Author: WWPR

Receiving the WWPR Emerging Leader’s Award was a truly wonderful honor and I am grateful to have been considered among such a talented pool of women. It has been an empowering and motivating reminder that through all the blood – sweat – tears my firm has been able to make a real impact on our community.

2011 Emerging Leaders Awards Winners – Tara Chantal Silver and Jennifer Mastin Giglio

Starting your own business can be a taxing experience, but creating your dream job can also be most satisfying.

After working in many different industries, I fell in love with the field of communications and became an entrepreneur because I always had a desire to build my own dream and control my own destiny. Three years ago, I founded SilverStrategy (silverstrategy.com), a full service public relations and public affairs firm.

Having learned so much from others and from my own experiences, even the less successful ones; I have had the ability to coach many local business owners. It’s been one of the most fulfilling parts of running my own shop- assisting other passionate people to fulfill their own dreams.  My blog, YourGoodIdeaFairy.com discusses the challenges of entrepreneurship and garnering strategic advantages through successful communication strategies.

There are four major themes that I often recommend to business owners and hope that you will find them helpful resources in your own endeavors.

1)      Your Edge is Key. Why you and your brand over competitors? Understand your market and figure out who your target is and then your plan for market segmentation. What is your path and edge that demonstrates your value to your targeted market?

2)      It is not always about working harder, but working smarter. How effective and focused are you about accomplishing goals? Try not to get caught up in the tasks that aren’t moving you forward. It can be a challenge to focus on the long term goals while working on the short term ones so check-in with yourself every day by asking yourself, how you are allocating your time for needed strategic planning and goal setting?

3)      Hats. As a business owner, your first few years can be the most demanding. Entrepreneurs wear many hats and play many roles – (IT tech, accountant, manager, director, etc.) – so learn how to deal/manage all aspects of your company, but I am a  strong supporter of allowing the talent (you the entrepreneur) to focus on what you have to offer and hiring others for their specialty supportive roles.

4)      He Who Is Wise. Learn why and what works for some companies and doesn’t for others and apply wisely. Make mistakes and learn from them along the way but if you can educate ahead of time, then you can make smarter choices. Play scenarios out in your head and talk them through for best results!

If you can use these guidelines you’ll be ahead of the curb. Above all else make sure you are passionate about your business idea and motivated enough to grow and see it through to achieve the goals you have set out for yourself. Take a deep breath, accomplish one task at a time and just keep pushing forward through the good, the bad and the ugly! Take time to appreciate the guts it took to believe in yourself – this is an exciting time so congratulations.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions and I look forward to meeting all the talented women of WWPR in the coming year. For more information check out my website SilverStrategy.com, and follow me on Twitter @SilverStrategy / Facebook.

Do you have any questions about entrepreneurship? If you are already managing your business, do you have any additional themes or tips to share? What resources have helped you in your business?

I’d like to help WWPR to start an entrepreneur’s round-table on entrepreneurship. Would you be willing to get involved and/or help plan an event for this new group?

Public relations professionals of all ages and stripes gathered to learn from their colleagues at the WWPR Executive Communicators Committee’s Summer Idea Swap, held August 3^rd at Hager Sharp. The panelists – Cecilia Sepp, a consultant and writer, CS Association Services; Markette Smith, DC on Heels blogger and founder of multimedia production house Eagle Rock Interactive, and Arlene Hill, director of the career development center at American University’s Kogod School of Business – offered tips on a range of topics that perennially appear on people’s lists of top challenges, including time management and doing more with limited resources.

Kim Ash, WWPR Executive Communicators Chair, Markette Smith, Eagle Rock Interactive, Cecilia Sepp, CS Association Services, Arlene Hill, American University’s Kogod School of Business, Kendra Kojcsich, WWPR President

Members of the audience shared their favorite strategies, as well as anecdotes illustrating the pitfalls of failing to follow their own advice (one woman admitted she was so busy rushing and multitasking one day that she didn’t realize she was shoeless until she was a block away from her meeting).

Some favorite time-management strategies included pausing to take deep breaths, saying no to more requests, and avoiding perfectionism by knowing which projects are worth the extra effort and which ones merit only a “good enough” job. One woman recommended scheduling tasks for times when you’re most productive at that specific thing (she does some of her most focused writing during bouts of insomnia).  Several people recommended coping with long-winded clients by politely but firmly setting expectations up front (i.e. “Just to let you know, I have a hard stop at 4pm.”).

A number of women shared their favorite quotes, including “Don’t get it right, get it written,“ and “Don’t panic, do something.”

Tips for doing more with less included bartering for goods or services with small or new companies, and using interns. Other popular discussions centered around the best times to call people or use social media (Thursdays before 10:30am apparently being the optimal time to share things on Facebook, before people head off to meetings) and the reluctance of the millennial generation to use telephones (coaching sessions help).

Do you have any ideas to share on being more productive? We hope to see you at the next idea swap.