Welcome to the first in a new mini-series of PRmoment podcasts were we interview the authors of books relevant to PR and communications people.
In the last year or so there have been a number of books launched by people I really respect in PR – frankly, I don’t have time to read them all so, partly for selfish reasons I thought I’d interview them on this show.
First up is someone who is returning to the PRmoment podcast for a second time – which I think is a first, welcome back Rachel Bell.
For those of you that don’t know, Rachel is a serial PR entrepreneur and has a stake in a number or PR firms currently as well as being a non-exec on a range of different agencies.
She founded Shine, co-founded Mischief, owns a significant percentage of The Academy, has a stake in Adhuro and John Doe.
She’s also a non-exec in a number of firms including Don’t Cry Wolf and BECG.
Rachel recently finished co-writing a book called Start-Ups, Pivots and Pop-Ups with Richard Hall.
Here’s a summary of what discussed:
[00:02:57] Why did Rachel decide to write a book?
[00:04:14] How Rachel has a passion around entrepreneurship.
[00:05:03] Here's a previous PRmoment podcast with Rachel where she talked in detail about the PR firms she launched.
[00:08:44] How the idea behind the book is to give you 100 mentors in your back pocket.
[00:10:08] How the book focuses on the golden nugget, the one bit of advice that other entrepreneurs that have built very successful businesses would give you.
[00:11:53] The prominence of women in the Start-Up Revolution going on in the UK.
[00:12:38] The characteristics that you need if you're thinking about starting a business.
[00:13:51] When is the best time in life to launch your own business?
[00:15:18] The huge responsibility that comes with being an employer.
[00:16:19] Why entrepreneurs must not try and be an expert in everything.
[00:19:18] The top five things entrepreneurs need.
[00:20:36] What makes a good mentor?
[00:21:47] Why every business needs one principal leader.
[00:22:52] What do business leaders tend to get wrong?
[00:26:42] How if you're running a consultancy business, you need to be running a 50% income to salary ratio, with 30% allocated for overheads and then you can get 20% managed margin.
[00:27:50] Rachel talks about the Start-Up Revolution happening in the UK – there was a record 670,000 new businesses registered last year.
[00:28:34] How women are swerving the glass ceiling by starting up their own businesses.
[00:33:33] How businesses thrive because you create momentum, so you need to be the momentum creator.
[00:35:03] How 70% of Millennials say they would like to start their own business.
[00:38:20] How the 50+ age group is a third segment of society that is thriving in start-ups, many having been made redundant from their previous jobs.