3 Ways I’ve Grown My Business with PR (Minisode) – Podcast Transcript

Speaker: Lexie Smith

Lexie Smith 

For today’s minisode, we’re going to dive into three ways I’ve grown my business with PR. So grab some sips, relax and get ready to take a sneak peek behind the scenes of THEPRBAR inc. Well, I’ve been doing PR and marketing for more than 11 years now. 2020 marked my first year of full-time entrepreneurship with the PR bar Inc. So 2021 marked year two and we’re officially cruising into year three, and oh my goodness, what a ride it has been. Now before we dive into the tangible tactics of how I’ve grown my business, I need to give you a bit of backstory and context about the ideation and creation of THEPRBAR inc. First, it’s worth noting that I did not always know that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. In fact, if you asked me in fifth grade, I would have answered an award-winning actress in Hollywood into college, I started down the path of pursuing broadcast journalism. It wasn’t until I entered the workforce, which by the way, spoiler alert, broadcast journalism evolved into journalism and PR later in college. But anyway, it wasn’t until I entered the workforce that I realized my true end ambition was to someday create something of my own. In hindsight, there were obvious indications of this growing upright so I was a frequent lemon stand kind of super. I love to invent new products. I invented that beanie, that beanie baby sleeping bag. I invented this glasses case for my mom. I was always creating new recipes and trying to sell them. I was involved in any and everything leadership base. And to be frank, I really did like to get my way now in my journey to understand that end game. So prior to becoming a full-time entrepreneur, I worked with and for a variety of companies, I mean quite literally small one-person shops to buy coastal agencies to fast-growing eight-figure startups across a diverse range of industries, from fashion to hospitality, lifestyle, tech, telecom, telehealth, I mean really very diverse. I’m also very fortunate to be surrounded by a family of business owners. So my dad owns a construction company. My sister owns a hair salon. My husband works for a now fourth-generation family-owned manufacturing company. All of this context to say, I have seen behind the curtain and behind the scenes many different types of business models. Due to this good fortune, I was very intentional and clear in the type of business I wanted to create. When my someday came, simply summarized, I wanted to create a virtual service-based business that sustained me, my family, and my lifestyle. Aside from that, I wasn’t exactly sure of what beyond the business type I was going to create. In 2019. While serving as a VP of PR, marketing and business development at an inc 5000 company. I experienced a major health event that long story short, told me that it was my time to make the leap. So I took a look back at my career thus far, and many souls searching and journaling and research later identified what I both loved and was good at doing. Thankfully or faithfully this matched up with the business model I wanted to create. And the concept of becoming a PR and business coach was brought to the table. Sprinkle in some fun and honey branding and the PR in concept was born. The short about or byline of the PR bar is it’s an online coaching plot. form and resource hub built to help motivated entrepreneurs and professionals expand their impact, influence and revenue through relationship driven marketing and PR. In other words, I work with entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, startups, founders and their teams to help them make more money with PR. And I do this in three main ways. The first is called the PR bar flight. So imagine a wine flight or a beer flight again with the puns. And this is a hybrid self paced PR course supported by one on one coaching. The second offering I have is my signature one on one four month program called Pop fizz clink, entrepreneurs and teams and pop is clean, learn to develop and execute custom growth strategies. We cover everything from how to land traditional press to thought leadership development, Client Relations, and so much more. And finally, I have a one on one PR marketing and business development coaching retainer that I call wine club. And yes, there is wine if you drink it. Okay. So that’s a bunch of context. Okay, we’re almost to the tactics. But there are a few other things to know as I head into year three of my business, halfway through year two of my business. So this past year, I became a six figure business owner. And this was accomplished through 100%, organic marketing and PR. So I have spent $0 on advertising. Okay, I practice what I preach. Now, we’re going to get to how there are a lot of Houses involved. But specifically, I’m going to review the PR tactics that have helped me grow my business. First up, authentic, long game networking. Now I know it doesn’t sound sexy, but showing up in rooms virtual or otherwise, and in different communities and forming genuine connections has been huge for my business. Whether it be providing free value, or scheduling a virtual coffee chat just to get to know someone more, the more I attend to my network, the more I see my net worth grow. And since these tactics are relationship based, they do in fact qualify as me doing PR. So if you’ve been neglecting networking and are in search of an organic Business Growth tactic that works, here is your polite shove to get back into the game this year. Something I challenge my clients to do. This depends on their goals, of course, is to schedule at least one new coffee chat a month and attend one new targeted event. So show up and one more room. The goal of these efforts are purely network expansion based. This isn’t a hop on and sell yourself type of call. You know, inevitably sometimes someone will ask you what you do and that can occur naturally. But the whole thing here is a long game. Alright, moving on to tactic number two. The second way I’ve grown my business is through thought leadership development. Specifically through the mediums of articles, speaking and podcasting. I have spent a lot of time and effort educating and sharing my unique point of view as it relates to PR. I write by lines for third party outlets, I speak at a variety of conferences and events. And I have spent so much time developing my own media channels like this podcast. This not only helps expand my reach, but it comes especially in handy when solidifying my credibility and authority. Both aspects that are critical in the sales process. Sometimes these efforts do generate direct leads, for example, an article I wrote, I think it was about five or six months ago for Create and Cultivate still brings people to my site, and it has them booking calls to this day. Other times, it serves as a footprint for potential clients that are researching me, both are incredibly valuable.

Lexie Smith 

Moving on to tactic number three workshops and outside community activation. Okay, so I host a lot of workshops, from going into intimate masterminds to larger industry conferences, to community event series. If there’s a relevant opportunity for me to teach in someone else’s community or on a previously established platform. You best bet I will be there. While personal community wasn’t an element , it is great and important. Absolutely. One of the greatest or fastest ways to grow your own community or sphere of influence is by tapping into someone else’s. Now that is not to say you’re taking advantage of their hard work, it is critical you bring something to the table of true value. And that’s where for me workshops come in. Some of the workshops that I’ve done have also been turned into purchasable paid offers within those communities or organizations. Some of these I receive affiliate commissions for others I do not either way, so both scenarios I am okay, because the more people who can see me teach and speak, the wider my brand awareness, and expertise spreads. All of these tactics generate what I call top of funnel awareness. From there, it’s up to me to close which is a topic for another podcast, right? Okay, so let’s begin to wrap things up, I want to do a quick summary of everything we just reviewed. I have grown my business 100% through PR and PR tactics. Those tactics include networking and authentic community relations really playing the long game. Number two thought leadership development in terms of podcast articles and speaking number three workshops and outside community activation. Heading into year three of my business. These tactics have also enabled me to already have secured revenue and clients through the end of the year. However, I do still have a couple of remaining coaching spots open for 2022. Well, I guess it depends on when you’re listening to this, so maybe not. But if you are interested in learning more about how we might be able to work together one on one to develop your brand or your business’s personal growth strategy. I invite you to reach out in whatever way is easiest. You can send me a DM on Instagram. You can schedule a call on my website or shoot me an email. All of these links we will put in the show notes but really the best home base place to go is the PR bar inc.com which is the pr barinc.com Until next time, cheers!