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That Solo Life: Co-hosted by Karen Swim, founder of Words for Hire, LLC and owner of Solo PR Pro and Michelle Kane, founder of VoiceMatters, LLC, we keep it real and talk about the topics that affect solo business owners in PR and Marketing and beyond. Learn more about Solo PR Pro: www.SoloPRPro.com
Episodes
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Let’s circle back and level-set to reach the business-critical ask.
What?
Right.
Corporate speak. Why do corporations speak the way they do?
Two recent articles, which we've been discussing in the Solo PR Pro Members' Facebook Group, brought this to mind:
- Molly Young, Vulture.com: Garbage Language Why Do Corporations Speak the Way They Do?
- Olga Khazan, The Atlantic: Corporate Buzzwords Are How Workers Pretend to Be Adults
Why does the business world feel the need to complicate communication to this degree, and how can we, as communications pros, make sure that clarity wins?
We’d love to hear your take on this. Visit us at soloprpro.com.
Monday Mar 02, 2020
Monday Mar 02, 2020
From webinars to conferences, blogs to heading back to the classroom, there are many ways for us to invest in ourselves and our work with ongoing professional development.
It’s important to remember:
- Don’t be deterred if you can’t afford an expensive conference right away. There are many smaller, more cost-effective opportunities, in-person and online.
- The professional development you pursue doesn’t have to be PR-centric. Maybe it’s a creative writing conference, or a series on digital marketing.
- If you and a colleague are attending different conferences, share notes.
- Follow conference or subject area hashtags.
What are your favorite ways to keep your PR tools sharpened? We’d love to know! Visit us at soloprpro.com.
Monday Feb 24, 2020
Monday Feb 24, 2020
As communications professionals our workdays are full of decisions. From making decisions in the best interests of our clients to making decisions about our businesses, some days there is little bandwidth left over for the simplest of choices, like what to eat for lunch or what to wear on any given day. Is this you? Then listen so you know you're not alone and to get some ideas on how to evade this feeling.
How do you combat decision fatigue? We’d love to hear from you. Visit us at soloprpro.com.
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Monday Feb 17, 2020
Today, we are thrilled to have as our guest Gene Zaino, founder and executive chairman of MBO Partners, a company he launched to reinvent the way independent consultants and organizations work together. Gene is a nationally-recognized expert in the next way of working and he joins us today to discuss the impact of recent legislation -- in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and most recently the Federal level with the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 -- on the state of the independent worker.
Listen to learn what impact this legislation may have on your work as an independent contractor, the proactive steps you can take, and what’s next in a business reality based on the work of employees and independent contractors.
Stay up to date on this issue and all of the elements of working as a “solo” at soloprpro.com.
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Monday Feb 10, 2020
L-O-V-E – Love! Since this episode falls near Valentine’s Day we decided to talk about the ways you love your work, your business, your solo life! 2020 has already presented its own challenges -- AB5 and its Federal counterpart the PROAct, it’s an election year, and more. Join us and get some ideas on how to keep the spark.
How do you show love for your business? We want to know! Visit us at soloprpro.com to share.
Monday Feb 03, 2020
Monday Feb 03, 2020
PR Pros, marketers, creatives, we know that much of our work requires “energy out” behavior. To stay mentally and physically healthy, we need to take the time to replenish bodies and minds.
It’s easy for negative thoughts to take hold if you are physically or mentally run down. It isn’t helped by the truth that many PR pros are wired to be overthinkers. It helps us succeed professionally but can also lead to unnecessary rumination.
In today’s episode, we share our experiences and talk about ways to make sure our cups remain full and we are equipped to enjoy our lives and succeed in our businesses.
As always, we’d love to hear from you. What self-care tips can you share? Visit us at soloprpro.com to let us know.
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Monday Jan 27, 2020
Working for yourself is great, with many items in the “pro” column. Two of the potential challenges for many solo practitioners? Asking for client feedback and reviewing ourselves. In today’s episode, we discuss several ways to solicit this information from clients and put systems in place to measure our own professional progress.
How about you? How do you check in with your clients, with yourself, to make sure you are achieving goals and serving your clients well? Visit us at soloprpro.com to let us know.
Monday Jan 20, 2020
Monday Jan 20, 2020
In this episode of That Solo Life we give an update on how California Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) is already penalizing solo entrepreneurs, independent workers, and small business owners and what you can do to prepare should similar legislation come your way.
Then we switch gears to share excellent advice from our brain trust of Solo PR Pro “smarties” who have so generously shared advice for anyone considering starting a business in PR, marketing, or any other field. We touch on a few points in this podcast and you can read all of them in this blog on SoloPRPro.com.
We want to hear from you! What advice would you give to someone starting a business? Or, maybe you have a question about an area we didn’t cover? Visit us at soloprpro.com to let us know.
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
2020 is here. What do you want to achieve over the next 12 months? How will you get there? In today’s episode we discuss the importance of setting personal and professional goals and the many methods of achieving those goals.
What are your goals? How do you keep your momentum? We want to know - contact us online to share your thoughts.
One of the ways to achieve your goals is to share them with your friends and peers. When you become a member of Solo PR Pro, you have access to our private Facebook group where we cheer each other on. Visit us at soloprpro.com to learn more about the value of membership.
Monday Jan 06, 2020
Monday Jan 06, 2020
It’s a new year, the perfect time to look at what’s ahead and that’s just what the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations has done with their newly-released piece, The Top Public Relations Career Trends of 2020. From the growing importance of data and analytics in PR to the need for PR pros to be creative in their work, learn how you can fine-tune your skillset to make 2020 a great year!
We’d like to thank Mary Barber of The Barber Group for sharing this article in our Solo PR Pro Premium Member Facebook group! Mary is one of the many active members of Solo PR Pro who bring new and useful news to our group. Visit us at soloprpro.com to learn more about the value of membership.
We also want to know what you think about these trends – contact us online to share your thoughts.