When I started my first PR company I hadn't a clue about running a business. To tell you the truth, I started it because I hated my boss. She was a bully who thought it was fine to arrive in the morning, bark out orders and then swan off for lunch, a manicure and an exercise class and then return to belittle us in the afternoon.
Whilst I loved the buzz of talking to journalists and clients, I felt my confidence being slowly eroded by working with her, and decided to leave and set up on my own. I had some cheap cards made in one of those machines you find at stations, called it Black Cat PR and sent off a few letters to names I got out of a music industry book.
My first clients were music clients - lots of fun but broke. When I realised I needed to take myself a little more seriously, I had some proper cards made, changed the name to Paula Gardner PR (I was modelling myself on Lynne Franks and Rosalyn Palmer at the time!) and decided to move into the restaurant arena, something I was personally passionate about.
I landed some great clients within a couple of months and I knew that I had a tangible business. I bought myself a new coat and clothes (a very important part of the process!), invested in a mobile phone the size of a suitcase, and began one of the most exciting journeys of my life.
Starting and running a PR company has been extremely rewarding - in more ways than monetary - which is why I've created the Start a PR Company course and Programme, to take you through what I have learned about setting up a successful company.
In the meantime, I've asked an array of figures from the PR industry to tell us their stories about how they started and grew their Public Relations Firms. Some are large businesses, other boutique Pr firms and some freelancers. But all of them have something interesting to tell us.
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