New York native and nomad by choice— Emily is a marketing & PR pro, now the founder of the award-winning R Public Relations, New York.
I never intended to start a business. In fact, I never intended to get into public relations in the first place. When I walked across the stage to accept my degrees in philosophy, psychology and social work, I had dreams of traveling the world and meeting strangers in unexpected places. I hoped for a career that would feed my endless curiosity and wanderlust. So the idea of working in PR and staring at a screen all day sounded just plain unappealing.
In grad school, I was invited to co-author a book, which ignited my interest in writing. I loved the creative flow I would find myself in and how I could express myself through words. It wasn’t long before I accepted a food writing position, then a few other freelance projects after that.
Like every great story, a twist was just around the corner.
Divorce left me and my children with no financial support. I needed to find a full-time job and fast, so I accepted a role with an Austin-based PR firm.
A few years later, I was happily entrenched in the world of PR. My job in Austin taught me the ins and outs of the industry, how to work with clients, and how to build solid teams of professionals who could get the job done on time and within budget. I loved the challenge, the glamor and the social aspects of the industry.
In the agency world, you’ll occasionally have a former client reach out with a full-time role or acquaintances looking for PR support on the side. I received this type of offer here and there but thought nothing of it until one day, it just clicked. Why not apply my unconventional career path and learnings to a client roster of my own? Thus, my company was born.
At the end of the day, great PR professionals are just really good storytellers who know the right things to say and the right places to say them. In my accidental entrepreneurial journey, I’ve learned to roll with the punches and find ways to build back stronger. I’m now backed by a team of incredible people, married to a different person, and have three more kids. Surrounded by my people, I am finally confident enough to share my story, with all its glorious highs and lows, so that you can learn from it too.
The Highs And Lows Of Entrepreneurship
Low: Launching A Company Without A Business Plan
Sure, I had taken a few marketing courses in my day, but an MBA, I was not. And anyway, there are a few things in life that you can’t learn in the classroom. Designing a well-thought-out business plan can help you understand what rates to charge, hiring best practices and metrics for growth. A great business coach can help you work through these types of things, too. Trial by fire is not a must—sort through some of these questions on the front end to save yourself some pain later.
High: Landing My First Client
I hate to say it, but when it comes to business ownership, it really does matter who you know. Networking is key. It’s vital that you are a great connector and invest energy into your relationships (and that means all your relationships; don’t even think about burning one bridge). This way, you can accrue work without a lot of effort and can save lots of time and money in the long run.
Believe it or not, I found most of my early clients just by hanging out at my local coffee shop. At the time, I had no office, so it was a great place to work and network. Be present in your community to build your business from the ground up.
Low: Hiring Too Fast
Entrepreneurship can be overwhelming, but hiring quickly without a plan isn’t always the answer. A good rule of thumb is to hire your first full-time staff member when you’re hitting about $10,000 in monthly revenue. Me, on the other hand? As soon as I had enough business to bring on support staff, I did so rather indiscriminately. I could have saved myself more time and money by making thoughtful hiring decisions.
High: Learning My Strengths And Weaknesses
I can admit it now: I was a terrible boss in the beginning. I was calling my team at all hours of the day, expecting loads of output with little direction, and much of what we were producing was just plain bad. After a series of other poor business decisions, which included hastily hiring an expensive business coach, I spent some time looking inward. Once you understand your strengths (e.g., big-picture thinker, relationship-builder) and weaknesses (e.g., detailed work, delegating), you can assign yourself to the work that you thrive at doing and hire others to fill in the gaps.
Low: Trying To Be Everything To Everyone
Look, I get it—it’s hard to turn away someone who wants to pay you to do things you love. All entrepreneurs have been there. But nothing will benefit you more than honing in on your areas of expertise, then sticking to them. When I started, I offered too many services to potential clients. From marketing and PR to brand development and advertising—you name it, I’d sell it.
But if you try to do too many things, you’ll never gain mastery over just one. When I won a major business deal based on my presentation covering PR services alone, I decided PR would be my sole specialty area moving forward. I love storytelling, the story sharing, and the story making; it is my passion and to this day, it constitutes 90% of my business.
Every great narrative has a beginning, a middle and an end. There are plot twists; there’s despair, and there’s hope. Entrepreneurs must take these each in stride and know that their story, too, will more than likely have a happy ending—or, at the very least, a tale worth sharing.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
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