Tabitha Starkey

Here We Greaux!

Written by Holly Culpepper

Meeting Tabitha will inspire you. She is young, full of life, and can achieve anything when she sets her mind to it. She gets knocked down and stands right back up. Quitting is never an option. Do not dare tell her she can’t do it either. While “experts” say that you’ll need 40k and a team of 10-15 to start a successful print magazine. Tabitha Starkey started LA Women in Business Magazine on July 1rst, 2020, with her older sister. She envisioned a publication that would be full of valuable content that helps female business owners like herself.

We all face the same issues at different times in our journey, and most of us are without a fellow entrepreneur to talk to about them.

With that heart behind the publication, they got to work. The first issue was published online and printed in October that same year. Tabitha also owns Cornerstone Marketing Agency of Louisiana, located in Baton Rouge. She has referred to herself as a business growth strategist with a marketing team behind her. Cornerstone represents clients from Shreveport to New Orleans and has some heavy hitters trusting them to grow their digital footprint, create and run their ad Campaigns, amongst other things that raise brand awareness and client base.

I love helping people and watching their businesses grow,

she said that marketing has not always been her passion but helping people has. Tabitha was voted top female CEO in marketing by the Women of Distinction. She is one of the best marketers in Louisiana.

Tabitha has had her fair share of trials and tribulations regarding business and has rebuilt herself. She owned a business at 30. However, being young without many mentors to guide her, she overspent and had to close the doors. Tabitha can relate to anyone in any situation. She has been humbled by her experiences and lessons from past mistakes, despite success now. She told me that she has made all the mistakes a business owner can make. After that business closed, she said she was praying about starting another company because business ownership is in her heart. She heard clearly from the Lord “small business marketing.” And her response was, “Dad, I could smash that!”

With a 1rst place award in marketing in the state and a management job when she was in high school, marketing and management came naturally for Tabitha. She has placed first, set records, and won awards every year for the past twenty. Excelling is in her DNA. For everything that does not come naturally, she learns or hires someone that is best for that position.

Always learning is a key component of growth.

What are others? Half of them are not business-related. Having gratitude for what you have and a giving heart, being kind to clients and employees, and always following through on what you say is what I would tell any business owner the key concepts are.

Tabitha said that she cares about her clients’ businesses as if they were her own and does everything in her power to make sure that they get a return on investment with their marketing. So not only can she help a business grow with her marketing capabilities, but she also provides a free service with the magazine offering up valuable business, life, health, and mindset content. Tabitha will sit on the phone or in meetings for hours, helping people strategize their best options for growth. She has even held free classes showing people how to use social media to their advantage. Because, let’s face it, some of us are still lost when it comes to posting. She stays up to date on all the media trends to help her clients and always gives out free advice.

In addition to helping business owners, she is always ready and willing to assist in the community. She organizes fundraisers, donating her time, and donating money to just about any organization that approaches her. In addition to giving, she seeks out to give and has a passion for helping end child trafficking. Giving is at her very core values, even giving all the money in her wallet to someone on the street if she feels like they need it more than she does. She trusts that things will always be provided if she always has good intentions, and this belief has not let her down.

“It is important for business owners to give back.” She says.

What business advice would you give to your readers? Always have a plan. A business growth plan, a marketing plan, and a backup plan. Not in case of failure, but your backup plan for when something happens unexpectedly or when the market changes. She said she creates her clients’ marketing plans. Phases 1-4 each new quarter is the next phase. Planning and pushing through when all your plans fall apart are the genuine keys to success.

With Cornerstone celebrating four years in April and the magazine celebrating one year this month, Tabitha said she plans to continue running both businesses as far as she can see. She feels lucky that both go hand in hand, as far as the business owners are concerned. “Helping business grow across Louisiana” is on the back of her business card.

Very fitting.

With all of that, we would like to Congratulate our own Tabitha Starkey on being Woman of the season and, in this writer’s opinion, the Woman of the year!