Three Lies I Told Myself During My First Two Years in Business
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
I started Hourglass Media at age 26 in March 2015, when I still worked a full-time job. My starry eyes couldn’t see past the illumination of this shiny new thing I created. I had tunnel vision, and I focused on all of the wrong things. I devoted time to the lies I told myself in those first couple years as Hourglass Media CEO.
My brain likes to tell me lies, whether it’s perfectionistic with a self-deprecating attitude or positive with a side of nostalgia that never even existed.
And guys, I was 26. My brain was on the home stretch of growth. I didn’t have clarity and thought I had the direction I needed to head a small company. I had no clue what I was doing! I knew my industry very well, but I didn’t have clear goals and objectives -- although I made sure to have those for my clients.
Here are three outright lies I told myself during my company’s infancy. My hope is that they help you as you get comfortable in your own professional skin and wade through the clutter to live your best life:
“I have to do everything.”
Pick a niche or three at most. As PR professionals (or any other communications-based profession), we are taught to be a jack- or jill-of-all-trades. While it is highly beneficial and recommended to know a little about everything, don’t be the be-all and end-all of businesses. I will be blunt — you can’t do everything. I changed from Hourglass Omnimedia to Hourglass Media because I cannot be everything -- or “omni” -- to everyone. That expectation and concept nearly ate me and my skill set alive. I was everywhere all of the time and drank nearly a gallon of coffee every day to stay awake and motivated. Because of the “omni” in my business name, I wanted to be everything to everyone. Well, that is NOT possible. So, I am the “omni” to those who want to work with me and vice versa, based on my allotted niches. After I shortened my company name to Hourglass Media, I was able to focus more on the development of niches. Generally, they are writing, public relations and education. And you also have to market yourself. You cannot be a wallflower and have a successful online company (or in-person one, in many respects).
“I need to listen to those who came before me.”
Several people in my life are full of sage advice. At times, however, I’ve depended too much on what others have thought of me and my company. At the beginning of my business, I didn’t have clarity. I knew I wanted to do PR and help people. I had a plan, but it wasn’t as streamlined. It was hit or miss, and at the time, I listened to people who gave bad advice. “Be a big agency.” “Don’t talk about ‘Star Wars’ as much. No one cares.” “You have to do a bunch of things for free when you’re starting out.” I went to last-minute meetings, listened to wannabe mentors and did work outside of my niche just to build my business when I was already successful in my own right. Be true to yourself and your target audiences, and if something doesn’t feel right that someone tells you, you don’t have to take their advice. Be authentic to your company and to yourself. Talk about anything you and your clients want! While working with narcissists on specific projects helped launch my company into the public stratosphere, their intentions were not the same as mine. I wear my heart on my sleeve and truly believe in helping people. When I told myself to listen to certain people, I was taken advantage of. I’ve learned this lesson over and over throughout my life and career, but you have to take risks to grow.
“People will always be ethical.”
I hate to break it to you, but people will not share the same ethical codes as you. Morality codes are on a Likert scale, for the most part, and sometimes, you will not see eye to eye. Know when to address infractions and when to just walk away from the madness. Always expect the worst from everyone. I know this sounds like a pessimistic attitude coming from a mostly optimistic person, but you have to be prepared. As a PR pro who plans for crisis communications, you have to realize clients will dispute lines in contracts, not pay you on time and say not-so-nice things about you. Clients are humans, and it’s human nature to not always be straight-laced and drama-free. Here’s a tip that I had to learn the hard way: Always bring a receipt book when someone pays cash so they can sign off on a document, too. The unfortunate reality is that people will try every trick in the book in order to get out of payments. I’ve had people (some of whom I’ve least expected) who have said they paid me a full amount in cash when they still owed me part of the outstanding balance.
How do you weed through your own aspirations to achieve success? How can you be yourself in the spotlight when you’re used to being behind-the-scenes? You will get the answers to all of this and more when you read through our free eBook. I hope you can learn from my missteps and successes #behindthehourglass!
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV with nearly 16 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, cat mom and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.