Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deidre Gaskin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Deidre, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?

I was an account executive for one of the first boutique PR agencies in Atlanta back in college. The firm was going through some rebranding so I did what I knew how to do and that was step up. The agency kind of lost its notoriety and I decided to throw a series of events to get people more familiar with us and what we have coming up. I did the ground work, reached out, locked in local celebrities and partners but one mistake trusting “friends”. One of my media partners basically took the idea and one of my sponsors and created the event. Major rookie mistake! This is where I learned to get EVERYTHING in writing with terms and conditions.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am the MVP of PR (Public Relations). The Most Valuable Publicist®️. I have been in the PR industry for over 10 years. I have worked in entertainment, fashion, beauty, sports and lifestyle PR. Some of my clients have been featured in ESPN, Forbes, BET, Entrepreneur Magazine, TVOne, WEtv, TMZ and more. The reason I got into PR is because I wanted to serve and help people achieve their dreams and fulfill their vision when it comes to their brands. This is done through publicity services I offer such as media relations, social media management, branding, event management/planning/and publicity.

I want my clients and potential clients to know the importance of having PR in place for your brand and most importantly having a publicist on your team that truly cares for you. “If I had $1 left, I’d spend it on PR,” Bill Gates. Even the media mogul himself gets how crucial it is to have PR.

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

When I first started out in PR, I wanted to serve everybody just to boost my clientele but I came across as unprofessional and chaotic because I didn’t have a niche, a target or ideal client base. With that I attracted chaos with clients who didn’t want to pay, clients who didn’t let me do my job, clients who were unclear of their brand…just headaches. However I’m now realizing everyone is not for me and that’s ok. I’m not everyone’s publicist and I’m totally fine with it. My clients are six figure earners or millionaires that understand that not only do they need PR but they understand the investment to keep them relevant. They don’t play small and they don’t think alone.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes, I love Rejection and Rebellion: The Twin Towers by Dr. Rhonda Travitt because it deals with you versus your profession. And I’m a firm believer in being good to yourself before being good to others because you can’t pour from an empty cup. I read Girl Boss like twice and it was more motivating than anything. For my publicists, “This is How You Pitch” by Ed Zitron was a phenomenal read and a good tool starting out in PR. Lastly, “PR Related: Starting and Building a Successful PR Agency” by Anje Collins helped me leveled up in my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: Mostvaluablepublicist.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/deidregaskin
• Facebook: Facebook.com/deidregaskin
• Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/deidregaskin
• Twitter: Twitter.com/deidregaskin_