IAM2465 – Founder Helps Clients Gain Exposure in Mainstream Media

Justin Breen

00:00 - 00:30

usually what happens during uh meetings and again it doesn't matter what type of business is it business it is or how big it is but they they talk about what's going on in the business and all these cool things they go well that's great but guess what nobody really cares but if you you know if you can let me get a really good story out of you in terms of let me ask questions and then figure out hey this is actually what the story is and then you blend some of the client information into it that's what That's what we'll sell in terms of getting mainstream media to pick it up.

Intro

00:32 - 00:58

Are you ready to hear business stories and learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and level up your business from awesome CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresh values your time and is ready to share with you the valuable info you're in search of. This is the IMCEO

Gresham Harkless

00:58 - 01:27

podcast. Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the IMCEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Justin Breen of Brethic. Justin, it's awesome to have you on the show. Really, really happy to be here. No problem. Super excited to have you on. And what I want to do is just read a little bit more about Justin so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And Justin is the founder and CEO of Breppic, a PR firm that writes compelling, newsworthy stories for its clients and pitches these stories to media across the country to help amplify messaging.

Gresham Harkless

01:27 - 01:49

Breppic has worked with clients including Allstate, University of Illinois, Salvation Army, national IT firms, national hotel chains, financial planners, physicians, nonprofits, and many more. Justin, are you ready to speak to the IMCO community? Oh, yes, I am. Awesome. Let's do it. So the first question I had was to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to start your business.

Justin Breen

01:50 - 02:25

Wow. So my company was founded April 16th, 2017. So two years in, and it's been an amazing two year journey. And coming up with the process of starting this company, I basically developed it based on how PR firms annoyed me and failed me for 20 years when I was a journalist. And I'm like, there's got to be a better model of doing this. And through several months of working with clients and developing my brand, I came up with this really great model. And it's been smooth sailing ever since. It's been really just amazing to work with so many great clients.

Gresham Harkless

02:25 - 02:37

Nice. I absolutely love it. And I've always considered myself a journalist at heart. So it's great to hear another journalist that has been able to kind of build a business around what it is that he's good at and what you've seen and things that you kind of see that you can do better as well.

Justin Breen

02:38 - 03:09

Yeah, and it's it's a very simple, simple model. And as I started this journey, I met with a ton of entrepreneurs, very high level folks just to hear their stories, hear how they did it. And the single best bit of advice I got was a really, really great guy who's a super successful and he's like, do what you do well and do what you like to do. And so I focus my entire business based on that in terms of writing these really cool stories that I did as a journalist. So it's the same type of thing with client information blended in.

Justin Breen

03:10 - 03:17

And then I really like pitching to media. So this is like my really best skill set. And it's been super successful with all the clients I've had.

Gresham Harkless

03:18 - 03:33

Yeah, absolutely. And just like you, I've always felt like the story was something that really is truly compelling for, you know, whether you're a journalist, whether you're somebody sitting at home watching TV, whatever it is, it seems like the story is what kind of pulls people in and kind of humanizes brands and people.

Justin Breen

03:34 - 04:23

Yeah, so I meet with um, you know business is big and small It doesn't really matter what type of vertical it is because as long as someone has a story It doesn't it doesn't matter and people always ask me what my ideal client is I'm like, well, do you want to be in the news or not? So usually what happens during uh meetings and again, it doesn't matter what type of business is it business it is or how big it is, but they they talk about what's going on in the business and all these cool things and I go well that's great but guess what nobody really cares but if you you know if you can let me get a really good story out of you in terms of let me ask questions and then figure out hey this is actually what the story is and then you blend some of the client information into it that's what that's what will sell in terms of getting mainstream media to pick it up and the beautiful thing is what I've discovered in the two years of having my own businesses.

Justin Breen

04:23 - 04:44

If you give media a good story, for the most part, other media doesn't care if other media does the story. They just want a really good story that they can share on their social media platforms and get a lot of shares and likes. And that's what's been cool is that there's not necessarily so much competitiveness within media anymore. They just want that really good story.

Gresham Harkless

04:44 - 04:49

Yeah, absolutely. It kind of seems like it's more a cooperation, a coopetition as I usually like to...

Justin Breen

04:49 - 04:53

Oh, that's an interesting phrase. I haven't heard that. Say it again. Coopetition?

Gresham Harkless

04:53 - 05:03

Coopetition. Yeah, I heard it. I like that. Yeah, it makes perfect sense because you're competitors, so in some form or fashion, but you're always trying to work together because you have the same kind of common goal.

Intro

05:04 - 05:04

So I

Gresham Harkless

05:04 - 05:25

definitely like that. And I love the fact too, because I always say everybody's listening to WIIFM, what's in it for me. So when you are thinking, and a lot of us fall into the trap where we're creating something and we think it's great, and it might be great, but at the same time, you have to understand what the end user actually wants to read and hear about. So it's great that you're able to do that.

Justin Breen

05:25 - 05:51

Yeah, and so as a journalist, from a journalist perspective, you get 200 of these emails a day from these press releases that are, and those are the two worst words in my dictionary. I don't even like saying it, but you get these emails with, It's just basically nonsense that serves the clients and it's not really serving the media and it's just it's like it's PRBS. That's that's the way I describe it and my firm is basically the opposite of that.

Gresham Harkless

05:51 - 05:58

Nice, nice. Now would you consider that, I was going to ask you for your secret sauce and I know you kind of touched on it a little bit. Is that what you consider your secret sauce?

Justin Breen

05:59 - 06:28

Yeah, I mean, people are hiring me for two reasons. And so if it's smaller businesses, it's the CEO directly, if it's larger companies, it's the PR component or the marketing component of that company, but they're hiring me for two reasons. One, my firm knows how to write a story that will actually get picked up in terms of here's something that's actually interesting. and that journalists and the general public will care about. And then two, they're hiring me for my connections to mainstream media in terms of one, I won't sign with someone unless they have a good marketable story.

Justin Breen

06:28 - 06:44

And then two, I won't send a story to a journalist in any market or at any place unless I think it's useful to them and I'm not gonna burn those type of bridges. So I'm basically a hired gun for the ideas in terms of what people care about and then also my contacts.

Gresham Harkless

06:44 - 06:50

Awesome, awesome. I absolutely love that. And do you find that a lot of that is just because of how important relationships are and

Justin Breen

06:50 - 06:51

that

Gresham Harkless

06:51 - 06:56

you have to be able to build those long-term relationships so you want to be able to make sure you're creating win-win situations? A

Justin Breen

06:57 - 07:41

hundred percent, yeah. As a journalist, I developed tons of relationships that way, and then on social media as well. I have about 30,000 followers on social media. And like you said, it's long-term relationships. And people, if I don't know them, they'll go to my Twitter handle and see, oh, he has 10,500 followers, and he used to be a journalist for 20 years, and he's still the College of Media Alumni Board, the journalism chair for University of Illinois. So this person actually knows what he's talking about as opposed to, Again, the typical PR BS where it's someone who's never been a journalist and they don't necessarily know what the good story is and they're sending out these blue plate, boiler plate type stories or press releases that aren't useful to anyone.

Justin Breen

07:42 - 07:49

So it's really the opposite of what PR firms traditionally have done and again, annoyed me when I was a journalist for all this time.

Gresham Harkless

07:49 - 07:54

Yeah, absolutely. I too have looked into my inbox and seen a tremendous

Justin Breen

07:54 - 07:54

amount of press

Gresham Harkless

07:54 - 08:07

releases, so I know exactly what you're feeling. I cringe sometimes when I see them just because I want to go through and want to help, but it's just like so much and it's usually just me, me, me, I, I, I. So it's great to hear that you're kind of putting a spin on that.

Justin Breen

08:07 - 08:41

And it's good to like, and you mentioned networking groups. That's been so important to me, but also like finding the net, the right networking group. So I'm in this group called Provisors, which is in Chicago and California, and it's expanding to other markets, but it's basically very high level either entrepreneurs or top lawyers at firms or top financial advisors at firms. And what I found is when you get to that level, it weeds out all the nonsense. It's people that just get it and they think give first as opposed to what's in it for them.

Justin Breen

08:41 - 09:11

And that's the way I look at things too. So it's been a real blessing to find a group like that because One, it's obviously for client potential, but more importantly, it's people that really like, like they're my friends. Like it's something where I really appreciate and enjoy spending time with them. And they're again, not in it for themselves. They're in it to help other people. And that's, it's just so rewarding when, when you, you know, my business is two years old and you go through these, these groups that are like, it's just people trying to steal your ideas or take, take, take.

Justin Breen

09:11 - 09:18

And there's no, There's no end game for it. But then when you find the right group, it's really exciting because you find out that there's other people out there like you.

Gresham Harkless

09:19 - 09:32

Yeah, absolutely. And I think like you said, you know, when you find a group in an environment where it's kind of give first and everybody's giving, it creates such a, you know, strong energy and just obviously referrals and opportunities as well.

Justin Breen

09:32 - 09:32

It's

Gresham Harkless

09:32 - 09:37

just such a great energy that is so rare to be around that when you find it, definitely, you know, hold on to it.

Justin Breen

09:37 - 10:06

Well, and that's why I like talking to you. You've got this really cool network, you developed it essentially all on your own, and you built this platform, and now look why we're... I mean, we're in totally different states, different time zones, and yet here we are connected because of social media. And we both, I think, think the same in terms of building a brand and building this really cool social media identity and all these followers and this amazing network. And it just pays off. It never stops paying off when you do that.

Gresham Harkless

10:07 - 10:16

I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. And this might be an Apple book or a habit that you have, but it's something that makes you more effective and efficient.

Justin Breen

10:16 - 10:54

Wow. So I run six days a week outside, no matter the weather conditions. And that is one, I have two very young children. And so that gets me out of the house. But too, it also is just a good way to like just kind of focus on what is going on with the day ahead. And that's been super helpful. I've also read a couple books. I'm sure other folks have mentioned it during these interviews, but Traction and E-Myth, which has really helped me prioritize in terms of where I want my company to go. And then also just figuring out long-term kinds of things, but then also like you know, what I want to do, like, what are my priorities?

Justin Breen

10:54 - 11:23

And I knew it before, but I really figured out my priority is spending time with my wife and children, and everything else is based around that. So what I have seen is a lot of very high level entrepreneurs, they don't spend time with their families. And I just, I don't see that for me being the right way of doing things. I'd rather Have less clients at that pay more than have way more clients and pay less and then that takes away time from my family So those those books and those habits have really helped for sure

Gresham Harkless

11:23 - 11:30

Yeah, that makes sense when you have that focus and you understand like why you're doing what you're doing, right? Talking about your wife and your kids you put everything in perspective.

Justin Breen

11:31 - 12:04

Yeah, you know, I think another thing too is And I kind of mentioned this earlier, but I meet with people all the time that and it has nothing to do with getting them as clients But I just meet with people because I really enjoy hearing their advice and hearing their stories and then I had mentioned that earlier a little bit but the other other Really good piece of advice that was shared with me when I first started was when you start a business it really does take two years to figure it out in terms of a what you want to do and where it's going and not getting comfortable, but just kind of like getting used to things.

Justin Breen

12:05 - 12:35

And again, my business is two years old as of April 16th. And it was 100 accurate because a year really isn't long enough 18 months is not long enough It really does take two years and when you're first starting a business, you're like, oh my god two years That seems a long way away, but it um one it does take time but it but it really does take that amount of time to to get things going and um As a journalist, it's bang, bang, bang, bang. You're writing two to three stories a day, getting all these emails.

Justin Breen

12:36 - 13:16

But as a business owner, it's not like that. It's a much slower, more methodical pace. It has taken two years for me to get used to that and but now that I am it's it's more exciting because I understand More how people work and how my business is going and all that kind of stuff So again, just meeting with people hearing what they have to say It's been super helpful in those things and I always thought there was something wrong with me But really I was just an entrepreneur the whole time and in those companies in an intrapreneur where i'm basically an entrepreneur inside of inside of a corporate business, but Now, two years into this, I realized, okay, I was actually just an entrepreneur, and this is really what I was meant to do the entire time, and there's nothing wrong with me at all.

Justin Breen

13:16 - 13:18

It's just I didn't fit into that mold.

Gresham Harkless

13:18 - 13:28

Exactly, and you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack, and this is a word of wisdom or a piece of advice, or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self? Wow.

Justin Breen

13:29 - 14:17

Oh, man. What would I tell myself two years ago? One, I would tell myself that everything's going to be okay. I think when you start a business, there's, there's like three phases. Again, this is from reading books, but you know, you're in, uh, you're in three kinds of phases. You're like, it's totally immature. Then it's adolescence and then it's maturity. And, and I'm in the adolescent phase now. And in the first phase, you're just like, I'm just trying to survive. Um, I reached out to 5,000 people and businesses to get my first five clients. I mean, and so that, that's a different mindset now where I really know like these are the people I really want to focus on who, one who value what I do, who can afford what I, what I do, who have a positive forward thinking mindset.

Justin Breen

14:17 - 14:42

Those are the only people I really want to work with now. And, um, I think if I would have told myself two years ago, what I know now, again, I would have focused on what I'm really, really good at and what I like to do. And then that this is going to take time and that things will, things will be okay. And, uh, and that, My wife and my children are very healthy and very happy, and that's the most important thing. And all this other stuff is just kind of gravy.

Gresham Harkless

14:43 - 14:52

Now I want to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different quote unquote CEOs on the show. But Justin, I want to ask you, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Justin Breen

14:53 - 15:23

Wow, that's a really good question and i'm actually going to start asking my clients that because a lot of them are small business ceos That's a really good question. So i'm going to store that away in my brain. But so what it means to me is and I just met with um, someone very recently very high level ceo makes hundreds of millions of dollars a year. He's a genius and He was telling me what it means to be an entrepreneur is you have all these freedoms that you typically wouldn't have like I can see my kids whenever I want to I get to work with who I want to work with.

Justin Breen

15:23 - 15:55

I'd make way more money doing this than I ever did in corporate. I can you know, I mean we can have these discussions now. I don't have to answer to anybody. So what it really means to me is have have freedom and it it also means that I can really live the life that I think I was supposed to be leading. my whole time and whole life as a professional. And now I finally realized this is what I should be doing. So that's what it means to be a CEO for me is just this, this freedom and this like excitement that this can be my life.

Justin Breen

15:56 - 16:01

And, and, um, and you can really be happy and free doing

Gresham Harkless

16:01 - 16:14

it. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. And we'll make sure to have those links in the show notes as well, just so that everybody can follow up with you. But I appreciate you again, Justin, for your time and your two years of phenomenal building your business and to many more years. I hope you have a great rest of the day.

Justin Breen

16:14 - 16:16

Thanks so much. I really appreciate this opportunity.

Intro

16:17 - 16:52

Thank you for listening to the IMCEO podcast powered by CB Nation and Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at imceo.co. IMCEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and everywhere you listen to podcasts. Subscribe and leave us a five-star rating. This has been the I Am CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless Jr. Thank you for listening.