SDH232: Not Waiting for Permission and Going for It with Alex Moresco

How did you decide to start your own business? Did you ease into entrepreneurship, or was it a freeform leap off a cliff? Where did you allow that journey to take you? How have you and your business evolved since then? Hey guys! Today we meet Alex Moresco, the founder of A Moresco PR + Content Creation, and star of season one of PR Girl, a reality web series about the fabulous (but mostly nitty gritty) world of entertainment PR! She refers to herself as an odd duck, and does everything from traditional PR, to press outreach, social media management and strategy, event planning, and non-profit work. While her broad range of services is different than most PR firms, she said she loves having her hand in everything; and experiencing all these different fields only gives her an edge on the competition and an individuality that helps her stand out among the rest!  She said A Moresco’s creation started when she was a junior in college, but began as a fashion blog, that she created out of boredom, during her freshman year at DePaul. Once her blog gained traction, she started learning the basics of PR, like how to attract target audiences, build a media kit, and work with brands like Nike. After working with them for some time, she became part of launching their store, The Nike Training Club, and helped them research how to attract 18-25 year-olds, and planned events for the store as well. Unfortunately, the concept store closed when she was almost out of college, and she was faced with the decision of joining the corporate world or take a risk and do her own thing. After some contemplation, she knew she would get comfortable in the corporate world and would lose her drive to go for it on her own, so she took the jump! What sealed the deal was when she was contacted be Hillary Sawchuk, from the podcast, A Drink With. Alex had interviewed  Hillary a couple years before, and she had caught wind of Alex’s  PR work with Nike, and invited her to help her with her PR during the Sundance Film Festival for a couple of weeks. After her work with Hillary, Alex knew PR was the profession for her and fell in love. When she returned to Chicago, she saw an opening to bring her passion and skillsets to the entertainment business, and A Moresco PR + Content Creation was born! With her role in the new series PR Girl, she invites the world to see the reality of the different facets of entertainment PR and centers the show around women empowerment, unity, and positivity, rather than drama. She said she wants people to know that PR isn’t always glamorous and it can be a beast, but every once in a while you get to do something cool, and the wins you get along the way make it worthwhile! Stay tuned and hear how Alex continued to expand her business and media reach! In this episode you will… Hear how Alex handled starting a business and learning she had Lyme disease Start looking at every step of your career as a learning tool Know how to set yourself up for success and organize your business and life See how to create honest and  authentic relationships with clients Figure out how to expand your media reach and platforms Know how to personalize your pitch when getting your business out there INSIGHTS “I think when you own your own PR firm, everything falls back on you. There’s nobody else to point the finger at, and ultimately, if something goes really well, it’s because you’ve done a great job. But if something didn’t go well, it falls back on you, and you have to be a self-starter, and very self-motivated.” -Alex Moresco “People do think PR is so glamorous, and you’re running around in Christian Louboutin heels, and meeting celebrities, and going to parties. But in reality, when you own your own firm, there are no boundaries. So it’s you getting up at like 6 o’clock because you’re stressed out...to then [working] all day until 11 or 10 o’clock at night, to look up and realize you haven’t eaten today…5% of the time you get to do something really cool…you have to make those wins you get along the way worth it.” -Alex Moresco “I love that the whole premise of [PR Girl] is positivity, and women building up other women, and more focused on the career aspect, than the drama that you see in typical reality shows. And I thought it was smart from a PR standpoint. Everything is moving over to web…when you go to sell a TV show from a production standpoint, from an advertising standpoint, you’re hoping for YouTube Red, Facebook, or an online platform because it’s just digitally native, and it’s that much easier to go viral, and produce more views.” -Alex Moresco RESOURCES A Moresco PR + Content Creation Website A Moresco PR + Content Creation Instagram A Moresco PR + Content Creation Twitter