Blaze Your Own Trail - S:2 Episode 5: Creating Lena Rose With Charlotte Silverstein

Episode Date: May 5, 2020

Prior to her career in public relations, Charlotte started her professional experience with Nordstrom, touching everything from HR, to sales, to floor design and publicity — connecting continually with the people around her. After working at agencies, Charlotte found herself missing that authentic collaboration and connection to the outside world. She knew that PR can be a really daunting investment, and that messaging can be confusing and overwhelming, leaving people to wonder what exactly it is or why they really need it. She wanted to clear that up and decided to create a space where people felt at home. Real public relations for real people. At Lena Rose, there are no gimmicks or empty promises of a magazine cover or television appearance. Charlotte prides herself on her honesty and her prospective and current clients praise her for it, allowing them to focus on their day-to-day and bigger picture growth while Charlotte earnestly guides them and shares their stories with the people who need it most. In this episode Charlotte & I discuss: Her upbringing in California Her family background What she invested her time in as a kid Some previous roles she held Why she started Lena Rose How she came up with the name And more! Connect with Charlotte: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-silverstein-58605643/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charsilverstein/ Website: https://www.lenarosepr.com/ Don't forget to follow our Instagram for more content: https://www.instagram.com/jordanjmendoza/ Installing strategic sales systems & processes will stop the constant revenue rollercoaster you might be facing which is attainable through our 6 Week Blazing Business Revenue Coaching ProgramBook a discovery call with Jordan now to learn more! Are you an entrepreneur?Join my FREE Group Coaching Community where we have live calls, Q&A and more! Our Trailblazer Ecosystem also enables you to network with other entrepreneurs and creator hub eliminates multiple subscriptions and logins creating a one stop shop to take action!Use code: FOUNDING100 for 12 months access FREE and Founding pricing for life! (While Supplies Last)Join now! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, I hope you all are well. I can't wait for you to listen to this episode with Charlotte Silverstein. She's got a lot of passion for what she does. And let's go ahead and get right into it. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. I'm your host, Jordan Mendoza. And I've got a very special guest with me today. Her name is Charlotte Silverstein. And Charlotte, if you can, just go ahead and give the audience a little quick intro about you. Thanks so much for having me on, Jordan. So yeah, my name is Charlotte Silverstein, and I am the founder of Lena Rose PR. Represent a wide variety of clients from food and beverage, fashion, beauty, some authors, retired athletes. And they all have something in common, and it's that they're due good clients. So whether they're vegan and sustainable or promoting mental health, women's rights, advocating for veterans, they all are impacting the world in a positive manner, and that's something that's very important

to me. And each client has a different strategy, so I love, you know, sharing their messages and creating different campaigns to get their award out there and promote their offerings and make them some money and, you know, all that good stuff. And right now, you know, we're a boutique-sized business based in Los Angeles, California. Awesome. Definitely thank you for sharing that. And so what I do with most of my guests on the show is I'm super big into context.

So I know you've got this PR agency today, but I really want to take a little rewind and get some context about you. And so let's rewind back to your elementary day. So what kind of kid were you? Were you into sports, more into academics? What kind of kid was Charlotte when you were in the elementary years? Well, I actually have an interesting upbringing. So my mom is from France, the Champagne region, and my dad is from Ohio. So it was really important to them that I got kind of a well-rounded education in the French school system as well as the American school system.

So I attended a school called Lucez-Ponse, La Perouse, which was a French-American school. So a lot of my education was in French and in English. And during that time, I spent a lot of days at the ballet studio. So I was a little girl that did ballet every single day pretty much. I was a little bit into sports, not great at it. You know, my dad always makes fun of me to this day that he had me on the soccer field, but all that I did was talk to the girls in the back and not pay attention. So I had a pretty rigorous ballet schedule that I followed.

I followed. They tried to get me into other sports, but up until high school, I did ballet pretty much every single day, and that was my life. Kind of took over, did so many neck cracker performances, and have hundreds of point shoes and different outfits. And then finally, through middle school, I went to the French American school. And then finally, my parents realized that I needed a different type of schooling. So I went to the public high school in my town, which is called Mill Valley, California out of San Francisco. And from there, I kind of rebelled and quit ballet completely. So went, did a 360 basically, quit ballet and then started doing track and field. And really got into your books as well. And that's kind of where my, my main.

love for public relations came into play. That's awesome. So let's talk about ballet for a little bit because, you know, if I know anything about ballet, you know, I have two daughters. One of them's 11, one of them is eight. And the 11 year old when she was younger, she was super interested in it. And going to these different places, you know, we would do the group on thing first, right? You got to test. You got to make sure you got to make sure your kids are actually going to want to do it. And so we did that route and she was really into it. And, you know, the one thing that I always noticed is really the discipline that it takes, right? And so for the audience that's listening, maybe they've never done ballet or maybe they dabbled in in a little bit.

What are some things that you think are foundational for you today in business, some lessons that maybe you learn from ballet that you would say still impact you today? Yeah, I think, I mean, as a little kid, you know, it's a really intense. schedule and it makes you become a really hard worker really quickly. And the teachers can be a little scary and intense. So I don't know. It just helps me deal with a lot of big personalities from day one, even when I was younger, and not to take things too personally. You know, you will get critiqued and corrected many, many times, even when you're younger, you know, the language that is used as a little bit harsh and I feel like that helped me build up a strong backbone because to the say, you know, in public relations, I can deal with some big personalities that have strong

messages and not so nice things to say. So I think in that sense, I can kind of let meaner comments brush off more easily than some other folks might. And then just really getting really organized. You know, you have to have your shoes, you're tight. everything all set and ready to go. So as a little kid, sometimes, you know, you're not in charge of your own clothes and stuff like that, but they really instill that in you to be organized and ready to go. And also, you know, take direction really well. So overall, you know, it was very, very intense.

You know, there are some ballet schools that aren't as rigorous, but this was a pretty rigorous program. And it came to a point where, you know, a lot of the girls, you know, started dropping off and quitting and it was sad to see. But I pushed through it up until, like I said, high school when I rebelled and realized I didn't want to do it anymore because probably at the intense schedule and I felt like I didn't have a life outside of ballet. I didn't really have time to, you know, have playdates anymore, go hang out with other kids and, you know, go to the movies even because you're either in class or you're in rehearsal for a show.

So I think in terms of discipline, it really instilled that in me and made me a really hard worker from day one. That's awesome. And I think that's definitely some value for the audience, right? Because when you learn things like discipline from a young age, it sounds like you learn, you know, organization, how to work, together with other people. Like those are definitely foundational things for business. Right? If you're going to have a business, you need to have that tough skin, like you said, especially when you're dealing with people that, you know,

the outside world looks them as high profile individuals. So, yeah, I think those are definitely great lessons to learn and great things to carry on. So, and then you mentioned a yearbook thing, right? So I always enjoyed, you know, having my yearbook signed by people. I wasn't interested and didn't want to be involved in the editing process or taking the pictures of people. So for you, what really kind of, you know, made you say, you know, I think this is something that, you know, down the road in life may be valuable if I, if I start to get involved in this. You know, I didn't really see it that way, to be honest. I just, you know, had a couple of friends

in your book. It sounded like a fun elective. So I got into it early on. And, you know, And, you know, like you said, I kind of dabbled in everything. I took photos. I did interviews, even went around to local businesses to fundraise for money for the yearbook, selling ads, the parents, that sort of thing. And then eventually I worked my way up and I was editor-in-cheath. But, you know, it wasn't until maybe a year or two into it that I realized that these were valuable skills.

You know, I was a teenager of having fun with my friends. and I really enjoyed it, so it didn't really feel like works to me. And then as I grew older, I started to realize that these are skills that can translate to the real world and, you know, learned a variety of different things and got to communicate with so many different groups across campus. I think, and, you know, you have to adapt, you know, if you're talking to a teacher versus a student versus an athlete versus, you know, the principal, you kind of have to change. your messaging approach for what you're looking out of the interview or whether you're trying to raise money

or, you know, promote a fun event to showcase the student body in the whole year, school year in the yearbook. So I didn't realize, like I said, until a little bit later on that these are skills that I could then apply to public relations. Because, you know, I'm dealing with so many different things on the day-to-day basis, whether it's setting up photoshoots for clients, trying to secure interviews, helping them, you know, organize their digital content, putting together copy for press releases or, you know, crisis communication. And those are all skills that I was taught early on in yearbook. And I actually didn't know what public relation was until I spoke to a college advisor at my high school that, you know, I was talking to her about what I enjoyed.

and she's the one that kind of said, you should look into public relations because this is exactly, you know, what we're talking about here. So it wasn't for her. I don't think I would have even known this was a real profession. That's awesome. You know, and it's so funny. I think that a lot about, you know, those serendipitous moments and those, you know, conversations that are kind of like a pivotal moment for us, you know. Like we could have went left or we could have went right. but just because of this one conversation that gave us this epiphany,

we decided to go to go right. Because like you said, if you wouldn't have had that conversation, like, who knows what you'd be up to you right now? Exactly. So, all right. So you really figured that out in college, had your advisor, you know, talked to you about that. So what was your first role in the role of, in the world of PR, right?

Because I'm assuming you just didn't finish and then, say, oh, like, I think I want to start my own agency. Right. Right. So what was like that first, you know, outside of college that first, you know, dip of your toe in the water, if you will? So I was, you know, lucky enough to go to Chapman University, which is in Orange County right outside of L.A.

And the network there is incredible. So, you know, I was connected to some incredible internship opportunities, most of them in Los Angeles. And then one of the firms I was interning at for my senior year actually ended up hiring me right out of college. So my first role was assistant in the talent department. So I assisted a talent publicist, represented a variety of alist actors and actresses that have film and television shows to putting together their press tours, promoting their projects, setting up interviews and photo shoots. booking hair and makeup, booking their travel. You know, it kind of was a glorified personal assistant role.

So didn't do a ton of actual pitching and securing the interviews, but did kind of the behind-the-scenes scheduling, connecting the interviews, which means, you know, talent isn't supposed to call the podcast directly. So you'd connect the phone call, be the news. mediator in the middle of stand up of the time. Just so many different little roles. And, you know, it was a 24-hour-day job. You had to be available at all times.

And that definitely took a toll on my mental health of being completely honest. You know, after a while, it was frustrating, you know, arguing with someone that it was upset because they didn't get the window seat versus an ILC on an airplane. You know, I was like, what am I getting myself into? This is not what I thought it was going to be.

But because I was working at a boutique firm, there were so many different departments. I kind of jumped in and helped on fashion accounts as well and tech accounts and realized that I was kind of more interested in that. And then I worked my way up and got promoted to publicists eventually, still working in the talent department, but helping out in other areas when I could. So definitely focused on talent,

but realized my passion was kind of all over the place, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, it makes a whole lot of sense. And I think that, you know, that time doing all of the lower level work, right? Because that's what it is. If you're doing the work that they don't want to do, but I can tell you, you probably grew a lot then. right and again like this this is where that ballet training probably came back into into motion right

like you were like okay like i know i can be disciplined so let me be disciplined here you know i i remember when someone talked to me this way in ballet and right like if you think if you look back to it those foundational times probably helped you in the beginning of your PR career that at one point whenever you decided to launch your business you're like like i can do this You know? Exactly. Exactly. Yeah.

I mean, definitely so many big personalities in the entertainment industry in general. So I think that training absolutely came into play and building a strong backbone. Of course, there were instances where I totally broke down and, you know, had no backbone. But I think overall I should give myself a pat on the back because I did stay strong for a really long time. And definitely put up with a lot of stuff and got through it. and learned a lot. And, you know, when you're in it at the time, you don't think about, oh, wow, I'm actually learning a lot.

You're more caught up in the fact that you're overwhelmed and there's a lot going on. But now looking back at it, like you said, it was an incredible learning opportunity. And I would have never been able to learn all these little skills and learn what really goes on and goes into PR without doing all of that. So I think it's really important. And I'm glad I didn't skip a step. I'm glad I went through it. Absolutely.

And so when you think about networking, right? I know that PR, and really let's, I mean, we could just give it a blanket and say every business networking is foundational. But I know for like talent in PR, it has got to be a big part of what you do. So can you for the audience, can you should? share a little bit, you know, about, you know, how you first started to learn how to network. And, you know, I'm sure it's evolved over the years as you've been starting to, you know, cultivate relationships with people and people get to know you and your brand. But can you give the audience just some context into how networking has helped your business evolve?

Absolutely. I mean, it plays a huge, huge role. I think your network is everything. And, you know, at the beginning, I was lucky enough to have colleagues and my boss take me to different events and red carpets and, you know, launch parties. And they just kind of threw me out there and said, go put yourself out there. And they also, you know, took me under their wing and introduced me to a bunch of people. And I kind of grew my network from there. And our company really encouraged us to schedule those lunches, dinners, and drinks.

And they were nice enough to pay for those drinks because they knew it was, you know, building our network. So I really took advantage of that and, you know, wasn't afraid to ask anyone to get a drink. And, you know, spend, you know, maybe half an hour to an hour with me warning about each other. And then, you know, I still do that to this day. I think it's really important. And even just hopping on the phone and, you know, checking in with someone and seeing how they're doing. But from the beginning, I think I was definitely really lucky to have that network not handed to me, but definitely I had a pretty easy access to the networks that I have now because of some very nice people that were nice enough to give me those introductions.

And then it was up to me, of course, though, to maintain those relationships and keep that up. And then, you know, to the day, those contacts are still really important to me. And for example, you know, if I'm reaching out to a food writer and I really want to talk about, you know, fashion story, but I don't have that fashion contact, I'll reach out to that writer and say, you know, hey, do you have a colleague or a friend that's writing a piece in fashion? And now because we have that relationship, they introduce me to the right person. So relationships go a long way, as you know. Absolutely, yeah. And I think when you look at it from, you know, the point of building sustainable relationships versus transactional, you know, like, what can you get me today and then I'm gone versus like I want this to be for the long term. I want, I want, and like you said, like you have relationships that now are still there and are still providing.

you with value and you're able to add value back to them, right? And I think that, you know, we're in a day and age where, like you said, it's your network and having the ability to have these relationships over the long term is how a lot of businesses stay successful. Yes, absolutely. And it's important too because, you know, especially, you know, I know in a lot of industries, but in media, writers are jumping all over the place, you know, shifting outlets, changing beats. And so it's so important to, you know, kind of be top of mind for them. You know, when they make those changes, they send out a blast and say, you know, hey, I'm now writing for this outlet. And, you know, if you're not on that email list, on their top of mind,

you don't know that they've made that change and then you've lost a contact. So it's just, like you said, maintaining those relationships, providing values to them as a well. And, you know, sometimes it's doing favors and I'm always happy to do favors because I know they'll be there for me when I need something. And, you know, really, really doing your research and, you know, staying on top of what they're writing. It takes a lot of work and networking and maintaining those relationships. But really, you know, doing that, going that extra mile, doing that deep dive, as we were talking about on their LinkedIn pages and maybe learning fun facts about them and getting creative with your pitch angles because you saw that they tweeted an interesting article,

you know, just creativity and relationships go a long way, just maintaining all that. Awesome. And so now you've got a team, right? So you have people that count on you, whether they're contract employees, and we'll get into that here in a second, or their, you know, their actual employees of yours. So how would you say your business has changed from, you know, you being a solopreneur, right, when you first launched, versus, you know, actually now having a team that counts on you? I think it's, you know, a lot more responsibility, obviously, as you know, it's just you feel responsible for other people's lives and their needs.

And I definitely, for now, have been going the contracting route a lot more. Just because on certain projects, I know I'll need the extra support, but I might not need that person full time. So it's actually incredible, like we were talking about earlier, the world of digital and how we can connect and meet people through LinkedIn. And there's different websites now, like Upwork and where you can post and are just, looking for contractors for a certain specific projects. So I think that's been really nice. But of course, because of my strong network now, I know I'm easily connected to another publicist

that's looking for a job just a one-time one-off or looking for a little extra cash, that sort of thing. And I think that works really well, at least for my business and the way I'm growing, versus having people on full-time pending on the project. you know, I don't want them sitting around. And I feel that, you know, certain accounts I have a great graph on and don't need help versus another client that's much larger or is having an event.

I'll hire certain people just to help me out for one event, one night. It's just, it really is the case-by-case basis. And I think that's where the network and the digital is really, really valuable. Absolutely. And so when you think about people that have helped you along the way, right? I know you're, I'm sure one of your ballet teachers is probably someone that's been, you know, instrumental in your life. You know, who would you say if you could pinpoint, you know, one person that has really kind of mentored you or coached you along the way, who would that person be? And, and was it something that they said or was it just kind of the way they deliver knowledge that made you choose that person? person. So it's actually funny. I would probably pick my high school Spanish teacher. His name was senior Cruz. He was incredible. And in high school, I had an insane fear of public speaking. And the way he taught, he forced everyone up at the beginning of Scott. It would be a random draw who would reteach the lesson

from the day before. And I was always terrified and always would go into class sweating and freaking out that I would get called on to teach the lesson from the day before in front of everybody. But he kind of forced us to do this. And he was played an instrumental role in kind of forming everything in my life and having me overcome my fear of public speaking. I wrote all my college entry essays about him and his techniques. His job actually before teaching high school Spanish was teaching members of the CIA and the

FBI Spanish in a really short amount of time. So his techniques were very intense, but it really forced me to overcome this big gear that I had. And then from there, he kind of also guided me towards, you know, trying out different things and helping people. And I would definitely say it was my Spanish teacher, which, it seems a little bit random, but he helped me overcome a big fear. And I will always be thankful for that.

That is awesome. And so, hey, listen, Mr. Cruz, if you are listening, you know, shout out to you, right? And listen, you know, with everything that's going on with COVID-19, shout out to all the teachers out there right now. Because I know, you know, their lives have been flipped upside down, right? You think of it from a teacher's perspective. If you're used to the classroom, now you've got to create your lessons in a digital environment for kids. You know, we've got, we've got four of them. Three of them are in school.

And you're like, these teachers are like, hey, call me on my cell if you need me. Like, we'll Zoom. Oh, my gosh. We'll Zoom with your kid. We'll literally jump on a Zoom with them. And, you know, so shout out also to all the teachers that may be listening. You know, keep up the great work. You're doing such an amazing thing for our kids.

And, you know, just the fact that, you know, know, the schools weren't like, all right, well, guess you're going to have a long, early summer, you know, or early spring break. No, how about like, do what we're doing and let's actually keep teaching them, you know? And for the parents, like if you're a parent and you're the one that's working with the kids, shout out to you as well. Like my wife is a saint.

You know, I have a corporate role, so I'm working all day and she's dealing with all the school stuff upstairs, you know? So, you know, shout out to the parents that are having to work with the kids because, Because, listen, we're all going through this together. You know, I was on a work call the other day. And it was like, listen, I know you're all, I know you guys are working from home. So maybe one day we'll do like show and tell your pet and like invite your family on the Zoom call. Right.

And let's get creative about this because at the end of the day, we're all human. We're all in this together. And there are places like you're in California. There's a shelter in place. So things are a lot more serious. So let's get into that real quick. So how have you been dealing with this? Because you're in a service-facing business, right?

You have clients that are counting on you, even with everything going on. So how are you tackling this from a customer service slash, because this is also important, customer experience standpoint? Absolutely. I mean, it's kind of been a big shift overnight. But like you said, we're all in this together. And that makes it a little bit less scary. but there's actually so much opportunity right now.

So, you know, we've sat down with all the clients and kind of re-strategy really quickly. The ones that are in food and beverage, which are in grocery stores, are actually doing fantastic right now because I'm sure you've seen everyone is writing the grocery stores. So they have no problems right now. And the ones that can provide, you know, tips for relaxing at home, the ones that are thought leaders, the ones that are thought leaders, the ones that are athletes and nutritionists, all of them, they're kind of stepping up and helping

people relax more. So it's kind of putting their content out there, making it available to help people get their mind off of this crazy situation. They're kind of re-strategizing and reshifting, but like we said, everything is shifting to digital now. So, you know, all the in-studio interviews are now being done by Zoom or Skype. So it's getting creative and, you know, getting my clients onto those shows and Skyping in and sharing their tips as to how to de-stress and overcome this and everyone's consuming a lot more content. So I have a couple of authors that are clients that's making sure that their content is available. Not only, of course, in print, but in digital so people can go and download their book easily and getting that out

there. So it's actually been pretty fantastic. And like I said, too earlier, the media is is still working really hard and they're looking for content that's going to help people, you know, bring them joy. So, of course, there are the ones that are bringing us the COVID-19 news, but they're trying to fill and kind of declutter that space and bring us content that can bring us joy and that's educational and can kind of keep us mentally sane during this time. So in terms of, you know, clients changing strategies, These, you know, a couple of them had events coming up that they decided to postone or make virtual.

I know you had Heather Odendahl on recently from W. North, and she just had to post on her conference until October. So it's just kind of restrategizing and shifting content to virtual platforms. And I know Zoom as a whole has been the most popular. But I think it's overall there's a lot of opportunity. And I'm really thankful that my clients are, you know, kind of in this and ready to go. And everyone's kind of making the shift quickly. And without too much hassle. That's awesome.

Yeah. And I'm literally, I'm looking at this like it's a digital gold mine, right? If you create content in a digital environment, like start making more. Right? Because you have a massive opportunity because people are consuming more and more content every single day. So if you're adding value through your content, like I look at it like this and I'm not an author. But if I were an author, what I would do is I would go on Instagram live and literally start reading people some of my book. Like, hey, this is the value you're going to get out of this book.

Let's do a five minute reading with Jordan. And let me tell you all about whatever book that I'm, you know, like get creative with it. Have some fun with it. You know? If you're an athlete, like, go live with your fans and have one-on-one of free throws with your socks. Like, you know, have some fun. Like, get creative and double down on your content right now. Exactly.

Creative is the key here because there's a lot of content. So it's how do you get your content to stand out? And anything that's extra creative or kind of serving people in a positive manner. because it can get really cluttered out there. So, you know, if you're having an event, make sure you're still having the audience engage with you. You know, not just turning on the event and then the person in their living room is going off to cook and is paying attention. So it's getting people to engage with your content as well as being creative. So it really needs to be engaging and having people participate, you know, with the live workout videos, for example,

you can have people join in, especially on Instagram. There's just an easy tool, you know, request to join, have people join in and do the workout from the home with you so everyone can see. You're doing an online panel, have people, you know, constantly engaging, typing questions, sharing their journal entries. It's just, you know, it goes a lot further than just throwing content out there and not having people engage. That's exactly it. Yeah, and I've been seeing more and more, you know, like live Q&As, you know, like get to know, get to know the audience, you know, let them ask you questions, you know, and if you have a text platform, what a beautiful opportunity for that to gain, you know, to gain subscribers to that, right?

Because they can text in a question. Then you can literally answer it and they're sitting on their couch, you know, answering these questions and they feel like they're more involved, right? So yeah, I think it's all about, you know, what can we come up with, like you said, to separate. separate ourselves from everybody else, but also like, you got to show up more. Start showing up, start showing up more. If it's important to you, budget the time to do it. You know, steal those, steal that 30 minutes out of your day to invest in your audience, right? Because that's, that's really what it's all about is it's being visible and sharing value with people, especially during these unprecedented times where if they just flip on the news, there's probably not a lot of

good things that they're going to hear. right? Yep. So if we can start shifting to some positivity or maybe something that's entertaining, right? That's the type of content like you said that's going to not only perform, but it's going to give people deeper context about you as a human. Yep. And it provides reprieve and people always remember, you know, during times where they were struggling or they were stressed, they'll always remember, you know, the products, the services are the people that help them through it. So, It's really, you know, providing consistent content and good content, engaging, and creative content.

So, you know, it might be a little bit of extra work on your end, but it's totally worth it. And you can get a lot of new customers and engagement out of it. Absolutely. So what would you say, if you kind of looked at it percentage-wise, of your clients are planning on doing some type of, like, virtual summit or conference or event with the current landscape? A lot of them are still reevaluating their options just because it's still a little bit early, but most of them are, you know, pretty ready to go, go ahead with it. I think people are still waiting to see a little bit exactly how long it's going to take.

So some are postponing their events to remain in person just later in the year and hoping that this kind of tears out. But others are, you know, already taking it up on themselves naturally to go on and create content. And they're thinking about doing, you know, virtual courses and that sort of thing. You know, I have a client that's a professional organizer. So this is the perfect time to be organizing your closet, your home, your business. So she's launched some online courses that are doing extremely well right now

because people have more time on their hands to kind of be at home and they know they need to set up that home office space and get decluttered and kind of create a Zen productive area. So it's really, you know, finding that point in your business and whatever service you provide and see, you know, how can I help people through this time but while making it fun and providing reprieve. So it's really a case-syche basis, but all of the clients know that, they need to capitalize on the digital. And all of them are already pretty good on digital, but some of them are going to be stepping it up a lot more. That's awesome. Yeah.

And that's awesome to definitely hear, right? That they are, you know, you got to take action in some way, shape, or form, right? Whether that's postponing or going to the virtual end. And, you know, I have two speaking engagements lined up one April 25th where, like, that one's probably going to be postponed. And so yeah, I'm with that, I'm talking to that organizer to see, do we want to do something digital. And then there's another one, May 16th that I'm going to be speaking at. And who knows about that one, right?

So I think it's just about keeping the options open. Like for me, I'm super comfortable doing it digitally or like obviously in person's definitely better. There's just something about, you know, being with people and there's nothing that can replace the human touch in my opinion. But with the technology that we have with Zoom and if you can do a good job at moderating chat and having, you know, having a team help produce these things, I think they can still be massively valuable. Exactly. And, you know, as mentioned, I think it's, you know, providing value and having people engaged. So like you said, having them text in their questions, you know, not just pressing play and kind of having you in the background. So making sure that if your events or Q&A is having to go virtual, making it engaging and providing content that's relevant to what we're going through, but really making it fun and, you know, we're all in it together. This is not just a one-off, you know, one conference has to go virtual.

It's, you know, everyone's having to do it. So kind of also paying attention to what others are doing and seeing what's working and what's not. But everyone's kind of coming together and are rescheduling things, postponing or finding other ways. But it's been really wonderful to see how quickly everyone's been able to move and make this happen. So I feel really good about it. You know, we don't know how long this is going to last. So if this is the new norm, we have to make the most out of it. And there's a lot of opportunity.

That's exactly it. And so have you done any, and again, I don't know how exactly how your business operates. I don't know how many of your clients, you know, know, or, you know, or anything like that. Because I was just curious, have you done any, you know, client group, Zoom calls, you know, getting, getting multiple clients together. Or if that's something that you would ever do with your clients. Yeah, no, we haven't done that yet. You know, I sense out an email kind of recapping, you know, the situation, in the state of the world and you know I kind of recapped my my conversations with media and then

from there did individual conversations of how we were going to script the same strategies but um i think you know a client zoom call doesn't hurt either but yeah for for now um just because everyone's schedules are so crazy and um trying to figure things out i just did kind of an email and then re-evaluated with everyone individually based off of their schedules. That's awesome. Yeah, it is a very fluid situation. So, you know, I think now more than ever, you just have to be ready to shift and pivot and, you know, and to make adjustments really literally in real time, you know. Exactly. But, you know, luckily, you know, team calls over Zoom. I know a lot of teams are doing team happy hours, team game night, that sort of thing,

over Zoom or there's an app called House Party where you can, you know, play games and talk to your friends on that as well. So it's just, I think a lot of businesses and teams are shifting to that. And it's so important to still, you know, maintain contact and even just seeing someone's face really helps. So even if it's not in person, maintaining morale with teams that way, making things a little bit fun or, you know, telling everyone to join in. on one live workout a week together, that sort of thing keeps the morale up. Yeah, and I even think about it just from the family standpoint, right? Like, I have family still four brothers in Oregon, right?

So we can all jump on a Zoom call with our families and actually meet, right? And because right now I can tell you, I'm probably not getting out of a plane to go out there, although it's cheap. You know, I probably, I don't think I want to mitigate that risk of traveling all the way across the country, but this is the next best thing, right? Exactly. I think it's we are so blessed that we have this technology, you know, even just a few years back, this would have been a little bit different. So technology and where it is today, and they're constantly, you know, coming out with new apps and new add-ons. And I think we're really lucky because who knows how this would have been if this was even just a couple of years ago being able to communicate with, you know, family across the country. And I have family in France. So this is all this is. technology is really essential. That is awesome. And so let's talk goals a little bit, right? So how long has your company been established? I've been about three years now, which is crazy to think about.

I feel like time that's flown by. Okay. So congratulations on three years, right? The, you know, a lot of businesses don't even make it to the first anniversary. So congratulations. You're obviously doing something right. Okay. So what are some goals that you have for yourself? And I don't know if you do, you know, quarterly or yearly or, you know, every five years. But what are some things that are, you know, top of mind for you of, you know, what you want to see growth wise over the next, you know, year to two years? Yeah. So, I mean, my goal is not to become, you know, a massive agency. I really want to keep it boutique size.

I think it just, it works great for me that way and the types of clients that I'm taking on. I think it's just, you know, my goal is to keep bringing on clients that I'm passionate about and keep growing without overdoing it and maintaining that important work-life balance. I think it's very easy to get caught up, especially in PR, which is a 24-hour day job, get caught up and only working or, you know, completely shutting down. So I just really want to keep representing people that I'm passionate about. Like I said at the beginning, it's not one thing. type of client as long as they're doing good and impacting the world in a positive manner, then I'm all for representing them. Because, you know, as a publicist, you are creating news. You're putting new products out there. You're telling people what they should be reading,

what they, what work they should be doing, et cetera, based on the clients that you have. And so I just feel ethically on my end, if I'm not passionate about a person or a business that I'm promoting, then I don't feel like I'm doing the world a good service. So, you know, I really want to just keep my moral compass straight and I don't take someone on just for the money. You know, it has to be someone that I'm passionate about. And I just want to keep, keep that in mind and keep moving forward. And so far, you know, growing steadily and it's been going really well. And I'm really lucky. That's awesome. And I think you said a couple of different. times two very important words and this and this I want to highlight this for the audience so

you said passion and values right when you when you can do for one something you're passionate about it's you're never you're not ever working now are you going to be working yes but it doesn't feel like work because you love it and when things align with your values you're going to put your best foot forward every time so I think the fact the reason why your business has hit its third anniversary are fundamentally around passion than value. And that's why your business is also going to be sustainable, you know, for years to come. So congrats on that. Congrats on, you know, the accomplishments because, you know, you're doing really great things. And I appreciate you, you know, sending me some

of your clients, you know, trusting me with them, having them on the show as well. That definitely means a lot to me. And so for people that are listening that say, you know what, I really, I really admire Charlotte and what she's doing and the fact that she has a passion and value-based business. And you know what? I'm thinking about writing a book or I'm thinking about going into acting or, you know, going into starting my own business. And I want to, I want her to really help me get my my feet wet and get off the ground. So where are the best places to find you, whether that's your website, you know, we're also the best social links so that people can, you know, learn a little bit more about you and kind of see what you're all about. Yeah, thank you so much. The best way to find me is

LenaRospr.com. There's a contact box there and there's also my email address, which is just Charlotte at LenaRotr.com. And then you can follow us on Instagram at LenaRospr. And then my personal Instagram is at Sharr Silverstein. I don't post about work as much on there. But, you know, If you want to shoot me a DM, I'm always happy to talk that way. But I would love to speak with anyone listening who needs kind of help getting off the ground or even in the current climate to tweak their messaging or needs a strategy overhaul to kind of get into the digital space. I'm so happy to help whether, you know, you're a big company or a small entrepreneur just starting out. This guy's the limit.

and I don't really turn anyone away unless I feel like they're not aligned with my values. So like I said, I don't have one specific type of client. And I think everyone has a story to tell. And I really want to help share that story with the world. That's awesome. I love that. And that's why you're on the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast, right? You have blazed your own trail and you actually help people blaze there.

So it's been great having you on. I do have a final parting course. question and that is where did you come up with this name you know lena rose you know what where where does the meaning come from you know just for the audience it might be listening because your name's Charlotte silverstein and lena rose is very far from that so uh i want to know for myself but also i think it'd be good for the audience to just get that yeah absolutely yeah and you know i pointed about around using my name and i decided i didn't want to um lena is actually my middle name and it's my grandmother's name on my father's side who I was never able to meet. She

unfortunately passed away before I was born, but just all the stories I heard about her. You know, she's incredibly powerful and, you know, a really inspirational woman. So I felt like that was a strong name. And then rose is actually my birth flower. And I feel like roses have so many different layers and petals. And I felt like, you know, there's so many of different layers to my business and my personality and myself. So nothing super complicated behind the name. Just, again, Lena is my middle name and Rose is my birth flower. So I felt like that those are two really strong elements that put together, you know, or overall encompass my personality and what my business is about. I love it. I love it. Really appreciate you sharing that context.

and it was such a pleasure having you on the show. Ladies and gentlemen, that was Charlotte Silverstein on the Blaze Your Own Trail podcast. Thanks so much, Charlotte. Thanks so much for having me. Hey, everyone. Thanks so much for listening to the episode with Charlotte Silverstein.

Well, if you're in need of PR, you definitely know who to go to now. She's up to some big things. She has some amazing clients. Make sure to check her out on all her social links that I'll be putting down in the show notes. And as always, if you haven't subscribed yet, make sure you subscribe to the show

and tell all your friends about it. Our goal is to reach an impact as many people with valuable stories and context of how people have survived and thrived on their journey. So thanks so much for listening, and I can't wait to share the next episode with you all soon.