IAM2948 – Brand Influencer Elevates Brands to Fulfill Their Dreams

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Transcription:

Caroline Kalentzos 00:00
If you stay true to yourself, you have no competition. And I said that years ago and I really, it actually just gave me goosebumps just now saying it again because it’s even true 7 years later. If you, you know, build your brand around trying to be like your competition or defining your competition, I mean, who cares about them? I don’t care what they’re doing. Do you, right? And if you stay true to you, you cannot serve your clients better than You, your ideal client is your ideal client because you are serving them, not because of what your competition offers. It, it’s you. And I believe that there is no such thing as competition when you build a brand that’s true to you.

Gresham Harkless 01:09
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I Am CEO Podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Caroline Dahl of Posh PR. Caroline, it’s awesome to have you on the show.

Caroline Kalentzos 01:18
Thank you so much. Excited to be here.

Gresham Harkless 01:20
Yeah, no problem. Super excited to have you on. And I wanted to read a little bit more about Caroline so you can hear about all the awesome things that she’s doing. And Caroline is the CEO and head doll at Posh PR and brand influencer at, at The Caroline Doll on Instagram. She’s been recognized as a social media expert by Forbes and is an international speaker and has worked with clients like Tiffany Co., Saks Fifth Avenue. Caroline started Posh PR with the intention of working with fashion, beauty, and lifestyle entrepreneurs to elevate their brands in order to create the life they had always dreamed of, just like she did when starting her company. Now she’s running a full-service agency with services that range from branding, PR, social media management, and content creation. Caroline, are you ready to speak to the I Am CEO community?

Caroline Kalentzos 02:05
I can’t wait.

Gresham Harkless 02:06
Awesome. Let’s do it. So to start everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to get started with your business.

Caroline Kalentzos 02:13
Yes. Okay, absolutely. So it’s funny because never thought I would ever be an entrepreneur, um, but when I started my company about 7 years ago, I was still in medical sales. I was a national sales manager for a smaller technology-oriented company, and I actually used to launch new drugs. And in that time, you know, I always say that my God-given gift is selling. That’s just what I do. So as a sales manager, you know, of course, being a good salesperson was important. Launching new drugs is something that I never thought that I would really fall in love with. a product launch. And so I will never forget the day I was at the pool on a pink flamingo pool float and I called my mom and I said, Mom, I am going to leave my 6-figure medical sales job and I’m going to start my own company. I’m going to wear tulle skirts and I’m going to work with fashion deity and lifestyle brands. And I want to, I want to launch their brand. And she thought I was crazy. Um, most people thought I was crazy, but I believe that when you marry your God-given gifts with what you’re passionate about, you are unstoppable. And so that is how Posh PR was born in an effort to take, you know, my God-given gifts of, you know, sales and PR and marketing, um, and understanding how to elevate a brand and share that with fashion, beauty, lifestyle, female entrepreneurs.

Gresham Harkless 03:37
Nice. I definitely appreciate that. And I appreciate it, you, you know, breaking it down because I think so many times We, we have to, some, sometimes we know, you know, what we’re, what our God-given gifts are. And we try to marry that. And a lot of times the world and a lot of people sometimes that are closest to us don’t necessarily always agree, but a lot of times we have to take that step and take that leap. And then a lot of times good things start to happen from there.

Caroline Kalentzos 03:59
100%. Awesome.

Gresham Harkless 04:00
Awesome. Awesome. So I know you touched on it a little bit. Could you take us through exactly, exactly how you work with clients through Posh PR and some of the things that you do?

Caroline Kalentzos 04:08
Sure, of course. So, you know, we are a full-service agency from branding and PR, and of course, specializing in partnerships with fashion, beauty, and lifestyle brands worldwide. But it’s funny because when I started Posh PR, I was like, I don’t need any employees. I’m going to do this by myself. And I’m like, 7 employees later, a full-service agency later, you cannot do all the things by yourself. Our clients range from, you know, brands like Tiffany Co. and Saks Fifth Avenue, and you mentioned earlier. Um, but, you know, all the way to the female entrepreneur who will call me and say, Caroline, I want to launch a lipstick line. And we will take her from that concept to full creation. So, you know, taking her big dream and her big idea and really helping her bring that to light. And that, that is, you know, from building her logo and all the graphic design, executing her branding shoot to get that visual content needed for all her digital marketing. building and coding her website, social media marketing, and really, you know, all the things in between, um, all the way to building brand authority through media features. So all the things, all the things launching brands.

Gresham Harkless 05:16
Nice. I definitely appreciate that because I think so many times, um, entrepreneurs and inventors and business owners have, you know, a certain vision. Yeah, they have a vision, I guess, for what they want to create, why they want to create it, but a lot of times they don’t know how to move beyond that. And to be able to have experts like yourself that they’re able to lean on and understand that you’ve been able to do this for so long and done it and looked at it, you know, from the, when you were doing the pharmaceutical sales as well too, you have that experience to be able to help them to be able to do that.

Caroline Kalentzos 05:43
Yes. No, it’s, it’s incredible. And I always tell my clients, you know, if you come to me and you are passionate about what, you know, your big dream is, it will be successful because I, you know, we can build a beautiful brand, but I can’t get you out of bed. So if you’re not passionate about the work that we’re doing here, Um, you know, passion is really what should be driving you. So I, I can relate to that completely.

Gresham Harkless 06:04
Yeah, it makes so much sense. And you can teach a lot of things. You can read a lot of business books and do a lot of courses and things like that, but you cannot really teach passion. So the important part is that you’re passionate about what it is that you’re creating and you’re doing.

Caroline Kalentzos 06:15
Exactly right.

Gresham Harkless 06:17
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So you might’ve already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for you personally or for your business, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart and makes you unique?

Caroline Kalentzos 06:26
I love that. So I was thinking a lot about this, about this question, and I had probably 10 different answers, but then I really took a step back and realized this. Posh PR’s secret sauce is that we truly become your business best friend. And, you know, and I say that, you know, with a full heart because my clients over the years have become my best friends. And, you know, I built this brand to serve other brands I love, to to work with clients that I love, to work with a team that I love, and they become our extended family. And of course, as a full-service agency, you know, with, you know, doing all the things for a brand launch, we pretty much always have a doll for that. So, you know, anything a business owner might need, you know, from social media and branding and website design and, you know, brand partnerships, we have someone at Posh VR that can become your business best friend and walk you through anything that you would need for your brand. Your business and your launch.

Gresham Harkless 07:21
Yeah, it makes so much sense. And just like in life, you know, you, you mean going through sometimes difficult times, sometimes a great time, you wanna be able to call in and be able to tell your best friends. So to have that in business is definitely, you know, something that everybody should wanna have at their fingertips.

Caroline Kalentzos 07:34
Yes.

Gresham Harkless 07:35
I love that. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have What’s something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Caroline Kalentzos 07:48
Okay, so great question, and you’re probably gonna laugh at me, but I use my calendar app on my phone, iCal, nothing crazy. I’m literally in my calendar constantly. Uh, I feel like that has completely changed my productivity, has changed the way I operate in terms of time management. Um, with so much going on, you know, from meetings and travel and speaking engagements and being able to juggle everything, but the The real hack is this, and it’s a secret that I am now sharing with you that’s really not that big of a secret, but if we are booking a client meeting, for example, and let’s say I sent one of my clients at Tiffany and Company and I said, hey Kate, I would love to chat with you. How does 3 o’clock tomorrow work for your schedule? I’m going to put a TBD on my calendar for 3 o’clock tomorrow in case any of my 7 other employees happen to be booking an appointment for me at the same time, they will know, cannot double book Caroline. That has been my number one business hack of not being, you know, double booked and managing my calendar in order to maximize my time and be able to fit in all of my clients and all of the things, um, into our crazy busy weeks, um, as efficiently as possible.

Gresham Harkless 09:04
Nice. I appreciate that. And I definitely am laughing at that. Um, but probably not for the same reasons because I have, you know, said, do you want to meet at 3 o’clock tomorrow? And then I turn to my calendar and I’m actually booked with somebody else right after I say that. So I know how difficult that could be. So that is a phenomenal hack to make sure to block it out just so that you know that nobody else can take it.

Caroline Kalentzos 09:25
Exactly right.

Gresham Harkless 09:26
Awesome. So, uh, now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget, and this could be like a word of wisdom or piece of advice, could be around PR or branding, but what’s a word of wisdom or piece of advice that you can give to us?

Caroline Kalentzos 09:37
So something that I actually said Years ago, oh, I was speaking at a conference, I think in Nashville. And I said, if you stay true to yourself, you have no competition. And I said that years ago. And I really, it actually just gave me goosebumps just now saying it again, because it’s even true 7 years later. If you, you know, build your brand around trying to be like your competition or defining your competition, I mean, who cares about them? I don’t care what they’re doing. Do you, right? And if you stay true to you, You cannot serve your clients better than you. Your ideal client is your ideal client because you are serving them, not because of what your competition offers. It’s you. And I believe that there is no such thing as competition when you build a brand, um, that’s true to you.

Gresham Harkless 10:23
Absolutely. I think that’s a great, you know, word of wisdom. And I think so many times, you know, you’re always looking, you know, kind of like with your blind, with the blinds open and trying to look out to see what everybody’s doing. But a lot of the work that we need to do is internal. And look at who we are and how we can best showcase, you know, who we are, what we stand for, what our companies and our brands stand for as well.

Caroline Kalentzos 10:42
Exactly right. I 100% am on the same page.

Gresham Harkless 10:46
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. So now I wanted 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 this show. So, Caroline, what does being the CEO mean to you?

Caroline Kalentzos 10:57
Well, it’s funny. I laugh at this question because if my mom were to give you the answer, she would say, well, Caroline, you were a CEO, um, when you were 3 years old or 4 years old, when you’d come home from school, uh, with your dress pockets full of quarters because you were selling your crayons to the other kids at school. Um, it is funny because I never thought that I was an entrepreneur, but apparently I was when I was 3. So to me, um, at the time, that was my dream life, right? Selling my crayons at preschool for whatever reason was my dream life. So now building my Uh, you know, dream life and, and dream brand, um, is, is so important to me, but even more so to my clients. So even true when I was 3 years old to right now, being a CEO means elevating her brand so she can live the life she’s always dreamed of living and really being the curator of your dreams.

Gresham Harkless 11:48
Nice. I, I definitely appreciate that. And I think it, it puts everything in perspective of why you’re doing the things that you’re doing. I think some, so many times you get caught into The, the, I guess the day-to-day task of, of what it is that we do that we sometimes forget why exactly we do what we do. So I, I appreciate that definition because it brings everything to light. And I appreciate that. And I appreciate your time even more, Caroline. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there’s anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know. And then of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things you’re working on.

Caroline Kalentzos 12:19
Yes. Okay. So the one thing that I can think of, um, I recently launched an ebook. Um, for anyone looking to launch a lifestyle brand that might need help with how to do so. Um, and for, um, someone that’s like me that basically, uh, wants something done yesterday. Um, it’s helping you build a brand in 25 days. So that is so exciting, you know, for clients that aren’t able to work with us, you know, on a full-scale level. I know it’s an investment to build a brand. We decided to be able to touch more brands and more You know, entrepreneurs, this ebook is a quick fix for someone looking for a step-by-step guide to launching a brand in 25 days. And that can be found on thebossdoll.com. And I’m so excited for that official new launch. And I really just want to say one, you know, one last little, I guess, you know, just piece of advice. Um, just really not taking no for an answer and always finding a creative way to work towards your end result. And that’s something that I built my brand based upon that. You know, when I started my company 7 years ago, what we do now didn’t really exist. And so, you know, being the pioneer of something new is scary. And, you know, I always, you know, look back and say, okay, well, if you aren’t where you want to be now, you know, start changing where you are now. And so my advice is just to, to keep, you know, running full force towards your dreams.

Gresham Harkless 13:38
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. We will have the links and information in the show notes so that everybody can get a copy of that, um, that resource that you, that you mentioned as well too. And I thank you again for that reminder because I think so many times that, you know, the most successful people, we think success is a straight line, but often it isn’t. We have to think creatively on how to get exactly where we wanna be. And sometimes it’s, and very often it’s not a straight line at all. So we have to make sure that we do that and we don’t take no for an answer to make sure that that happens.

Caroline Kalentzos 14:05
Yes, absolutely.

Gresham Harkless 14:07
Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Well, appreciate you again, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.

Caroline Kalentzos 14:11
Thanks. You too, Fresh. Bye.