SDH 207: How to Transition from Entrepreneur to CEO with Farissa Knox
In a need of a cloud accounting software that isn't overwhelming, simple and easy to use? have you tried Freshbooks? Because if not, you're missing out. Freshbooks is an accounting software with the freelance and service based business in mind. Because of its friendly user design you're able to customize invoices, draft, send, follow up, accept payment, track express and work contracts all right in the portal.
Try Freshbooks today by visiting www.Freshbooks.com/She and enter She Did It Her Way in the "How did you hear about us?" box.
Happy tracking!
How do you come up with new content for your business? What steps will you have to take to get it off the ground?
She Did it Her Way listeners, let’s welcome back Farissa Knox, the second guest on SDIHW two years ago! She is the founder of two businesses, RLM Media and WhatRUWearing. RLM Media is an advertising agency that does media planning and buying for clients across the country, while WhatRUWearing exemplifies her love for all things fashion and style. WRUW is a digital publishing house that features daily editorials, videos, and their podcast, Fast Fashion. Recently WRUW has also launched a new reality web series, PR Girl, which follows the life of Chicago entertainment publicist, Alexandra Moresco.
The idea for PR Girl came to her after studying the habits of her audience to find a new way for WRUW to further capture their interest. She knew whatever she did would have to be video-based, since she said that 18-34 year-old women that love fashion, beauty, and style primarily gravitated towards that medium. She then thought about what professions or industries that demographic aspired to the most, and which of those could be documented in a stimulating video. She felt that the PR industry fit the bill, and wanted the web series to center on a 20-something female, that lived a similar dream life as the girls of the pop culture influences Sex and the City and The Hills. She wanted that life to be tangible for her audience, and show them the reality of what that life can bring; good or bad. She wanted the show to be about female empowerment, and less about the negative drama that typical reality shows promoted. The goal was to highlight positive, young, talent and show women that a fabulous career is possible and educate them on the field of PR.
She started by reaching out to the producer behind RLM’s home page video, Joe Knee, to see if there were any holes in her idea, and if it was even a good idea because he had experience pitching reality shows in LA. He loved the idea immediately and wanted to be a part of the production process.
After that, it was all about finding the girl. She knew she wanted the girl to be Chicago-based, in order to make the filming and connecting process easier, and dived into her network. Out of the handful of girls she contacted, her communication and connection with Alexandra were the most genuine and never-ending. Alexandra jumped at the opportunity to work with Farissa, and once Farissa got production and the star in place, PR Girl was almost ready for takeoff.
The last step was promotion and marketing. She wanted to partner with another organization to help with the press outreach and expand their platform. Already a fan and follower of PR Couture, started by Crosby Noricks, she reached out to them first via email. Later that day Crosby responded, and after learning about each other as women and brands through a week-long email thread, Farissa hopped on a plane to San Diego to meet Crosby to talk about their partnership. Over lunch, they discussed their roles in the show, with Farissa being the creator, and Crosby being the marketing and brand developing partner.
From there PR Girl was a go and launched in the early part of October! Listen in for more of the story, how Farissa started RLM nine years ago, and her growth as an entrepreneur and CEO!
In this episode you will...
See how to conduct market research and brainstorm on new content for your business
Learn how you may grow throughout the years as an entrepreneur
Know what it takes to transform from an entrepreneur to a CEO
Figure out a possible end goal or retirement plan for your business and yourself
Find different ways to measure the success of your business
See how to balance your personal and work life
INSIGHTS
“In the first three years, you’re making decisions on things that will be the foundation of your company… And you don’t know that yet...you just think I’m trying to make it towards tomorrow or next week…and get clients…but it’s more than just getting clients and getting money. You’re laying the foundation of your future success and reputation.” –Farissa Knox
“We’ve been doing this long enough where no one questions whether we’re good at it anymore. When you say nine years…the reputation is there, the value is there, the length of time is there…now I’m getting clients and partners sent my way…I’m really proud of that” –Farissa Knox
“Now approaching year nine, my fears and my concerns have completely shifted. I’m no longer concerned about how are we going to make payroll because the money is coming, the clients are there. It’s more about managing the money and growing the company. And now I can start thinking like the owner of a company.” –Farissa Knox
RESOURCES
