WHO IS SHE?
She is Kelli Flournoy -- CEO and Co-Founder of Kelli Flournoy PublicRelations. This interview is particularly dear to me because Kelli is my
mentor. I had the pleasure of working as an intern under Kelli for a few months
at Kelli Flournoy Public Relations -- where I learned all my PR and social
media management skills. In 2011, after 10 years of experience in various
sectors of the fashion industry, including; public relations, fashion styling,
product development and event coordination, Kelli decided to combine all
of her talents and started Kelli Flournoy PR. KFPR is a boutique Public
Relations firm that offers a variety of creative services such as, branding,
media relations, event coordination and much more! You may also remember Kelli from the hit WeTV show House Of Curves where she starred as a cast member. Check out my interview with
Kelli Below!
1) What
is your definition of public relations and the job of a publicist?
Throughout
my career, I’ve heard several different definitions of public relations. But in
my experience, the most applicable definition comes from the PRSA: “Public
Relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their publics.” My job as a publicist
is to promote my clients to their target audience. This may include positioning
the brand to be more valuable in order to gain support.
2) What
is your background story as far as Public Relations goes?
I started as part of
the in-house PR team for Wal-Mart brand Faded Glory. I knew absolutely nothing
about Public Relations but the current Director of PR took me under her wing
and taught me the fundamentals. She eventually left the company at which time I
took over the public relations duties.
3) As
CEO of Kelli Flournoy PR, what are your essential duties?
As CEO my essential
duties include securing new business, establishing organizational goals,
communication with clients and managing my team to ensure a cohesive company
culture is communicated to the client.
4) Do
you have a set list of morning rituals that you perform when you get into the
office on the average day? How do you kickstart your day?
I like to start my
day with a great workout; I usually arrive to the gym by 5am. I also enjoy
meditating. I have so much going on in my head all the time, it’s really
important for me to have a moment where I release all the responsibility and
literally just let my mind go.
5) With
a career like yours, I am sure there is not a typical workweek. However, what
are some general tasks you can expect out of your week as a PR professional?
Some of my general tasks include lots and lots of emails. Another common theme
is staying abreast via social media. While some people strive to “unplug”, I’m
doing just the opposite. No matter how much the workload varies, the one
constant is my responsibility to stay up to speed on current affairs and the
most efficient way to do this is through social media.
6) Tell
me about a project you worked on that you are especially proud of?
The project
that I am most proud of to date would be working with San Francisco 49er,
Vernon Davis on a project with campModa here in Atlanta. We had roughly 72
hours to reach out to our contacts and put him on a 48hour media tour. In the
end it was an incredible success and the client was happy.
7) What
are five essential skills a person would need in order to thrive in PR industry?
Ambition, creativity, tenacity, endurance and most importantly patience. We are
constantly sowing seeds and no matter how ready we are, we must wait.
8) How
does one break into this industry? What kind of education is necessary for this
field? While I would advise a basic college education in business and/or
marketing more importantly, anyone looking to break into this industry needs to
be creative, ambitious and have thick skin. Publicist deal with tons of
rejection and must navigate through very uncertain circumstances so it is
essential that they can take the “no’s” and be clever enough to figure out a
work around.
9) What
do you do to keep current in the PR industry?
I read A LOT. I have a BS in
Business Administration and didn’t get my MBA in Marketing until after I’d
worked in the industry so it was up to me to educate myself on standard PR
terms and practices by reading books and any information I could find online.
As the industry continues to change, I continue to educate myself through
reading credible sources and attending industry events.
10) When
one is looking for an entry-level PR position, what makes a candidate stand
out?
If someone is interested in an entry-level PR position they should really
focus on their writing skills because that is likely what you will be required,
and trusted, to do starting out. Learn how to pitch, learn how to write a press
release. It is unlikely that whatever you write as an entry-level publicist
will be ready to go as is, but if you can give your superior something that
simply needs to be edited, you are saving them time and contributing. You are
making yourself a valuable player, which is important if you want to have a
successful career in this business.
11) What
are some major challenges do you face as a PR professional and as an
entrepreneur?
As a PR professional, the very core activity of our business is
to secure press for our clients. In all actuality we have minimal control of
this process. We can prep and pitch a client to our very best friend that works
at XYZ Magazine, but if our clients product could still end up not running due
to lack of space, it might not be a great fit for the issue…these are
situations we have no control over.
12) How
would you describe your pitching style? What tips do you have as far as
pitching goes?
My pitching style is to create the story/angle as much as
possible so the editor has to do very little work. We pitch the angle based on
the editorial calendar and/or current events and we include a press release,
fact sheet and a few photos.
13) If
you had to name two things that contributed to your success thus far, what
would those two things be?
One of the things that has contributed to my success
is my fear of failure which has pushed me out of my comfort zone many times in
order to get the job done. The other contributing factor to my success has been
an amazing and supportive network. I’ve built very solid and mutually
beneficial relationships over the years.
14) When
it comes to your career do you have any regrets or things you wish you had done
differently? If so what could you have done differently for a better outcome?
If I had to do anything over, it would be coming out of my shell sooner. I’ve
always had the desire to succeed and do well in this business but I definitely
struggled with self-assuredness early in my career…and as a result I wasted a
lot of time.
15) How
do you achieve balance in your life with as a CEO. How do you balance your work
life and your personal life?
Balancing my work and
personal life is a continuous challenge. On the one hand, socializing is a big
part of my job so this allows me to see my friends and colleagues so that’s
nice. But on the other hand, I am still working even when it appears I’m
not…there are times that I wish I weren’t so accessible for business.
16) How
do you stay motivated in the field of public relations?
Taking moments to
remember why I got into this business. That may mean stepping away from an
insane work load to pour over the latest issue of Elle. When I see brands that
are growing and flourishing in the media, I am instantly renewed and ready to
work.
17) What
advice would you offer to young girls who are interested starting their own
business?
Entrepreneurship is very exciting and rewarding but it can be very
stressful and expensive. So my advice would be to learn as much as possible on
someone else’s dime. Work in your field of interest at least 5 years and soak
up as much information as possible.
18) What
advice would you offer to young girls who are interested in entering the field
of public relations?
My advice to young girls who are interested in entering
the field of public relations would be to become proactive about learning this
business. Get online and research standard procedures. Attend industry events
and conferences. Work on your networking skills. This business requires
initiative every step of the way…so start early.
She's So Me would like to thank Kelli Flournoy for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us! To learn more about Kelli Flournoy Public Relations and the services they have to offer, check them out at www.kelliflournoypr.com. Make sure you also swing by Instagram and follow KFPR @KelliFlournoyPR and then swing by Twitter and follow KFPR @KelliFlournoyPR. In addition to her list of expertise, Kelli also offers consultation and public speaking services! To book Kelli today, shoot an email to bookings@kelliflournoypr.com.
