Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Wouk-Brown.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Julia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m originally from Oxnard, CA (Ventura County) where I lived until 2003 when I left to attend San Diego State University. I graduated with a BA in Communication in 2005. My first job after graduating was as an admin assistant/executive assistant for a small media company in Carlsbad, Booth Media Group. The clientele at Booth Media Group were non-fiction authors. I worked at Booth Media Group for 9-years, 2006-2015. After 6-months, I was promoted to a publicist and after 3-years I was the senior publicist, while I still juggled the responsibility of admin assistant, executive assistant, and office manager. After nine years with Booth Media Group, where I acted as the interim CEO running the company in Q1 of 2015, I resigned from my position and traveled with my husband for three solid months. Our adventure was a cross-country road trip where we visited 45 states and three Canadian provinces, gone for 60-days, driving over 15,000 miles. A dream vacation and a check on my bucket list! Upon my return to San Diego, I dabbled in healthcare recruitment for 18 months, while I yearned to get back into public relations. In October 2016, a former client reconnected and asked me to do some PR for her to reignite the media publicity for her book. I agreed and that’s when Pleasantly Persistent PR became a reality. Pleasantly Persistent PR is going strong entering our 4th year in business representing authors.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been fairly smooth, with a few minor bumps. It’s a little scary when you know what you want, but don’t know the steps to get there. That is why I highly suggest working with a business coach and to talk to all your professional friends and colleagues who are already business owners for advice. This was vital in my early success. In the initial stages of my company’s creation, I attended business self-help groups like SCORE, in addition to networking events, conferences, and seminars in my industry to stay on top of trending news.
What’s been refreshing is that successful businesswomen want other women to be just as successful and are more than willing to help you to get there. Once I familiarized myself with all the hoops I needed to jump through in order to get my business off the ground, I felt more confident. Ignorance is definitely not bliss in the business world. You need to educate yourself first on all the processes before diving in headfirst. You will thank yourself later.
One of the biggest challenges of business ownership is to always believe in yourself, believe in the hustle, and to work hard. Everything else will fall into place.
Please tell us about Pleasantly Persistent PR.
Pleasantly Persistent PR provides public relations for authors in the non-fiction space. With over 14 years of experience doing PR for authors and serving as a media relations consultant, we offer an unusually high level of personal engagement, which sets us apart from other book publicity companies.
Our specialty is generating PR opportunities for authors in the area of radio, television, print, book tours, and speaking engagements. We are known for effectively and aggressively following up with the media to secure only the best interviews for our clients. As a non-fiction book PR agency, we provide PR campaigns for authors in the areas of business, leadership, personal finance, current events, politics, religion, biographies, memoirs, psychology, travel, self-help, parenting, health, and cooking.
Since the conception of Pleasantly Persistent PR, I am most proud of the connections we’ve made with the national TV cable news networks like FOX News and MSNBC. In less than one year we went from being ignored to a go-to, in-demand PR agency with established clients who are well-rounded to contribute to news panel discussions and analyses. National TV producers call Pleasantly Persistent PR when they need an expert for a newscast.
Television and radio interviews, whether local in a local market or on the national stage, are our expertise. Our authors are thrilled when given the opportunity to share their message and promote their books in a live interview. Media interviews contribute greatly to any personal branding and the work that Pleasantly Persistent does and the media we secure add immense value to any campaign.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
There is opportunity everywhere you look! You have to be smart, savvy, and strategic about making those opportunities work for you. Networking is key. Confident and successful women want to help other women be just as confident and successful as they are and that is a tribe you want to take advantage of and make it work for you and your business.
Women are positioned for any business opportunity. Women are just as capable as men are to do anything they put their minds to. In keeping your tribe in mind, remember to be respectful, to not step on toes, or burn bridges. because your network can introduce you to some unbelievable connections or they can ghost you. In your journey to success, it’s not all about you.
Successful women have the drive, motivation, dedication, and a very strong work ethic. It’s that hustle that sets us apart from others. Putting in the time, doing the work, and showing up are all basic responsibilities of successful entrepreneurs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pleasantlypersistentpr.com
- Phone: 619-888-7956
- Email: julia@pleasantlypersistentpr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookprsandiego
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookPRSanDiego
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BookPRSanDiego
Image Credit:
Christopher Donez, Lynn Stremlau
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