Latina Leader Spotlight: Tasha Prados
Q: What is your ethnicity, where have you lived, where do you currently live?
A: I'm multicultural -- Puerto Rican and Austrian mostly. I'm from the DC area, and have also lived in North Carolina, Spain, and Peru, where I served in the Peace Corps. I started my own business and became a digital nomad in 2019 -- I went to Hawaii, the U.S. west coast, Indonesia, Singapore, Malysia, Cambodia, and Thailand. I've stayed put in Vietnam since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Q: Tell us about what you’re creating!
A: I help business owners and nonprofit leaders create their brand, business, and marketing strategies. I make sure that they understand their market, competitors, and audience, and develop a strategy that matches their strengths, skills, and offer with what their audience actually wants and needs. This sets them up for sustainable, long-lasting success!
Not everyone recognizes strategy as "creative", but that's exactly what it is -- you need to be able to think creatively, intuitively, connect the dots, and use both art and science to delve into unexplored territories and differentiate yourself successfully.
Q: What inspired your to start?
A: I never thought of myself as an entrepreneur.
I'd been working at a top-three global advertising agency for four years, working for big U.S. government agencies and Fortune 500 companies. I was doing great work -- but I wanted to help those who needed it most: small businesses, nonprofits, and entrepereneurs who could never afford a fancy advertising agency, and probably didn't even have the first idea of where they should start. I knew I could take the same tools and processes I used to develop multi-million dollar initiatives to help folks without those types of resources to maximize their impact.
Q: Who is your Latina inspiration?
A: Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor. I read her memoir, My Beloved World. It's humbling and inspiring to realize our heroes are real people. I love that she admits to some of her flaws and struggles. It's incredible how much she's overcome.
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Latina entrepreneur?
A: It means so much to me to be a Latina entrepreneur. My identity is a huge part of who I am. Like for many Latinas and light-skinned multicultural folks, it can be complicated. Especially now, I'm focused on using my privilege to give back to and uplift my hermanos and hermanas who might not have had the same advantages as me.
Q: How can people keep up with / work with you?
A: Come talk to me! Whatever the organization you want to start -- odds are I can help you. Hit me up @duraca.strategic.
