We recently connected with Kat Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Kat, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

It was never a quick dive into the deep end for me. I try to be thoughtful and thorough when approaching major life changes, so launching my own business was no exception.

I first got the itch to start my own agency in early 2018, when I saw a billboard for an upcoming movie and my brain immediately started coming up with PR ideas and strategies around it. It was at that moment that I had the very clear realization that I could do this on my own, for multiple projects, with multiple companies. And not only could I do this on my own, but I was finally at a place in my career where I looked around and felt very comfortable and confident in my work and the knowledge I had gained over the years.

From that point forward, I started to put my thoughts on paper for what my business could look like, being as specific as possible. I outlined 6-12 month goals and objectives, created a clear mission statement that included what would set my firm apart, and developed a list of potential clients. Once that was mapped out, I started to make it a reality – mind you, I hadn’t yet launched my company, but it was important to me to get all my ducks in a row before taking the leap. I then started creating my own website, and developing a financial and business plan – this may seem like something I could have just hired someone else to do, but I wanted to gain website making skills so I could potentially apply them to future projects, I wanted to have a strong understanding of a financial and business roadmap – I wanted all of that knowledge because I knew it was going to be crucial to have a solid understanding of every area of the business if I was going to run it. Throughout all of this, I was having conversations with trusted peers and friends within the industry, mentioning that I was thinking about branching off and starting my own thing, and if they or anyone they knew might be interested in working with me. I was grateful and inspired by the positive response, and that – along with the unwavering support from my husband – is what really pushed me over the edge and made me lock in a launch date. With everything lined up and ready to go, I took the plunge at the beginning of 2019, and I never looked back. And I’m SO grateful I did.

Kat, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Ball of energy might be one way someone would describe me, although I have calmed down quite a bit as I’ve gotten older, haha. Positive Polly is another term that comes to mind. I’m not naive about the world and that things can and will get tough and that being positive all the time isn’t realistic (toxic positivity, anyone?), but for as long as I can remember, I have always tried to approach life by looking at the good side of things, and analyzing situations and experiences with consistent, genuine hope.

Since an early age, I guess you could also say I was a go-getter – never the straight As 4.0 type, but definitely someone who always wanted to challenge myself, putting myself outside of my comfort zone with the goal of learning more, growing and making myself a better, more well-rounded person. That’s why once I graduated college with a BA in communications, I was razor sharp with my persistence in breaking into the industry I loved – entertainment. I submitted my resume to every single temp agency I could find and reached out to as many people I knew who worked in entertainment marketing, promotions and PR (or knew someone who did) to see if I could take them out to coffee to pick their brain about their jobs. It was through that relentless pursuit that I landed a job at Marvel following college.

Since I received my BA in communications, I knew early on that that was a world I was passionate about and wanted to pursue as a career. Therefore, over the last 17 years, I have weaved through roles in marketing, promotions, and PR, starting in traditional and eventually ending up in digital well over 10 years ago. All of that led me to create Motiv PR with the primary goal of focusing on brands, people and companies that are breaking the mold on the future of how we consume entertainment. That’s what I love, that’s what I’m passionate about, and that’s what I know.

We help our clients develop their narrative and messaging – what sets them apart from the rest, what makes them groundbreaking and original – and create PR strategies that help get that narrative to an engaged audience, including press, social media and more. Since we come at it with a firm understanding of both traditional and digital, we approach every single client differently and look at each project through the lens of “why would people care about this”? and “how do we reach the proper audience?” We care about our relationships with the media, and ensuring we don’t share with them something they personally wouldn’t care about is just as important, so we have to ask the tough questions and make sure we’re telling the right, interesting stories.

I am most proud of my team and the clients we get to work with. It’s been a long road to get to the point where we can decide who we want to work with, but that has meant so much to our daily passion and excitement around our jobs. We love the people we work with and the projects we’re helping share with the world.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

For me, some of the most important things you can do as a manager are:

– Make sure your team feels properly challenged while knowing they can always come to you for help, advice and to ask questions – I have always had a very open door policy, it’s important that my team knows they can come to me with anything and not feel intimidated or reluctant about sharing concerns and feedback, or asking questions.

– Surround yourself with people who challenge you – don’t hire “yes people” – the kind of people who will just do what they’re told without feeling empowered and confident enough to push back if they feel differently and come to the table with alternate ideas and reasoning behind their perspective. You will only grow as a manager and in your career, if you are open minded to everyone, even the people that work for you, sharing constructive feedback.

– Make sure your team knows you care about work/life balance and their well-being. Encourage them to take time off when needed, and take care of them in other ways (lunch, gift cards, etc) if they’re working hard and you want to show them you appreciate it. There are definitely going to be times when they need to buckle down and hustle for a bit – that comes with the territory – but knowing there’s a balance throughout their jobs and that they know their manager understands will make a huge difference.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

One story that comes to mind is related to a role I had at a video livestreaming company. I started in an overarching marketing position at the company, and although I enjoyed it, my passion always swayed to the PR and communications side. I would be planning marketing strategies, but really diving deep and taking the most time, interest and consideration within the PR areas. At a certain point, I couldn’t hold it in any longer, and because I’m a big communicator, especially when it comes to clearly outlining to those around me and specifically, my boss, what I want, why I want it, and why I think it would be best for the company, I decided to propose a change. I outlined why transitioning me to a more PR-focused role would be beneficial for the company and CEO, since we were starting to focus on region-specific PR and ensuring we had a person in place to oversee and execute on that was a big priority. Luckily, they understood and we decided to move me to that role while bringing in marketing support to handle the other areas of marketing that would be complementary to our PR efforts (and vice-versa).

It goes to show that you never know unless you ask. Don’t assume, speak up, and be confident with your approach, making sure you have thought it through and can properly defend your reasoning.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.motivpr.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motivpr/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotivPR/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/motiv-pr/

Image Credits
First image: Aaron Jay Young Image from the magazine: Animation Magazine