We were lucky to catch up with Kristin Marquet recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kristin, 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.

The PR industry has been lacking in transparency for the last two decades. It is difficult to know what is going on with the campaigns that are being run and the results they are generating. This lack of transparency leads to mistrust and confusion among clients and agencies.

As a publicist and PR firm owner with a small team, we strive to approach strategic communications in a different manner for our clients. We are very transparent in the processes we use and what we do behind the scenes for clients. This allows us to build trust with our clients, which leads to better professional relationships in general.

Kristin, 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?

During the Financial Crisis, many companies downsized their staff or shuttered altogether. And unfortunately, I had worked for one of the companies that downsized half of its operations. As a result of this company-wide downsize, I was laid off. In fact, my entire Northeast office had been laid off. At that point, I had to decide whether I was going to search for a new job or start a business and I decided to pursue opening a business, Marquet Communications, my first PR firm. While the early days were very tumultuous, I learned how to manage risk, anxiety, and client expectations very quickly.

And in 2017, I launched the blog FemFounder.co as a resource to help small businesses that were interested in pursuing PR but lacked the resources, which has turned into a full-service media company and course business. It’s been an exciting and interesting journey.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The backstory of this lesson is that I had to unlearn the idea that I needed to be an expert in everything. I used to think that if I wanted to be successful, I had to know a lot about a lot of different topics from digital marketing to finance to hiring. This was not only a waste of time but also made me feel like I wasn’t good enough at anything. It was hard for me to admit it, but as it turns out, being an expert in one thing is actually much more productive and effective than being an expert in many things.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

There have been a few but I would say the most effective strategy for growing my clientele has been to create an agency brand that clients can remember and that is identifiable. This allows me to stand out from the competition and gives me the chance to increase my customer base.

Contact Info:

• Website: femfounder.co
• Instagram: instagram.com/kristin_k_marquet
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/kristin-marquet
• Twitter: twitter.com/kristinmarquet
• Other: https//www.Marquet.company