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Consultants join ranks of PR faculty
Being a consultant and teaching part-time at the local institution of higher education seem to go hand-in-hand for a lot of IPs, myself included. Teaching is a great way to give back to the public relations profession, and it helps keep me connected to the next generation of practitioners. It also encourages me to stay current on the latest trends and techniques and provides a bit of additional income. And as a huge bonus — it never fails to impress clients.
If you’re interested in joining the faculty at your local college, here is some information to help you get started.
PR tops lists of work-from-home jobs
One of the benefits of being an independent practitioner is the freedom to work in whatever type of environment you wish. Some rent office space; others maintain home offices. Personally, I’ve chosen to work from home since taking my PR consulting business full-time more than four years ago.
Being a fan of working from home, I was excited to read an article on Yahoo! recently by Kristina Cowan from payscale.com. She identified five lucrative work-at-home jobs, and three of them were related to communications — PR, writing, and design. “Success with work-from-home jobs depends on self-motivation. and professional experience, freelancers say — the more you have of both, the better. You also must be disciplined and skilled at networking, so you can attract clients/contacts,” she wrote. Read her full article here.
The influence of text messaging
This morning on my drive to work I received a text message from a neighbor about a speed trap near our subdivision. I was already past the area and somehow managed to escape getting a ticket, probably because I left extra early today.
But the thought occurred to me: this is the first time I’ve been warned about potential negative consequences by a text message.
How many of us find text messaging creeping into our daily lives, including client activities? Have you ever sent a text message to a reporter?
Why I chose to open Codella Marketing
For my inaugural blog on ipa.prsa.org I thought I’d address the motivation behind opening my own shop, since that is, after all, the thread that binds us together.
I have practiced public relations and marketing communications since 1995. I have worked for a large corporation, university, two public relations agencies and one advertising agency. I have entered the independent practitioner field twice, in between working for PR and advertising agencies in Las Vegas.
Both times my decision was the result of situations where I felt I could do better on my own. And I have.