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| Jane Genova |
Overall, the outlook for the public relations sector is rosy. Zippia projects growth of eight percent through 2028, with 22,300 new jobs. However, talk with some of the talent or follow professional anonymous network Reddit Public Relations and you’ll bump into mindsets ranging from disappointment to fear.
Mirroring many other sectors
The present situation in public relations—in-house and agency—isn’t unique. Geopolitics, including the collapse of the old order, economic volatility, ramped-up competition, activist shareholders and technology are driving transformation throughout most sectors. In public relations the primary impacts on manpower have been in-house stalled promotions and layoffs at agencies. For the latter, as with the Edelman 2024 RIF, seasoned “pros” often were the ones on the chopping block.
The turbulence, as with the late 1980s corporate downsizing of middle-aged middle managers, could trigger a blossoming of entrepreneurship. An Ah-Ha moment could be popping up among all generations of public relations employees: Why not start up my own firm?
The quips on Reddit about hanging out a shingle include:
“Short of running a hot dog cart, there are few businesses easier and cheaper to start up than a pr shop.”
“Maybe the path forward is for more people to set up their own shops and be the shareholders themselves.”
Low price of entry
The old joke is that all a founder needs to be in the public relations business are a laptop, smartphone and rolodex of contacts.
Stepbystepbusiness estimated the initial investment to range from $5,600 to $11,000, with revenue potential of $96,000 to $900,000 and profitability between $57,600 and $180,000. Overall, in other industries, documents Demandsage, the price of entry is $40,000.
No longer does branding require leased office space. Remote work and home offices rule out that expense. However, because of the integration of public relations with other disciplines such as marketing and advertising, a trend for 2025 is this: Clients actually expect to pay more of their budget for services under the public relations umbrella.
Usual nuts and bolts
There are the must-dos for any business. Slam Media Lab specifications include these: market research; developing menu of services; creating business plan; handling legalities such as structure of the business, registration and insurance; setting up business systems such as bookkeeping; investing in technology; building digital presence; figuring out manpower needs—full-time and contract; working the networks; and then putting it all together and opening the doors.
Usually, you can’t afford to contract out the functions. The good news is that there are automated tools, such as Stripe Atlas and Slam’s Legal Tracker, for much of those.
Critical success factors
Anyone can launch an enterprise. In the US in 2024, Demandsage reports there were more than 82,000 and only about 10 percent will succeed. The typical causes of failure are lack of planning and inadequate research. The game is to stay in business.
In public relations the current fundamentals for that staying power include:
Design of services. Don’t rush this. Experts on public relations startups such as PRCouture hammer the importance of sleuthing for gaps in service. That entails talking with lots of constituents, doing competitor analysis and auditing your own strengths.
What has the best bet for differentiating your enterprise is a niche approach. Or better yet, a niche within a niche, such as having as the target be market technology businesses for healthcare. Those of you who’ve been employed by large organizations might assume it’s smart to have a broad playing field. However, that’s usually glutted.
With the right design of services, you’ll have an intuitive feel for the right pricing.
Leveraging reputation. If you already have name recognition the odds are your enterprise will take off. After leaving the top job at Hill & Knowlton, Robert Dilenschneider launched n 1991 The Dilenschneider Group. Immediately it attracted big-name clients.
Those lacking a powerhouse brandname, however, can develop a catchy identity, similar to what influencers put together. Generation Z is clever at that.
Approaching everything as a grand experiment. All that planning at the front end might not generate the anticipated results. There is the adage: Mankind plans, the gods laugh. Bring on the rapid course correction. With chaos the new normal, any strategy is merely a guess of what could work. That’s exactly the present approach even in a large prestigious law firm such as Paul Weiss. In the podcast Law, Disrupted the chair Brad Karp noted that innovations such as the non-equity partner tier were being piloted, not necessarily the new order of things.
Becoming adept with AI tools. In 2025, the hoopla about generative AI probably will cool down. However, the use of AI tools will increase. Meltwater projects it’ll be among the top five skills those in public relations will need. Already more than half use AI for pitches. Much of embedding AI products in operations has come about from client demand.
Self-promotion through independent journalism platforms. Among Muck Rack’s predictions for 2025 is that platforms such as organizational newsletters, collective newsletters like Substack and social networks like LinkedIn and Blue Sky will reshape outreach strategies.
Often established players in public relations wind up being the shoemakers makers with holes in their shoes. That is, they do a bang-up promotion job for clients but let their own branding stagnate. Startups, though, can’t afford to neglect putting themselves out there in the new ways which are replacing legacy media. Think about it: It’s noticed even how many followers you could have on LinkedIn. A small number could signal you don’t understand current messaging formats.
Age neutral
Both ends of the labor market—the young and the aging—are struggling with every aspect of earning a good living, ranging from upward mobility within the organization to holding onto a job. Having your own public relations firm can give you the control you currently lack.
Your piece of action can be a simple solo entrepreneurship operated out of a studio apartment. That’s the model for how conservative Matt Drudge built the “Drudge Report.” Or it could be a more ornate package like The Dilenschneider Group, once housed in Manhattan’s Met Life building with a global team.
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Jane Genova specializes in coaching seniors and creating their work-related communications. Visit her Substack column JaneGenovasubstack.com/@semiretirement and popular blog https://thesemiretirementoption.blogspot.com/. Complimentary consultations. For an appointment text 203-468-8579, [email protected]. Sliding scale fees.
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