September 9, 2019

Conversations with the Inspiring Anna Powell

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Powell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Anna. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
While attending Wheaton College, a friend introduced me to my future boss, Kathleen, after I had expressed my struggle with finding an internship my junior year. I was majoring in English and Communications and didn’t have any connections in Chicago at the time. What started as a Starbucks coffee date in 2007 turned into my very first internship, as Kathleen’s PR company (then called) Henson Consulting (now, Agency H5) was growing rapidly. I started working with Kathleen out of her home and even shared her computer! The company quickly grew, as did my responsibilities. Flash forward, and when I graduated, Henson Consulting had an office in downtown Wheaton, and shortly thereafter, downtown Chicago.

I “fell into” lifestyle, culinary and hospitality PR, and developed an expertise in navigating restaurant openings, throwing events and parties, generating organic word of mouth buzz, launching brands, brainstorming and executing big ideas and overall brand development. Henson Consulting continued to grow, as did my responsibility. I eventually worked my way up to the Director of Culinary and Hospitality and oversaw a team of 10.

In 2016, I realized that I missed the nitty gritty of being on the frontline of the PR trenches, and left HC to build my own PR and Communications firm, Evergreen. Focused on thoughtful storytelling, creative brand engagement and delivering results that make a difference, Evergreen offers a broad range of media relations, branding, communications and consumer marketing support.

In 2017, I gave birth to our son, Sawyer. I quickly found that my heart was pulled in two directions – by my love for this new role of being a mother and wanting to provide for him in every way possible, and by my internal desire to create, learn, push and challenge myself. It took a while for me to sort out this whole new mom mentality (something not enough people talk about – the struggle is so real!), but after a few months, I resumed my work with Evergreen part-time. This past March, I gave birth to our second son, Holden, and still consider myself a full-time mama and part-time worker bee. I continue to take on small projects with my company, Evergreen, and also collaborate with Spool, the global marketing, advertising and communications agency that is truly redefining what a modern agency is.

Has it been a smooth road?
I am pretty happy with where I’m at currently, and all the roads that got me here. Like all things in life, my career has had its moments. But, if it were perfect and smooth sailing, I wouldn’t have grown, learned what I love to do, gotten to know myself, taken on amazing projects and had incredible opportunities. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way I would love to have told my younger self.

1. Pursue what you’re passionate about. You should wake up every day excited to tackle what’s ahead. If you’re miserable, make steps towards change. You spend too much time working to be unhappy with your job.
2. Create boundaries. Work to understand your parameters for stress and how much you can take on. Try to limit sending emails or connecting with clients super late at night and on weekends. Make it known what you’re comfortable with. If you’re kicking butt at work, people will learn to respect the boundaries you set. Creating them doesn’t mean you’re less than anyone else or that you’re a slacker. Boundaries lead to balance.
3. Your career doesn’t define you. Your job is what you do for work, it isn’t who you are. Sure, it may reflect what excites you and what you’re good at, but it’s not WHO you are. Remember this key distinguisher and make time for personal growth and enjoyment outside of work.
4. Don’t be afraid to take risks. It took me a LONG time to muster the courage to leave the PR agency life I had known and loved for so long and start my own business. There are still things that I want to do that I’ve realized time and fear prevent me from doing. Be confident in your skillset, your drive and your passions and DO THE THING YOU WANT TO DO!
5. Give yourself some TLC. When things are stressful, lean into what makes you tick and brings you joy. When you’re tired, exhausted and need a break, be sure to go out of your way for some self care to try to prevent burnout.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into what you do at Evergreen Agency and Spool Marketing. Tell us more about the business.
I tell stories! As a PR and communications specialist, I work to get clients in the spotlight through thoughtful storytelling and creative brand engagement. I am proud of the unique and creative ideas I come up with and love working on developing smart strategy to ensure they’re successful.

Looking back on your childhood, what experiences do you feel played an important role in shaping the person you grew up to be?
I’ve always been a type A personality. I put a lot of pressure on myself to obtain good grades growing up, and that quality similarly continued to push me in my career from the get-go. With time, I’ve (thankfully!) learned balance and what’s truly important, and internalize things far less than I used to. As much as I at times disliked this quality, I do think it helped me succeed.

My ability to multitask like crazy has also always allowed me to take on and juggle many projects at once – and now it helps me balance both work and life. I’ve also loved writing for as long as I can remember. Creative writing brings me life, and finding a writing-heavy career has allowed me to stick with it.

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