We share entrepreneurial stories to inspire great ideas...
Tara McEwen
An award-winning producer, Tara McEwen believes every person has the potential to be a star story teller. She’s sharing decades of experience producing lifestyle and news content for Canada’s top network. Through her mentoring and coaching practices, clients are realizing the media opportunities they never thought were possible. To be successful in media, you need to know the right people. And for many, that right person is Tara. Find out how to work with her and realize your full potential at mcewenmedia.ca
Join us for a live and unscripted interview with Tara
Business Mentorship; Keepin It Real and if you’re on the move here is the podcast.
Join us for a panel discussion, Mentorship and Breaking Barriers to Success on our YouTube channel
Business Mentorship; Keepin’ It Real or if your on the move here is the podcast
Media Coaching with a Message, by Tara McEwen
- Contributed By: Tara McEwen
Tell us a little something about your business...
I believe everyone has a story to share; you just need the right tools and the right platform to reach the audience that’s right for you. When I left network TV, I noticed a huge gap in gaining access to TV and then finding someone to develop and nurture your voice. I heard from experienced experts who were frustrated with conflicting feedback from different producers (or no feedback at all).
I created McEwen Media Consulting with the idea of bridging the gap between thought-leaders & experts with productions. My clients get the consistent creative feedback of workshopping their ideas with one person. The productions get material that is TV-friendly and easy to use. Everyone wins!
In the beginning, I sought to work with everyone who came my way. But the demand for my services is growing faster than I ever dreamed! I’m now in a position where I can niche down. I’m creating a group program where clients can develop their media profiles in an incubator setting. They still get access to me, my ideas and my experience, plus they’re learning from each other while they manage their pitches and media outreach. For more established clients, I’m supporting them with leveraging opportunities: breaking into the U.S., booking keynotes and developing their own shows.
A year ago I had a vision of a company where people can nurture their media profile and leverage it all within one place. I’m thrilled to see this vision come into being with the launch of the McEwen Media Speaker Agency.
When was your lightbulb moment?
I have a background in lifestyle TV, where the belief is if you see something three times it’s a trend.
My first client met with me three times saying “I would hire you for something like this” before I realized she wanted to hire me for something like this.
I worked freelance at the CBC while I figured out how to serve clients this way, and when I booked my third client I realized I had something I could build on.
My vision for the structure of McEwen Media came when I took a month off of everything to take stock of what I truly wanted. I was at a crossroad. I enjoyed the work with clients and saw early success, and the CBC wanted to hire me full-time. But I couldn’t find the clarity if I was still elbow-deep in both commitments. I took a few weeks to reflect on what I wanted for the next month, the next year, the next 10 years. Did I want the security of a steady job I could do in my sleep? Or did I want to take a risk and build a company that supported and nurtured interesting thought leaders in a way no one else was doing? I decided to bet on myself and weighed every decision for the next four months on whether or not it would build my business. By the end of that year, McEwen Media went from three clients to 14, we hit 6-figures and I started building my staff.
Best month off of my life!
What are your three words of advice?
1. Progress over perfection. This was an early bit of advice from a friend with a background in startups. If you wait for your idea, conditions or timing to be perfect, you’ll never take action. Spend the time getting clear on what you want, why you want it and then follow your gut.
2. “NO” stands for “next opportunity”. I pitch ideas and clients for a living, which means I’m setting myself up for rejection and ghosting about 90% of the time. But the 10% that does get a green light? That’s all I care about. My clients are booked on top-tier programs in Canada on a regular basis. Some of them are becoming regular, go-to experts in their field. I spend zero time wondering why an idea or pitch isn’t picked up by one outlet, because there’s a possibility some other show will take it. Or the first show will book that idea a few months from now, when it’s a better fit. Either way, every day I get to choose where I focus my energy. If you only ever look at mistakes, you’ll only see mistakes. But if you focus on what’s working or what can work, then you’re living in the world of possibility and are less surprised when things do work out.
3. Speaking of mistakes, I actually believe there’s no such thing. Anytime I hit a detour, roadblock or straight-up rejection, I first work to neutralize those moments. For a long time I was programmed to find out why something wasn’t working and how to “fix” said problem. But I’ve decided I’m not available for finding fault with anything. Changes happen. I’m the one who assigns meaning of whether it’s good/bad, right/wrong. I’m able to move a lot faster and get better results if I assume everything I do is what I’m meant to do at all times. If something doesn’t work out the way I expected, I only look at where I am and where I need to go from that point. The past does not serve me – not past mistakes, or past behaviour, things I should have done. There’s no point. There is only now and the next moment. Everything I’ve done has brought me to that point. And anything I do to move from that point is exactly what needs to be done. And when I hit the next road block, I do that same assessment and keep moving forward.
Three words of advice...
Persistence, belief, joy
An award-winning producer, Tara McEwen believes every person has the potential to be a star story teller. She’s sharing decades of experience producing lifestyle and news content for Canada’s top network. Through her mentoring and coaching practices, clients are realizing the media opportunities they never thought were possible. To be successful in media, you need to know the right people. And for many, that right person is Tara. Find out how to work with her and realize your full potential at mcewenmedia.ca
Join us for a live and unscripted interview with Tara
Business Mentorship; Keepin It Real and if you’re on the move here is the podcast.
Join us for a panel discussion, Mentorship and Breaking Barriers to Success on our YouTube channel
Business Mentorship; Keepin’ It Real or if your on the move here is the podcast
“May your legacy create a footprint of success for the next person who steps into your shoes”
