This year marks the 10^th anniversary of Fendos PR. It’s a noteworthy accomplishment for many reasons, particularly considering that over 50 percent of small businesses fail within 5 years and the economic troubles of the past 4 years. 

This occasion has also given me a great reason to reflect on my business, and I have to say, I've been so fortunate to work on some amazing projects. Highlights have included working with Visit Milwaukee and the cast of Happy Days to unveil the Bronz Fonz; helping Visit Milwaukee with the Danny Gokey Idol Day; hosting Travel Channel production crews at the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort three times; and working with the White House staff for the Presidential commencment speech at Concordia University Wisconsin. 

Through all of these fantastic experiences, as well as my daily interactions with clients, I have come to realize a few things about myself and my business.

1. I am truly blessed. I work for the best clients who are passionate about what they do for a living and are motivated to succeed. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and it makes me want to work that much harder to produce results for them.

2. I put my heart & soul into every client. I really enjoy rolling up my sleeves and learning my clients' businesses. And, many of my clients have been with me since I started Fendos PR. I think this speaks volumes. I am more than an outside vendor to my clients…I am one of them.

3. "Old dogs can learn new tricks." Although I don't really consider myself old, when I started Fendos PR socia media didn't exist. when it came into the picture, I quickly relaized if I wanted to keep my doors open I had to immerse myself into learning it, so I took a 12-week social media certificate class through the UW system, started reading technology blogs, attended other technology seminars and even hired a recent college grad to give me a few tutorials. Social media has revolutionized PR and Marketing. I know for a fact I wouldn't be in business today if I had refused to learn this amazing and ever-evolving technology. The day I lose my desire to learn new things will be the day Fendos PR goes out of businesss.

4. Networking is critical to one's success. I am fortunate to say my phone just keeps ringing with new business opportunities. This is becaues every day I make it a point to network in some way be it making a post on Linkedin; attending a Public Relations Society of America meeting; catching up with alumni from UW-Whitewater; or going out to lunch with old collagues and clients. I make it a goal to stay top-of-mind with everyone I encounter because you never know who might need a little PR help down the road. 

5. Work hard and allow yourself to shut down. In today's hectic world of email, social media and workplace demands, you have to work really hard to make a business successful. However, you will quickly burn out or your health will be negatively impacted if you don't reward yourself with some quality down time every day. Go to the gym, laugh with family or friends, read a good book and then get a good night's sleep so you can dive back into your work with enthuasiasm in the morning.

6. Embrace a Challenge and Live with Purpose. Stop complaining about where you are at this point in your life. If you aren't happy, figure out how to change what is making you unhappy. Don't be afraid to take a risk. When you identify your true purpose and begin to live your life to its fullest you will truly be inspired to be your best each and every day.

For years I've been saying to clients, friends and family members to be cautious of online reviews. Personally, I don't take much weight in them and here's why. When you read an online review you don't know anything about the person who wrote it. Are the mentally stable? Did they have a terrible day at work and now want to take it out on someone? Are they looking for something free? Do they work for the competitor? Or, was the product they purchased truly disappointing? It's hard to guess.

Today, I happened upon this article: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-book-reviews-money-buy-131408538.html. It talks about how Todd Rutherford worked in a marketing department which helped to provide services to self-publishers, and how he came up with the idea of writing reviews for these authors for a fee.He started out charges $99 for 20 online reviews but his reviews were so well-received that he increased his price to $499!  During his best months he was making $28,000 a month for writing fake reviews!

This article just reinforces my feelings about online reviews.There  are a lot of unethical people our there, and online shoppers should be cautious! In my opinion, you are much better off asking the opinions of friends, family members and neighbors who have established credibility with you. You know their interests and their lifestyles are similiar to yours. Plus, hopefully they can be trusted!

In today's business world, networking is more important than ever, and this includes not only having a presence on social media sites but also being active on these sites.

Linked In is a wonderful social media tool that can help you to connect with people you know in the business world as well as old classmates and co-workers. It can also be a fabulous way to market your skills for future business opportunities even though you may not be actively looking for a different position.

I recently came upon this great article in Business Week that provides 25 tips on how to make LinkedIn work for you. Alot of this material was covered in a PRSA presentation I attended last year so I was thrilled to see it in written format so I could share it on my blog. I hope you find it useful!

http://www.businessweek.com/management/25-ways-to-make-linkedin-work-for-you-02102012.html

I like this article because in 2010 I really took the time to learn social media. I took a 3 month online certificate program through UW-Waukesha and really learned the nuts and bolts of social media.  As a result, I now have a greater appreciation for how it can be integrated into a marketing and public relations strategy and I have earmarked 2011as the year to really help my clients to do so. This article just reinforces why now is the time to dive into social media.  http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/42685.aspx

Although I’m not a fan of Walmart, I have to stay I found this interview with their CMO useful. It offers very practical tips for utilizing Facebook for a retail purpose. If your company doesn’t have a presence already on facebook, you are missing out a fantastic opportunity to engage with your customers. It’s like having a focus group 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What are you waiting for? Social media is not going away. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-money-with-facebook-2011-2#ixzz1CuKQNRME

I can’t tell you how often I hear from small business owners, “I don’t have time to be on Facebook.” To which I respond, “Can you afford not to be?”

Facebook offers businesses a wonderful opportunity to get to know you what your customers are thinking of your business, what they would like to see improved and what they would like to see more of. It’s like having a focus group 24/7 free of charge. Sure it requires constant managing but I feel it is worth the effort and frankly social media is here to stay so you better get used to it.

Here is a link to a nice blog that offers you tips about how you can manage social media. It is perfect for those weary of “diving in” to social media. Enjoy!

http://www.thesocialcmo.com/blog/2011/01/five-tips-to-keep-your-head-above-water-with-social-media/

Social media is giving us more opportunities to get to know our customers and to provide better service to them. This article shows some wonderful examples of how social media can have an impact on the Hospitality industry. Hats off to the Hyatt Regency in Milwaukee for being the Concierge Twitter example. You understand the important role social media can have with your customers!

http://mashable.com/2010/10/18/hotel-industry-social-media/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

There is a definite shift happening in the marketplace and it is becoming more imperative than ever to get your customers to not only be loyal to you but to be advocates for your business. This is a great article about how to gain loyalty with good content marketing.

http://www.pr2020.com/page/9-steps-to-gain-leads-and-loyalty-with-content-marketing

I had the great opportunity to hear Peter Shankman from HARO speak at PRSA Wisconsin’s September 30 meeting and I was really impressed with him. His blog post today had me laughing out loud. That being said, it has some really great points in its message as well. Take a read!!!

http://shankman.com/are-we-ever-going-to-get-it/

There appears to be a rush right now by companies to want to create a mobile apps that users will want to download and use. The thing is can’t just create any old app, you have to make it something that is useful to the consumer and not just pure promotion. Here is a recent blog post from Mashable that shows some great mobile apps.

http://mashable.com/2010/10/06/branded-mobile-apps/

Everyone who know me, knows how much I love my Blackberry! Although lately with the latest Droid being released, I’ve been feeling the pressure to desert my Blackberry and dive into a smart phone. Maybe that’s why I got such a kick out of this article by CNN about why people love their Blackberry. I have to admit — the keyboard is what keeps me, I just can’t imagine taping a smart phone screen as quickly. That, and being the klutz that I am I’m afraid that I’ll crack the big smart phone screen within a week of purchasing one.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/08/04/blackberry.fans/

Footnote: In late December 2010 I broke down and got a Droid smartphone. I still miss my Blackberry which was a reliable business tool for me for 3 years. Getting used to the touchless keyboard is taking me longer than I expected.