PR Diva welcomes back Guest Contributor Jashonda Williams for her second piece for PR Diva. Her first submission, PR Girls: United We Stand, United We Fall created a great dialogue about the perception of women in PR.
At some point in their career, every professional has thought about venturing out on their own and leaving their past life behind. You work all your life helping other people build their brands and businesses but there comes a time when it just doesn’t fulfill you anymore. I too, have hit this point so early on in my career. At 20 years old I am already planning my future businesses and looking for way to execute properly. As a writer, I am always looking for new websites to write for to get myself out there and build an online presence. After about 6 months of contributing, I decided to create my own blog.
I’m not saying as soon as you get fed up with your boss quit. What I’m saying is, at that point you may have to build something that all your own, something you can be proud of. Whether it be a blog, e-commerce site, fashion line, PR firm or branding agency, just do it! Of course you won’t have major success right away, but not many people do. Emerging businesses are a work in progress and it may take a while for your vision to come together, but once it does who knows where it’ll take you.
For starters, if you have a stellar resume, tons of skills and experience, put them to use in as many places as you can. You know it might be time to create something of your own when people start asking specifically for your services or help when you work from a company. I often see people working at an agency who are equally talented but some customers only want to deal with a certain employee because they like the way they work. If you have a particular way of handling business or style, customers notice that and will want to work with you! Most of the time this person is the owner of the company, but if this happens to be you, you know what your next move is. This is a sign that you could be very successful on your own.
Also, if you have the skills, talent and experience but they aren’t being recognized or utilized, this is a sign it may be time to go. When an employer just has you around and you can see they don’t value you as a part of the team, it can be a problem. Knowing you have what it takes and your skills not be used at work can make working at your current job seem like a waste of time. A job or internship is meant to make you learn and grow but if neither of those things are happening, what’s the point?
With all of that being said, many people follow the advice I just gave you but keep their day jobs. An emerging business probably won’t pay the bills or make you a living right away so it’s okay to stay until you’re ready to leave. I believe in having multiple opportunities and sources of income, so a business and a day job may just be the trick! One last important thing to remember is that opportunity doesn’t always come to us; sometimes we have to create it. If venturing out on your own is the only way you’ll get the experience you want, go for it. You can’t have big dreams without being willing to take big risks.
Jashonda Williams is a junior at the University at Buffalo, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. She is currently a PR intern at The Barry Co. and regular contributor for Vita 1017 and Intern Confidential. Connect with Jashonda on Twitter @queenbjayy and Instagram @queenb_jay