 Welcome to Connecting Hawaii Business on Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Kathleen Lee of Kathleen Lee Consulting, and I am your host for this program. Think Tech Hawaii is a platform that encourages civic engagement through conversations that educate, enlighten, and inspire. It is live streamed on ThinkTechHawaii.com as well as Think Tech's Facebook page. And viewers like you have the opportunity to ask questions during our live stream and with all that intro being said, I'm very excited today to have one of my friends on the show. I met her through my volunteer work with a community, and I am so pleased to welcome Emily Latimer of Low Ehe Consulting to the show. Hi, Emily. Hi, Kathleen. Thanks for having me. Of course. So I would like you to introduce yourself to our viewers, tell us a bit about your personal and professional background before we launch into the topic of our show, which is communications as a business. Sure. So my name is Emily Latimer, and I own Low Ehe Consulting, which is a communications consulting business focused on telling stories of positive change. So I work with small businesses and nonprofits to do communication services for them to help them put together communication planning. And what that looks like is things like press releases, communication campaigns, social media, blogs, ghost writing, kind of the whole gamut of communication tools that help people get their message out to the community. Okay. So how did you go about and selecting PR when you were starting your business? Sure. So I got my start in communication working in Washington, D.C. for the Hawaii Congressional Delegation. I worked my way up to becoming a communications director there. And when I moved home to Hawaii about three and a half years ago, worked for a local PR firm. And I have always loved writing. I've always loved storytelling. I was the editor of my high school newspaper at St. Andrew's Priory growing up. I just always loved writing. And so I think communication for me is a really natural fit. It allows me to stay up to date with something I'm always interested in, which is the news and kind of what's going on in the world and the community. And to be creative in coming up with ways to plug in clients who I think are great people who are doing good work for our community to plug them into kind of what the conversations are in the news. So sometimes that looks like finding a story of the day. A lot of times this year with COVID, it's how are businesses pivoting? Are businesses getting creative? And how can we help a client tell their story? Not only to get them some awareness of what they're working hard on, but also to educate other businesses to get some other examples of what people are doing during this time. So PR just, it was the first job really that I kind of moved into out of college. And I've stayed in that world because I love it. And it's something I just really enjoy. Awesome. Can you tell our viewers how you came up with Loihi Consulting? I like that story. That's what I want to do to kind of make mention of it. Sure. So, you know, Kathleen, you and I both have businesses where we are single business owners running all of the things of the business. A lot of people told me to use my name. But for me, I never really resonated with the name Emily Latimer. And it just never felt like, you know, it felt not like what I wanted the feeling and the emotion behind my business to be. And so Loihi is kind of two parts for me. One, it's the street I grew up on in Kaneohe. And it's a, you know, a community made up of people from all different walks of life in all different cultures and backgrounds and jobs. And I think it really represents the community of Wa'i, a melting pot. And two, it's the next island coming up off of the coast of the Big Island. So it's kind of that feeling of emergence. And I really, you know, I enjoy working with emerging leaders, emerging businesses. People who are kind of, you know, they're just getting started is how I see it. And there's a lot of potential for them once they start communicating to the community what they're working on. And so that's the name that resonated with me. Let's go back to basics. And I also want you to kind of insert your own definition of it. What is public relations? Because I think some people think that it's just, okay, it's just you hyping something up. But I, you know, you and I both work in that realm and we know it's more than that. So what is your definition of public relations? You know, I think it's changing. So I think traditional PR, right, is, you know, getting the story to the news. And so that's writing a press release, finding out what, why something's timely, but also identifying it. I think a lot of people think it's the press release and the pitch. And for PR people, it's kind of like looking for the angle and looking for the story and paying attention to what's going on, telling it in a compelling way. So one, it's identifying that there's potential there to tell a story and that it's interesting and newsworthy. Two, it's writing it up in a really compelling way that is simple enough that people who are outside of your bubble can understand it. But it has enough detail that it can, you know, resonate with the news. And then it's working with media partners. So here in Hawaii, that's, you know, the Star Advertiser and Civil Beat and the TV stations and the radio stations and other news outlets who are telling, you know, our community what's going on. It's pitching to them in their language and the kinds of stories that they need to make it relevant to them. The reason I say that I think it's changing is because people get their news from so many different sources now, right? So, you know, where we used to get our news from a newspaper. Now we get our news from social media. We get our news from nonprofits who we follow who are telling us things to pay attention to. We get our news from our community, from, you know, kind of plugging into events and what's going on. And so I think PR is evolving to take all of those into account. Now it's not just, OK, let me tell the newspaper what my client is doing. Now it's really, you know, putting together kind of a multi-dimensional campaign where you're, OK, yes, let's let's get to the audience who reads the paper, but that's a different audience than the people who watch the news. And that's a different audience than the people who interact on social media. And that's a different audience than people who maybe get their news from their community and the institutions that they trust. And so it's it's putting together a message in a bunch of different ways so that you reach all these different segments of society. I like that very detailed explanation. I really appreciate it, too, because it it's always I found that sometimes it is challenging to explain what exactly public relations professionals do. So with that being said, how did you start your business? Like what inspired you and how was the beginning process of it, especially since you started it a little before the pandemic? Yeah, so I started my business last year and it, you know, I think like any business, any small business that starts, it starts with one person asking if you do something and then you kind of go from there. So, you know, at the time I was working for a PR firm here in Honolulu and I had friends who were either working in nonprofits or who were small who were small business owners who were saying, hey, you know, you tell me about what you're doing at work. I need some help with that, too. I need help with the writing. I need help. You know, I'm so in the weeds of the operation of my business. I need help kind of boiling it down, telling people what we're doing. But I don't have, you know, the big monthly retainer to pay like some other larger businesses would have. Like, could you just help me on the side with something like this? So that's really how it started. And then from there, you know, through word of mouth, through, you know, letting people know what I was doing, I was able to build a client base from there. And I never, I never thought I would be a business owner. I never, like, thought I would start a PR firm. So I really don't even think of it like that. I really think of it as like a communications consulting where I'm a partner to the clients that I work with. I help them brainstorm ideas. And that's really enjoyable for me. That's something I like doing anyway. And so I think that makes it it makes it, you know, worthwhile to have the business and navigate the challenges that come with that. Let's go over that since that is a prompt word for today. I'm lead challenges. So as a new business owner and you've been really successful with working with clients, small businesses, especially, I think you mentioned that what have been your challenges and starting a communication public relations firm, especially with one, the pandemic and two with, you know, already existing larger firms in the market. Yeah, you know, there are, I think the biggest challenges and this is this is I think in any industry, right? It's always that there's someone out there who knows the right way to do it and you just don't have that information. And so for me, it was, OK, how do I even start a business? You know, I've got to go online and figure out what I need, a license, you know, all of these different things that you need to start a business. I think that's how a lot of people start. There are also people who come from business backgrounds or, you know, have families, family members who are business owners, I didn't. So for me, it was like, you know, it was Googling. It was that was really kind of where it kind of got started. You know, Kathleen, you know this story, but I I met you maybe four or three or four years ago and you kind of described to me what you were doing. And that was really the and you told me you were going to start this communications, writing, consulting business. And that was the first time that I even had thought that the skills that I had were enough to stand on their own as a business. So I think seeing other business owners, you in particular were obviously a huge inspiration for that. But seeing other people to kind of set the model and to show show that that could work out was was definitely something that kind of got that going. And then in terms of challenges, I think, yeah, not knowing not knowing what you don't know. So when you're a business owner, especially when you're on your own, you don't have a partner and you're you know, you don't have a team that you work with. If you're a single person consultant or even a small business getting started, you know, you don't know what you don't know. So there's this the things that keep me, you know, up at night are the like, what are those things that because I don't have a boss anymore because I don't have, you know, advisors because I'm a small business, what are those things that I'm not thinking about? So that's definitely a big challenge. I think another big challenge is and this is something that I definitely experienced this year is that when you start a business, it's really hard to separate yourself from the business. So when the business is doing good, you're doing good. And when the business is not doing well and COVID hits and, you know, knocks out your clients, it's hard not to take that personally. And so I think having good people around you to remind you that like you're more than the success of a business is really helpful. But I think that's probably something that a lot of people have challenges with and that I definitely definitely have dealt with. We'll go over one more question before we go into break. But with your experience so far, what has been what have been some of your favorite parts of being a business owner and calling your own shots or figuring out your own schedule? I actually just kind of named it. But what has it been like for you so far? You know, so far, I would say the first year of being in business was a roller coaster, but also so exciting to be creating something. I'm absolutely not the type of person who's ever probably going to make a product. I'm not like not a product business person, but I think entrepreneurs are fascinating and they're so interesting. And I got to work with a lot of entrepreneurs in my first year, who I was the first, you know, hire outside of themselves and their operations team, the first person that they were kind of taking a chance on to provide some strategic consulting for them to provide something outside of just, you know, the operations of getting the product on the shelf. And that felt really good. And it was it was it's very rewarding. Second year of business has definitely been, you know, figuring out how to deal with COVID and trusting that, you know, with every down comes an up again. And so that is that takes time to just like trust that process. But it's it's also very rewarding when, you know, you think that things are not looking good. And then you you were able to pick up a client and work on something that is really rewarding. I think the fact that I get to make my own client list and I get to fill it with people who I really believe in, I think are doing great things for Hawaii is the most rewarding part. I appreciate how you mentioned that, too, like building your own client list, even for me as well, has been huge because you get to work with the people that you want to work with. And not that that hasn't been the case before, but now it's it's really focused. So we have, OK, well, I guess we have a question from a viewer. Well, we'll ask that and then think about that for a minute before we go on break, OK? So the question is, is your company well versed in all the social networking platforms? So something to think about. And we will go on. I'm sorry, there's a second part to it. But, you know, let's go with that for now before we dissect that. Yeah, so we will go on break. And when we return, Emily Latimer of Loewe Consulting will answer that question from the viewer. Stay tuned to Connecting Hawaii Business on Think Tech Hawaii. My name is Kathleen Lee. We're definitely consulting. And on the show today, we have Emily Latimer of Loewe Consulting. Right before we went on break, we did receive a question from a viewer. So let me restate that to get the ball rolling again. Is your company, Emily, well-inversed and well-versed in all the social networking platforms? Yeah, I think I work primarily on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, less with YouTube, although I've helped clients with YouTube in the past as well. I don't and I have not worked with clients necessarily that have done, you know, sites like Twitch, TikTok, but I'm interested in doing them. But I don't have a ton of experience with those. You were saying that you will be starting your TikTok account soon and we get to watch you do your cool dance moves because that would be. Only if you and I do it together. That'll be part of the collective. So there was a second part to the question. In your experience, are some social media sites more important than others? Oh, that's a good one. I think so it depends on what you do and it depends on what you're trying to do. So a lot of people think and they can spend a lot of time blasting out content on social media without much of a strategy. That's OK for the small network of people that follow you, but it can also be like burning out your marketing person or your team or yourself, if it's, you know, a small business and you're providing all of the content. I think the better way to think about it is what are you trying to achieve? So in, for example, in Hawaii, Twitter is not a huge like not a very high volume platform. We have, you know, lots of white people on Twitter, but it's not used like how it is when I worked in Washington, DC and some some cities on the mainland. I think Facebook and Instagram are the big ones in Hawaii as well as LinkedIn. And it depends on what you're trying to achieve. If you're trying to inform people then about, you know, big business announcements about innovative things that your business is doing. That's a great platform to put things on LinkedIn because other business owners, people in your network, friends of friends are interested in business news if they're on LinkedIn. And so key updates is a great place to put things on LinkedIn. If you're trying to, if you have, you know, great branding and engaging videos and you're really interactive, then Instagram is great. But if you are, you know, if that's not the key thing, let's say that you're I'm blanking on an example right now, but let's say that that's not a priority for you. You don't have a lot of videos and photos. You're probably not going to do great on Instagram because it's a platform that really rewards, you know, engaging content like great photos, great videos, live streams, things like that. So you could use it as a place where people can go to find kind of key information about you and then direct them to your website. But I'd say that, you know, the things that do the most well on Instagram are things that are really engaging. Facebook is like a little bit more, you know, less and less of the next generation are using Facebook. And so it's a good place to like have information up, do key updates. And I think it kind of works similar to Instagram. But yeah, I really, the moral of all of that is to say that it really depends on what your goal is and making sure that you are putting things out in a strategic way, not necessarily just blasting people with things. Let's go back to one of the earlier points that we talked about. We talked about challenges and, you know, we try to make the conversations relevant to whatever's going on. And as you know, which you have already mentioned in the program, you know, it has been slightly daunting working within a pandemic. So are you able to talk about or identify the lessons that you've learned during this unprecedented time? I can't even say that word, right? There's challenging time in our history. Sure. You know, I think that, you know, one challenge is for people who are in a, you know, in kind of the jobs that we are, Kathleen, I really relied on networking events, community events, being in the community, I think, and just like to know what was going on so I could find opportunities to find partnerships for my clients, to find potential new clients. Networking was, you know, one of my number one ways to find new people to work with and to serve my clients in getting them exposure into different, you know, finding ways to find partners for them. So that was hard, obviously, in the beginning of the pandemic and even now. Now I think there are some really great community resources that are bringing people together on Zoom and they're doing it in a really interesting way. But of course, at first, that was a little bit hard to navigate. And then I think another challenge, you know, actually a takeaway, I think, from the pandemic, something that I've noticed is something I learned with my business, but also something I learned pretty early on. I also teach yoga on the side and have done that for the last couple of years. And right away, I think it's continued this year, a takeaway is that, you know, people, people kind of want less of the glossy, really polished message right now and they want more honesty. So for, you know, I taught yoga pre-pandemic and, you know, people were wanting more of like the instructors, the coaches that they were used to doing videos from their house or their porch or whatever their line. And they were wanting that over these like professionally made YouTube videos because it felt like connection, right? I think it's the same for business. I think the more that you can be honest and you can kind of, this is a great opportunity to like show what's going on behind the curtain and be like, here's how our team is figuring things out right now. The more honest you are, you know, we don't have all of the answers. Here's how we're innovating this week. I think people are really interested in things like that. They're interested in honesty. They're interested in stories of figuring it out alongside them. And that's been a big lesson learned. I think something that will continue for, you know, well into next year. I think we have time for maybe two more points of discussion. So let me go into this and ask you because part of our topic is taking the leap into, you know, starting a business. What do you believe or think it takes for someone to start a communications firm? Whether it's in a pandemic or outside of that? Yeah. So I think it's really interesting because I do, you know, I do a lot of writing communication, a lot of pitching and telling stories through written word. But there are also, you know, media companies here locally on the mainland, whatever it is who do amazing campaigns through digital. That's not something I am good at at all. And so if clients are interested in that, I try to, you know, partner with maybe a local consultant or a local business that is really amazing at telling stories in that way. And so, you know, for those people, you've got to have great, you know, great design, great ideas in terms of presenting things in an interesting way that keeps people's attention. I would say, of course, you know, you want to have strong writing skills. You want to be able to tell a story in a compelling way and break down complicated information, I think are skills that are helpful. But I think like one of the key things is really being creative and the ability to kind of like we talked about at the beginning, notice a story where it doesn't seem like there's a story. And so, you know, it's kind of doing that scanning of like what's going on and why would people care about this? How can I tell them about this in a way that they will care about? Not just that you're, you know, forcing a story or information down people's throat, but really like, how do you make it interesting to them? Cause that's why people pay attention. So we might be able to close this out, this program out with this last question, unless you have like a very short, well, here it is. Okay, so why should businesses hire a PR firm? Yeah, so like I said, you know, a lot of the businesses that I work with or nonprofits that I work with, they're kind of, they're branching outside of the comfort zone in terms of like what is absolutely needed to keep the boat moving by working with someone like me. It's maybe the first time they've ever brought someone on board who does something that's like a nice to have. And yes, it is also a need to have, but it's usually like the first reach beyond that. And so people will ask me, you know, that question. I think the easiest way to describe it is like the moment when you are at your computer and you know, you've got all the things that you do as a business owner, you run the operation, you've got to manage your people, you've got to manage production lines, all of that. And then you have to go around and write an email to your customers or to your donors or whatever it is, whoever your stakeholders are. And you can't get past writing that first sentence because you can't figure out the right way to write it. Right? And so it holds you up for an hour and a half. And all of a sudden you've lost time in your day and you're frustrated and you just don't even send the email because you're like, I can't even get past this moment. That's when it's a great time to bring in a communications person, right? Because people like you and I, Kathleen, we write all the time and we can help move that along faster. We can help give ideas. We can take that kind of task off of your plate and you know, partner with you so that you can get the things done that you are, that's why you started the business. That's why you started the nonprofit. And you know, someone like you and I can take care of getting the message out and identifying when, you know, what are the stories that you can tell? I think we have time for one more question before we wrap up. During the course of one's career, someone may find that they want to complete career change or to do something different. For someone in a completely different field looking to change it and go into PR, what do you recommend as a steps for them to move into that direction? So let's go with two minutes on that. That's a great question. I think that, you know, so first of all, like we talked about, you know, working on writing, getting feedback from people. And so I would say like, start with the, if it's, you know, locally, start with the local news and look at what the stories are that they're telling. You know, they have to start the show if it's the TV news, right? With like what happened that day. But then there's all these stories that they fill the news with about businesses who are doing something interesting, you know, organizations who have thought of some kind of cool virtual event and it's interesting to their viewers. And so take a look at, I guess, take a look at, you know, what those stories are and then start trying to identify them and then maybe practice. Like how would you tell that story to, you know, your friend who doesn't care about agriculture? How would you tell them an agriculture story? How would you make it interesting to them? I think that's, you know, something that is I'm thinking about all of the time. So practice with that, practice your writing and then, you know, there's a lot of resources online. And final words from Emily Latimer of Lohe Consulting before we wrap up today's show. Final words. Well, thank you Kathleen for having me. As I mentioned, you getting to know you a couple of years ago was a huge, you know, inspiration for me starting my business. I think, you know, I think it's a really exciting time. There's a lot of hard things going on right now. And there's also like a lot of opportunity to kind of like the last question, think about what you actually want. For me, this year has been an opportunity to kind of hone the, you know, the types of businesses that I want to work with to say that, okay, maybe I could do some other types of client work in the past, but it's not what I love. And so maybe I'll take a little bit of a step away from that. And I think that there's a lot of potential in this moment and I'm trying to stay focused on that. So I think for any, there's all these businesses that are starting up right now, taking advantage of things that are changing. And I find that to be very exciting. Thank you, Emily. We really appreciate you being on the show today. And that wraps up Connecting Hawaii Business on this Wednesday. Thank you to Jay Fidel and the entire staff at Think Tech Hawaii, especially Melissa who's been helping us out today for making this program possible. And with that, we will see you again in the next two weeks. So thank you everyone. Have a good day.