Company: Copello
Owners: Carolina Copello
Year Started: 2011
Employees: 1 – 10
Welcome to “An Agency Story,” where listeners get a real-life peek into the journeys of marketing agency owners across the globe. This engaging podcast series, hosted by Russel Dubree, a former agency owner himself, delves into the trials and triumphs of building a business from scratch. In the episode titled “Intrepid,” we join Carolina Copello, the visionary behind Copello Agency, which specializes in corporate communications and public relations across Latin America and the US Hispanic markets.
Carolina’s story is not just inspiring—it’s a masterclass in resilience and innovation. Starting from ground zero, she transformed her curiosity about public relations into a thriving business. Throughout the episode, she shares candid insights into her unique challenges and successes, emphasizing the entrepreneurial spirit that drove her from an uncertain beginning to a prosperous present. Carolina also discusses her plans to nurture a community of Latin American women entrepreneurs, highlighting her commitment to empowerment and inclusivity.
Listeners will enjoy Carolina’s humorous anecdotes, like her initial Google searches to understand PR basics, and be moved by her determination, evident in quotes like, “the worst that can happen is just take another path.” The episode also touches on broader themes like the adaptability required in starting and running a business in different cultural contexts, particularly the ease of setting up a business in the U.S. compared to Latin America.
This episode of “An Agency Story” isn’t just a narrative about personal and professional growth—it’s a treasure trove of lessons for anyone aspiring to make their mark in the business world. With ongoing discussions about entrepreneurship, cultural insight, and the power of community, “Intrepid” leaves listeners contemplating the vast opportunities and profound impacts of global and personal connections in business.
Tune in to this episode to journey with Carolina and perhaps find the inspiration to start your own story of success in the ever-evolving world of agency business.
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Show Transcript
Welcome to An Agency Story podcast where we share real stories of marketing agency owners from around the world. From the excitement of starting up the first big sale, passion, doubt, fear, freedom, and the emotional rollercoaster of growth, hear it all on An Agency Story podcast. An Agency Story podcast is hosted by Russel Dubree, successful agency owner with an eight figure exit turned business coach. Enjoy the next agency story. Welcome to An Agency Story podcast, I’m your host Russel. On this episode, we have Carolina Copello owner of Copello, a corporate communications and public relations agency focused on Latin America and the us Hispanic media markets based out of Miami, Florida. And treat by the work of her colleagues, Carolina pursued her career in public relations. She even got her start by having to Google terms like public relations and press releases to navigate her way through the industry. As her passion for the industry grew, she began building her agency from the ground up. In addition to focusing on doing amazing work for clients, Caroline shares her plans to create a community for Latin American women entrepreneurs. Enjoy the story.
Russel:
Welcome to the show today, everyone. I have Carolina with Copello Agency. Thank you so much for joining us today, Carolina.
Carolina:
Thank you for welcoming me here.
Russel:
Very excited to have you. If you don’t mind, start us off with a quick overview. What does Copello do and who do you do it for?
Carolina:
Copello is a communications agency. I’m located in Miami, Florida, so our main markets have been Latin America, as well as local Miami businesses. We’ve also worked at a national level with a lot of US Hispanic projects, as well as some general market projects. We do strategic communication consulting. We started off mainly doing PR projects, media relations, and then we started doing a lot of media training and other kinds of training, crisis communication training. Nowadays I’m hired on for a lot of training. I’ve also helped clients with messaging and with setting up their initial story and telling that story. We’ve done a pretty wide array of projects and clients, and it’s been a fun ride.
Russel:
I certainly want to hear more about that. Let’s talk about young Carolina for a moment. What were you thinking you were going to do in the world when you were growing up, and what are all the things that got you to eventually starting your agency?
Carolina:
Definitely not this. I didn’t grow up knowing I was going to be a doctor, have a PR agency but it went developing along the way, I grew up in Latin America and Brazil. My parents are Spanish speaking, so I grew up with a lot of languages and a bilingual school. Very fun upbringing in Latin America and then I did my college years in Brussels, in business economics and HR. Those first couple of jobs bridged me into the world of PR, which I knew nothing about. I had to Google it for the first PR interview. I had to Google what is public relations? What is a press release? How to write one? It’s pretty funny how I fell into it because it’s very aligned with what I grew up liking to do. I love reading. I love writing. I always loved presenting in school. I think I just didn’t know much about the industry or even that it existed as an industry, but it is aligned with young Carolina.
Russel:
You grew up in Brazil, went to school in Brussels. How did you end up in Miami?
Carolina:
One of my jobs. I was in the corporate world with MasterCard and the communications manager of Latin America was doing a six months abroad in Brussels. He spotted me there and asked me, what are you doing in Brussels with all of your Latin American background? I wasn’t with family at the time, so he mentioned what his area did, and it sounded very interesting. He was looking for someone in his team who had my languages, who liked writing, who liked people and who liked media relations, which that portion I didn’t have a background in, but he thought that with my background, I could easily learn. I applied and I came to Miami, which I was very happy to come to as I had my Cuban grandmother here and my uncle and a couple of family friends. I was happy to come closer to home.
Russel:
You had your career going and at some point you decided to start Copello. What did that look like? What actually pushed you to make that move and go out on your own?
Carolina:
It was definitely not planned for 10 years, but I was in a PR agency at the time, global PR agency, and I was loving what I was doing, but not so much the agency itself. I was loving the client work and everything my job entailed, but it wasn’t the best fit with the agency. As I was involved in a lot of the pitch work, I thought, perhaps I could do this on my own. I could try it out and if it doesn’t work, I could come back to an agency or go back to corporate or go do an MBA. I was very young at the time, I was in my 20s. Everyone thought I was crazy, that I shouldn’t leave a secure job. U.S. was going through economic issues. It was around 2010, so we had just had the 2008 economic issues. I thought, I don’t have much to lose. I didn’t have kids. I didn’t have a home. So I said, I’ll try my best, and the worst that can happen is just take another path. That was more than 11 years ago, we’re still here, alive and kicking.
Russel:
Still here, alive and kicking. Once you actually made that jump, was it scary or was it no looking back? How did you feel at the time?
Carolina:
It was a little scary. I had never been off a salary, and I had no family. My parents weren’t here. I didn’t have really where to fall back on. But again, I thought the worst that can happen is take a plane to my family somewhere and get saved by some of my siblings or parents. But I think the U.S. is an amazing country for this to happen. I was amazed how easy it was, and at the time I used an online platform to create the LLC, and I had accountants very easily available. Where we come from in Latin America, it’s more complex to set up a business, more expensive. It’s more expensive to start a company in Latin America. It’s much more complex. You need a team of lawyers and accountants and permits, and here I felt that with a couple hundred dollars and two or three steps, it was possible.
Russel:
That’s fascinating. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard that before, some of the complexities of starting a business in other countries, obviously we know America is very business friendly, but I didn’t know it was such a complex process.
Carolina:
Yes, it is. The taxing, which, here you do have to learn about taxes as a business owner. That’s been tough for me, but I understand in other countries, it’s a whole other level of complexity. Here, if you have a good accountant or you use the online platforms, you’re able to learn the hustle on your own, basically.
Russel:
I guess maybe if nothing else, people’ll walk away from the episode today with a little more appreciation of their accountants and U.S. tax laws. For as much bad publicity as they get. How did you get your first set of clients? What did that look like? What were your tricks of the trade as far as landing new clients back then?
Carolina:
I had developed a really nice network here in Miami. I am social, I like connecting with people and I had made a lot of connections in the couple of years I had been in town. I also have a big personal network through LinkedIn. As soon as I started, I actually started getting reached out by people who heard I had left the agency. I started having coffee meetings, and an agency owner who still is around, he asked me to support him in some of his projects. We’ve done that both ways ever since. I did, and then also I had clients from the past look for the agency and then they heard that I had left and they came directly to me. That was one of my first big projects that lasted about 10 years. It was a very, very good relationship and amazing results there. It’s been a lot of word of mouth. I can’t say that I did my own PR for my company enough and I never wanted to take on more than I could handle. I really handled more of the word of mouth referrals and have never gotten to the point of actually doing heavy PR or campaigns for my own firm.
Russel:
Being around over 10 years now, that’s certainly an accomplishment. What are some of the big challenges you’ve had to overcome in that journey?
Carolina:
I mentioned one earlier, the as an agency owner, you realize that you have to do more than just what you’re selling. In this case, PR strategic communications was a piece of what I had to do, but I also had to manage people and I had to find partners and I had to deal with the taxes and at points when you have a lot of projects going on, the administrative part of the agency was challenging. I’ve never had a big team, so I had to deal with a lot of it on my own and learn on my own and pay some fines to the IRS for getting late in filing taxes. That part has been challenging, but also very good to learn as you go, and I’m thankful for all the people around that have helped or the resources that exist out there to help you learn as well today with Google and YouTube and podcasts. There’s a lot out there.
Russel:
There is that. If there was only half the amount of resources that exist today when I first started my business, I think the learning curve would have been a lot faster and I would have paid less tuition, similar to you to the school of hard knocks via not the IRS in our case, but wayward projects was probably where we paid our tuition at. What do you think has been the secret to your success? What do you think has kept you around this long?
Carolina:
I think one of the big secrets is my passion to doing what I’m doing and believing in the clients I’m servicing. Working hard and also listening to clients, not just giving them what they ask for, but coming with more unique solutions that they maybe didn’t have in mind when they reached out initially. Some people reach out with just a simple request of can you write a press release? Yeah, I can write a press release, but why do you need a press release? A conversation begins and I’m able, not always with only my talent, but with the network of specialists I’ve worked with throughout the years, to bring solutions that really helped their business. It really helped that I studied business economics, because although I quickly found out that wasn’t my passion to work with finance or excel all day, I am good with numbers. It helps that I comprehend a business and I comprehend their struggles and I want to get, what do they want to do aside from just needing some PR or communications about some announcement.
Russel:
Get to the root need. That is a critical component in what we do, so good lesson to take away from there. As I understand it, for the most part the business itself has just been you over the years, although sounds like you’ve been very adept at bringing in other partners and skill sets as needed to make sure you meet all the various client needs you encounter. Have you ever thought about expanding beyond yourself? What does that thought look like for you?
Carolina:
Yeah, I have. People around have always asked or suggested to keep growing, but I found that it’s a model that’s worked for me and for my clients to stay lean, to stay flexible. I’m able to to deliver something much more personalized, I’ve never wanted to have copy paste solutions and scale and have people just punch in and send press releases with wires. I’ve always been very personal about my approach to clients. I have worked with very good partners, consultants, agencies, there have been some that have worked with me for many years and who, maybe we don’t work together for 2 years, but we come back and we work together again for 5. They’re not exactly partners in the agency, but they’re long term relationships. I usually hire what the client needs. I don’t go for finding the cheapest intern. I go for finding skill sets and quality. I have worked with amazing interns in the past as well. I was an intern myself. I don’t want to put that down because I think it’s an amazing route to development, but for now this is the model I’ll stick with. It’s been working and I enjoy it and my clients do so I’ll continue as is.
Russel:
Livin by the old adage, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. One of the things that I remember from our previous conversation too, is your travels didn’t just end when you came over from Brussels, but that a lot of your work has taken you all over the world as well. What are some of the cool places you’ve been to more recently?
Carolina:
Oh, yes. With the clients I’ve worked with, I’ve had the amazing opportunity to travel mainly around Latin America, here in the US. I’ve had to do a lot of events in New York and LA. But for me, an all time favorite was taking media to the World Cup in Brazil. Even though I grew up there, I was never allowed to watch a soccer match at a stadium because it’s very dangerous for a woman and unfortunately, there’s a lot of fights that happen still in matches there because of the soccer passion, but I went to their big traditional stadium in Maracana with media from all over Latin America and the US. That was very special. I had the opportunity to media train executives and countries that also have amazing food like Peru. I went to Columbia and Ecuador and again, amazing experiences, sometimes a little scary traveling as a woman alone in Latin America, but everything worked out well. Here I am and I would continue to do it happily.
Russel:
Here you are. That would be really cool. What an awesome experience for all those travels to, as you said, take you back to your home country and do something you hadn’t gotten to do before. The world’s biggest stage, right? The World Cup. This all just makes me think we should have worked harder to find some international clients so I too could have traveled to some pretty cool and unique places.
Carolina:
Never too late.
Russel:
Never too late. I need to start finding some agencies down in Latin America. That’s the goal. Said it here, folks. Pretty cool thing it sounds like you’re trying to start up, I can’t remember exactly what stage you’re in with this, but you mentioned something about building a community for Latin American women entrepreneurs. Do you mind sharing what that’s all about?
Carolina:
Yes. Thank you for asking. That’s another project I’m really proud about. I’m actually partnering with my long term client in this large company I mentioned that’s been a client for 10 years. Her and I are launching a women’s network called Global Latinas. The whole idea behind it is to connect women from all different industries and levels. Not only entrepreneurs but women from the tech industry, entertainment industry, oil industry, whatever it is. We have a really cool board who also, some of them are ex clients or people in our network, and we’re looking to create trainings for women who want to keep connecting to the world, despite being located in Colombia, want to share their talent with the world somehow, or get into a global role or whatever it may be. We’ll also have a mentorship program that my partner brings from her corporate experience. We’ll be interviewing similar to your podcast amazing women who have different success stories, and we’ll be sharing that through our Instagram, Global Latinas. We’ll also have plenty of digital networking because we are in many different countries. We’ll have some cafecito chats and workshop opportunities. It’s been a really fun launch. We just launched in Women’s Month last month in March, and it’s a project we’re both really into.
Russel:
I imagine there has to be some listeners out there that are very interested in that. Where can they go to find out more? Where can they go to join this amazing organization you’ve created?
Carolina:
For now, we’re mainly communicating everything through LinkedIn and Instagram, and you can find us with the name of that association, which is Global, G L O B A L Latinas with an S at the end, so L A T I N A S. That’s our handle on Instagram. We have handles all over the place, but we’re really publishing for now on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Russel:
All right. There you have it, folks. What do you think the long term future looks like for Copello or for you in general? If we’re having you for round two of the podcast 10 years from now, what are we talking about?
Carolina:
I’m curious to hear that one. Maybe it’s the yoga yogi in me. I’m yoga certified and I go a lot with the flow, so I cannot say that I have those very bright 5, 10 year plans for this agency. I don’t, but I do have the core values. I hope they continue stick around and grow and that we continue to service with excellency, with professionalism, having fun along the way with these interesting clients. 10 years ago, I didn’t have this other baby of, now I do have children myself and I didn’t have this women network and I’m also in the process of writing my first book. A lot has been going on, but the agency is still a passion project. I do still want to continue servicing my clients. Currently we have a very cool author and podcast we’re supporting who does educational content for children. She’s from Latin America, but based in the US and recently was at a trade show in Europe. She’s growing her amazing product out there to the world. Working with projects like that is really what makes it all worth it.
Russel:
A handful more questions here, and then we’ll officially wrap things up. Last big question for you, Carolina, are entrepreneurs born or are they made?
Carolina:
I want to say a mix, but I think it’s very important to be born with a certain set of qualities. In my case, I feel being able to work independent, not being scared of taking risks. When I wanted to launch the agency and a couple different changes I’ve made in life, I feel that everyone around was filled with fear and I was just thinking, it’s not the end of the world. I can try and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I think there’s certain set of qualities that are helpful to have that I think you’re blessed with, but then there’s a lot of learning along the way that you can be made into an entrepreneur. Like I said, if you want to learn and you’re willing to work hard and learn the different areas of what it entails to own a business and take it to a successful path, then I think it’s doable.
Russel:
Couldn’t agree more. If people want to know more about Copello and your story, where can they go?
Carolina:
I’m on LinkedIn. I do have a website that needs updating. It’s a CCopello.com. My author website is CarolinaCopello.Com.
Russel:
Wonderful. There you have it folks. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story today, Carolina, so great to hear someone that’s been all over the world and share your various experiences. I really appreciate your time today.
Carolina:
Thank you. It was a pleasure talking to you and to your listeners.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of An Agency Story podcast where we share real stories of marketing agency owners from around the world. Are you interested in being a guest on the show? Send an email to podcast@performancefaction.com. An Agency Story is brought to you by Performance Faction. Performance Faction offers services to help agency owners grow their business to 5 million dollars and more in revenue. To learn more, visit performancefaction.com.
Carolina:
The corporate world I came from and the clients I worked with happened to invest and sponsor into sports a lot. I worked a lot with sports and here in Miami, I started getting hired by soccer events that came to town. I was in Columbia and there was a game of international, I’m trying to think where they’re from. They’re a European sports team playing against a very big Colombian team. The stadium was over packed a point that US would never allow it. People were all over stairs and people were not in chairs and I had to run from one side of the stadium to the other, jumping over people of all sizes and ages. Last minute they didn’t have a translator for the Portuguese coach of this European team and they asked me to do it on the spot. Translate to over 500 media outlets, local Colombian outlets. I said, sure, I’ll do it. It’s Portuguese to Spanish, no problem, but of course it is more technical verbiage, I’m not a soccer expert by any means so that was a little challenging. I was on the press conference table with this coach, and the media was tough. They were tough because the European team had their star Colombian player and he wasn’t playing that day because he was injured. It was not a friendly press conference. And then after that my phone blasts every time some soccer team is in town, media seems to think that I’m the only soccer PR person here, so they start asking me, when’s the match? What time’s the team landing? I suddenly one morning wake up with 80 WhatsApp messages and I don’t even know what they’re talking about because it’s not my client. I do not follow the schedule so closely. It’s not something that I’m doing every day soccer PR, but somehow media here think I do. It’s fun projects to have, but not my core focus.
Russel:
It sounds like a pretty exciting thing to get to get pegged for, that you maybe didn’t happen or intend to get into, but now you’re an international media soccer expert. That’s fascinating.
