Not many people know that I spent years working as a chef – in my hometown of Ballybunion and later in Cork City.
I started out washing pots and pans, was promoted to starters and desserts and then progressed on as a commis chef.
When I was 24, I decided to pack in the cheffing due to the unsociable hours and mad drinking culture that went hand-in-hand with the industry during those Celtic Tiger years.
I became a journalist and what remained the same was deadline pressures.
Whether it was a tour bus of 500 people waiting for their starters, a table of 20 people ordering off the Ala Carte menu, or hungry celebs (Sergio Garcia once gave me compliments on a smoked chicken salad starter) – I could always handle the heat of the kitchen.
That ability to remain calm under pressure remained with me when I became a journalist 18 years ago. Instead of a hungry table of diners, it was a stressed-out editor and thousands of readers waiting for me to get it made and get it right.
While this is not a skill we all have, it can be learned. It’s about understanding your ability and having faith in that.
It’s about prioritising your time and not being a busy fool.
It’s also about understanding your own boundaries with yourself. Not believing your own bullshit and getting out of your own way so you can get the job done.
DIY PR Toolkits
I am now offering a new service with Solas Media called “Crow and Pitcher PR”.
Under this banner, I am providing the following:
1: DIY PR campaigns. I write your press release, take your press photographs, create your media strategy and offer support and advice while you smash out your own media campaign.
2: Training programme: From February 2023, I am running training programmes for marketing professionals and business owners. We will create your plan, discuss during an in-person workshop, and then activate & manage it with my support over a number of weeks. Get in touch and get your name on the waiting list.
What is so different about this PR training?
Anyone can teach you how to write a press release or how to create a media strategy (and I will teach you those things). Those are like the pebbles that the crow used in the fable.
But I will focus on your growth too. I will teach you how to be confident during a PR campaign, to be clever, dynamic and creative – to think on your feet and pivot for success. I will carry you through those dark, unconfident moments when most people quit, and drown in their own rejection and hopelessness to get any media coverage!
A productive and successful media campaign is never straightforward but with the right tools and support, you can learn to be a PR pro!
A good PR campaign must have all the right ingredients and journalists prefer to hear directly from the people in their stories – from you!
But that secret sauce – you’ll just have to talk to me about what makes your PR campaign special and how you can bag heaps of media coverage for yourself that will get loads of eyeballs on your business!
