1 / 17

The Involuntary Entrepreneur

The Involuntary Entrepreneur. Making the Leap from Unemployment to Independent PR Practitioner. What We’ll Cover. Decide if going solo or forming a virtual firm is right for you

inara
Download Presentation

The Involuntary Entrepreneur

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Involuntary Entrepreneur Making the Leap from Unemployment to Independent PR Practitioner

  2. What We’ll Cover • Decide if going solo or forming a virtual firm is right for you • Learn how to conduct a critical assessment of your abilities and how to translate those abilities into a business model • Discover the obstacles and solutions you will encounter in forming your own PR firm • What next? Learn how to start the process of forming your own PR firm

  3. Things to Consider • Are you passionate about what you do? • Your personal working style • Work-life balance • Level of experience • Willpower • Money • Support system

  4. Going Solo vs. a Firm • Do you play well with others? • What do you want to offer clients? • How much time do you want to spend on administrative tasks? • Organizational structure • Partnership • LLC vs. LLP • S Corporation

  5. Assess Your Abilities – Do You Have What it Takes? • Personality Characteristics of an Entrepreneur • Persistence • Creativity • Self-starter • Dedication • Follow-through • Strong communication skills • Detail-oriented • Multitasker • Adaptable • Ethical • Big-picture vision • Sense of humor • Sell-ability

  6. Assessing What You Have to Offer • Conduct a critical assessment of your abilities • What’s your value proposition? • Specialization or generalization? • What are you up against - Identify your competition • How will that translate into a business?

  7. Obstacles to Opening a Firm • Naming your business • Conducting a name search • Effectiveness and functionality • Legal availability • Trademark search

  8. Obstacles to Opening a Firm • Bank issues • Patriot Act requirements • Managing accounts • Taxes and government filing requirements • IRS.gov • State/city filings: Illinois Secretary of State • Licenses and permits Chicago-style • Operating agreement sample

  9. Ready? Go! • Begin at the beginning doesn’t work • Forming a firm isn’t an orderly process • Startup costs • Overhead • Office space • Subscriptions • Insurance • Technology

  10. What is Your Value Proposition? • What do you offer your clients that other solo practitioners or firms don’t? • What can you give them that they can’t get anywhere else? • THAT’s your value proposition!

  11. Establishing a Presence • Web site • Marketing materials • Business cards • Phones • Print materials

  12. Marketing Yourself • Must-join professional organizations • Client organizations • Internet marketing • Word-of-mouth • Public presence

  13. Managing the Business Side • Pricing • Retainer vs. project-based fees • Contracts & letters of agreement • Non-disclosure agreements • Invoicing • Billable time vs. admin/marketing the business • Payment policies

  14. Mentors & Resources • SoloPR.com & #solopr chat Wednesdays at 11am • PRSA • Counselors Academy • Individual Practitioners Alliance • Ken Jacobs at Jacobs Communication Consulting • ken@jacobscomm.com • www.jacobscomm.com

  15. Outside Assistance • Attorney • Accountant • Insurance agent • Banker • Consultant • Technology/computer expert

  16. Lessons Learned • Not everyone plays nice in the sandbox • If something can be done quickly, red tape will quadruple the amount of time it takes • Housework and naps have the allure of the mythical Sirens when you should be working • If something can go wrong, it will…..then it’ll go right in a way you least expect. • Stuff happens…and it will happen to you.

  17. Debra Bethard-Caplick, APR, MBA dcaplick@quicksilveredge.com www.quicksilveredge.com 773-339-3884 @dcaplick @quicksilveredge Questions?

More Related