These past few weeks have been tremendously busy. Case in point: I ate my breakfast at 5:30 p.m. twice in the last week. These are trying times as an entrepreneur, and they require more focus than ever before. Demands on one’s time and on every penny a PR firm charges a client for results require PR professionals to be even more attentive than usual.
As a business owner, I’ve learned — and now understand more than ever before — how easy it is to criticize. (As my closest friend constantly says, “The boss is always an asshole.”) The longer I am in business, the more apparent that is. I have always been a person who believes one’s energy and aura influences them, which is why a few fellow under-40 entrepreneurs and I have been rotating offices for dinner once a week (Monday night till after midnight) to review business planning, concepts, ideas, and of course, due to this environment, problems. Sharing with people who understand management as entrepreneurs as well as those who strive for more and refuse to lose are people I need to be surrounded by. Business 101 tells us to always surround yourself with people whom you enjoy and respect.
Separately, as a PR professional, I’ve seen the media so consumed by the economy and the election that it has forced all PR professionals to — at the very least — do their best to adapt their pitches to an environment that has little space for anything other than the most pressing news. There are many new angles to consider and focus on, and as the media landscape continues to rapidly change, the challenge as a PR agency is to stay ahead of the curve.
Last, as my assistant noted earlier today, my blog would be so much more fun if I wrote down more details regarding my day, but secrets can’t be told. That said, here are a few highlights of a whirlwind day:
-Started the day by dining at a NYC power breakfast location with someone who is sure to be a major behind-the-scenes power player if a certain someone is elected president. (He required a face-to-face discussion rather than a conversation on the phone.)
-Rushed to a meeting on the Upper East Side with a client to discuss a revolutionary product he created.
-Met with one of the richest people in the world. (This was my second meeting in 10 days with a person on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans.)
-Was called to my rabbi’s office for a meeting with a business contact he promised to introduce me to.
-Finally reached the office at 2:30 p.m. or so and dealt with many different issues.
But, to write more specifics than this is the difference between a philosopher and someone who owns a business. Or perhaps it’s the difference between the bush leagues and the big leagues: That distinction is apparent when working extra hours during times such as these. It’s always fun…but it’s tiring and challenging.
PR is a great business.
Ronn Torossian
5W PR
