We were lucky to catch up with Cory Sargeant recently and have shared our conversation below.

Cory, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Working in Public Relations for over a decade now, it’s always been important to me to not feel pressure to fit the stereotypical Publicist mold. Before leaving my last PR agency job to start my own PR business, I didn’t feel I fit in. There is a lot of pressure to be forceful and demanding to “make things happen” but I take the approach of building long lasting, quality media relationships whether that is being aware of when you are pitching too much/giving editors a break, investing in relationships with media contacts I genuinely connect with regardless of our working relationship or prioritizing transparency and realistic expectations with clients. At the end of the day, building authentic and quality relationships with my media and influencer contacts and clients is what I value most and I think leads to the best results while making my work all the more enjoyable.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am the Founder of two businesses- Sargeant PR and Lady Sargeant. Sargeant PR is my PR business I’ve led since 2017. I primarily work with product focused brands in the fashion, beauty and home decor space. A lot of the brands I work with are ethical or have sustainable business practices as it’s something I personally value. I’m most proud of the relationships I’ve built- I love working with likeminded brands and Founders to support their growth and success. There is no better feeling than securing a media placement that a client has always dreamt of!

I am also the Founder of Lady Sargeant. Lady Sargeant began as a passion project and side hustle. I use to sell vintage jewelry and eventually started making my own designs. My latest and most successful project for the brand is SAY IT DO IT, a truth or dare card game to connect. I developed the game in the Pandemic as a tool for reflection and connection to play with yourself, family and friends. The game has been played in a lot of fun contexts including first dates, Thanksgiving with the family, road trips and more! We’ve been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Decor, TeenVogue, People Magazine and more.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn that I had to focus solely on having one business and learn that I could balance more than one venture which would ultimately make me feel more fulfilled as a whole. Feeling less identified with one career, gives me more freedom to enjoy each business for the needs it fulfills. Sargeant PR fulfills my desire to support the growth of creatives I admire and Lady Sargeant supports my own creative agency in the world. I find I’m the best version of myself when I’m putting hours and attention into both companies.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I didn’t “have” to pivot because my PR business was doing well and I was enjoying the work, but working with so many creatives, I was feeling inspired to produce a product of my own from start to finish and grow Lady Sargeant. In 2020, I was reflecting (as a lot of us were during that period) on how I wanted to grow on a personal level and creatively and was really wanting to foster deeper connections with the people in my life. The idea for my game deck SAY IT DO IT, truth or dare to connect was born out of the desire to challenge myself to develop a product I’d never made before and create something I wanted to exist in the world for myself and the community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sayit-doit.com/ https://sargeantpr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladysargeant/ https://www.instagram.com/corysarg/