EPISODE 21: INDUSTRY FRIENDSHIPS AND SMALL BUSINESS LEADERSHIP DURING A PANDEMIC WITH VELVET KELM AND JENNIFER JENKINS
Live Date: Friday, August 28, 2020
Show Description: We have a special episode today! Heather is joined by two of her closest industry friends, Velvet Kelm and Jennifer Jenkins. Velvet, the founder, and president of The Media Collective, has been in the PR industry for nearly three decades, and she specializes in music publicity. Jennifer, the founder and President of JJPR Agency, was named Top 40 Under 40 by Mobile Bay Magazine, and she specializes in storytelling, brand management, and business-to-business publicity. Their relationships with each other span years. On today’s episode, Heather, Velvet, and Jennifer discuss navigating COVID-19 as a business owner, leadership during crisis, social media and traditional media trends right now, and how to pivot messaging as the pandemic continues to change, among other topics in the small business and leadership spaces.
Biggest Takeaways:
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Heather, Velvet, and Jennifer have strong relationships in an industry that is known for being cutthroat and competitive. They share their advice for building strong relationships in your industry, including:
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Be transparent. Don’t be afraid to speak up about the issues you face. Now more than ever, business owners are navigating new and uncertain waters. No one is alone in that. If you speak up, likely, someone will step forward and say, “Me too.”
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Seek like-minded leaders. All three of these women share the same values and lead in a similar way. That is part of the success of these relationships.
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Direct and honest communication is key right now. With team members, employees, and clients. You cannot over-communicate during this time. Additionally, listening is so important now, too.
Quotables:
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“As a business owner, we have been leading, supporting, encouraging, sometimes being a counselor, therapist, not only to our teams but to our clients.” – Jennifer Jenkins 20:03
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“Everybody’s good days and bad days aren’t synchronized. My great day in quarantine may be one of your worst. And, we have to give each other grace and empathy.” – Jennifer Jenkins 24:06
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“You want them to feel appreciated and encouraged and motivated. You also want them to feel safe. But at the same time, they still have a job to do, and you have a business to run, and you have clients to serve. So it’s that juxtaposition of, ‘I care for you, and I want you to do well, and I want you to know that I’m taking care of you. But I also need you to do your job well.’ So it’s figuring out how to communicate that well to them.” – Heather Adams 25:13
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“It’s vulnerability, being transparent, and just being real. You know, we are all in this together, and it’s the strangest time in my life, for sure, where the whole world is dealing with the same thing.” – Velvet Kelm 29:55
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“We keep getting asked, how can we stay the most connected to our clients, customers, fans, through social media, and continue to get them to work with us.” – Heather Adams 33:32
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“I definitely believe that innovation is going to win in the end.” – Heather Adams 39:04
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“Looking at what people’s attitudes are in behaviors, and of course, one of the behaviors is we’ve all been at home. But another behavior is to try and save money where he can. Being able to shift our communication to be empathetic to that, but also to show the value of why a service or a product is still important in their lives.” – Jennifer Jenkins 57:20
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“What you have to prove is why you are essential to them, and how you are helping them solve a problem, how you are getting them through this, so that they have the long term view. And not just this sprint that’s in front of us.” – Heather Adams 58:40
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