Ruby Media Group is a Public Relations agency. We help entrepreneurs like you get seen by the media in mainstream media outlets, podcasts, Livestream shows, and more! We help drive awareness for brands, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, and authors.

PR can drive action by turning awareness and exposure into brand equity. Exposure builds trust, and trust ultimately leads to new business. PR drives credibility for your brand, and we help to make this happen. An entrepreneur saying how great their brand is in a paid advertisement does not build consumer trust or outside confidence.

However, are other people talking about you and saying how great you are through earned media and trusted media outlets? That is valuable. We help make that happen by getting people talking about your brand and business through positive media exposure, publicity, and earned media coverage in the magazines, newspapers, TV shows and podcasts your customers love, listen to, and watch. PR also builds reputational capital for entrepreneurs.

A well-known and well-liked company can weather a crisis better than a company that hasn’t put in the work the build its brand mission, values, and ethos. We help develop this with a three-step PR process: package, pitch, promote.

What was the inspiration to start this business?

I started my PR firm when I graduated from Boston University’s College of Communication with a major in Public Relations. I do not have a sexy startup story like many other entrepreneurs, but that is okay!

My inspiration to start my business was to help other people navigate the changing digital landscape of social media marketing. That has since evolved as technology has changed to help business owners with content marketing, PR, personal branding, and social media. Social media is only one tactic in a larger integrated communications plan.

My inspiration to start the business was always to help entrepreneurs build their brand through earned media coverage: while the tactics have changed over the past decade, the fundamental principles of how to tell a good story have remained the same.

My inspiration to start the business was when I encountered many doctors and dentists in the health care space who were key opinion leaders in their field but were the best-kept secret. I wanted to help them bridge the knowledge gap and translate their offline brand into digital channels.

When you started your business, did you ever envision that you would be where you are now?

When I started my business, I primarily served local businesses. I now work with businesses all over the country. Every day I am focused on growing and learning. I strive for perfection and excellence and am always looking to challenge myself. The goal post for my original business goals continues to change and evolve. I don’t believe success can be measured in press coverage, dollars in your bank account or social media likes.

Ultimately, success must come from within. It is tempting to feel that you have “made it” when you get national press coverage or have the spotlight on you. But as we have seen with the pandemic, all of that can quickly go away as newsrooms shut down so you must constantly evolve, innovate and adapt. Did I ever envision I would be where I am now, or that any of us would be, no? However, with great challenges comes great innovation.

When you lock up a bunch of entrepreneurs in their homes during a pandemic, they will find new problems and ultimately create new solutions to issues we didn’t know we had. This will be the next industrial revolution and companies will have forced into digital transformation- that is a good thing.

Was there ever a time that things didn't fall into place, struggles, or challenges? What were they and how did you get past it and grow from the experience?

Every day working in the media and PR industry is challenging. Every single day things don’t fall into place and you face new struggles and challenges. Maybe you present a new idea and can’t get buy-in with the C Suite. Maybe you landed your client a placement on a national media outlet but they don’t like the interview questions.

Or perhaps you were booked for a major TV interview and it was canceled at the 11th hour. As a national TV commentator and founder of a media agency, I can’t think of one day when things *did* perfectly fall into place. Female entrepreneurship is a highly glorified concept in Facebook groups and Instagram feeds. The reality of it is far different than can be seen on social media. I see a lot of women sharing their “challenge” stories as part of sales opt-in materials, but they seem contrived and far from reality.

Challenge stories shouldn’t be shared to convert or get more email addresses. They should come from a place of truly sharing to help another woman learn from her mistakes. Sometimes those are private conversations.

What was the biggest lesson you learned while starting and growing this business?

Every day working in the media and PR industry is challenging. Every single day things don’t fall into place and you face new struggles and challenges. Maybe you present a new idea and can’t get buy-in with the C Suite.

Maybe you landed your client a placement on a national media outlet but they don’t like the interview questions. Or perhaps you were booked for a major TV interview and it was canceled at the 11th hour.

As a national TV commentator and founder of a media agency, I can’t think of one day when things *did* perfectly fall into place. Female entrepreneurship is a highly glorified concept in Facebook groups and Instagram feeds. The reality of it is far different than can be seen on social media. I see a lot of women sharing their “challenge” stories as part of sales opt-in materials, but they seem contrived and far from reality.

Challenge stories shouldn’t be shared to convert or get more email addresses. They should come from a place of truly sharing to help another woman learn from her mistakes. Sometimes those are private conversations.

What would you tell a FEM that is struggling in her business and feel like it's too difficult?

Listen to your internal stress level. Too many times, I didn't listen to myself or my own gut instinct. I could have avoided a lot of red flags with prospects if I didn't go against my better judgment. You can too.

What continues to inspire you to keep on growing your business?

Getting the next press placement for a client, crafting a piece of content for a doctor that helps people struggling with major health issues, and seeing how this content has an impact on people that are sick. The ability to know the content I craft can change someone's life is what makes it worth it for me.

Every woman in business needs to find joy in what they do. You won't love everything you can do, but you must love at least part of it. Find those parts, and make sure they are baked into every client engagement or else you will resent the work you are doing. Work for clients you believe in.

Create content you are proud of. Work with clients who you learn every day. Inspire others by surrounding yourself with those who inspire you. We spend the majority of our lives working- make sure it is doing something you like and most importantly, make sure the work is for people you like and who treat you well. If you don't have baseline respect in professional relationships, the rest of it won't matter. Healing means healing all aspects of ourselves, that includes who you choose to work with, too.

Society places a lot of emphasis on looking out for the signs of abuse in personal relationships. Unfortunately, we do women a great disservice as a society in teaching them the warning signs of abusive behavior in work relationships. We must do better to educate women on how to spot signs of sociopathy in work, in addition to other areas of life.

We cannot keep teaching women to avoid abuse in personal relationships but to stay silent in bad relationships in business. Both can wreak havoc on your mental health and your physical health, too. It is an area that is rarely talked about, yet it is so important.

Final advice for those thinking of starting a business or looking to grow their current business?

Innovate. Adapt. Create. I wake up every day and say, "What am I going to create today?" When you have that mindset, you can turn the most mundane tasks into a work of art. Google is your canvas. Start painting.

To connect: https://rubymediagroup.com/

Boost your visibility and expand business opportunities with Ruby Media Group!