Today we’d like to introduce you to Bianca Bucaram.
Bianca, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I always knew I liked telling stories, but it was when I was laid off three times in the course of my graduation year from Vanderbilt University, in 2006, I knew I would have to work harder to find my real place in the business world.
My sister, at the time had a very active tutoring company and was getting her footing in the door being dedicated to a raw food lifestyle, and now, to date, is one of the largest names in her space with over 3M combined followers on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook and also has both an app and a book.
I grew into the publicist space through necessity and also out of pure desire to watch and protect my younger sister. At the time, she had a publicist, Jessica Zapatero, who she worked with because she knew she had a story to tell. When the day came where Kristina asked me to join forces with Jessica to help raise money for an “Eat it Raw” class that we were coordinating at the Houston Arboretum, I knew I had found my calling. Within three weeks, we had raised over 2K and had over 30 community partners. Jessica was so impressed at my community relations talents that she shortly after asked me to join forces with her to form ZBPR (Zapatero Bucaram Public Relations) – where we both launched ourselves into the Houston market as Public Relations specialists working in the entertainment, culinary, lifestyle, sports, fashion, and music space.
Within the first year, we had solidified a contract with one of the largest radio conglomerates in Houston and I had under my belt the responsibility of 12 morning show DJs. As a child, I was fascinated with music, and I LOVED and still LOVE to sing. So, this was the perfect way for me to ignite my passion in PR connecting these personality-driven DJs and other music aficionados with the love of community,
After our year of working together, we began to get inquiries from all walks of companies including: athletes such as Olympic Gold Medalist Chad Hedrick, non-profits, international talent, and national brands.
I kept further developing my skills and was shortly thereafter nominated by PR News of America to be one of the very few 30 under 30, and received my award at the National Press Room in Washington D.C.
Since the inception of our PR business, I have learned many things about storytelling. I love working with clients on the national, local, and regional levels, and I most importantly enjoy being a microphone and connector. Connecting powerful voices with change making agents is my calling, and I am truly fortunate to have found my path in PR.
Who would have thought that being too large for Corporate America and being laid off 3 times in the course of 2006 would have shaped me into the resilient, hard-working, creative that I am continually recognized as today.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It truly was not smooth at the beginning. I was slated to take over my father’s business in the Oil & Gas market, and like any good daughter, I felt a strong responsibility to make my parents proud and follow in “good footsteps.” But, after realizing that I was too creative to work in the engineering world, I had to deeply disappoint and cut ties with that legacy.
I think though, for me, the most disappointing part of my evolution came when I was laid off three times in the course of 2006. After graduating from Vanderbilt University and also named salutatorian of my high-school class, I sincerely thought the world was going to open its arms to me and offer me a cushy job with a large salary and lots of opportunities. Well, that was not my reality. In fact, my reality was FAR from that. But, I will never challenge the creative ingenuity that I had to show to find the correct path.
After a year or so creating my business with former business partner Jessica Zapatero, her husband was transferred to San Antonio, and I was given the choice to keep the business or look for work at another firm. My answer: KEEP THE BUSINESS! DUH… so, I re-branded the company to The Bucaram PR Group and continued down my pathway as a publicist working for myself, and honestly, I could not be more thankful that God allowed me the opportunity to become an entrepreneur. It runs in my blood.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Bianca Bucaram is an award-winning public relations professional. She has been honored as PR News’ Rising Stars 30 & Under, Women in the Fast Lane by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of commerce, and has also been recognized as one of the top female business professionals in Houston by the Houston Business Journal.
As a lead publicist at The Bucaram PR Group, Ms. Bucaram is a top-notch example of a young woman with natural publicist charm and charisma who uses her bilingual public relations skills to positively impact her local community and a national audience for good. She has pioneered various cause-related public relations and marketing initiatives which have impacted Houston in a positive way. She is comfortable working across all genres both with traditional and grassroots public relations strategies while also thinking out of the box with creative marketing skills. She has made valuable connections in Television, Print Media, Digital Media promoting her clients in the music, fashion, sports, and sports marketing, and legal industries.
Through strategic planning, trend watching, and consistently building press and industry contacts, she has successfully placed stories in KPRC-2, ABC-13 KTRK, Huffington Post, CNBC, HollyWood Today Live, The Hallmark Home and Family Channel, CNN, CNN en Español, CultureMap, Houston Chronicle, Dubai Chronicles, PaperCity, LOCAL Magazine, Houston Business Journal, and many other broadcast and print mediums. Her expertise does not stop there, with an extended outreach of media professionals, Bianca prides herself on getting clients exposure in all areas of media from radio, to TV, to print and more. Bianca also specializes in building community relations.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, nothing. I trust the process, and am enjoying the ride!
Contact Info:
- Address: 5625 Cohn Meadow Lane, Houston, TX 77007
- Website: www.bucaramprg.com
- Phone: 7138986552
- Email: bianca@bucaramprg.com
- Instagram: @bucaramprg, @biancabucaram
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BucaramPRG
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bucaramprg
Image Credit:
Sophia VanDer Dys Photography, Todd Parker Photography
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