Who Is She: CEO/Publicist Kelli Flournoy

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.