Today we’d like to introduce you to Taronda Gibbons.
Taronda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I wrote my first book in the fourth grade. It was a story about a little boy who played a banjo. I continued writing throughout grade school and the first book that was published as a part of the “When I Grow Up Books” series was written when I was in the 12th grade for a math assignment. I never received the book back, so I rewrote it in 2013 and published it that year.
For Honoring M.O.M.s, I lost my mom at 16. Her death was really hard to accept the first few years until I made peace with it. More recently, in the past three or four years, I have struggled a bit more with her not being here. I was inspired to start Honoring M.O.M.s Day after seeing women express their pain on social media every year on or around Mother’s Day. As a part of my own healing process and the desire to provide support to others trying to move forward after death, this special day was born. This idea was placed on my heart but I carried it around for a few years before really trying to do anything with it. Last year, I finally started putting the pieces together.
TPR Consulting just basically came about from me conducting freelance public relations services over the years. I first began in PR in 2013 as an intern for a boutique agency. I worked there for about two years before I left and then eventually began offering my own PR skills to clients when people I had met in my previous role wanted to work with me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
None of it has been a smooth road lol but I don’t think any journey is. For the books, I published both of my books, originally titled “Dress Up for When I Grow Up” and “Yes I Can When I Grow Up!” in 2013. I didn’t like the illustrations and had some issues with the publisher, which has filed bankruptcy and changed companies like two or three times. I had planned on republishing under a new publisher but it would mean either buying out my contract or waiting. So, I waited and did research on new publishers in the meantime. When I was ready to start with a new publisher, the one I chose wasn’t taking new clients. I waited some more. Months went by. When I attempted to circle back around to the publisher, they had closed their doors permanently. I started the research and meeting process again to find a new publisher. Between my regular 9-5 and just letting time pass by, it took me a minute but I finally republished both books, now titled “Dress Up” and “Yes, I Can!” in 2019.
Honoring M.O.M.s has had a few bumps in the road. I started off introducing the idea to a good friend of mine in 2018 and we intended to work together to launch in 2019. We tried bringing both of our visions, which were slightly different and our various skill-sets to make some magic. But things didn’t work out for us business-wise, so we decided to part ways professionally (we are still great friends) and I took the time in 2019 to work towards launching on my own in 2020. I had hostesses, locations, panelists and partnerships built in both Orlando and Atlanta, which is where the first Honoring M.O.M.s Day was scheduled to take place this year but then the pandemic happened. It really had me in a sad space and I was pretty much at a loss as to what I should do. My friends kept saying I really needed to consider making the event virtual, so I did and so we are launching on May 16, 2020. I am hoping it is a stepping stone to what 2021 is going to look like.
Any challenges with TPR Consulting have been more about me having confidence in myself and creating the time to do the work. In the beginning, I worked with two clients where the relationships turned out really badly and for a while, I didn’t even want to do public relations anymore because I felt like I was doing something wrong. So I didn’t really do much in the PR space for a couple of years but I missed it. Since then, I’ve learned that not everyone is your client, so I made some changes to my business practices to cover myself. Many people have come to me to work with them and I have told quite a few that I can’t help them because I didn’t think I was what they needed. My goal for this year, though, was to actually grow my business and reestablish working more consistently in PR, which meant working extra hard outside of my regular 9-5. Unfortunately, many of my clients have had to cancel events due to the pandemic, so of course, that’s been a struggle for me as well.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am the owner of TPR Consulting, which is a public relations agency. I am also a published author of two children’s books in a series called “When I Grow Up Books” and the founder of Honoring M.O.M.s (Memories of Our Mothers) Day. For TPR Consulting, I work with clients in the beauty, health and education space. I love working with brands that have a cause and are intentional about making the world a better place. Specializing in growing media relationships, developing e-newsletter readership, planning events, increasing event attendance and expanding social media engagement, my experience is useful across various platforms and spaces.
When I Grow Up Books is a series of children’s books that were written to encourage children to dare to dream and to pursue those dreams. The vision for the When I Grow Up Books started with “Dress Up for When I Grow Up” and a little chocolate girl to represent young girls like myself as a child. Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of books with little girls that looked like me. I wanted to give young girls a book that they could see themselves in, which eventually grew into the next book for boys and sparked the idea of the series with more books to come. I am most proud of choosing a new publisher and illustrators, all African-American and getting this project off the ground to literally “do it for the culture.”
The mission of Honoring M.O.M.s is to provide support to women who are experiencing grief or feeling avoid due to the loss of their mother. It is a celebration of life and will serve as a joyous occasion where those who are grieving can receive resources to assist in their journey of healing and know that they are not alone. My vision is that Honoring M.O.M.s Day will take place every year in various cities, all on the same day, with different hostesses, bringing women together to love on each other. Honoring M.O.M.s is special to me because it is a way that I can honor the memory of my mother and allow other women to do the same.
I think what sets me apart from others is that with my multiple companies, I offer multiple touchpoints in which I am trying to reach the community and leave a mark. Whether it is through a book that teaches them to pursue their dreams, providing services to propel their brand forward or assisting them with healing from their loss, I truly enjoy helping and inspiring others,
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
For my books, I would have taken my time to research from the beginning. My family, who has always been supportive of me, was instrumental in me publishing the first book. One of my uncles suggested the publisher to me because he knew I was a writer and my younger cousin had gone through the same publisher to publish her book. While I appreciate the opportunity, I don’t think the publisher was the best fit for me.
For TPR Consulting, I’ve changed my name and branding multiple times because I couldn’t find something that would stick with me. I wish I would have found a coach when I first decided to start freelancing to help me not only with forming my brand but also with understanding potential issues with clients. For Honoring M.O.M.s, I really just wish I had started sooner. I don’t regret trying to work with my friend because she helped push me to bring my dream to fruition. Had I not shared with her, I may still be walking around with the idea.
Pricing:
- Dress Up $20
- Yes, I Can $20
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.thegrowupbooks.com/; http://www.tprcomm.com/; https://honoringmoms.com/
- Email: thegrowupbooks@gmail.com, taronda@tprcomm.com, honoringmoms@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growupbooks/; https://www.instagram.com/tprcnsltng/; https://www.instagram.com/honoringmoms/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegrowupbooks; https://www.facebook.com/honoringmoms/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/honoringmoms
Image Credit:
Joseph Malone for the fun photo
Brand New Consulting Group for the photo in the blue dress and blue blazer
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