The Network: Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR

Welcome to The Network, a segment of our blog dedicated to talented professionals and the gems of networking advice we receive from them and from experience. 

Source: Examiner.com

A little exuberance, a lot of hard work and word of mouth can characterize any professional, but couple these traits with a touch of perfectionism and off-the-charts love for PR and you have Monique Tatum, president and CEO of Beautiful Planning Marketing and PR.

Tatum, who attended Fordham University, and (unlike me) always knew she wanted to go into PR has found major success in the field, especially in the eight years she has owned her own company.

Monique, as mentioned, always wanted to be in the PR and marketing fields. From being a natural people person (you can even tell just from a phone call with her!) to knowing how to identify people who shine and putting the spotlight on those who do, this career path was nothing short of a calling.

  

While working at Integrity Partners, Monique began freelancing on the side, partly to fuel her love for expensive shoes (a smart idea we at Under PRessure fully support). References and a lot of late nights turned freelancing into building a company, something Monique didn’t expect.

She put into practice one of the primary lessons Jasmine and I (and now Catia) learned in our fave PR professor, Shelly Najor’s class. Third party credibility. Word-of-mouth references set PR apart from other, related fields, and it’s what sets Monique apart in an industry that can feel very “small-world.”

The word-of-mouth references truly paid off, though, and Monique calls the start of Beautiful Planning one of the "best decisions" she has made. And once the clients began coming in, it was time for Beautiful Planning to start advertising their services. Both of these approaches seem to have aided the company's astronomical success. Their talented team doesn't hurt, either.

Many of the new clients are fashion related. Though she didn’t think of fashion first, the industry excites Monique. So much of her growth over the past year has been from this industry. The hard work that goes into planning events or shows or getting placements is gratifying and most importantly exciting.

Source: Beautiful Planning

How did she punctuate her skills of bringing the best out of people and shining herself? With a smart move: “pinhole focus.”

Focus, coupled with the dynamic duo, competitiveness and perfectionism, makes the PR world go ‘round, and successfully at that.

She offers up vital tips to those seeking to break into the industry:

• It’s smart to learn different industries—you never know where you’re going to land.

• Be educated: whether that means brushing up on the different aspects of the industry you’re interested or learning how a specific firm you’re interested operates day to day, educating yourself is vital.

• Don’t apply to positions for which you’re unqualified. This seems like a no-brainer, but people do this every day.

What are her plans for the future? Expansion! Monique and the BPMPR team hope to expand their company to a larger team and to incite growth in all departments. On the fashion front, the team hopes to work on fashion weeks for other cities.

This is a firm with a bright future and an incredible amount of talent.

We really look forward to their expansion in 2014 and wish Monique and the team all the best for the year to come!

Don't forget to give Beautiful Planning Marketing & PR a follow at: @NYCPRFirm!

XOX,
Elise