Or guaranteeing the client results! You can never guarantee results in PR. Or pitching a client to a brand, sometimes they are not the aesthetic they are looking for.
Some of the struggles we have are the typical growing pains. Still being a team of 3 can limit our growth. But we honestly love it! We are a boutique agency and there’s a reason we keep it that way. We like the intimacy of our agency! We sign clients who we truly believe in and can connect with. We communicate on a daily basis with our clients. And being a boutique agency allows for us to maintain a very close relationship with all of them!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about The Lilac Agency – what should we know?
The lilac agency is a boutique firm specialized in brand partnerships, digital influencer marketing & talent management.
We are influencer and brand matchmakers. We offer services that specialize in fashion, lifestyle and beauty brands. Building relationships and connecting you with brands. Areas of focus include public relations and influencer management. Our bread and butter is influencer management, developing your career and connecting you with brands! Basically making you that coin! 😉
The most proud moments for Lilac is seeing our influencers grow. Being able to help our influencers manage their careers and focus on the business side of things so they can create! Seeing our influencers being able to focus on their talent and create amazing content is honestly one of the most proudest moments for us! That means we are doing our job right?
What sets us apart is the intimacy aspect of our agency. Having our clients be able to communicate with us on a daily basis and have the peace of mind. We work with them on content ideas and not just the deal-making. We support our talent and guide them towards making great decisions towards their career. We are basically their right hand.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being a go-getter! As a talent manager, I don’t settle for a NO. I always continue to go go until I get a yes. I just don’t give up. I care about my clients, I’m extremely passionate about them and they hired me for a reason!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lilacprla.com
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
@mintysnaps_ Photographer name: Eunice Yoo webiste: www.storiesbymintysnaps.com
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