Episode 246 Breaking in the News with Alison Maloni (Part 1)

John talks with Alison Maloni — author of Breaking in the News: Building Buzz for Your Brand, speaker, news anchor with Newsmax TV, President and CEO of Alison May Public Relations, journalist, media relations expert, and loving wife and mother. Prior to being a news anchor, Alison was a TV producer and reporter and has also been featured in Time magazine with Dr. Oz. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] – Intro [02:26] – Alison's bio [03:38] – Alison's backstory and finding her passion for journalism [07:44] – Balancing her business and family life [11:27] – Reality of entrepreneurship vs. the glamorized image on social media [13:56] – Importance of networking and serving others in business [18:12] – Shifting from just promoting your services to telling authentic stories [21:13] – Connecting with people and building your brand [26:03] – Why Alison started a PR firm [29:37] – Alison's team structure [30:29] – Hiring your replacements [31:51] – Alison's upcoming book [34:54] – The power of tears [37:29] – Breaking in the News book [38:54] – John's rule of buying 2 copies of a book [41:56] – Outro NOTABLE QUOTES: "When people talk about starting their own business, it often sounds glamorized—working whenever you want, being your own boss. But the reality is, every client becomes a boss, and instead of one, you have many to answer to." "If you're doing networking right, your job is to meet new people—first, just to meet them; second, to ask, 'How can I help that person?' That's what I need to be focused on: helping the other person. Because when I do that, eventually, it comes around." "Relationships are the currency of business." "I learned to set boundaries, explain to my clients, and prioritize my family." "Serving people is where it's at. If you want to make a difference in the world, in both your personal life and your business life, ask yourself: What can I do to help the person who's in front of me right now? What's the one thing I can do to help them?" "People remember stories. They don't remember how long you've been in business. They don't remember the price of the services. They remember the story, and you have to keep telling them the stories." "Be yourself. Be authentic. Be real. It's okay to mess up. You don't need to have a perfect video. You don't need to have a perfect social media account—just engage with your customers." "When you're looking to hire somebody, hire someone with expertise in that area. Even if they only know 70% of what you know, that's fine; you can train them the rest of the way. But if you can find someone who's much higher than that, do that." "Tears are both cathartic and healing, but they often unsettle people. I used to feel that way too, but now I see them as revealing a person's true self. A smile can hide so much, but tears bring out the realness." "There are barriers between people all the time. Some are real, some are imagined. But there's something about sharing tears with another person—those barriers get knocked down, and then you're just two people together, sharing a moment." "I think people are afraid of crying. I think they're afraid it makes them look weak. But it's actually the opposite." USEFUL RESOURCES: https://www.alisonmaycommunications.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-maloni-374aba8/  https://www.instagram.com/alisonmaloni/  https://www.instagram.com/alisonmaycommunications/  https://www.facebook.com/alisonmaypr  https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMaloniTV/  Breaking in the News: Building Buzz for Your Brand (https://a.co/d/3uyqg7W) CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen     Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen     Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/johnhulen     LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen     YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA     EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/