Building the Bridge

This time last year, I put my daughter on the bus for her first day of kindergarten. Little did I know that the bus doors opening to her new beginning were a metaphor of what was to come for her father.

One year ago, I was let go from my job. It was the best thing that could have happened to me. My own “bus doors” were opening to the start of my consultancy, JRM Comm. The ride so far has been exciting, exhilarating, draining and stressful. Read those four words again. This was not something I ever expected.

I’m going to be brutally honest. There are days that I’m still learning about running my own business. Does this affect my work with clients? Absolutely not. But, I’ve struggled with the behind the scenes things. I want to be the best. But there are days that I’m not the best. As a matter of fact, there are days where my batting average is zero.

That is the biggest test for me; trying to understand the balance of success and failure. My highs are very high. When it comes to my lows, I let the little things get to me. Why hasn’t this mail come through? How can someone actually post that on Facebook? When is this potential client going to respond?

My wife said something great to me the other night. She told me, “You need to be real. Don’t be someone online and a different one off of it.” This is something I mention and talk to people about all the time, yet I’m not listening to my own (and my wife’s) advice. Well, that changes now.

I’ve decided to build the bridge. This phrase is something that New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin told the team prior to the start of the 2012-13 season. He said:

“‘Build the Bridge’ means to carry over all the good things that happened at the end of the season last year over into the new season. The qualities that allowed us to go forward and win the World Championship.”

While this may not sound like the most inspiring thing in the world, that phrase is key for me. By building a bridge from the good things that happened and eliminating the negatives, I can be a better business owner, PR pro and speaker.

I’m lucky to be in this position… and I’m thankful for the support I’ve had from family and colleagues. My advice to you? Build your bridge, but don’t try to do it in one day. You’ll find success over time, not overnight.

That’s reality and something I absolutely embrace.

Starting Small By Thinking Big

I am not Edelman; I’m not BlissPR; I’m not even Ruder Finn. I say that with no ounce of disrespect, either. Many of the people who work at those places have, in one way or another, provided inspiration to me. You see, those big players in our field helped shape how I wanted to run my consultancy.

Sure, I looked at many other consultancies and businesses, those not in PR or social media marketing, to get ideas. It, ultimately, came back to the “big boys.” They didn’t start with name brands or PR consultants to Fortune 500 CEOs; they started small and got bigger and bigger.

Do I think my name will eventually be like Edelman? No. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to think big. Just because you aren’t a big firm doesn’t mean you can’t think like one.

JRM Comm started as a pipe dream. I wanted to be on my own. I grew tired of doing things that I felt weren’t moving forward. So, when I broke off on my own last September, I put everything I learned into launching my consultancy. I may be small in business size, but my mind thinks big. And that is what clients want… and what you should aspire to.

The minute you begin to think small, instead of big, you have failed. You deserve better and so do your clients. Think about this for a second: Would you listen to a consultant or pro if they said you should just do a news release? Probably not. That’s thinking small. You would probably listen to a pro that said let’s create a plan that involves traditional PR tactics and PR 2.0. Let’s do a Twitter contest, etc.

You may be just one person now, but two years from now you may have five employees. You don’t get there by just thinking small… you get bigger by thinking bigger. Dream it and believe it!