<span style="font-weight: 400;">My design was a blank legal pad and a pen, so it certainly wasn’t part of the plan. There were things that I knew I couldn’t do, such as healthcare or insurance PR, because I couldn’t understand them or didn’t care about them. However, I felt that my net was anything I could tell a story about, from the eighth floor to the lobby; it was a wide net. I ate; I had been going to restaurants for decades, so restaurants made the net. Then, I got lucky with timing and opportunity. TGI Friday’s called me and said they were looking for some ideas from an unknown. I spent weeks there, watching and writing, writing and watching, visually discerning what I felt was right and what I felt were opportunities to bring people in and bring them back. I was able to present everything concisely, and when I had the opportunity to visit headquarters, I made the most of it and was fortunate enough to provide what they were missing. </span>

derekPR: I am so glad you noticed, lol. It was a shift in priorities for my partner brands. For clarity, most award nominations are submitted with a fee. Their goal was to nominate themselves, and when it was assigned to me, my goal was for them to win or receive recognition.

It was almost the end for us. At the time, I had eight restaurant clients on my roster, as well as two additional ones. I thought COVID was going to last a month, so I advised the eight that I would hold billing until restaurant restrictions were lifted. Despite the concession, we lost six of those, or 60% of the business, as they couldn't staff the business appropriately when restrictions were lifted. In short, it was bad and it has never fully recovered. A few of those restaurants never returned. Yet we persevered and are ready for the next chapter.

I prefer representation agreements though I always seek a 30-day out without cause on both sides. I've never been party to one of those yet it is a safety net should we just not jive. With a project, all of the research and planning is the same so the costs that can be spread out over a longer term aren't there. If I see it as an opportunity for a longer term relationship, the likelihood to take it on is higher. My  best counsel is the spell the project out clearly and if I know I can provide immediate impact and you have the budget to equitably invest in PR, game on.