Ashley Ennis – Freelance PR expert and brand communications manager

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Ashley Ennis who is an expert in the PR industry decided to freelance after she reached a burnout point. Although she had some troubles with the tax laws and implications in the beginning of her career, she didn´t let herself be discouraged and kept on freelancing. According to Ashley treating your clients right and structuring your work day thoroughly will help you build up a solid network of clients and a successful business. Now she is enjoying the flexibility freelancing brings with it and has found the perfect work-life-balance…1) Hello Ashley, thanks for your participation in our freelancer insides interview series.  Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you do first?
Absolutely – thanks so much for inviting me to participate. A little about me – currently I’m the brand and communications manager for a growing tech startup here in the Seattle area called Simply Measured. I also run my own freelancing business on the side called Pinegrove Public Relations. I have a varied background in the industry, starting with doing purely consumer public relations for the first few years of my career, moving into nonprofit for a short period of time, doing some tech agency work, working internally and finally freelancing. To say I’ve been around the PR block is probably an understatement. My experience in all different areas of the industry has given me a unique perspective and I’ve been exposed to a lot of different methods, ideas and strategies around how best to do PR. I’m fortunate that I get to take the best, most effective ideas, combine them with my own strategies and run really compelling campaigns.

2)What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a freelancer?
Freelancing was always a big selling point for me when entering PR – even in college when I was choosing my area of focus. I loved the idea of running your own business and being able to support yourself and the excitement of working in collaboration with different clients that had varying challenges. After several years of working for a local tech PR firm, I reached a burnout point and decided to jump off on my own and just see if I could make it work. I gave myself a three-month “buffer” and promised I’d try as hard as I could get gain and sustain business for those three months before making myself apply to another job. Luckily for me, I had prior relationships that turned into my first clients and it grew organically from there. After the first 90 days, I had a full client roster and was turning away business. I hadn’t even built a website yet! In this industry, I think your work really speaks for itself and if you treat your clients right, they turn into your biggest advocates and that’s really the key for growing your practice.

3) You have written a brutally honest article about your most challenging obstacles when working as a freelancer. Can you summarize the most important lessons you have learned?
The business portion of freelancing is more challenging than you would expect. Make sure you’re well-versed on the tax laws and implications up front. That was something that caught me off guard and led to a very painful documentation process after the fact.
Hold yourself accountable. Sometimes it becomes difficult not to abuse the freedom and flexibility you have when freelancing. Those perks are a privilege, not a right, and you’ll find yourself having a lot less of both if you procrastinate and put things off. Your clients come first and their experience matters most.
Don’t be afraid to get paid what you’re worth. Starting out it can be terrifying and confusing to attach a value to your time and work, especially when you’re trying to build your business. While it’s tempting to take whatever comes at whatever price, it can build some resentment later on down the line. Make sure you know what you need to survive and thrive, and don’t budge once you set your client criteria. While freelancing may seem “free” because of less overhead, there are still costs you’re going to accrue and it’s important to plan for those up front when setting your initial contracts.

4) But it is not all bad! In your opinion, which are the main benefits of working as a freelancer?
Freelancing is wonderful! The flexibility is definitely one of the main benefits, as well as being able to control the accounts you work on and choosing projects that really resonate with you personally. Working from home is an obvious perk and it gives you the freedom to structure your day around the times when you’re most productive, unlike the traditional 9-5 job. It’s never boring and always different, which is one of the things I love most.

5) What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting a freelance career? And what does it takes to be successful as a freelancer?
Most people focus on being prepared for failure, but I think it’s equally important to plan for success. Make sure all the nuts-and-bolts of your business are locked in before you try to grow it. These are simple things that can be done while you’re still working full-time that are very important, both from a financial, tax and personal protection standpoint.
Be honest with yourself up front about how much work you can personally take on and your criteria for your clients. It’s tempting to say yes to everyone that wants to work with you, but the relationship has to be mutually beneficial. You must be able to give your client exceptional service and results. End of story. If you choose the wrong clients (unaligned expectations, poor expertise fit) you’re automatically setting yourself up for failure. In the same vein, overcommitting yourself when you start out is another pitfall to avoid. Everything takes longer than you would imagine in the beginning. Be kind to yourself and give yourself every opportunity to succeed. 
Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help! In my experience other PR professionals are more than willing to grab coffee and brainstorm strategies if you have a particularly challenging case or need advice on an industry. Just make sure you make yourself available to do the same. It helps break up the monotony of working alone and everyone benefits in the end.

6) And what do you think are the main reasons why freelancers fail or prefer to go back into fulltime employment?
I think it’s mostly driven by unrealistic expectations. There is this very dreamy view of freelancing that I believe most people have when they start their own business and they don’t realize exactly how much hard work it really is. Sure, you’re at home, but now you’re not only doing all the client work yourself, but you’re also taking care of billing, contracts, mailings, tax preparations, and finding new business. It’s overwhelming, especially until you get into a routine. For some people I think the stress can drive them back into traditional employment where they’re able to do their traditional PR function without having to worry about all the behind the scenes grind.  

7) You are a real sports fan! How do you manage to find enough time for sports next to your work? What is your work life balance recipe?
Set boundaries early! Make sure your clients know your regular “work hours” and align your expectations up front with how much communication you’ll have on a day-to-day basis. If you start out an account working 12 hours a day and emailing at all hours of the night, that client is going to expect that same responsiveness throughout the lifetime of your contract. While I’m always available for my clients should something unexpected happen, I also make sure that we both respect each other’s time. I have set client meetings just like I would if I worked at an agency, and the majority of my calls are planned. That way you can structure your day in a way that allows you get the your actual work done in between calls, and it also gives you time to dedicate to things that make you personally fulfilled. 

8) freelancermap: What are your future plans with regard to your career?
I want to grow Pinegrove PR and really shake up the public relations industry. Public relations has been perpetually attached to this negative connotation, especially with the media, and I want to pioneer a new method of achieving the same media results developed in collaboration with media partners. I think the industry is reaching a turning point and I’m very intrigued by all the influencer marketing that’s happening and this idea of targeting campaigns not to traditional media, but to more relatable everyday influencers with large audiences. I don’t want to spill too many more secrets, but 2016 is shaping up to be an exciting year both personally and professionally.

9) freelancermap: Last but not least, what are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date with the industry?
I’m a social media junky, so when I’m not browsing outlets that are more related to my clients industries, I’m absorbing everything I can on LinkedIn and Twitter. I think LinkedIn is becoming it’s own powerful publishing platform and it really helps me keep tabs on the trend in the industry and learn from my peers.

10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers???
Keep innovating and don’t be afraid to try new things. The industry needs some shaking up and I hope this is the group that does it!

Website: www.pinegrovepr.com
Email: Ashley@pinegrovepr.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyennis
Twitter: @ashleyennis
Skype: ashleyennis

Doreen Schollmeier

Doreen Schollmeier is dealing with the international freelancing and outsourcing market for more than 5 years and knows both sides of the coin. After working as a project manager for an India based company until 2012, supporting the company to find clients worldwide, she nowadays helps freelancers to find jobs and clients.

By Doreen Schollmeier

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