Today, we’d like to introduce you to Laura Thompson.
Hi Laura, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My career began in the music business while I was in college. I went to Vanderbilt University my freshman year and worked with the school’s radio station (WRVU). I got involved with the local music community in Nashville, and when I transferred to Emory and moved to Atlanta for sophomore year, I leveraged my contacts to network in this city.
I got a job at a recording studio that also housed a record label and did marketing and admin work there. I became really involved with the local music industry and transitioned through a range of roles, including working for Usher (twice), running the label that Ciara was signed to (Sho’Nuff Records), and also becoming a partner in an event planning company that focused on entertainment projects (MusicBusinessPolitics).
I loved working with music, but my true passion was marketing and branding. The economics of the music business in Atlanta was pretty unstable, so I eventually transitioned into more traditional marketing agency work. I worked in client service and strategy for agencies (Engauge/Moxie, BKV, Brightwave) and expanded my expertise in the digital marketing realm, with a focus on email and communication strategy.
I went platform side (to IBM global services) in 2015 for a year, and after I had a child, I decided to transition to consulting work. I was able to leverage my network to take on some independent projects and also partnered with some local agencies to provide support.
In 2016, I officially launched Helium and have provided strategic planning and program management for a range of clients since then. During the pandemic, I focused on supporting small businesses (mostly pro bono work), and that opened the door for additional opportunities for me once the marketing world got back to a more stable footing.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My career path has definitely had lots of twists and turns, but I have been fortunate to have been able to leverage struggles to build a more interesting professional story.
I have worked in industries (entertainment and marketing) where change is a constant, so I have been required to continuously adapt and approach things in a nontraditional manner.
My career was also heavily impacted by September 11th and Covid in ways that ended up really helping me grow. In both instances, the work that I was doing was significantly impacted, and my career evolved in a different direction.
Thanks for sharing that. Maybe you can tell us a bit more about your business next.
My company, Helium, specializes in digital marketing with a focus on website design/development, email marketing and digital strategy. One of Helium’s areas of focus is helping to demystify digital marketing tools plus elements and showing clients how they can identify the best mix of digital tools to support their business needs.
I truly believe you get back what you put out, which has rung true in my professional endeavors. Since I founded Helium, I have aimed to support a range of pro bono projects to help small businesses that don’t have the budget available to support their marketing needs. When the pandemic hit, we increased our outreach and took on more pro bono work. To complement this, I feel like opportunities for paid clients continued to grow (and we started getting a steady stream of referrals from pro bono clients).
I am most proud of my company’s ability to help such a diverse assortment of clients. Our clients and program partners span a range of industries/sizes/etc, but are woven together by a common thread… They all aim to reinforce their brand + create a better customer experience by using technology in innovative ways.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why.
I am very focused on my legacy, both in a business sense and on a personal level. In terms of my legacy, I want to enable others to pursue their dreams and grow in a way that creates a cycle of positive impact.
I’m very lucky to come from a family that is filled with exceptional people who have impacted the world in different ways (architecture, ranching, philanthropy, education). I hope to honor my heritage and also focus on enabling a better future for my loved ones and the people I work with. I would like people to remember me as a person who lived a life fueled by curiosity and appreciation of the magic of life.
I spend a lot of time thinking about and planning related to my work/life balance. While flexibility is a major benefit of working for myself, I have definitely seen how this can easily cause a conflict with growth-related needs.
I have regularly heard the adage “work on the business, not in the business,” and this aligns with the fundamentals I am currently focused on restructuring in pursuit of optimal work/life balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heliumadvisory.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heliumadvisory/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heliumadvisory/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragthompson/
