18 Years in PR: The Real Systems, Sales & Strategy Behind High-Ticket Clients | ft. Briana Gallen
You want bigger clients… but you’re not operating like someone who can handle them.
In Episode 46 of Season 6, ShySpeaks and Ron sit down with Briana Gallen, founder of Swank PR, to break down what it actually takes to run a high-level PR business after 18 years in the game.
This episode is not theory.
It’s not “motivation.”
It’s real execution — from onboarding systems, to pricing structure, to pitching at scale, to managing client expectations.
If you’re still freelancing without structure…
if your income is inconsistent…
if you want $30K–$40K clients…
This episode shows you exactly what needs to change.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Why High-Ticket Clients Require Structure (Not Just Talent)
- The Real PR Workflow (Step-by-Step)
- Why She Gets Paid 45 Days Ahead (And Why You Should Care)
- The Truth About PR: It’s NOT About Making You Money
- What “Media Ready” Actually Means
- Why Systems Beat Custom Work Every Time
- The Metrics That Actually Matter in PR
- Why Most Creatives Undervalue Their Work
- Why You Can’t Depend on One Client
Quotable Moments
“My job is visibility — not your revenue.”
“If you want high-ticket clients, you need high-level systems.”
“You plant seeds everywhere… they grow when they’re supposed to.”
“You can’t depend on one client.”
“If your cup is empty, you can’t serve anyone.”
“Not everyone is meant to be a CEO — and that’s okay.”
Connect with MMCB:
- Podcast (Apple): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/minding-my-creative-business-podcast/id1724893043
- Podcast (Spotify): https://open.spotify.com/show/1Uo7amHW0dR2tBd3gMgOV4?si=511ddd99b115418b
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mindingmycreativebusiness
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mindingmycreativebusiness
- Website: www.mmcbpocast.com
You Have the Creativity. Now Build the Business Around It.
Every creative has a story — but talent alone is not the business. Structure is what turns ideas into income, consistency into growth, and creativity into something sustainable.
That is the work behind the Creative to CEO Challenge. In five days, Ron and Shy will help you clarify your signature offer, price it with confidence, and build a 90-day plan that gives your creative business direction, focus, and momentum.
If this episode reminded you that your creativity deserves more structure, this is your next step.
Join the Creative to CEO Challenge — https://creativetoceochallenge.com
Build with intention. Create with heart. Turn your creativity into a business that lasts.
Transcript
I had to learn on my own.
Speaker A:Now the thing.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:What's the in between fluff?
Speaker A:The in between fluff is not even fluff.
Speaker C:I'm sure Swank PR has come a long way and so if somebody's watching this now, they're like, man, I'm interested in doing PR or even some kind of media agency.
Speaker A:I would say the first thing is have a filtering process that is completely important.
Speaker A:And I'm saying that because so many people take up your time, have six hour conversations with you and will not come on board, won't work with you and you'll be like, okay, I just wasted all the this time when I could be work focusing on the clients that actually pay me.
Speaker B:Based on you listening to this podcast, you're probably a creative entrepreneur who's ready to stop hustling for clients and start building a business that runs on purpose.
Speaker B:Profit and peace.
Speaker C:If that's you, we want to invite you to join the Creative to CEO challenge.
Speaker C:A five day live coaching experience designed to help you shift your mindset and develop the habits to turn your creativity into consistent cash flow.
Speaker B:And it's all happening live on Zoom inside a private community of ambitious creative entrepreneurs just like you.
Speaker B:People who are done guessing, done grinding and ready to build with clarity and confidence.
Speaker C:By the end of the challenge, you will have a crystal clear direction on your next 90 days.
Speaker C:A profit plan that fits your lifestyle and the framework to start earning 10k plus months doing what you love without burning out or selling out.
Speaker B:So if that sounds like what you need, then tap the link in the description or scan a QR code if you're watching this on screen.
Speaker B:And do not forget to upgrade to VIP for bonus coaching and behind the scenes Q and A every day of the challenge with me and Shy.
Speaker C:We can't wait to help you unlock CEO mode and the freedom you've been looking for.
Speaker C:Now let's get back to the episode.
Speaker B:Welcome to the Money Marketing Business podcast, the number one podcast for Chris entrepreneurs to learn strategy, structure, self development and sustainability.
Speaker B:And I am your co host, Ron Ironically Junior.
Speaker C:And I am your co host, Shy Speaks.
Speaker C:And this is going to be an interesting episode for all of you.
Speaker C:I'm not going to tell you for who.
Speaker C:Matter of fact, let's get it going.
Speaker C:Let's introduce none other than Ms. Brianna, aka the Swank Queen.
Speaker A:Hello, hello, hello.
Speaker C:All right, so that's my silly introduction, but let me let Ron give you a real introduction so that people understand who you are and why this episode will really matter.
Speaker B:So you are a award winning publicist.
Speaker A:Yes, I am.
Speaker B:Entrepreneur.
Speaker B:You are the CEO and founder of Swank pr.
Speaker B:And not only that, you're also a college professor.
Speaker A:I am.
Speaker A:I am.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So that's how we would introduce you.
Speaker B:How would you introduce yourself?
Speaker A:Oh, wow.
Speaker A:I want to see that question.
Speaker A:How would I introduce myself when I.
Speaker A:Well, my formal introduction is I always tell everybody, hey, I'm Bri.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:If I were to put myself in this formal space, I would, I would probably introduce myself as a creative media entrepreneur.
Speaker A:Actually, that's how I would introduce myself.
Speaker C:So brand strategist.
Speaker A:Yeah, brand strategist.
Speaker A:But for sure, creativity is something that I think is under, definitely under underestimated in my field.
Speaker A:So, like, I'm excited to talk about this.
Speaker C:Creative.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker B:I know creative is a part of your field because in your, your class, you teach a.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You being a professor, you see a certain class on what.
Speaker B:What's the topic again?
Speaker A:The class is called Intro to Entertainment Business.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:So entertainers are creators or creators.
Speaker A:So yes, they are.
Speaker A:And I deal with a lot of them.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:All right, so let's talk about, you know, And I said Ms. Swank, queen of the swing.
Speaker C:So Swank PR.
Speaker C:Let's talk about that company.
Speaker C:Like, how long ago did you start it?
Speaker C:And, and like, why do you love that aspect of business?
Speaker A:Okay, so I, so I started out in journalism.
Speaker A:So I was a writer.
Speaker A:So I wrote for the Source.
Speaker A:I used to write for a couple local publications.
Speaker A:I wrote for All Hip Hop.
Speaker A:So I was actually a journalist before I became a publicist.
Speaker A:So I went to school for magazine journalism.
Speaker A:So part of my DNA has always been to tell the story.
Speaker A:Like I've always had some level of storytelling in my career field from that side.
Speaker A:I used to interview, and then how I transitioned is kind of interesting because I also was a grant writer before I went full time into pr.
Speaker A:And that also is storytelling as well, because you are telling a story about how we need this money to get these programs or get these things funded.
Speaker A:And so it's important how you word it.
Speaker A:It's all about the language and the narrative.
Speaker A:So for me, it's always just been a part of me to tell stories.
Speaker A:Did I look at it like that before?
Speaker A:I did not, because I was like, oh, I just love writing.
Speaker A:So for me, it was always about the writing aspect.
Speaker A:It was about the creative part of how do I creatively get people to, to understand what this is or convince them, hey, you need to donate or you need to give to this Program.
Speaker A:So part of my journey, writing, has been consistently through it.
Speaker A:I went to school for magazine journalism, graduated, wrote.
Speaker A:When I first started writing for the Source, I was actually still a grant writer.
Speaker A:And my first job out of school, I was the grant writer.
Speaker A:The crazy part about that is that my first job was where I went.
Speaker A:I started doing grants for the non nonprofit.
Speaker A:They had a school, and I went to the school as a kid.
Speaker A:So I came back.
Speaker A:That was my first job out of.
Speaker A:Out of college.
Speaker A:So it was a full circle moment, of course.
Speaker A:And then I shortly started working at the Source because one of my friends who I had worked with in New York because I interned at Vibe, he called me out of nowhere and was like, hey, do you know who Malik Yousef is?
Speaker A:I was like, of course I know Malik.
Speaker A:He was like, yeah, can we do a story on his new project, the Chicago Fire?
Speaker A:And I was like, yeah.
Speaker A:He was like, can you write it?
Speaker A:I was like, absolutely.
Speaker A:That's how I started writing for the Source.
Speaker A:So then I graduated into doing, you know, a lot more writing.
Speaker A:I also helped start a teen magazine in Chicago called True Star.
Speaker A:And when I came on board, they had a newsletter.
Speaker A:And I was like, I don't even want to read a newsletter.
Speaker A:And I'm an adult.
Speaker A:So I was like, we need to change this to a magazine.
Speaker A:Let's make it engaging for youth.
Speaker A:Like, I don't even want to read this.
Speaker A:So I took the mat, took the newsletter, transitioned it into a magazine, created the whole, you know, mass heads, things like that.
Speaker A:And so again, it's all about creatively being able to tell the story, because it's really.
Speaker A:It's not the story all the time.
Speaker A:It's about how you tell it and all the elements that you bring.
Speaker A:So I can tell the same story, but depending on how it's dressed up is how people.
Speaker A:It depends on how people are going to receive it.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker A:So as I started just going, you know, along in my career and my journey, I would get calls to interview celebrities, and I would bring my students with me.
Speaker A:So it would be TI or Nas or whoever.
Speaker A:And I would be like, they would.
Speaker A:Someone would be.
Speaker A:They would be in town doing their promo runs, and I would get a call, they would be like, hey, can you interview so?
Speaker A:And so they're going to be in town for the Source.
Speaker A:So I would sometimes bring my students, because why not?
Speaker A:So it got to the point where I started just doing so much that I was like, okay, my.
Speaker A:My work, my 9 to 5.
Speaker A:I was like, okay, this is it's taken away from that.
Speaker A:So I kind of.
Speaker A:I transitions pretty.
Speaker A:Actually pretty quietly, but not a bad transition.
Speaker A:But at the time, I would say when I transitioned into being a full entrepreneur, I didn't know what was happening when it was happening.
Speaker A:And I think that happens with a lot of entrepreneurs.
Speaker A:Like, you don't know that you're creating this lane for yourself.
Speaker A:As you're going, you're just going with your passion, and you're going with, okay, I love doing this, and there's some opportunity, and it's getting me paid.
Speaker C:Yeah, Yeah.
Speaker C:I just want to speak to that for a second.
Speaker C:Go ahead.
Speaker C:A lot of creative.
Speaker C:A lot of creatives wind up being in business.
Speaker C:They.
Speaker C:They didn't, like, set out to say, okay, I'm about to start this company.
Speaker C:I'm about to open up this fitness gym.
Speaker C:You know, when you start a gym, you know you're about to do it.
Speaker C:You know what I mean?
Speaker C:So, yeah, you know, maybe some of them would say, I just like working out.
Speaker C:Then I started training.
Speaker C:Then after I started training, people start, and then you can kind of back your way into some other things.
Speaker C:Y.
Speaker C:But, like, no, actually, I would say a fitness training.
Speaker C:That's probably the journey.
Speaker C:Or let's say another.
Speaker C:Another example would be like, a grocery store or something.
Speaker C:You.
Speaker C:You don'.
Speaker C:Accidentally open up no grocery store.
Speaker C:You know, you open a grocery store, you're going into business.
Speaker C:But when it comes to creatives, and.
Speaker C:And I would say fitness trainers are coaches as well.
Speaker C:Like, you wind up just going with your passion, like you said, your talent and the opportunities that keep opening.
Speaker C:And as one opportunity opens, eventually you start having to figure out your pricing.
Speaker C:And then after you figure out your pricing, then you start having to figure out, what am I going to offer these clients?
Speaker C:Because they ask me to do everything.
Speaker C:I can't do everything.
Speaker A:This is what I.
Speaker C:And then you kind of started building.
Speaker C:You started creating what it would be like your, you know, your menu for, so to speak.
Speaker C:And then eventually you were like, you're in business.
Speaker C:So it sounds like you're going that way.
Speaker C:And I just want to shout out to creatives, because creatives bag their way into business.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So you're gonna.
Speaker C:You're backing us into how you come.
Speaker A:Into how I got bagged in.
Speaker A:So for me, it was one of those conversations that I had to have with myself eventually, which is, okay, where do you want to divide your time?
Speaker A:Where do you want to have the most time?
Speaker A:And where are you making the most money?
Speaker A:But also, do you like where you're at now, do you want to evolve into that space?
Speaker A:For me, I got fired.
Speaker A:You know, I got fired from my 9 to 5.
Speaker A:I was like, but I had two other jobs that I was doing.
Speaker A:So I was like, now I got time.
Speaker A:This is great.
Speaker A:I was sad, but it was like, okay, I'm getting unemployment.
Speaker A:I'll be fine.
Speaker A:But I was like, well, I'm teaching.
Speaker A:At the time, I was teaching an after school program.
Speaker A:So just to show you how, now that came back.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:So I was teaching the after school program and I was getting.
Speaker A:It got so busy that I was.
Speaker A:It got so busy that I was taking calls and doing things during work.
Speaker A:So I was like, okay.
Speaker A:So by the time.
Speaker A:And this is all through True Star.
Speaker A:So at this, at this point, I'm not doing pr.
Speaker A:This is all work that I'm doing through the magazine.
Speaker A:So I, I would say I was a co founder first, then I became a full time entrepreneur.
Speaker A:So I was a co founder of the magazine and that work was coming in.
Speaker A:So I was like, okay, I'll be fine.
Speaker A:I could, I could just work on this and do my, my freelancing and whatnot.
Speaker A:And then me and the group separated.
Speaker A:So two of us went and started Swank, and then two.
Speaker A:The other two stayed.
Speaker A:They still have the magazine right now to this day, and I'm the only one in my space now.
Speaker A:So we started Swank and I started out with a partner, but again, it evolved.
Speaker A:And the person that was working with me couldn't handle being an entrepreneur.
Speaker A:And that's, that's, that's honest.
Speaker A:And this, it happens.
Speaker A:So my first client was glc and he was signed to Good Music at the time.
Speaker A:He was signed to Kanye, who was also his longtime friend.
Speaker A:And he was literally my first client.
Speaker A:And he was my friend as well.
Speaker A:So it was an easy, you know, transition into that.
Speaker A:So my company started at that time and I didn't realize what was happening when it was happening.
Speaker A:I just knew that I was a journalist.
Speaker A:I knew other journalists.
Speaker A:I networked with other journalists.
Speaker A:Journalist.
Speaker A:And I can invite all these people to come cover what I'm doing, and I'm helping another client slash friend out,.
Speaker C:And he's paying me to do it.
Speaker B:So that leads me to a question.
Speaker B:You said, okay, I'm a journalist.
Speaker B:I have friends with other journalists.
Speaker B:I can bring those other journalists to cover my artist or the person that's my client that's paying me.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So is that when you was like, oh, I'm doing pr, like Like, I'm trying to figure out that.
Speaker B:Yeah, that aha moment.
Speaker A:Because you was like, yeah, this is the funny part about that.
Speaker A:When I was a journalist, completely writing, I was working with so many other publicists at the time, and there was one publicist that I talked to all the time.
Speaker A:And I didn't realize she was a mentor again, as I'm thinking back.
Speaker A:But it was.
Speaker A:She was mentoring me into that space.
Speaker A:But we would talk all the time.
Speaker A:We just hit it off, and we got really cool, and we would talk all the time.
Speaker A:But I knew she wanted me to interview her artist.
Speaker A:You know what I'm saying?
Speaker A:And I was fine with it.
Speaker A:But me and her would have these other conversations about work and things like that.
Speaker A:And I remember her talking to me, and I think she asked me, would I ever do pr.
Speaker A:And I probably was like, oh, no.
Speaker A:I don't remember even remembering how I ended up.
Speaker A:How I got you.
Speaker A:How did I get here?
Speaker A:You got.
Speaker A:How you got back then was.
Speaker C:You know.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So it was.
Speaker A:It was one of those things.
Speaker A:I just remember her asking me, but I did not necessarily remember saying that I agreed to this, because at the time, I was so passionate about writing.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:So I just looked at it like, I'll try this, you know?
Speaker A:And plus, it was like, I'm not working.
Speaker A:And the other thing, the reason I started my company, like, for real.
Speaker A:For real, is because I couldn't find a job.
Speaker A:My mother gave me the money to start my company.
Speaker A:I couldn't find a job because I had got fired, and I had been looking for a job.
Speaker A:And I feel like this is when, like, Obama had just got in office.
Speaker A:So it was like, unemployment was kind of really bad back then, and I was just like, I'm tired of looking for a job.
Speaker A:But I kept looking, and I just never found one.
Speaker A:Well, I found one.
Speaker A:I gave myself a job.
Speaker A:Come on.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker C:Yeah, I hired myself.
Speaker C:That's.
Speaker A:That's how that happened.
Speaker A:So it was literally out of need.
Speaker A:It wasn't even out of, like, oh, I'm gonna do something clever.
Speaker A:I'm gonna come up with it.
Speaker A:No, I had no money.
Speaker C:Yeah, and you had.
Speaker C:You were doing the work with your friend who was signed to Good Music as well, so.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, he was technically.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:He was my first client.
Speaker A:So I was.
Speaker A:I wasn't thinking even in that space when it was happening, you know, it was like, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm doing this, but I wasn't connecting the dots.
Speaker B:So I'm.
Speaker B:That's what I'm trying to say.
Speaker B:You say that you wasn't connected to dots.
Speaker A:When did I connect?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So when he came to you and was like, I need for you to work for me.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I need, you know, whatever.
Speaker B:Like, what was that conversation?
Speaker B:Because it was like, I was just like.
Speaker A:My best friend was the manager at the time and he was managing him and he was like, well, why don't we just have you do it?
Speaker A:And I was like, okay.
Speaker A:It was literally like that.
Speaker A:And I was like.
Speaker A:And we all knew each other because.
Speaker C:They knew you were familiar with, with the media world.
Speaker A:So it wasn't a difficult.
Speaker A:Like, I didn't, I didn't have to like, do a proposal, submit a scope.
Speaker A:Like all of that stuff I learned along the way.
Speaker A:And it took me some time because that wasn't my lane.
Speaker A:So again, my specialty is telling stories.
Speaker A:So all that little in between fluff, I had to learn on my own.
Speaker A:Now the talking about.
Speaker A:Yep.
Speaker B:What's the in between fluff?
Speaker A:The in between fluff is not even fluff, but what I mean is like the, the entrepreneur part.
Speaker C:Let's talk about that.
Speaker A:The, the.
Speaker A:The getting, getting the client putting a proposal together, getting in the agreements and paperwork, the business part.
Speaker A:But also just learning how to become a strategist.
Speaker A:Learning how to figure out how to sell to a client.
Speaker A:I don't even like using that word because that's not what I do.
Speaker A:I don't have to sell you on anything.
Speaker A:I know what my brain is good at and I know I can do it.
Speaker A:And that's it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:So for me, I had to learn the business part of what I, what I was doing.
Speaker A:And I had to figure out how to make it out of a business and make it lucrative where it was like, oh, I gotta.
Speaker A:I was already incorporated.
Speaker A:But it's like, okay, you gotta have a business account.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Now you gotta, you know, have contracts.
Speaker A:Now you gotta.
Speaker A:That.
Speaker A:You talking about that to come.
Speaker A:Oh, that took a long time.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:There was a lot of.
Speaker A:Of hiccups and bumps and falls.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Almost falling off the ledge.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:A lot of that.
Speaker C:That leads us to one of the questions that we were prepared to ask.
Speaker C:And we didn't even realize that you kind of backed your way into a friend type of client.
Speaker C:But I'm sure swank PR has come a long way.
Speaker C:And so if somebody is watching this now, man, I'm interested in doing a PR or even some kind of media agency of some sort.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:How do I onboard a client?
Speaker C:Because they're not.
Speaker C:They may not have an opportunity to bag into a client.
Speaker C:They may actually have to pitch and propose.
Speaker C:So I'm sure.
Speaker C:Now what, what is your now once you're bringing a client.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Give us the vacuum.
Speaker A:Crazy.
Speaker A:You asked me that because yesterday I was in a meeting with a client and they were like, what do you mean onboarding?
Speaker A:I'm like, okay, so I, I'm.
Speaker A:This is, I guess I was prepped already for the interview.
Speaker A:But when I onboard a client, this is the, actually this is an everyday thing.
Speaker A:So the first thing I do is we set up a consultation, right.
Speaker A:And again, this took so much filtering.
Speaker A:I mean, because I.
Speaker A:When you start, when you start your business and you're doing it like it's so many people coming at you when they know you like hot, because we know you get hot one moment and then sometimes you down.
Speaker A:But when you hot, everybody is, you know, coming at you, asking you, trying to hire you.
Speaker A:And I would say the first thing is have a filtering process that is completely important.
Speaker A:And I'm saying that because so many people take up your time, have six hour conversations with you and will not come on board, won't work with you, and you'll be like, okay, I just wasted all this time when I could be work focusing on the clients that actually pay me.
Speaker A:So that's the first thing.
Speaker A:Have a filtering process.
Speaker A:The filtering process that I set up was the best, probably still to this day, one of the best things I ever did.
Speaker A:So we set up a consultation form.
Speaker A:We got a consultation form, you fill it out, you tell us exactly what you are looking for, what your budget is.
Speaker A:And even to the point where now the way that I have it set up is if the budget is not worth me getting on the phone, I don't get on the phone.
Speaker A:The person who's in place, who's responsible for doing that is the project manager.
Speaker A:You talk to them, you find out what the budget is like.
Speaker A:Because if they tell me their budget is under a certain amount, I'm not gonna stop what I'm doing to get on the phone.
Speaker A:Because I have a person in place to kind of filter.
Speaker A:So there's a 2, 2, 2 filter process.
Speaker A:So once you get past the 2 filter process, now we set up a call, we have a conversation.
Speaker A:I have a conversation with you first.
Speaker A:And the whole idea is to see what you want to do, if I'm capable of doing it, what your needs are, what your goals are and what you want, but also to have that realistic, you know, dialogue to see if this is one something I want to take on, something you can afford and also something that I'm excited about.
Speaker A:The one thing I also learned, if you do not like it, don't accept it.
Speaker A:If you don't really have the passion or believe in what the client is doing, you are going to have a hard time.
Speaker A:Because if you're a publicist and you're trying to tell somebody's story that you really don't agree with, it's not going to resonate with you.
Speaker A:And guess what?
Speaker A:People can feel that and they can see it too.
Speaker A:They can.
Speaker A:You, you can pick it up like ah, they just getting a check.
Speaker A:They're not here genuinely.
Speaker A:And so for me that's important, you know.
Speaker A:And so yeah, it's projects that I, that I, I've had, I had to learn that too because I didn't always do it because when you entrepreneur, you like, oh, I gotta pay my rent, let me take this client on.
Speaker A:But I had to learn that the hard way, you know, so quality is important.
Speaker A:So after you again decipher, okay, is this for me and is this for them?
Speaker A:You know, for me I once we talk and they say, you know, hey, I'll think about it or I'll see or you know, whatever.
Speaker A:I usually, you know, see what happens.
Speaker A:If they want to, you know, start or do something, or they say, hey, I want to go forward, then I'll present.
Speaker A:Sometimes before I'll present like a scope so that they can kind of see the idea of it.
Speaker A:I don't give it to them because you didn't pay me for that.
Speaker A:You can see it when we have in our meeting.
Speaker A:Okay, but I don't give you any type of format or information because I also learned people can take it and go do their own thing with it too.
Speaker A:So I'll go over it.
Speaker A:Sometimes I have it, sometimes I don't.
Speaker A:Based on the conversation, I'll put something together, specific and custom to what they're looking for, whether it's a scope of work or some type of proposal.
Speaker A:And then they'll say, hey, this looks great.
Speaker A:Can we start this day, this time?
Speaker A:The next part of that process is I'll put together the agreement.
Speaker A:I have that template and format.
Speaker A:Took some time to get that too.
Speaker A:You got to have all the disclaimers in there.
Speaker A:You got to have all those things in there because again, people will be people and act like you.
Speaker A:They didn't sign nothing.
Speaker A:You got to protect yourself.
Speaker A:So that's another thing I had to learn.
Speaker A:And then once we get started, you know, I, I, the way that I have set up my payment system is if we're on a three month contract, I always have the client pay me a month and a half ahead because then once that first month comes, you're in your rolling.
Speaker A:A lot of times sometimes people be, will fake fall off or they'll say, hey, I need, and some people don't do that.
Speaker A:But it's like those first six weeks are critical.
Speaker A:So if I'm working non stop six weeks with my team, I really don't want no interruptions with payments.
Speaker A:So I can just pay the team and everybody can be happy and you ain't got to worry about a payment for another month and a half, you know, for that month and a half and your next invoice ain't.
Speaker A:And so that's pretty much like not having to pay your invoice for the second time 45 days out, you know, which is pretty normal.
Speaker A:So after that it's just a consistent, you know, conversation.
Speaker A:We set up an onboarding meeting after that.
Speaker A:So now we're at the onboarding process.
Speaker A:So once you sign the contract, we got our retainer and you got your plan.
Speaker A:We do our onboarding meeting.
Speaker A:The onboarding meeting is my team and their team.
Speaker A:We go over, you know, who's who, who's who's a function and role in the team and then we'll pull out the plan.
Speaker A:And we kind of covered the plan as well so that everybody can see, hey, this is our skeleton.
Speaker A:This may change, it may, you know, alter, but this is what we starting with.
Speaker A:And after that, the next part is we set up a bi weekly meeting with the clients.
Speaker A:And that bi weekly meeting, depending on when we do it, is usually between a specific time frame where all of everyone on my team can talk.
Speaker A:And then after that, off to the races.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker B:Now listen, See we, so we asked some of the questions like this other guest, I think you've been the most detailed and giving us your process.
Speaker B:No, I, I love it, I appreciate it.
Speaker B:Right, because you're, you're showing our audience just how important it is to have that system and that flow literally went through your entire workflow like, or as far as your client.
Speaker C:And I'm happy you started because you were saying I do this, I do that.
Speaker C:And it made it seem like you were doing all of it.
Speaker C:And then you eventually said like, well, you said you had a project manager, but you said the team, there's a team as well.
Speaker C:So a lot of this stuff is you saying aa.
Speaker C:And we.
Speaker C:We, as a swank is doing this type of stuff.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The onboarded.
Speaker A:So my project manager is my mom, and people love that.
Speaker A:She.
Speaker A:She's like the first person that they get.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So people are like, oh, my God, your mom.
Speaker A:You know, people love mom.
Speaker A:So she's like, I don't want to call her the mascot, but she is in a sense where people just love her.
Speaker A:So sometimes she's the first person.
Speaker C:Spokesperson.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:There we go.
Speaker A:Spokesperson.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:She would have killed me if I said mascot.
Speaker A:But she's the.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:She's the first point of contact that people see.
Speaker A:So they're like, who is this nice, you know, lady, you know, and Everybody calls her Ms. J or Mama Swank.
Speaker A:And so they're already like, oh, this is.
Speaker A:You know, who mama is this?
Speaker A:And they work when they work for their child.
Speaker A:So it's always fun, you know, because she's more conversational than I am.
Speaker A:I'm like.
Speaker A:I mean, I am too, but I'm like, work.
Speaker A:It's time to work.
Speaker A:That's my focus.
Speaker A:So, you know, but once everybody gets on the phone and everybody.
Speaker A:It also gives me an idea to see what type of chemistry we'll have with the client.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:So the chemistry we're going to have with the client.
Speaker C:I want to ask you a question right there.
Speaker C:All right, so we.
Speaker C:We were at the onboard.
Speaker C:Now we're moving forward.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker C:So when you're building a strategy, do you build the strategy based on trying to help them generate profit first, or do you build it based on trying to help them have visibility first?
Speaker C:Like, just.
Speaker C:I just want you to be as visible as possible.
Speaker A:Well, my job is not to help you make money.
Speaker A:That is one of the jobs that's a byproduct of what I do.
Speaker A:My job is visibility.
Speaker A:I'm in prison.
Speaker A:I'm here to get you out there so people can know who you are, so you can bring in revenue.
Speaker A:And that is something I will lay out to a client.
Speaker A:I always lay out expectations.
Speaker A:Because what I don't want you to do is say, I didn't do my job.
Speaker C:Okay?
Speaker A:I don't play that because.
Speaker A:Because, you know, people put in.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker A:They time.
Speaker A:They put in the blood, sweat, and tears.
Speaker A:And I love what I do, but I also, you know, set expectations.
Speaker A:And that's the other thing about being an entrepreneur.
Speaker A:I mean, all of these things I had to learn.
Speaker A:I've been in business for 18 years.
Speaker A:I learned a lot.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And this is why we have you here.
Speaker C:See, y' all see, because what we're helping people do, maybe somebody who's been going six years, I mean they may not be a noob, but they, they've been going six years and they're trying to figure out how to get to this next level.
Speaker C:And you have 18 years of experience that you're helping them compress.
Speaker C:Yeah, just a interview.
Speaker C:So shout out to the mind and my creative business podcast.
Speaker A:Yeah, shout out to y'.
Speaker A:All.
Speaker C:No, but, but, but seriously, I think this is so valuable because the younger you, you didn't even have an onboarding process.
Speaker A:The younger me.
Speaker A:Oh, you, you just, you bump your head so much.
Speaker A:And if you don't have a mentor, which most of us don't, in the, in the spaces, depending on where, I mean now we should, I would definitely recommend it because if I would have had a mentor, I would have saved a lot of time and money.
Speaker B:You want to know the one thing that's holding most creative entrepreneurs back?
Speaker B:It's not the talent, it's not even the vision, it's the lack of capital.
Speaker B:Every day I watch brilliant creatives miss life changing opportunities simply because they can't access business funding.
Speaker B:Traditional banks, they really don't understand creative business like that.
Speaker B:And most lenders, well, they don't care.
Speaker B:But guess what?
Speaker B:That ends today with the minding my creative business partnership with Credit Savant.
Speaker B:You can Access up to $150,000 in business credit.
Speaker B:You heard correct.
Speaker B:Up to $150,000 in business Credit.
Speaker B:They have 0% interest options with 30 plus funding programs designed for creatives just like you.
Speaker B:So what I need you to do is visit Credit Savant now, tell them MMCB sent you.
Speaker A:But to your point, no, like we don't have help.
Speaker A:We're usually watching podcasts, trying to figure it out, reading book, whatever we can do to get information.
Speaker A:So like it is super important that you create your process.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:So, okay, so now we have, we know we visibility first.
Speaker C:We're gonna keep it moving now.
Speaker C:Let's, let's, let's help someone.
Speaker C:Or you can just share from your perspective what is a media ready client?
Speaker C:Like, you know, you got that six weeks and it's like, okay, we ready to hit the ground running.
Speaker C:We get your visibility.
Speaker C:Or some people is like, well you know, we got to get this together first because you're not really ready.
Speaker C:So how do you, or do you help get them ready?
Speaker C:Is that another service that you offer?
Speaker A:So that is something that we do offer.
Speaker A:So and again, like the the cool part about I would say at least me and what my, my framework looks like is I really do evaluate each client like a custom accustomed to who they are.
Speaker A:So if I see that you're ready to go.
Speaker A:So like my specialty from where I started was music.
Speaker A:So music is not as, like, you don't have to get a, a person media ready specifically about in music.
Speaker A:Because if I'm just leading with pushing a single in a video and you have content, but they have to be content ready.
Speaker A:So content ready is completely different from just being media ready.
Speaker A:Most of them are going to do interviews to promote their single, their video, whatever it is.
Speaker A:So that's, that's the furthest.
Speaker A:Unless they are a little more refined.
Speaker A:Then there's not a lot of things that like it.
Speaker A:By the time they're getting to like we're getting the TV hits and things like that, they're media ready.
Speaker A:But that takes time.
Speaker C:I got you.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker A:And that's just music.
Speaker A:Now if we're talking about.
Speaker A:For instance, I just did a. I just did something with the city of Chicago.
Speaker A:There was a hemp band.
Speaker A:I don't know if you guys.
Speaker A:It's been a huge, it was a huge story around the city.
Speaker A:The city was about to ban all hemp products.
Speaker A:Literally.
Speaker A:This is like within a week ago, two weeks ago.
Speaker A:And a few of the store owners were like, hey, we need to do something.
Speaker A:So they, they called me, one of the guys called me that my colleague, my mom knows, and I was like, well, let's do a town hall.
Speaker A:Let's do a town hall.
Speaker A:So speaking of media already, I said, okay, when is this band?
Speaker A:So we, the band was, I think Friday.
Speaker A:I said, well, we're doing the town hall Thursday.
Speaker A:So we did the town hall Thursday.
Speaker A:And a lot of them had to be media ready to just speak about what they were doing.
Speaker A:And believe it or not, some of them were prepared and some of them were not in a sense of.
Speaker A:So I could tell, I didn't even have time to prep them.
Speaker A:All I had time to do was let them know, hey, I need you to drive home these two, three points.
Speaker A:But one girl got up there, one of the store owners, and I'm watching her read her speech and her hand is doing this.
Speaker A:And I'm like, oh my God.
Speaker A:And I'm like, and it's TV cameras everywhere.
Speaker A:I'm talking about NBC, cbs, Fox.
Speaker A:And she is reading.
Speaker A:And I'm just like, lord Jesus, they gonna show this on tv.
Speaker A:But, but, you know, I Didn't have time to prep her.
Speaker A:Luckily, the camera did not show her hand shaking.
Speaker A:But when I seen it, I was like, oh, she's not a good speaker.
Speaker A:So it's, it's instances where you literally don't see that until it happens.
Speaker A:And, and that's okay because part of my job is to see that and say, hey, let me pull you to the side and give you some pointers when you're having these conversations or when you're doing this.
Speaker A:Because I also tell clients, like, when you rehearse too much, you mess up because now you're up here and you're not here.
Speaker C:Right, right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So it's, it's a lot of different pointers.
Speaker A:And then sometimes I'll hire my friend to do media training because I ain't got time to do it all the time.
Speaker C:Right, right.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:So I want to pivot it for a little bit.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So you, you mentioned that, that you, you know, you sit down with your clients and that, you know, you see what they need.
Speaker B:Do you have like, standardized things that you do?
Speaker B:Like, okay, all my clients, I'm gonna do this or are you doing custom?
Speaker B:And I'm asking that because we have, you know, creative entrepreneurs that are delivering, you know, they're creating their offers.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, you know, some of them are still in that.
Speaker B:I'm doing custom for everybody.
Speaker A:No, I don't do custom for everybody.
Speaker A:It's, it's like the only main custom thing that you're gonna get from me is really that media space.
Speaker A:So, for instance, because a restaurant and a dispensary don't have the same media, that's as custom as you're gonna get, because I'm not gonna target the same media.
Speaker A:So in that space.
Speaker A:But as far as the experience of working with my, my business, we have a price package.
Speaker A:We have price packages.
Speaker A:Our system is the same.
Speaker A:And how we, like, do our onboarding and how we work with our clients are all the same.
Speaker A:And Everybody only gets 30 minute meetings.
Speaker A:I had to learn that too, because a client is on the phone with you all day or even down to, you know, how we generate our reports, how we just navigate through our meetings.
Speaker A:Everything is created in a system to produce.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:Efficiently.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker C:That, that's my type of talking.
Speaker C:So usually in these.
Speaker A:Right, because you.
Speaker A:Logistics.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker A:So I got it, I got it.
Speaker C:I tend to talk about structure and, and systems.
Speaker C:And so he asked you a question that kind of led you into how, how are things structured?
Speaker C:You said, we do our reports That's Here we go.
Speaker C:Let's what when, when I'm.
Speaker C:If I'm having to have a six figure, seven figure, eight figure PR company, what kind of metrics, what kind of KPRs are we look.
Speaker C:What are we looking for?
Speaker C:What, what's going to be in.
Speaker A:You're looking for of course impressions you're looking for, views you're looking for, how many pieces of media coverage you got.
Speaker A:You' the publicity value.
Speaker A:There's.
Speaker A:That's something that I put in there because I want people to know like you got a deal.
Speaker A:The publicity value is like what the value of the entire campaign is.
Speaker A:And so like some people don't understand like some media outlets values are different than others.
Speaker A:So like a placement on a blog might be $500 value wise versus if you're on Good Morning America, that value obviously may be like a hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker A:Just throwing this is not real numbers but I'm saying the level and plus that's also all engagement.
Speaker A:Engagement rate is also important because again, people have to care about what you're talking about.
Speaker A:And that's what my job is, is to see how many people care.
Speaker A:Another metric that is important is sentiment.
Speaker A:Positive, negative, neutral.
Speaker A:So that lets you know what the climate of what you're doing or what people are talking about is.
Speaker A:Is it negative, is it positive or is it neutral?
Speaker A:So again that lets the client know, okay, this is where the audience, my audience, the audience that's reading these things, this is where they stand or this is kind of what the sentiment looks like.
Speaker A:So yeah, it's a, it's a.
Speaker A:That I honestly, that's one of my favorite parts of what I do.
Speaker A:It's like I nerd out when it comes to reports because I love to see how impactful the work was.
Speaker B:Okay, right now are you doing like a comparison, A comparison analysis where it's like, okay, this is what was prior to you coming on with Swank.
Speaker A:I don't do a comparison analysis not because I don't want to, it's just because before that sometimes a lot of them don't have anything for me to compare it to.
Speaker A:And, and this may be their first time hiring a publicist or it's going to take me too much time to go look up what you did before.
Speaker A:Now what I do use that prior information for is to build the campaign off of what I know and versus what you telling me versus also what I'm researching and I'm finding out about the client.
Speaker A:So not necessarily comparative.
Speaker A:Now I could compare the Value, but sometimes I don't have nothing to compare it to.
Speaker A:Now, the cool part is I'm.
Speaker A:I can tell you if I've had a long standing client, I can tell you the comparison of when they started it versus where they ended.
Speaker A:Because some clients stay on longer.
Speaker A:So like, whoa, we'll get a client for like three months and then they'll be like, you know what?
Speaker A:I like y', all, we're gonna keep this going.
Speaker A:I can start out and show them like, hey, this is where even your social was versus what it looks like now.
Speaker A:So it really depends.
Speaker A:So there's other type of comparisons, but not necessarily, like, that's something I don't necessarily set in stone.
Speaker A:Depending on who it is and what.
Speaker A:And what we're doing.
Speaker C:Yeah, okay.
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker A:All right, so now that was a good question.
Speaker C:All right, so when it comes to relationships, right.
Speaker C:I think when it comes for people.
Speaker C:I'm sorry, I think that when it comes time for people to transition out of freelance only and move into having a team, they have to figure out a way to share their network of relationships.
Speaker C:Oh.
Speaker C:So that people can reach out.
Speaker C:The people who are on their team can reach out to said relationships.
Speaker C:What is your workflow like with that?
Speaker C:And how do you track your, like, media relationships so you can kind of keep it quick?
Speaker A:Well, from that standpoint, when I have staff, so everybody signs an NDA and a non compete when they come on board.
Speaker A:So that's how I protect myself.
Speaker A:Had to learn that the hard way too, because in pr, people will take your contacts.
Speaker A:They do it all the time.
Speaker A:So that's one.
Speaker A:But then even my media relationships, part of how I keep that going is one, I'm always pitching to them.
Speaker A:I always have a junior publicist that also pitches.
Speaker A:And as we pitch, we cc each other.
Speaker A:So I know what she's pitching, she knows what I'm pitching.
Speaker A:And at that point, you have to have a level of trust when you have a team, because if you do not, you are, you're gonna overwhelm yourself and you're going to burn out.
Speaker A:And we know that most entrepreneurs work off of burnout.
Speaker A:We, we live in that space and I had to learn to get out of that space, you know, so it's, it's almost like if your hand is closed, you can't receive or you can't give.
Speaker A:So if you constantly are saying, well, I, I know how to do it.
Speaker A:I know how to do every part of my job in my business, of course I do.
Speaker A:But Do I want to do it all?
Speaker A:Absolutely not.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker A:So for me, I personally am not a micromanager and if you give me any reason not to trust you, then I know we signed an agreement.
Speaker A:And worst case scenario, you know, if I have to take it to that space, I will, but most of the time I don't have to.
Speaker A:But my media relationships are super important to me.
Speaker A:So if in, in, in the event I'm constantly engaged with my, my, my friends as far as in media.
Speaker A:So for me it's, it's a trust factor.
Speaker A:And I also try to keep up with what they're doing, but I also try to offer something to them if it's, if things are available.
Speaker A:So one thing I've learned about relationships is like, it can't be one sided, right?
Speaker A:You gotta be able to offer things to them as well or say, hey, you wanna go to this Bulls game?
Speaker A:I got whatever it is.
Speaker A:But so for me, my relationships with media are very important.
Speaker A:And because I come from that side, like, my perspective is a lot different than a regular publicist.
Speaker C:So where are they housed?
Speaker C:I know, you know, because you can't have, you have 18 years probably plus of relationships.
Speaker C:They were, they're in here, but for other people to have access to them and I'm, and if you're sharing this with somebody who's in, you know, wants to grow their brand, where do that, where would be a good place to, to house these relationships so that people can get to them, know who not to touch, who to meet.
Speaker C:This needs to be a me, you know, like, how do you have, I.
Speaker A:Mean, where are they housed?
Speaker A:I have a, well one, I have a database in my, you know, in my Google Drive.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:But also like, I use software to also help with my business.
Speaker A:So I use, right now I use Meltwater, I've used Muck Rack, I've used what's Met Water.
Speaker A:What's Melt Rack Water?
Speaker A:These are all PR tools, tools, NPR software.
Speaker A:So again, you can't.
Speaker A:Again, I'm not a person.
Speaker A:I'm not, I'm not old school and I'm not new school.
Speaker A:I'm right in between the schools.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Whatever the school, it is the school of the middle line.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:But I'm in that space where like I want to stay along with the trends and kind of figure out what's next.
Speaker A:So that's why I work with a lot of young people too, because they can tell me like, oh, you need to be paying attention to this.
Speaker A:But for them, I'm like we need this software to also.
Speaker A:So you gotta have tools.
Speaker A:I don't care what business you in, you gotta have tools that's gonna help you stay relevant.
Speaker A:You gotta know the software that you need to use.
Speaker A:So for me, I have reporting software, I have research and relationship software where I can pull journalist contacts.
Speaker A:I can send out a blast if I want to.
Speaker A:But I also can check the metrics with some of these softwares too.
Speaker B:Now what are some of these softwares?
Speaker B:You know, my chance.
Speaker A:So no, I just melt water.
Speaker A:Melt water, muck, rack, critical mention.
Speaker A:Those are some of the key softwares that you can use.
Speaker A:NPR where you can measure, you can also you can type in.
Speaker A:And some of them, hey, journalists that are writing about books or cookbooks.
Speaker A:And then all these journalists pop up.
Speaker A:Now the thing is, is you also got to know how to reach out to them.
Speaker A:And you also got to know how to reach out to them because some of this is cold and cold, cold email or cold pitching.
Speaker A:So for me, I pitch.
Speaker A:If I'm sending out a pitch, I'm sending out usually 100 to 150 pitches a day.
Speaker C:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:And I know a lot of people don't do that.
Speaker A:I know people that'll be like, well, I send out 50.
Speaker A:Nah, you, you gotta, you got, it's all numbers and it's creative.
Speaker A:You got to think, okay, if I send out 150 or if I send out 50, maybe five of those people may, may respond fine.
Speaker A:But then if you send 150 out, maybe 20 might respond.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:So right.
Speaker C:The, the, the average is.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So there's a bit of tenacity that has to go into every industry.
Speaker C:We can tell because when we sit down and talk to people, you're talking PR and you're talking about reaching out to media.
Speaker C:There's still numbers.
Speaker C:Like when we say sales, I was talking to someone else who's selling to brides, for example.
Speaker C:And so they're still.
Speaker C:She said, I'm looking for 100 no's.
Speaker C:You're looking for 150 pitches a day so that you can get to.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:So how am I sourcing my leads?
Speaker C:Your leads come from relationships.
Speaker C:But my relationship can't start until I least pitch.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Once I pitch, then we can start getting to warm up the conversation.
Speaker C:And then from a warm up conversation, that don't mean everybody's going to want to result.
Speaker A:No one's gonna say yes immediately.
Speaker A:Some people will, some people won't.
Speaker A:And that's the thing.
Speaker A:Like when you're pitching.
Speaker A:Yes, yes.
Speaker A:Because I have 18 years of my relationships.
Speaker A:A lot of them do know me and they, they don't care.
Speaker A:They'll.
Speaker A:They'll get my pitches and they'll be like, hey.
Speaker A:Or they'll, they'll get my pictures and I'll either see them in person or see them online.
Speaker A:Hey, I got your email.
Speaker A:I ain't get to it yet.
Speaker A:And sometimes they don't, but you can't.
Speaker A:What I've learned in any business, as an entrepreneur, you cannot just stick with this one cemented person who you think is going to tell you, yes, yes.
Speaker A:And you shouldn't expect them to either.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker A:You gotta keep your options open.
Speaker A:But being an entrepreneur is about, literally, I.
Speaker A:The way I look at it is you plant seeds everywhere and they'll grow when they're supposed to.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker A:And that can mean pitching, that can mean sales, that can mean, hey, I'm gonna network with everybody until the right person says, yes, I'm gonna give you this opportunity.
Speaker A:Or, hey, I seen what you did over here.
Speaker A:I see.
Speaker A:That's a great job.
Speaker A:Let me, let me figure out how we can work together.
Speaker A:It's all about planting seeds.
Speaker A:It is.
Speaker C:And I love what you said, and I think it's so important.
Speaker C:I want a lot of creative entrepreneurs to embrace this idea.
Speaker C:It's not about trying to find that one person who I know is gonna pay me over and over again.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker C:Want that person.
Speaker C:But that's the, that's the bank.
Speaker C:They're not the bank.
Speaker C:They don't have unlimited funds anyway.
Speaker C:And so it's, it's a.
Speaker C:But it's also a little form of like, fear because you want to go to what's easy.
Speaker C:Like, I know this person right here.
Speaker C:They're gonna buy.
Speaker C:But then that's going to burn out eventually.
Speaker C:Number one, another bank.
Speaker C:But it's also going to burn out because, yeah, in your realm.
Speaker C:I need more people to take partake in this.
Speaker A:I can't just stop at the first.
Speaker C:Few people who I already know are hot.
Speaker C:I have to.
Speaker A:If I stopped working, if I stayed in music and music only, I would be broke right now.
Speaker A:And the thing is, I don't care how great something is going as an entrepreneur, somebody gonna run out of a budget.
Speaker A:And you gotta be able to pivot.
Speaker A:But not just pivot.
Speaker A:If you planted seeds everywhere, somebody gonna pop up.
Speaker A:It happens all the time.
Speaker A:And that is the love hate relationship about entrepreneurship is that every so often you be like, man, we were just talking about this, how it does this, yeah, you be up here.
Speaker A:And then it goes like this.
Speaker A:And then somebody on a whole nother level will come back.
Speaker A:You'll be like, wait, I talked to.
Speaker C:Them three years ago, right?
Speaker A:And they all of a sudden they need you.
Speaker A:And it happens like that.
Speaker A:And so I think people don't under.
Speaker A:People are also scared to have those down moments.
Speaker A:Them down moments is bad because you really be like, oh my God, my rent due to my car.
Speaker A:About the, you know, you listen.
Speaker A:It is literally an emotional roller coaster and in being in this space and people don't really talk about it a lot, but it is and we all.
Speaker C:Dealing with it and by emotion.
Speaker C:When we say highs, especially when you're talking about arts and entertainment, the highs are high, right?
Speaker C:So we have you on here because you're, we're inviting people who are six and seven figure and eight figure creative entrepreneurs.
Speaker C:So for you, for example, when we say, hi, give me a high, give me a high.
Speaker C:An example of what a high would be like just off of one client.
Speaker C:What would be a one client high that you.
Speaker A:So I'll give you a high and a 1 in price and I'll give you a high in the type of client.
Speaker A:So like I had.
Speaker A:So like I worked with Roc Nation for about three years, so that's a high, right?
Speaker A:Everybody's like, oh, you work with Roc Nation.
Speaker A:It's great.
Speaker A:It is, it's great.
Speaker A:It was, it was fun.
Speaker A:I still have my relationships over there.
Speaker A:I got a chance to work with Memphis bleep like back to back.
Speaker A:Like it was great.
Speaker C:Cool.
Speaker A:And then I would say another high is like having a client that pays you for a project that's about between 30 and 40,000.
Speaker C:You know, this is what we're saying.
Speaker C:Yeah, you know, we want 30 to $40,000 clients.
Speaker C:And if you want the 30 to $40,000 client, you want to stop bagging your way into it.
Speaker C:You want to get you an actual onboarding process.
Speaker C:You want to actually get you some systems, whatever that is.
Speaker C:She was all the different is you want to have that and more importantly, you want to have the mindset.
Speaker C:The mindset says I'm not scared of the es and flows that comes with it.
Speaker C:The mindset that says that I'm willing to get out of my comfort zone.
Speaker C:I'm not going to just fish over here where it's hot.
Speaker A:I'm going to cast my rod out.
Speaker C:Into the cold waters and I'm going to reel them in like, you know, so you have to really, really embrace it.
Speaker C:If you, you really want to be that.
Speaker C:It takes something.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for sharing.
Speaker A:No problem.
Speaker C:Thank you for sharing what it takes.
Speaker B:You know you got another question, and this is the last one that I'm going to ask.
Speaker B:You mentioned something about burnout earlier and we've been talking about these as a flow, these highs and lows.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So for you as a creative CEO, right.
Speaker B:What are some of your daily and weekly rituals that help to keep you centered and focused so that you don't burn out?
Speaker A:That, that is something I think.
Speaker A:And I'm, I'm going say, our black and brown brothers and sisters, we are so adamant about, we gotta do something, we gotta do this.
Speaker A:The one thing I've learned is it'll be there.
Speaker A:That's number one.
Speaker A:Number two, you cannot be anything to anybody if your, if your cup is empty.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:If you're burnt out, you won't even be able to think creatively.
Speaker A:And I had to learn that too.
Speaker A:So for me, on a weekly basis, one, I have a therapist.
Speaker A:That's number one.
Speaker A:Two, I have something that I'll, I have one day a week that I do not work where it's not, it's nothing work related.
Speaker A:I'm going to do whatever I want to do.
Speaker A:Because you need to be able to disconnect.
Speaker A:I encourage entrepreneurs to always take a vacation.
Speaker A:Not.
Speaker A:You don't have to, it doesn't have to be elaborate, but you need to have a moment to unplug.
Speaker A:If you don't have that, you will not be any good.
Speaker A:And I had to learn that like, even in burnout, we think we doing good because we're in it.
Speaker A:And from the outside looking in, it's not like that.
Speaker A:Or you may be like, man, I can't even think straight.
Speaker A:When you get to that point where you staring at your computer and you just staring, that's how you know it's time.
Speaker A:And I think people don't know that.
Speaker A:They don't know when that burnout is happening.
Speaker A:So it's like first having the self awareness to know, oh, this is, I, I'm here, I'm at that threshold, then understanding, okay, how do I not put myself in this space or how do I get out of it?
Speaker A:And a lot of times we just be thinking, survival, survival, survival, survival.
Speaker A:So for me it's, you know, I go to my sound bowl meditation class or I'll do something that just brings me a little bit kind of, that just grounds me.
Speaker A:And you gotta have something, you gotta have something.
Speaker A:And I'm not Talking about drinking and smoking and having, you know, you can have that, that's.
Speaker A:Those are not the best habits to have all the time.
Speaker A:You need to have a moment to decompress and clear your mind.
Speaker A:So for me it's definitely, you know, meditation therapy and just being able to disconnect and have that one day off.
Speaker A:Now if it's, it's, you know, when it gets to that point where you can't handle it, you and you just gotta get away.
Speaker C:You do that.
Speaker A:Last thing I would say is listen to your body.
Speaker C:That's good.
Speaker A:Listen to your body.
Speaker A:That's important because we don't, we don't always do that.
Speaker A:So it's important we do that or you're going to burn out and not be able to come back.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:I love it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for sharing those.
Speaker C:I think it's so important.
Speaker C:We talk about strategy, we talk about structure, but Ron and I, I wanted to bring in the idea of self development and sustainability.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:Because it's cool to do all the cool things and be at the highs, but if you can't sustain it and you're going to get worn out, it then it didn't.
Speaker C:And so the fact that you just gave those tips, those are essential.
Speaker C:Get you a Sabbath involved, get you a vacation from time to time.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:She said get you some, something that grounds you meditate, free your mind and you know, I, I love it.
Speaker C:So you had something you want say?
Speaker A:No, I was going to say just that.
Speaker A:Well, I guess I do have something.
Speaker A:But just it's an ongoing and uphill thing and it's not a process that is overnight and it don't stop like it's.
Speaker A:If you signing up to be an entrepreneur, just know what you signing up for.
Speaker A:Seriously know what you signing up for.
Speaker A:Because once you get on this road, you know, and also when you ready to get off of it, be honest with yourself.
Speaker A:People are not honest with themselves.
Speaker A:A lot of times they want to be called a CEO and a founder, but they not finding nothing.
Speaker C:And that is gonna make you highlight.
Speaker C:I just want you to know that's gonna make the real.
Speaker C:They haven't found a thing.
Speaker A:You, you gotta be able to find it.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:They found it.
Speaker A:Get off, get off.
Speaker C:If you want to know what you're signing up for and I think that's very important as well.
Speaker C:Our goal is to help creators be better business people.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:You're trying to be a better, better business person.
Speaker C:And sometimes you have to realize that maybe the goal is not for me to be the CEO of some big company.
Speaker C:Maybe I'm gonna be an entrepreneur, but I'm going to keep a smaller team.
Speaker C:Maybe five to ten people max or one to.
Speaker C:I want to be a great company.
Speaker A:You have to be realistic.
Speaker A:And that's the problem.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker A:We see something over there and we watch what somebody doing, doing.
Speaker A:But we are not honest with ourselves when it comes to our business.
Speaker A:And I've had to have them come to Jesus moments.
Speaker A:I mean, I hate doing taxes.
Speaker A:Who like doing taxes?
Speaker A:When you entrepreneur, you have to put money aside for the taxes.
Speaker A:No one is taking anything out of a check.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:You have to understand.
Speaker A:And I had to learn that the hard way.
Speaker A:And it's bad because we're not taught that.
Speaker A:We are not taught.
Speaker A:That's how it goes.
Speaker A:So when you start learning, it is like, okay, I'm either gonna backpedal or I'm gonna start it right the first time.
Speaker B:Listen, Bri, this has been a dope conversation.
Speaker B:Like, I want to.
Speaker B:I want to keep going, but I know that, you know, we.
Speaker B:We run out of time, but it's.
Speaker B:It's been very enriching.
Speaker B:Like I said, I think you have a plethora of information and knowledge that our audience, I know, is going to benefit from here.
Speaker A:I know a little something.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, you know, a lot of something.
Speaker B:18 Years.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Able to condense that into the interview.
Speaker B:We thank you for that.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker A:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:I enjoyed the conversation.
Speaker C:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:And do you have anything you'd want to share with those who are watching?
Speaker C:Not necessarily from an advice perspective because you didn't already drop jeans.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:But more so from your company.
Speaker C:Maybe people are watching this.
Speaker C:I'm like, okay, I like her.
Speaker C:Now I got a little project coming.
Speaker A:Follow me.
Speaker A:Swank pr.
Speaker A:And I'm Brianna Gallon.
Speaker A:You can Google me.
Speaker C:I'm.
Speaker A:I'm easy to find, but yeah.
Speaker A:Follow Swank PR at Swank S W A N K P R are Swank Public relations.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker C:That's it.
Speaker C:Get plugged in.
Speaker C:Listen, thank you so much, like Ron said, for being here.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker C:If you're watching this episode and you are the way here at the end, you are serious about your creative based business.
Speaker C:And also you.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker C:You rock with our channel a little bit.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:So thank you.
Speaker C:Now, while we clapping for you, go ahead, hit like, do me a favor.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:Go ahead and hit the subscribe button.
Speaker C:I know.
Speaker C:We got you.
Speaker C:We got you.
Speaker C:And so we don't want you to Just hit like and subscribe if you actually want to get tapped in in a, in a, in a further way.
Speaker C:Like I love what Shine Ron are talking about going from creative to CEO, really getting into that mindset.
Speaker C:I want to encourage you to join our five day Creative to CEO challenge.
Speaker C:That's the five day Creative to CEO challenge where we're going to take you really around.
Speaker B:So we're going to.
Speaker B:You're going to leave with a pay a 90 day CEO plan on the page, right.
Speaker B:You can identify what your signature offer is, not nobody else's.
Speaker B:Your specific signature offer.
Speaker B:And we're going to give you the system and the structure to support that signature offer so that you can make 10k plus months.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:This is no limit.
Speaker B:There's no cap on it if you follow that plan.
Speaker B:So join the CEO or credit and CEO challenge for that transformation.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:All right.
Speaker C:Now before we get out of here, we, we want to make sure we hear from you.
Speaker C:I would say just comment.
Speaker C:You should have did that.
Speaker C:When you like and subscribe, I want you to actually say something.
Speaker C:So you've heard Ron talk, you've heard me speak, you've heard Bri G speak.
Speaker C:See, I gotta get a new name right there.
Speaker C:And so but we want to hear, we want you to hear from yourself because we believe affirmations are important.
Speaker C:So we end every episode with a mantra.
Speaker C:And so I want you to say this out loud and repeat after me.
Speaker C:Everybody in here ready?
Speaker C:All right, let's go.
Speaker C:All it takes.
Speaker C:Takes.
Speaker C:All it takes is intention.
Speaker A:Is intention.
Speaker C:Consistency.
Speaker A:Consistency.
Speaker C:And laser focus.
Speaker A:And laser focus.
Speaker C:To mind my creative business.
Speaker A:To mind my creative business.
Speaker C:And on that note,.
