PR Agency

I looked at 2021 and had one thing on my mind – how can I make up for what happened to my business in 2020? I’ve owned my own PR firm for almost 19 years now and NO surprise, 2020 was the worst year yet.

I didn’t really mind a little less stress at work as clients dropped like flies during the start of the COVID-19 outbreak because I was finishing my master’s degree and set to graduate in May 2020. But as the year dragged on, I set out to do whatever I needed to do to make up for the lost client work in the following year.

I was ready to be “on the clock.” And boy did I take that to heart.

When 2021 came along, I wasn’t the only one wanting to make up for lost time. It seems my clients were ready to do the same. Everyone wanted to throw a party, host a fundraiser, step up their PR planning and efforts and plan the grandest of grand openings. I couldn’t bring myself to say no to a single potential client and thus I found myself buried, overwhelmed and busier than I’ve ever been in the nearly two decades I’ve been in this business.

Oh COVID, how you’ve helped us learn many life lessons! (yes, I’m blaming COVID for this. How could someone my age continue to make mistakes?)

So, what do you do when this happens? Luckily, I was able to lean on experience and draw from good ole’ fashion common sense, but here’s a few suggestions I’ll share now that I can look back (and now that I have some breathing room) might be helpful as we go into 2022.

Set a plan.
Monthly, weekly and daily. Heck, hourly if you need to. Prioritize what needs to get done and create an action plan with a focus. It’s the only way to get through this period in your life. And look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Mine didn’t come until after Christmas, but it made my vegging on the couch that much sweeter.

Delegate.
Find reliable team members who you can meet with periodically and who do not need a tremendous amount of hand holding. This is not the time for new employees or interns. You need tried and true staffers who know you and you know them so you can get the job done. I’m forever grateful for my team during this time.

Busier = more organized.
I hate to even utter these words, but sometimes I get more done when I’m busier. Now, I never want to be as crazy as I was last year because I know I had to eliminate things that were important to me, but I also recognize that I am able to buckle down and be efficient when deadlines are looming. Remember, it turns out that the more you put something off, the less likely you’re going to do it at all.

Happy hour anyone?
I can’t say that I had a healthy work-life balance during the past 12 months, but I made time to have some fun, see friends on occasion and hang out with my husband and kids. This downtime is one of the only things that helps me to recharge and stop thinking about my to-do list. And when you’ve been working from home for as long as I have, you know you have to switch it off because there’s no physical distance between the office and home.

Never say never.
Oh boy this is a hard one! Repeat: I will not take on too much work ever again. This is a promise I have made to myself, and I must keep it. It is so important to my business, my current clients, my family and my health. That’s very dramatic, but let’s just say I need to do a better job of managing my workload.

And especially as we start the new year, I want 2022 to be a positive year for MNPR with a goal of actually achieving a work-life balance – ok, I realize I must set realistic expectations, but at least get a little closer to balance. Because I tend to be a bit of a workaholic (a hazard of being a business owner who truly loves her work), I have to constantly remind myself to find other passions.

My goals for this year are:

Learn how to say no
Get closer to nature. We have a new puppy who LOVES her walks!
Make time for myself!
Focus! Make sure I’m productive when I’m in my workspace

So cheers! Here’s to a fabulous 2022! I’m working to reclaim control this year! Wish me luck.

Photo caption: PR girls should know better than to do a photoshoot on the hottest day of the summer! What were we thinking?

I’ve had my own company for 14 years and it took me the first five years to figure out how to categorize it. I started by saying I was a freelancer or a subcontractor. But as I grew and got more clients and even my own subcontractors, things began to change.

My elevator speech morphed into: Hi, I own my own boutique PR agency. But we were a unique model. Today, I don’t believe we are. We are collaborators who work virtually rather than a traditional PR firm. Most of the people I work with have their own business cards and have successful marketing, writing, graphic design or social media freelance companies of their own. I have longstanding relationships with: Ashley Cleveland, Erica Cohen, Laurie Morrissey, Kari D’Amato, Nancy Besa, Angela Presnell, Suze Parker, Robyn Caulfield, Jenny Kincaid, Melanie Deardorff, Elaine Symanski, Kerry O’Connor, Jenny Wheat and more. We exchange ideas, business leads and referrals and most importantly collaborate on client work!

I spoke to an agency owner in 2004 who had been doing marketing and PR this way in San Francisco for more than a decade. He described his business model and to this day I’ve patterned my company after his. Through Kansas City International Association of Business Communicators, I’ve met many other small/boutique PR firms and other communicators who have similar businesses set up very much the same. I knew this was the model I wanted to continue for my business.

I love working from home (at least most days I do when the kids and pets aren’t driving me crazy), and I love having the flexibility of subcontractors.

But I think the best part of this model is being able to take advantage of the collaboration of experts in the industry. When my clients have a complex challenge, it makes sense for my business to capitalize on specific individuals who I’m confident will be successful for specific strategies.

How have we been successful? Communication is paramount. Facilitating information flow across clients and the team through weekly status meetings, daily emails and other tools is just one of the ways we support each other.

What does this look like for the future? Even more collaboration! As a boutique PR firm handling social media, grassroots marketing, media outreach, influencer relations and community events, we have already been working collaboratively with larger advertising agencies and digital firms as their “PR department.” I predict that trend will continue as the industry evolves.

When working with these larger agencies, it has been so exciting to be a part of a team servicing a big client and a more comprehensive agency team. I’ve learned a few things as an “agency collaborator” and it’s been a rewarding challenge.

We’re collaborators not competitors.
Egos are checked at the door.
We must prove collaborative results and be willing to work cross agency.

Like all industries, this one continues to evolve and I’m excited about the future of collaboration and continued industry networking.

Category

Making up for lost time (and money)