The end of the week isn’t just great because it’s the end of the week. Yes, we get a respite from work calls, work emails, coworkers, deadline, reports, briefs, Zoom meetings, meetings in general, LinkedIn invites, and calendar reminders. But ending a week is more about HOW that week ended.
What did you give to this week? Did you make any kind of progress? How did you show up? Better than last week? How did respond when you were asked to show up? Grateful? Confident? Begrudgingly?
Happy Friday should be intentional as well as celebratory.
Turning Your Sales Experience into a Public Relations Hustle
Does that seem like a stretch? I don’t think so, but hear me out on this.
Many sale representatives find themselves talking to a single client or clients representing an organization or in front groups of people, convincing them why their product or service is superior to their competitors. They’re amping up the positives and downpaying or reconstruting the negatives, getting their audience on their side.
A lot pitching, talking, networking, meetings take place for sales representatives. Many of them live on commission and making those connections to make the sale to earn their commissions drives their livelihood. It’s the definitive person-facing job, so say the least. They need to have good people skills. Very much like a public relations representative would need. And to always be able to close the deal.
Along with the networking skills, being able to pitch and present, hold meetings, talk on behalf of someone making sure you represent them in the best possible way so people buy into that person, these roles are just about twins.
So, how do you get started making that transition into your hustle?
Right off the bat, I’m going to say website. Website, website, website. You may not have a whole lot — or any— well known clients you name drop on your site, but you can speak highly of your skill set and how long you’ve been doing what you do. Remember, a lot of the sale representatives jargon is transferable to public relations. Performance is what people want to hear about.
I would also moonlight under another established public relations representative. See what they do, how they do it, what are their systems, what’s their process?
Take mad notes. Duplicate and tweak what works and leave what doesn’t.
Do some pro bono work for a non-profit. One, charities always need help getting their name out there. Two, it makes you look generous. Three, it’s a great way to network. And four, you’ll start building up your clientele base and will be able to showcase who you’ve worked.
And don’t forget to ask for testimonials. What others say about you speaks higher than what you say about yourself.
So, does it look like you’ll be starting your public relations hustle soon?
This feels like common sense, but maybe it’s not. Maybe you’ve assumed that it doesn’t matter what email you use for your hustles. Using your personal email address that you use for other things (ahem, shopping) for your hustle… can murk the waters, especially if you scale up that hustle into a business. It’s easy to get clients to start communicating with the improved you when you scale up with sendmeyourresume@resume.com if you were already using sendmeyourresume@gmail.com.
It’s a whole another story getting clients to use sendmeyourresume@resume.com when you had them emailing you at heresmylifestory@gmail.com. It almost looks like you’re rebranding or changing company names. Or worse, spam.
And yes, you can use a free gmail account for now. Although most email packages are relatively cheap, I can understand wantitng to save each and every dollar. The early stages are always money tight.
Just make sure you’re thoughtful when choosing an email address name for your side hustle. That very well may be your business’ name in the near future.
If change is part of the the process to see the successes and the goals we have for ourself to come into fruition, then we need to be ready for the change.
My best friend texted me this morning that she put her two weeks notice in at her job. She’s a nurse. Now, I know what you’re thinking. We need more nurses now more than ever. She’s not quitting being a nurse. She’s just quitting where she’s working. And instead choosing to work as a traveling nurse, traveling to other medical facilities that are understaffed and need more support. While being a nurse, she’s also be studying to become a nurse practitioner.
See, she’s been on this road to fulfill a few dreams of hers where she can optimize her skill set, her income and her contribution.
She and I have talkd about her becoming a traveling nurse for a little while and although she liked the idea, she felt nervous because it meant stepping outside her comfort zone. It meant…change. But she’s done the work. Shes evaluated the pros and cons of thid change. And, now she’s ready for the next chapter of her professional journey. She’s ready for change.
And how did you spend your International Women’s Day?
Me?
I continued my work in helpinh empowering other women to achieve economic independence and live their best offline life.
You?
Like to know how you can help women achieve economic equality so that we can all succeed? Because when she succeeda, you succeeds. I don’t know about you, but I’m always down for a win-win scenario. Email me at femalesinglenhustlin@gmail.com
Not all change has felt good all of the time, but its end result usually is. And when you’re flippin’ the script on your habits, your behaviors, the way you think, how you approach problems…. what you decide you’re worth, that’s all change. That’s all part of the process to getting closer to where you want to be rather than settling for where you are because it’s just easier.
You’ll begin to notice the change too. You’ll notice the company you keep. You may begin to flock to more like minded individuals. You’ll notice the hours you keep. You start claiming more of time back instead always being ready to head out and do whatever with whomever. You become laser focused on what matters to you. Obsessed. You’ll find yourself reading articles, reading blogs, following certain social accounts, buying books on the topic. When you chase what matters, what’s important to you, your lens change.
Female, Single and Hustlin 