PR, communications and liberal arts majors should start thinking about the
possibility of being in business for themselves once they leave college. Students
can start building the skills and developing the mindset that will help them start
their own firms should they not be able to land a job in PR right out of college.
The fact is that better than 95% of businesses cannot afford the fees of
at least several thousand dollars a month that are usually charged by established
firms to handle an account. Another sad fact is that most new businesses
go under in the first year or two because of the lack of adequate promotion.
This
leaves the door wide open for recent grads to help these literally millions of
small businesses to tell their stories. Students already have computer
and skills with the internet that are superior to those held by many of the owners
of businesses. Among these should be skills with graphics programs
such as Quark so they can build a website for a small business and show the business
how to market itself on the web both locally and nationally. If students start
doing promotional chores for a few businesses, this could be a bargaining chip
in landing a job at an established PR firm. The "skill" that
is much in demand in PR counseling is the ability to strike up new relationships.
Agency principals may spend up to half of their time on new business to replenish
accounts that have dried up for one reason or another. This is especially
true today since a great deal of business in PR and many other fields is being
done on an "ad hoc" or "contract" basis. Long-lasting, lucrative
PR accounts are not as common as they once were. Obsession with the "bottom
line" is driving this trend.
Talk
to Merchants When you buy something, whether its clothing or
sports equipment, ask the owner if he or she has any communications problems that
need attention. Or just visit restaurants, real estate offices, insurance
businesses, car dealers, computer outlets and so on and get to talk to the owners.
Find out what their problems are. Often, a barter arrangement can be madefree
meals in return for PR. Cutting such a deal gives you priceless business experience.
Joining a Junior Chamber of Commerce or other business, political or charitable
group as a student member is another way to build your contacts. Don't
limit your help to communications or marketing tasks. Help the client with just
about any business or personal problem he or she may have. PR counselors I have
known over the years, when I ask them what they do for their clients, routinely
respond: "Anything the client wants." This is how the "greats"
of PR operated. Benjamin Sonnenberg, who rose from poverty on the lower East Side
of New York to be the owner of a 37-room mansion in Gramercy Park, eagerly helped
clients with any personal problems they had. He would rouse himself from bed in
the middle of the night to give solace to a client who had a family problem.
His approach was to learn what was in the "heart of hearts" of
his clients and tackle that. Often it had nothing to do with making more money
or selling more product. Sometimes it may be a wish to get invited to the right
parties or obtain membership in the right club or get a daughter's wedding well
covered the local paper. Sonnenberg and many of the other greats in
PR followed the same rule: deal only with the owner or CEO. Don't get stuck with
lower echelon people who may limit your influence. If you're not close to the
CEO, how can you help him with all-important personal issues that impact on his
or her ability to run the business? Dealing with CEOs is a skill that
can be learned. Sonnenberg and many others have found that the heads of organizations
are often wracked by insecurity and need constant encouragement and good counsel.
The bio of Sonnenberg by Isadore Barmash, called Always Live Better Than Your
Clients, is available for less than $15 on Amazon.
Chores
a PR Counselor May Do
PR is a calling for those with strong egos
who can do menial tasks without suffering from ego collapse. The key thing to
remember is that such tasks give you more time with the CEO or business owner
and are important "bonding" opportunities.
An instructive
passage on Hollywood publicity agents appeared in a portrait of PR counselor Bumble
Ward in the Sept. 23, 2002 New Yorker.
A studio executive says what
publicists do is a lot of ego-massaging and personal chores for clients. They're
not just advisers but "best friends" with the client.
Their
message is, in the words of the studio executive: "Everybody else is trying
to exploit you, but I'm the one who cares. I have a huge talent list, but you
just happen to be my favorite. I'll sit at the lunch with the evil press person
who's trying to trap you, to humiliate you. Your kid needs babysitting? I'll do
it. Dry cleaning? I love picking up dry cleaning. I'm here 24 hours a day for
you. I'll devote my whole life to you. I'll steer you, I'll save you, I'll make
you famous forever."
Next: Start now to acquire special skills
in and show interest in one of the dozen or so well-defined PR specialized areas
of PR such as beauty/fashion, entertainment, financial, food, healthcare, sports,
technology and travel. |