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

Alright, Rebecca thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

Being a business owner involves a lot of risks – from inception aka actually deciding to start your own business to everyday decisions that can result in a big win or a huge loss. My first risk was deciding to leave the first PR agency I ever worked at when I was 25 years old after only two years experience and branching off on my own. It was definitely a risk and a lot of people told me I was too young to make the leap, but I knew in my mind that it was the right decision. Today, 18 years later, I know it was a good one. Other risks have involved growth and deciding to take on more than I could handle, but that resulted in a few really great partnerships with other industry professionals in my field that grew into long term partnerships and friendships. Knowing people in your industry, that you can count on, makes a small business owner and entrepreneur not feel alone or in a PR bubble. When I had my children and had to take two short maternity leaves, I counted on these colleagues to jump in and handle my work load while I was out for a couple months. The most recent risk was turning my one-woman-show that I had built for 15 years into a partnership with my close colleague and friend. It was definitely a risk to grow and support two people instead of one, along with employing subcontractors to handle the additional work as we scaled up, but we have had very positive growth. We’ve become stronger and continue to evolve our business as it’s ever-changing and keeps us on our toes!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My partner Laura Collins and I are team Bettie Bomb, a boutique collective communications agency specializing in PR, Influencer Marketing and beyond, based in both Chicago and South Florida. We are small, but mighty helping local businesses to national brands with all of their communication needs. Depending on scope, we have the ability to build our team with trusted industry professionals as we see fit.

Laura and I started in PR over 20 years ago, working at the same agency in Chicago. It resulted in a life long friendship and business partnership that we continue to grow in the lifestyle PR space. We specialize in PR & Influencer Marketing, yet depending on each client’s individual needs, can offer Social Media, Branding and all marketing needs.

We are PRoud of being a small, female-owned business who pitches the business and does that work. All clients work with us directly and we pride ourselves in the personal, one-on-one relationships we can offer to our clients.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have two stories – one was 2008 recession and the other was the 2020 pandemic. Many other business owners have the same stories and had to deal with far worse, but these two times were pivotal. In 2008, I had a little over two years under my belt being on my own and had just built up my client roster to the highest number it had been. Then, right after Christmas in 2007, every client called me and told me that had to stop PR & Marketing because of the economic uncertainty going into the new year. It was scary, but it was motivating…I started cold-calling and emailing businesses, even took on a few pro-bono, hoping they would start paying when they could. I made it through and grew my business because of it!

In 2020, I lost half of my clients. My longtime friend and colleague Laura Collins called to see what was going on with my business and to tell me that she had lost her job. It was devastating and I told her she should come work with me! We could weather the storm together, plus so many agencies folded. We became partners and tripled our clients together…it was pivotal and changed Bettie Bomb!

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of Mouth and referrals have always been the strongest way we gain new clients, but in the last couple years we finally took the time to optimize our website and list our agency on a few websites and we’ve seen a lot of new business calls because of it!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bettiebomb.com
• Instagram: @bettiebombagency
• Facebook: @bettiebombagency
• Linkedin: @bettiebombinc
• Twitter: @bettiebombinc
• Youtube: @bettiebombagency

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Francis Son Photography (headshot of Rebecca & Laura) ***All other photos taken by me Yes, we have permission!