Be Inspired PR Interview Featured on Abaminds Entrepreneuers

Leila Khalil is the founder of Be Inspired PR. This Los Angeles based agency specializes in public relations for the wedding industry, assisting small business owners in their promotional efforts.In addition to Be Inspired’s Web site, Leila also keeps a blog (a very good one by the way): Inspired By This. You can meet her at Twitter too.

She kindly agreed to answer questions about business schools, the effect of the current crisis over the wedding industry and other topics, as you’ll see below:

– You are a business school graduate from Santa Clara University. This brings up an inevitable question: do what they teach in business schools have anything to do with what actually happens in the business world?

Graduating as a Marketing major from Santa Clara University has undoubtedly given me the tools that I needed to succeed in both my career and everyday life! Whilst courses in ‘Wedding PR 101’ weren’t offered to me, my business school education gave me the foundation and entrepreneurial spirit to go out and conquer the business world. Unarguably no single course or degree can ever wholly prepare you for the real world, yet I attribute much of my leadership, knowledge, and drive to the education I received at Santa Clara.

– How has the wedding industry been affected by the current state of the economy (if at all)?

The wedding industry has without a doubt been impacted by our current economic state. Although many high end luxury weddings are still being booked, the impact is evident in that what was once a $150k budget is now comparably $60k or $75k. Oftentimes I see couples who traditionally had much larger budgets trimming down their expenses to save money; hiring less full service wedding planners and vendors for example. With clients capping their budgets and vendors seeing a decrease in revenue, the trickledown effect is in full force!

Oddly enough, while the economy has impacted my business negativity in some areas, it’s increased my business in other less traditional forms. For example; using advertising placements in wedding publications is an expense that clients have been cutting back on to save money. Yet in response to this, wedding magazines have consulted me to help them find ways to keep the funding from loyal supporters. As an attempt to maintain their business they’ve outsourced ‘Be Inspired PR’ to find innovative ways to provide added value to their advertisers.

– How do seasonal events impact your PR business?

To be honest, seasonal events rarely impact my business, as there is always a service to be offered for new or existing clients. Whether its revamping the foundation of their brand or pitching their venture to existing wedding media outlets—there is never a lack of work to be done.

– Your company has a national presence. Do your procedures vary on a regional level? Or are they always the same across the different US regions?

Every region is most certainly unique and different, that’s the beauty of the US, and one of the aspects of my business that I find most invigorating and challenging! Trends in the luxury wedding industry vary from coast to coast most dramatically; changes in budgets, styles, traditions, and trends in market being most poignantly indicative of this. In order to accommodate these changes, I take into account the local media outlets as well as investigating every wedding market region. This allows me to prepare a comprehensive custom PR strategy that fits their individual needs.

– What were the most rewarding words you’ve heard from a client?

A longtime client of mine has recently had some fabulous media placement and television success through my company, and just a few weeks ago, she shared these kind words with me:

“Thanks for all of your hard work… You have changed my life and the course of my business beyond my wildest expectations! My deepest, sincerest gratitude!” —S.L

Additionally a new potential client, who I spoke with today, validated my purpose in creating this business by saying:

“How is that you understand and can anticipate my needs and goals so quickly. You are exactly what my company has been missing and I am so grateful that I found you.” —J.B

Hearing such feedback is what consistently motivates me!

Love this picture and it really resonated with my mood today. Wanted to share it all with you. To see more images from this photo shoot by Megan Fickling of La Partie Events photographed by Sandra P Photography go to The Brides Cafe!