Build your business by becoming seen, known, and revered for your expertise: Founders Story with Jennifer L. Horspool

Jennifer L. Horspool is a public relations expert and global brand strategist with three decades of building and protecting brands from start-ups to Fortune 500. As founder of Engagement PR & Marketing, Jennifer is a brand growth and turnaround expert employing her skills in PR, marketing, media, and messaging to grow companies from vision to multi-million dollars and turn best-kept-secret brands into the Go-To Experts™ for media and target customers. https://engagementpr.com/

Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up?

I grew up in sunny Southern California the only girl among a sea of boys. No one wanted to play Barbies as I did. Instead, we played baseball (I sucked), and football, soccer, rode bikes, went swimming, climbed trees, scaled walls, and had a blast. My parents divorced when I was just 7 years old and that started my career in the news world. I didn’t know it then but selling those newspapers door to door, then having my own paper route, folding and delivering dozens of newspapers, reading the articles, actually lead to my career in public relations where I work hard to create and contribute to the news on a daily basis.

How did you get started as an entrepreneur?

I was miserable in my job as my peter-principled boss and other comrades were bullying me and spreading false rumors behind my back, so I orchestrated my own layoff. It was about a 9-month transition, during which time other former colleagues who knew and appreciated my work and my value were calling me asking me if I could do for them what I had done for the company we worked for together before the acquisition took place. I had a ready-made business. My phone was ringing off the hook. Then I had to learn how to promote myself – which is far different than touting the value of my clients. It’s been a fabulous and interesting ride, to say the least, but one I wouldn’t trade for the world. The education and insights into business, life, people, mindsets, trauma, obstacles, and celebrations have been one wild roller-coaster ride and I’m glad I’m still in it to win it!

What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?

Figure out how you can and want to help people and just start. It doesn’t matter what your why or your how or your what is – you can figure that out. Those matter – they get you up in the morning (your why), they give you process (your how), they give you direction and a product or service (your what) but most importantly, just start serving people. Your business and your prices and your confidence will all grow the more you just start doing. Do then be. You don’t have to have the whole thing figured out to take the first step. Just start.