This week on Own It we’re talking to Heather Waisanen from Coastal Maverick. Her firm is a custom out of home consulting company. That segment of the advertising world became her passion and she has built an amazing company around it.
Heather was a gymnast in her younger years and wound up as a gymnastic coach living in places like the Grand Caymans and South Africa out of college. She’s based in Florida now and has such a smart outlook on our business, client success and certainly how we can attack the gender gap in agency ownership.
We so love the different perspectives we bring to the table on this podcast. Heather adds so much to that.
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Heather's early career experiences, including living and working abroad as a gymnastics coach in Grand Cayman and South Africa, instilled a different mindset about career and work compared to immediately joining the corporate world. This non-traditional start inadvertently prepared her for a flexible and independent approach to her professional life and contributed to her unique perspective as a business owner.
Heather emphasizes how her diverse experiences working on the media owner side (Outfront Media), client-side (law firm), and agency-side provided her with a comprehensive understanding of the outdoor advertising ecosystem. This 360-degree view allows her to anticipate client concerns, push boundaries, and offer more informed guidance, which is a significant asset to her business.
Heather honestly discusses the challenging aspects of early-stage agency ownership, such as the struggle with self-promotion, acquiring new clients, and the "feast or famine" nature of pipeline management. However, she balances this with the immense joy and flexibility that ownership provides, highlighting the freedom to control her schedule and work on her own terms.
A key reason many women, including Heather herself, hesitate to pursue ownership is the desire for a complete blueprint or 100% certainty before starting. There isn't one universal blueprint for success, and waiting too long for everything to be perfect can lead to inaction. The crucial step is to take action and start, even without a complete plan.
For new entrepreneurs, Heather strongly advises seeking community and networking from the outset. She admits to staying on her "own little island" for too long, realizing the value of connecting with others who are on a similar journey or have already achieved success. This community provides support, encouragement, and new perspectives, combating the feeling of isolation.
