In a weeks’ time, I’ll be attending Your Year in PR with Janet Murray.
If you haven’t heard of Janet Murray before, then shame on you! Janet is the UK’s leading PR expert and through her online community, #soulfulprhour twitter chats and incredible podcast and blogs, she shares her extensive knowledge to help small business owners promote themselves more effectively.
This two-day event promises to give attendees all the tools they need to start 2018 with a fully fleshed out PR plan for their business, sounds great, right!?
But why did I decide to invest in a ticket to #YYIPR17?
#1 Time to Invest
Since launching my business, I’ve learnt a huge amount from Janet. After first discovering her on social media, I signed up to her Soulful PR for Starters course (which I’ll be working through in December and the New Year), and I’ve most recently joined her Soulful PR Studio.
Sometimes the sheer volume of advice and information on how to be a successful business owner can be overwhelming! There’s a lot of bad advice and ‘too good to be true’ advice that you have to wade through. But, Janet’s Soulful PR concept is something that has really resonated with me.
I know that Marketing and PR is the single biggest area that I need to invest in for myself and my business next year. I’m in the lucky position that, when I started my business, I had money behind me that I could put towards startup costs and I’ve also allocated some of that money towards personal development. So, for me, getting a ticket to the event was a no-brainer!
#2 Get Connected
Running a business on your own is tough. Working from home, and mostly on my own, has been one of the biggest adjustments I’ve had to get used to since leaving my job at a busy office in London. I’ve been lucky to find online communities through other training programmes I’ve completed this year with VIP VA and Digital Mums. However, I haven’t built as many connections as I could’ve outside of the Virtual Assistant or Social Media arena.
Janet, Jo-Anna and Lucy have already encouraged attendees to start making connections ahead of #YYIPR17. This has been fantastic so far! I’ve chatted with people on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn and I’m looking forward to attending the social event afterwards to further bond over all that we’ve learnt and our common desire to grow our businesses.
#3 Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail
Not only am I looking forward to coming away from the event with the framework for my 2018 PR plan but I’m also looking forward to doing so by working smarter, rather than harder!
I’ve only recently launched my website and blog, so I’m looking forward to taking some time out to properly plan my content for 2018 using systems such as theming and content stacking to come up with a cohesive plan.
I’ve already learnt lots from the Soulful PR podcast on topics such as repurposing content and how to launch a new product or service. So, I’m sure Your Year in PR will help cement my plans further, ensuring I leave nothing to chance next year and removing much of the stress that can surround the process of coming up with new and interesting content.
#4 Growth Mindset
I’m very much of the mindset that as people and certainly as business owners, we must never stop learning. If you aren’t learning, then you and your business are at risk of being left behind when new trends, systems or apps take off. Better to be an early adopter than arrive so late to the party that the empty party poppers are already being swept up and everyone is nursing a hangover!
As an Executive Assistant, I wanted to understand everything about the businesses of the leaders I was supporting, and I guess, as a business owner, things aren’t much different. I may not be a marketing or PR expert, but I’d like to learn as much about the topic as possible to be able to support our clients better and to be able to offer a wider range of services.
A win-win for me and my business and ultimately a win-win for our clients too!
So what happens afterwards?
I’m under no illusions that it is the effort and hard work that I put in after the event that will count the most. Attending is only going to get me so far! So here are a few things that I’ll be doing during and after the events that I hope others find useful too:
- Sketch Notes – My brain is much more receptive to visual content & sketch notes are a great way of capturing the key points and ideas from each session. Use either a pad and pens or an iPad app such as Notate or Paper if you’d like to give Sketch Notes a try.
- Follow Up – It is crucial to follow up quickly if you meet people of interest that you’d like to build an on-going relationship with. Ideally, follow up within 48 hours of meeting. This blog from the FSB shares some important steps to take after attending a networking event.
- Share Highlights – It could be a good idea to share key highlights with members of your team, Concur has some great tips on sharing what you’ve learnt at an event.
- Reflection Time – It really is important to carve out some time after the event to digest and reflect on everything you’ve learned. I’ve blocked out time for the following day to do some planning, which leads me to…
- Action Planning – Create a simple action plan which includes both quick wins and longer-term goals of things to implement as a result of attending the event. Don’t overcomplicate your plans though, just KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid!)!
Most importantly, take ACTION, don’t waste the learning opportunity of a great event by doing nothing with it after you’ve put your coat on and made the train ride home!
With just seven sleeps left, we can’t wait for next week, look forward to meeting everyone there!
Need help to make the most of everything you’ve got going on?
The Assistant Quarters is a team of virtual assistants and social media specialists. With a wide range of skills and a flexible approach, we make it easy for you to get the support you need, as and when you need it.
Book in for a discovery call to chat about your options.
