Can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you started ie marketing, llc?

I started ie marketing out of necessity. In 2008, I was editor of several custom home magazines. When the housing market crashed, our parent corporation shuttered all of those publications and laid off the entire staff. I looked around and saw similar patterns occurring at other magazines and decided that I needed to control my own future. So, I did what many of my clients have done over the years and launched my own business. My background before that was newspaper and magazine journalism, but much of it was on the business side, so I had some base level of understanding, if not competency, in starting a business.

You focus on non-profits and impact-driven businesses. Please tell us more about how this work drives you and how you bring your passion to these businesses.

Non-profits and small businesses have such a huge impact on our world, and both historically are horrible at communicating that impact – mainly because they feel as if doing so is somehow “bragging.” That’s where my team comes in. We see the amazing stories that are fueling these organizations. We learn to understand their why and see how they are influencing the world around them. Let’s face it, it takes a tremendous amount of passion to launch a small business or a non-profit. Without passion, they simply wouldn’t exist. If the passion is there, the impact will follow. My passion is helping clients tell their stories to donors/clients so they can continue to do what they love and have an even greater impact on the things that matter to them.

You're an editor of books by entrepreneurs. What genre and topic would you currently like to help an expert write about?

There are so many! I truly get excited about every book I handle. Books are like relationships – this is a long-term commitment from the initial concept through the excitement and sometimes slog of writing and editing, the agony of proofing, and the joy of promoting. So if I’m not passionate about a book, I won’t take it on. That being said, there is so much room for books that positively impact young adults. The social, emotional, career and financial pressures they face are unlike anything that we had to deal with. I think books that teach this audience in a way that speaks to them and captures their attention will do exceptionally well.

What's your best advice for business owners who want to start making an impact?

Get out there and do it! It sounds simplistic, but it is so easy to get stuck behind a desk, working in your business instead of working on your business. You lose perspective if you are not out there in the fray, talking with customers and learning what made them choose to work with you. What are their pain points? What do they love about working with you? What isn’t working well? Have these honest conversations, make needed adjustments, and tell your customers that you did so because of those talks. That will have a tremendous impact on your business relationships. But beyond business, find something that you are passionate about and that you can have a concrete impact on. Choose your charity, involve your employees, tell your clients, and then do something active beyond cutting a check to make a difference. That positive impact will fuel so many other positives in your life.

In your opinion, what are the key elements of a successful PR campaign?

It starts with a compelling story. No one – except those precious few who geek out over spreadsheets – cares that your donations or sales increased 0.5% last quarter. They care that the increase in donations has allowed your organization to fund durable medical equipment that allows a little girl to walk again. They care that the sales increase means you can launch a software upgrade three weeks sooner so that their employees can get more work done faster and stop complaining to the IT department. They care that your sales increase allows you to give back to the community in a way that matters to them. Find the story. Tell the story in a compelling way that demonstrates tangible impact. The rest is just following best practices to get that story told and heard.

What does a new entrepreneur need to know before contacting you? Does their business need to reach a certain volume? Do they need to have experience with PR before?

I love working with new entrepreneurs! They don’t need to have experience with PR and/or marketing, but they do need to be teachable and have realistic expectations of what is achievable as a new entity. They need to understand the market they want to reach, and they need to have a budget number in mind before we talk. I don’t mind working with folks whose budget number is lower, but there has to be a willingness on their part to put in some level of work if that’s the case. In all honesty, I’m going to push new entrepreneurs to establish some of their own contacts so that those persist long after a marketing or PR contract expires. My ultimate goal is to see them succeed, not create dependencies.

What is a book, podcast, or vodcast that you would like to recommend to every entrepreneur?

These will be different for everyone, but here’s what I rotate:

• A good daily devotional or meditation to center you.

• Several unbiased sources of news you trust to keep you up to date on the world around you.

• A book or podcast that makes you question your assumptions to keep your mind sharp and your perspective responsive.

• Something that helps you learn from the past, and prepares you for the future – this can be on leadership, history or relationships.

• A book that makes you smile. This can be one that you would never admit to anyone else you are reading. This is probably the most important one for your ongoing sanity.

Something we forgot to ask, but you’d like to add.

Don’t wait until you need it to begin marketing and PR. All too often, small business owners wait until they are in financial and/or PR trouble before they pick up the phone. Building structures that will endure is much easier when your house is not already on fire.

Thank you!

Connect with Trish Stukbauer on LinkedIn

#PRontheGO