We were lucky to catch up with FELICIA FENCL recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi FELICIA, thanks for joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

I started my public relations firm after I retired from the US Air Force where I had served over 20 years. During my tenure of service, I learned a magnitude of skills and gained valuable experiences that helped me on my entrepreneurial journey. After becoming a civilian, I took the assets I retained and created the firm as a partnership with a close friend at the time. We created a small, but functional agency that met the needs of our targeted demographic. We serviced our clientele in an efficient way, but on assessment we truly lacked the necessities needed to operate that way for an extended period of time.

My partner and I were in the middle of scaling the agency when Covid-19 emerged. Our clients on retainer ceased their business operations; which in turn forced us to adapt to this major disruption in our own business environment. As life would have it, we sustained briefly during the pandemic. However, after much consideration, the partnership was dissolved and I suddenly became the sole owner of the agency. Throughout the pandemic, I single handedly provided public relations, event management and branding services to both old and new clientele. It was definitely a challenge. However, with my tenacity and dedication to the mission, I was able to keep going. Deciding to not give up is the reason the agency is still open. I could have easily closed the doors once the partnership ended and the world was under attack by the coronavirus. Giving up was easy. To continue was the hard part. I chose the latter and am glad I did.

Once the world got back to a normal pace, business began to pick up once again. This was a blessing! I took this time to consider business enhancements that were out on hold previously. Rebranding became an obsession. A name change was due. Restructuring was needed. It was time to scale the business if I wanted longevity.

I was able to grow and scale the business by creating products and services that exceeded the expectation of the agency’s current and future clients. By doing so, I was able to attract more clients. And good clients at that! Through this initiative, I started to bring in a flow of revenue that was disposable and helped to lessen my overhead. I also started to work smarter. Automating my functions was the best thing I could have done. In the near future, I further plan to scale by creating opportunities in the media space that have the potential to reach larger audiences. Thus, increasing the agency’s brand recognition. The goal is to diversify my client roster and to increase the firm’s profitability. I also plan to capitalize on what I am an expert in. I am hopeful for a bright future!

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?

My name is Felicia Fencl. I am originally from Norfolk, VA. I currently reside in Atlanta where I operate multiple businesses and pursue my passions. I am a US Air Force Retired Veteran and proudly served for over 20 years. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management, as well as a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA). I am a mom on the move and a woman on her grind,

Throughout my military career, I learned an array of skills and was fortunate to experience situations that would later shape my entrepreneurial journey. After retiring in 2016, I took those skills and experiences and opened a public relations and event management agency. My agency serves the business or person who is looking to increase their brand awareness and overall profitability. I help them do this by capitalizing on my ability to think quickly and out of the box. I eliminate the expectations and deliver products and services that are designed to attract the buzz my clients are seeking.

My agency represents businesses, organizations, and talents in the beauty, sports, entertainment and lifestyle industries.

I am most proud of the results garnered from a successful PR campaign.

My tenacity, dedication to the mission; coupled with my skills and experience has set me apart from my peers. I bring a certain discipline to the industry. The military taught me how to win and for that I am thankful.

I want people to see my passion for delivering proven results.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I started my business how most of us do; through my personal funding. I didn’t have access to any loans or funding opportunities when I started any of my businesses. Either I didn’t meet the criteria for aid or the payback terms were not favorable. Instead of waiting until the funding dropped out of the sky, I began to get serious about my savings. I initially did research on what it would take to start the business. I was specific when I created my roadmap. I scaled where I could to make purchases more affordable. Saving was tough at times and I wasn’t always disciplined. However, I made it work and was able to open the doors. It was a good feeling knowing that I did it on my own.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A valuable lesson that I had to learn was to ensure that I align my businesses with clients who are reputable, trustworthy and loyal. I experienced a client who did not value the work that I did for them. They showed it by refusing to do their part in our business relationship. Due to this my workload increased and the compensation did not. It was at this time, I decided that I must value myself if I wanted anyone else to. I fired that client and I now do a comprehensive interview and onboarding with potential and retained clients. It is now a must. If we are not compatible and don’t share common goals, I politely decline the offer to work with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecollectiveshinecom
• Instagram: @mahagony_joy
• Facebook: @PublicistFee
• Linkedin: Felicia Fencl