RAVE: Stress: It doesn't exist

Now who on earth would ever rave about stress? Me, that’s who.

Like any other entrepreneur you can never leave the office behind -- you can’t go on vacation and not think of a client, an employee or the future of the firm. Your head can bust wide open if you try and solve the little gnarly problems of the day at 3 a.m. I’ve tried it, nothing gets resolved and you’re meaner than a snake the next day. Thank goodness for Advil NightTime.

The albatross of work will always be there, and stress is the grip. It’s how we handle the day to day roadblocks, curves and twists of daily work or home life, that will either create an atmosphere of anxiety or bliss.

An acquaintance of mine, Gina Mollicone Long, who has written a great self help book and is a wonderful motivational speaker, asked me once to pick up stress and hand it to her. I told her I couldn’t do that, it was impossible to hold. And she replied “you can’t hold stress, because it doesn’t exist.” Stress only occurs when reacting to a situation.

Best thing I ever heard. (that and “your table is ready ..”)

But we are faced with stressful situations each and every day. Ruthless demanding clients, cranky journalists on deadlines, traffic jams, leaving the red sock in your load of whites ... you get the picture.

Gina tells me that the easiest and most beneficial way to react to stress is to breathe. Deep gut breathing for at least a few minutes. Six counts breathing in – six counts out. We are by nature shallow breathers (people who do yoga, know this better than anyone) and by simply getting oxygen to our brain creates a better balance in our system, release tension and ability to think more clearly. There are countless articles on breathing techniques on the internet, but I found the 6 count in and out method works perfectly. Try it next time you are in a stressful situation. Don’t react. Close your eyes breathe deep in and out. You’ll be surprised at the emotional stability that sets in and the clarity of thought by which to handle the situation.

By the way, closing your eyes and breathing doesn’t work when you get cut off on the 401!

Stress. Bring it on.

A PR Legend

Hope you all get a chance to read PR Week’s special Career Guide supplement out this month. There is a lovely tribute to legendary PR veteran, Harold Burson of Burson Marstellar.

Many years ago when I was with Cohn & Wolfe (then a sister agency to Burson Marstellar) I had the unique opportunity to actually meet and talk with Mr. Burson. I was in Connecticut on a three day training session (the agency was well-known for internal education) and during one of the session breaks we had a special visit by Harold Burson. There was a sea of people crowding Mr. Burson in a scrum formation and I thought I would never get a foot into the conversation. I waited patiently, then got my turn. Here I was face to face with the master of PR, the “father of modern PR” and already a legend back then. What do I ask this accomplished man? The role of PR in the 21st century? Corporate citizenship? What makes a great leader? The secret to a solid client/agency working relationship? My mind was racing. But when I opened my mouth, all I could muster was, “So Mr. Burson, what makes you get out of bed in the morning?”

He smiled and chuckled then told me how much he just loved the business. Everything about the business interested him. The clients, the work, the people, staff. He was hard-pressed to say anything negative and he said he felt lucky and blessed at the same time to be doing something that gave him so much satisfaction. As he spoke there was such a quiet elegance about him. Dignified, classy, a real gentleman. Here’s a guy running the world’s largest PR agency and you’d think you were talking to your dad. I wish there were more leaders like him in the world (or at least in PR) that can inspire and lead with such grace and intellect. They don’t make them like that anymore ... sigh.

Before he left I managed to get one of the photographers snap a pic of us. I keep the photo on my desk to remind me I have a long, long way to go in this business ... and why the hell was I dyeing my hair red!!

Top 20 under 20

I was just at a wonderful inspirational breakfast this morning for the Top 20 under 20 which is one of the many programs put on by the Youth in Motion organization.

I heard 20 of the most amazing stories from youth from across the country. Young kids looking for a cure for cancer, raising loads of money for charity, environmental crusaders, and social entrepreneurs bettering the world every chance they can. One after another I was in awe of their incredible talent and will to know that the power of one can change the world.

I sat with a young, talented woman named Alyssa Larson from Hanna, Alberta, who came up with a novel new way de-worm horses. Her invention led to her to form her own company, Rock Worm Inc. and she’s about to launch the Equine MediWormer. All this at the ripe old age of 17!

It got me thinking ... what was I doing at 17? Oh ya, I invented the perfect shade of coral nail-polish by mixing red and pink to match my graduation dress! That was my eureka moment!

These kids were exceptionally bright and poised, and when interviewed live on stage, they banged out key messages and stories better than some of our trained executives!

Truly impressive. What wonderful role models for us all. It was a magical morning.

Check out today’s Globe and Mail for the complete line up of the Top 20. I see some future clients there for sure!

And Alyssa, when you’re ready to launch the “horse worm thing-a-ma-jig”, call me!

To mothers everywhere

Sunday May 10th we celebrate Mother’s Day, a wonderful tradition first introduced on May 10, 1908, by Anna Jarvis and six years later made a national holiday by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. This holiday is a licence to print money for any telecommunications company (it’s the busiest phone day) and any greeting card company (50 per cent of households give Mother’s Day cards). Mommy bloggers the world over are probably also going to see a spike in readership, too. Here’s a very good round up of top mommy blogs.

I became a mother more than eight years ago, so I really love this special day. It's nice to be recognized at least once a year for all the good deeds of motherhood I do each day! Raising a girl isn’t easy. Rachel is a lot like me so some days we spend time head-butting over the most inane issues. Being a very busy working mom complicates the motherhood thing even more. You basically live an existence of pain and guilt with almost every decision you make. Attending clients’ events are critical, but missing your daughter’s first recital because of it is heart-wrenching. Those are the decisions you have to make and then live with them without regret. It’s a fine balancing act that requires some nerves of steel … and a double martini on some nights! It reminds me of a saying I once heard: “By the time you think your mother is right, you have a daughter who thinks you’re wrong.” How true!

So to all the stay-at-home moms, working moms, CEO moms, entrepreneurial moms, blogger moms, young moms, cougar moms, menopausal moms, prison moms, celebrity moms, soccer moms, MILF moms, millionaire moms, pill-popping moms, and single moms ... I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Remember this is your day. Don’t cook, don’t take out the garbage, don’t take “no” for an answer. If you don’t like the robe and slippers your significant other bought you, tell him to return it and to get you a box of those new Titleist Pro V-1 balls you’ve been asking for… got that, honey?

Why I like it behind the camera

Last month I was asked by the producers of the MoneyTalk show to appear on the segment which is hosted by Patricia Lovett-Reid. The show airs on Canada’s BNN and it airs nationally three times during one week and then posted to the web site.

I was more than happy to be interviewed since the topic was right up my alley – women entrepreneurs. I can talk all day about entrepreneurship and women’s struggles and accomplishments, the do's and don’ts, the pitfalls and opportunities, the children and, of course, the whole work-life balance thing.

When I received the questions in advance of the taping, I knew I would be in my element and couldn’t wait for the gems to flow out of my mouth. When you know a topic inside and out, it makes any interview smooth as silk. I rehearsed in front of the mirror for a few days prior (I always prep in front of a mirror, stops me from frowning). I was confident and ready for my close-up.

I arrived very early in the morning at the BNN studios where I went directly to the makeup room. I was greeted by the effervescent Pattie (who is much cuter in person than on TV!). She’s a real fireball and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She greeted me with a big hello and then said, “Julie, since you’re in PR and a branding expert, I thought we could talk about personal branding and what it means in business as opposed to corporate brands. Sound okay with you?”

Huh? Personal branding? What the heck does that mean? What happened to the entrepreneurial stuff you were gonna ask me? I know about corporate branding and messaging (heck, we do that every day).But personal branding? All I could think of was, “Geez. Am I ever f^$%!"

After an inch thick of pancake foundation was applied, I was led into the deep freeze of a studio where I was rigged for sound under my jacket, given a mug of warm water and was told to look at Pattie and not the camera during the 10-minute interview. Ok, I got that part. As for the interview itself, I had no idea what was going to come out of my mouth.

So if you want to have a good laugh, have a look at my interview here and watch me squirm. I have no ego, so be brutally honest with me. I think I managed a few good sound bites, too bad they can’t cut down the interview to 60 seconds. Check out my ummms and "you knows." Brutal!

This abysmal interview further validates my decision to stay behind the camera at all times. I mean, I can tell someone else what to do in front of the camera -- no problemo. But sweet baby Jesus – I can’t save myself.

You don't call, you don't write, you don't blog enough

When I run into friends I haven’t stayed in touch with, I hear the usual whine “Why don’t you call more often?” Now when I run into people I barely know I get, “Why don’t you blog more often?” Jeeez, you can’t catch a break these days. I confess, I have a problem. My blogs are too long and I don’t post that often. I tend to over-think everything. Ever since I started this blog (it’s all Dave’s fault, he got me into this, and he hasn't posted since June 9th!), I approach blogging like some kind of English exam. I research my assignment, I re-write entries many times over, and I cram the day before. It’s not good.

Now, I have a ton of excuses for not blogging more than once a week or a few times a month. Here goes: I run a company. Between business development, client service and HR stuff I have a pretty busy day. Next up, I’m a mom, too. I have a rambunctious seven-year-old who loves dance, dress-up, soccer and Wii – and I’m there for most of it. And finally, summer is in full swing in Toronto and I’d rather be golfing, barbequing and swimming than banging out a few hundred words for my blog. But hey … I can come up with 101 excuses for not blogging more, but I won’t. Because once you have committed to blogging, I don’t think you should make lame excuses for not doing what you started.

And herein lies the big issue with blogging. It’s not just about having the skill to blog (yes, you need to know how to write well) but you need a firm commitment to the practice of blogging. Time is such a precious commodity (more than oil) and for me there are days when I just can’t find that 20 minutes to write. I have a ton of thought-ware, but it’s about dedicating time to write it down.

So here’s my promise, I will try to get to my blog thingie more often. And above all, I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Okay, maybe not so sweet.

You can go your own way

In 1999, I caught the entrepreneurial bug and started MAVERICK. In one of my earlier posts, I described myself as an accidental entrepreneur because I really didn’t have aspirations to have my own business until someone pointed out to me that I would be pretty good at it.

I’m writing this blog post for anyone who is perhaps thinking about starting up their own PR shop. I have loads of professional experience to share with you.

There are several ways to launch your own PR shop. First off, you can simply go freelance or contract. You are essentially a free-agent, picking up PR gigs here and there. You don’t need fancy schmancy office space (you can work out of your garage if you like) and you can hire independent contractors when you need more feet on the street. This can be a very sustainable business model provided you like to work alone most of the time, you are self-motivated and you like to be the accountant, the media pitcher, the sales guy, the creative, the writer and the dishwasher. You don’t need a lot of capital to start this kind of business and it’s a sensible way to migrate to a larger scale operation in the future. I thought about this model when I launched my own firm, but I had much loftier goals in mind from the start.

If you think you are ready for prime-time and want to launch a full service PR firm complete with full time staff, office space and a solid presence, then it takes a little more than a rolodex of prospects. If this sounds like more your vision, then read on.

First off, you need money and lots of it. Rent, salaries, phones, computers and coffee all cost money. I started with a $250,000 float to start MAVERICK. You can probably get away with less, but I rented very expensive space in downtown Toronto. I was always planning on hunting big game so I needed a posh address to show clients and potential employees that I was a serious player. And yes, a lot of prospects still want to see the space you operate out of. You can start your PR firm with a partner to share costs, but be prepared to be highly collaborative and have only a 50 per cent share of voice.

Next up, you better know how to sell and persuade because you’ll be doing that until you are blue in the face -- with suppliers, banks, clients etc. You’ll also need a healthy dose of sheer determination and a vision for your firm. Oh, and don’t forget, you need to love rejection too.

Finally, surround yourself with positive people who want to see you succeed. Nothing is more important than an encouraging atmosphere, whether it’s your family, friends or co-workers. I hate naysayers and pessimists. Get rid of people like that. I sound very Deepak right now, but I can’t stress how vital it is to have positive karma all around you - especially during a start-up phase. I worked with the four best guys in the biz when I started MAVERICK: Gerry, Stephen, Andre and Andrew. I was incredibly lucky to work with this line up of talent and inspiration.

Above all, be fearless. As an entrepreneur, all eyes are on you to steer the boat during good and bad times. It’s a huge responsibility when you have staff to take care of, but the payoff is worth all the sleepless nights. I promise.

So whether you’re launching a freelance career or a full service PR shop, just remember the words of the great Beverly Sills: "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

You always remember your first

I remember it perfectly. It was a beautiful spring morning and I was driving up the DVP heading north of the city to a prospect meeting. I had just incorporated MAVERICK PR a week before . My business cards were literally still drying. I had no employees, no office space, no presence on the web. Most of all, I had no clients. This was my very first pitch I would make as a “maverick.” I was no longer a VP at a large multinational agency. I was a starving entrepreneur.

When I got to the offices of Atelier America (rebranded now as Brushstrokes Fine Art), my jaw dropped to the floor. I felt as if I had walked into a Paris museum. The reception area was stunning, with magnificent oil paintings adorning the walls. I recognized some of the works of art, but surely, I thought to myself, they can’t be real.

I was greeted by a woman named Christine, who led me to another spectacular room. The boardroom was large but comfortable. There were 10 high-back cushion chairs around a dark mahogany table. Beautiful Chinese lamps were scattered throughout the room and historical artifacts were peppered throughout the area. The walls were covered with more gorgeous paintings. Monets next to Renoirs .. it was sublime.

An older gentlemen walked in whom I figured to be in his sixties. He was impeccably dressed in a pinstriped suit, crisp white shirt, red tie, and manicured nails. His eyes sparkled with the enthusiasm of a child and his smile was warm and inviting. He held out his hand and introduced himself as Harvey Kalef.

We started the meeting discussing his business. Art. Art reproductions, actually. So perfect were these reproductions that they maintained the integrity of the artist, right down to each brushstroke. Harvey had invented a patented process by which he could copy art so faithful to the original that it was almost impossible to discern the fake from the original. His business was doing well, but he wanted to use PR to tell the world about his invention.

My mind was spinning. I was practically writing the PR strategy in my head as Harvey explained his vision of offering “art to the masses.” I was impressed with the business and smitten with Harvey. What an amazing human being, I thought. He was special. I knew I was in the presence of a remarkable human being. I wanted Harvey’s account but, moreover, I wanted to work alongside this man.

A week later I was up at his offices again, only this time with my PR proposal in hand. I had worked night and day developing a PR recommendation. I had researched art magazines, studied art books and literally scoured the Internet for art information. After I presented the strategy, I boldly asked Harvey for the business, but I knew I had to sell him on MAVERICK too. I launched hard into my sales pitch. I had to make a winning case for MAVERICK and myself. I wasn’t desperate, but this man knew full well I was a one-woman show. At the end of my sales soliloquy, Harvey said, “Ok kid, you’ve sold me. I’m one of the best sales guys in the business, and you’ve managed to sell me.”

His next move was one I will never forget: he came back into boardroom with a cheque, a two-month PR retainer upfront. He didn’t question my quote. He didn’t haggle or ask for a discount. He paid what I quoted on. He said he knew I would be hard up for cash as a sole PR practitioner and he’d hope this would help kick-start my company. Wow, I thought, were all first-time meetings going to be like this?

Our relationship blossomed over the years and Harvey stayed my client from Day One. The launch event for his company in New York was – and still is – one of the highlights of my career. Over the years I learned more from him than from any other client. He was the most inspirational man in business I had ever met.

This past Saturday, Harvey passed away from cancer. He fought the battle well and continued to work up until his frail body could not stand anymore.

Every entrepreneur needs that first big break – the first client who believes in your vision and gives you a chance to prove yourself.

For me, that client was Harvey. I will miss his storytelling, his generosity and his unrelenting passion to invent and create. He was my client, my mentor, my hero. But most of all, he was my friend.

You never forget your first, and I will never forget Harvey. Rest in peace, dear friend. And thank you for believing in me.

Everything I learned about PR … I learned at McDonald’s

I’ve been interviewing a lot of interns lately and they all have similar backgrounds: a BA in some useless course and a theory-based PR course from one of the Toronto-based colleges. Just enough to get a foot in the communications door.

When I landed my first PR gig almost 20 years ago (as a receptionist at National PR), I had great computer skills but absolutely no formal schooling in PR. I didn’t know it then, but I had number of skills that made me uniquely suited for the PR field. Oddly enough, those skills were gleaned over a two-year period in my very first job – at McDonald’s! At 16, it was a great experience and I took away some valuable lessons that I applied in my role as a PR practitioner and still do today as an entrepreneur. Specifically:

Teamwork: Nothing makes you gel as a collective team than working the lunch shift on a busy Saturday afternoon. Long hungry lines of kids and parents made everyone from the cooks in the back to the servers act in unison. When one batch of fries came out, another went in. When the coffee was low, we quickly made another pot. When the Apple and Cherry pies got cold, we fried new ones and threw out the cold batch. We all helped and looked out for each other. No customer ever waited for food on our shift.

Billability: I learned very quickly that productivity counts in the service business. I started my shift with a $50.00 float in my till and when my shift was over the swing manager on duty would cash me out. After a few months I was asked to see the head manager in his office. He sat me down as he was eyeballing a large spreadsheet in front of him. He said he never saw anyone in a four-hour shift move so many orders through. I was the top server in productivity for three months straight.

Creativity: After about a year of working four shifts per week and eating countless McChicken meals (I’m addicted to those), I was getting quickly bored of the food. So I got creative. If I worked a breakfast shift, instead of the standard boxed breakfast that was on the menu I had the boys on the grill whip me up a cheese and sausage omelet or create piggies in a blanket with sausages rolled up in pancakes. For dessert I’d crunch cookies as a sundae topping and mix soda and orange juice for an afternoon pick-me-up. I probably broke some rules, but with a little creativity and ingenuity I kept my taste buds active.

Customer Service: One day a gentleman ordered a Big Mac and fries. He opened the box and looked at his Big Mac and said there was no mustard on the bun. “Oh, I’m sorry”, I said. “They must have forgotten to add that condiment. I’ll put some on the bun immediately.” The manager on duty overheard the discussion and quickly chimed in, “Sir, the Big Mac does not come with mustard but its own special sauce so we can’t add that.” The customer insisted on the mustard but the manager stuck to his guns. The argument went on for several minutes until finally my manager succumbed to pressure and went to the back and squirted mustard on the burger and handed it back to the customer in a huff. I couldn’t believe it. This poor guy just wanted mustard! A few weeks later the same customer returned and ordered a Big Mac. I remembered him, added his mustard to the pattie and, with a wink, told him the burger was just as he liked it. “Thanks,” he said, and handed me a one dollar tip. The lesson: customers may not always be right, but give them what they want anyway.

Patience: During my second year, I graduated from the front till to being the hostess for children’s parties. Nothing can try a teenager’s patience more than screaming, demanding little snot-nosed three-year-olds. Throw in the overbearing parent and it’s enough to make Ronald McDonald lose his grin. Still, I learned to be patient, stay cool and calm and remember that tomorrow is another day.

I’m not suggesting you start your PR career at the Golden Arches. But if you do, try and garner as much from the experience as I did.

Thanks, McDonald’s, for some valuable career lessons.

Success in Partnership

A few weeks ago, I posted a blog about the birth of MAVERICK. While it may have sounded very spiritual and easy to find the road, be forewarned: the decision to launch your own company takes incredible strength, foresight and the right team to airlift it.

First off, before you even endeavor to hang your own shingle, know yourself inside out. You should know intimately what parts of the business you can master and where you think you will fall short. Be completely honest with yourself. It is one thing to say you can “do it all” but another in practice. The failure in any new business venture is trying to do everything singlehandedly.

Case in point: I’d like to point to some great PR firms in this city that have strong partnership philosophies in place. The dynamic duo of Judy Lewis and Deb Weinstein of Strategic Objectives, the PR Pros Joe Thornley and Terry Fallis of ThornleyFallis, and of course, Susanne Courtney and Sharon Rainey of the Courtney Rainey Group (just acquired by Cohn & Wolfe). These firms (and many others) are successful in part due to their powerful partnerships and ability to divide and conquer.

I knew early on I had very few skills in the financial management department. Oh, I can figure out personal savings and expenses, but I had no concept of a P&L statement, overhead expenses, margins and the two most important words in a company’s financial well-being: “cash flow.”

Without a strong partner to fully manage and integrate the back-end, while I concentrated on building a client profile, I would have been D.O.A. before my first client win.

I was very fortunate that my life partner, Gerry Riddell, happened to be one of the Canadian PR industry’s foremost financial business managers. With a career spanning more than 20 years serving big agencies like Burson-Marstellar and Cohn & Wolfe, he was and still is the wind beneath my wings. Not only did he put all his best practices to work here, he is the ultimate sounding board for all of us in the company.

When we were launching MAVERICK back in 1999, I was literally all over the map. I bounced around every day with new ideas and changed my vision hourly (Ritalin has worked wonders for me!). A strong partner, that brings a divergent view point will listen and position you squarely on a focused path. (Gerry is a modest lieutenant and is probably pissed off that I am even writing this in my blog!)

Every entrepreneur needs a successful partner. I can’t think of any thriving enterprise that wasn’t rooted in a trusted partnership. Bill Gates had Paul Allen; Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak and Heather Riesman had her Gerry….Gerry Schwartz that is.

The success of MAVERICK’s early beginnings rested squarely on two factors: client acquisition and financial back office management. I would even dare say no entrepreneur should attempt to simultaneously manage bean counting and building their business. Why? Growth will be stunted, guaranteed.

So, you might want to start your own business (maybe a PR firm?), but the undeniable truth is there are a ton of hurdles to get past. However, the biggest obstacle to overcome is accepting that you can’t do it alone. Martyrdom is not rewarded in our capitalist society. Divide and conquer. It works.

I’ve got my Gerry, make sure you get yours.

The Accidental Entrepreneur

For the first time in my blog I am writing about the genesis of MAVERICK. Some inquiring minds have asked me many times about how this PR firm came to be. So here it is, the full, all too real story.

I am very much an “accidental entrepreneur.” I never intended to start my own PR firm, in fact, I believe whole-heartedly in the company “lifer” mentality. There is a lot of dignity in that. I was loyal to my employer, a dutiful lieutenant and happy in the role I had for many years. But, after a terrible, unexpected family death, I discovered a profound sense of purpose that stretched beyond my current surroundings. This life inflection point was a critical juncture in my journey. (For an understanding of strategic inflection points, read Andy Grove’s book Only the Paranoid Shall Survive. Grove gives great insight into business inflection points, a topic that underscores this blog.)

Losing parents is a rite of passage that we all must endure, but my dad’s death came much too early and unexpected. That experience left me floating and dazed, and I realized that I was on complete autopilot, just going through the motions at work, at home, in life. Until one day I had my very own Jerry Maguire moment. That famous "Mission Statement" truly inspired me.

I’m a person of forward motion; with a stiff upper lip and a “never let them see you cry” attitude. So, just a few months after my father’s death, I took that despair and fueled it into something much more positive and productive - a new business venture which I baptized as MAVERICK Public Relations. I needed something to take my mind off of what just happened, something demanding enough to fill the void. It was so incredibly healing to put my mind into a single, focused mission. I required more risk in my life and what better way to challenge yourself than by putting up everything you own, hanging up a shingle and hoping someone will come? Like many entrepreneurs before me, money was the very last reason I started this company. In fact, it was pretty much a struggle just to make payroll, pay bills, eat, etc. The calling to strike it on your own does not come from finding yourself suddenly out of work or from greed; it’s exactly the opposite. Today’s entrepreneurs are moved by vision, passion and personal exploration. Not to mention the powerful aphrodisiac of control and flexibility. There is a common thread that motivates business owners, but it’s hardly money.

What's truly bizarre is that the path I am on today was never in the cards. It was eight years ago to this very day that my dad’s life ended. In a poetic kind of way, through his passing, I found my identity. I was always a MAVERICK; I just didn’t know it until that fateful day.