It's the weak end!

And no that isn't a typo. This final post for the week is going to be a weak one. It's a Friday in August, one of our final weeks of "summer hours" and the crickets have returned (as has the bird that just flew perilously close to my open window).

Time to take advantage of the quiet and quit complaining about it.

So I'm off to check out a new Blackberry.

Not surprisingly, I've become somewhat addicted to the practice of blogging (aka, talking about myself). Who knew?

And PS. the new business meeting this morning went VERY well. Am providing a proposal next week. I am 100% sure we can deliver what they're looking for - and we'd enjoy working on it! Just a matter of money, and what they can afford. Hints were made about tight budgets, the need for sponsors, etc. Will keep you posted... promise!

Mundane, Mundane

So, when people (usually job applicants) ask what a "typical day" is like at The Silverman Group, I usually respond that "no two days are alike," which I consider to be a good thing. However, the last few days have been unusually similar: slow and filled with mundane bookkeeping tasks, health insurance renewals, and scheduling meetings to discuss the (aforementioned) Fall season. All necessary evils but not exactly energizing endeavors.


I know that soon I will wistfully recall these less hectic days, when I have the luxury of focusing on one client at a time, instead of seven, but right now, I miss the drama - and the multi-tasking. The running from one client's meeting to assist at another client's interview to the office and out again.


And having a legitimate excuse why I can't hit the gym after work.


***


So, we're meeting a potential new client on Friday, for a festival which we're perfectly qualified to represent, and I look forward to selling the company's services. Hopefully the fest director can afford us, but this reminds me that new business acquisition is not always about the fee. One retains new clientele for a variety of reasons. For instance, The Silverman Group represents a diverse range of cultural organizations: theater, dance, film, comedy, music, visual arts and assorted non-profit institutions, such as WBEZ FM/NPR and the Chicago Loop Alliance. I have sometimes accepted lower fees for projects in any of those fields of expertise so as to continue utilizing the valuable media contacts we've compiled and to keep us front-of-mind with those contacts. For example, soon after we promoted the opening of the new Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies building - and had initiated some great relationships with architecture and "green" building press - I definitely wanted to take advantage of having established those contacts, and sought to secure other new building projects, which we did. Utilizing existing media contacts made it easier to produce solid coverage for the new clients, and having other relevant clients to "pitch" helped to solidify our relationship with those particular members of the media....which will make it easier to produce solid coverage for the next client!


Other reasons for accepting less-than-acceptable fees might include: the high profile nature of project/personality will add cache to our client list; I have staff who have the necessary expertise, and at the time could afford to be busier; given the familiar nature of the project, we have the ability to produce results with little effort or time; it is personally important to - or would prove especially enjoyable for - someone on staff; and/or perhaps an initial low paying project will lead to further work in the future.

I will let you know how the new business meeting goes and ideally prove to the prospective client that The Silverman Group is worth its weight in, er, gold!

The dog days of summer

The dog days of summer are upon us....

And it's not just because I'm a cat lover, that I'm feeling a bit frustrated.

Typically, the last days of August are a bit, er, quiet around Ye Olde Silverman Group. (Let's just say I'm wearing jeans to work again with no fear of a meeting interrupting my casualness). Folks are out of town, I get it. Families taking vacations before school starts, others using up vacation days to attend baseball games or other summer pursuits left to the last minute.

So while phones aren't ringing and meetings are few and far between, we typically all try to use this time to work ahead: get press releases written, media lists updated, maybe even some desk straightening or blogging! One gets lulled into somewhat of a false complacency (not to mention a 5:01pm departure time).

However, the trouble is that within days (okay, 10) it will be Labor Day weekend and then.... the official START OF THE FALL SEASON. Sorry to yell, but every year it plays out the same. While now, virtually ever email sent out this week and next receives an "out of office" reply, on the Tuesday after Labor Day (September 7, this year), members of the media, clients (and presumably the public) are jolted from summer thoughts and suddenly focused on what's taking place September - December. (Let's not even discuss the holidays). It's time to get serious and we're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off because "September is nearly half over"! (There's alot of animal analogies in this blog, and you can see there's alot of drama in our world.)

And at the risk of sounding as though I'm complaining (which I'm not), this year, the abbreviated Labor Day work week includes not only a major Jewish holiday (Rosh Hashanah, Thursday Sept. 9) resulting in two days off work for many (Monday and Thursday) but also we've got two major events to promote that week- the re-opening of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum on Wednesday afternoon and the ground breaking for the Black Ensemble Theater Cultural Center on Friday afternoon! That will make for one crazy "welcome to Fall" week!

And in the meantime.....crickets.

Do as I say AND and as I do

Apparently the expression, "Do as I say, not as I do," only applies to parenting, not to leadership, as far as my staff is concerned. At the risk of a mutiny, I can no longer request that they contribute regularly to the silvermanifesto blog, without my doing same. (You'd think being a boss would have some perks. Dictatorship is not one of them.)

So with that, the Beth blogs begin. Jumping right in, I will attempt to log in daily for a week, with the intent of providing insight into my role as the head of a "small, but mighty" Chicago arts publicity firm. I hope to share some valuable tips about contemporary leadership and entertainment publicity, but above all, I hope you find his remotely entertaining.

The first time often falls short of expectations

And lest you think I'm referring to anything beyond posting one's first blog entry, shame on you!

So welcome to my first missive on The Silverman Group's blog. As the self-proclaimed "Leader of the Flacks" (and a practitioner of arts PR in Chicago for some 23+ years), figured that it was finally time to put pen to paper, er, fingers to keys.

I hope my unique point-of-view running a successful public relations firm (knock on wood), and also the lessons I've learned working in the industry for so long will at least prove entertaining, if not somewhat educational.

A brief start--what more did you expect?