Follow Your Gut with Filomena Fanelli

Women are said to possess a superior intuition, and more often than not, following their guts lead to greater heights and accomplishments.
Just like our guest for today who followed her heart and calling, now one of the biggest PR and communications agency owners, named an Athena Leadership Awards Program honoree in 2018 and graced the cover of Hudson Valley Magazine’s Women in Business issue that same year, a past “Forty Under 40” recipient, our podcast guest, Filomena Fanelli.
Inspired by both of her parents; she gets her business acumen from her late father, who founded a delivery service company, and the gift of being able to listen and problem-solve comes from her mother, a social worker.
Filomena’s company, IMPACT PR & Communications, specializes in creating impactful campaigns and bringing about an energy to help a diverse array of clients plot memorable events, secure speaking engagements, land leadership articles, craft sharp website content that matters, engage in meaningful ways on social media and, of course, get their names in the news.
Connect with Filomena at www.prwithimpact.com or email her [e-mail]
This podcast is powered by DenTen Insurance - Insurance for the Greater Good. www.denten.io To listen to more and be inspired, visit www.michaelespositoinc.com

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This show is sponsored by dn tenInsurance Services, helping businesses get the right
insurance for all their insurance needs.Visit dn ten dot io to get a
quote d n t N dot ioand remember, when you buy an insurance
policy from dent ten, you're givingback on a global scale. Hello all,

(00:21):
my entrepreneurs and business leaders, andwelcome to the Michael Esposito Show,
where I interview titans of industry inorder to inform, educate, and inspire
you to be great. She gother start twenty years ago at Rubinstein Associates,
where she quickly rose through the ranksto become a vice president. Recognized
as a top publicist, she workedon some of the firm's major real estate

(00:45):
and financial accounts, representing Bell's EnterpriseCommerce Bank and many others. Today,
she channels that energy to lead herown agency and help a diverse array of
clients plot memorable events, secure speakingengagements, land leadership articles, craft sharp
website content, engage in meaningful wayson social media, and of course,

(01:11):
get their names in the news.She was named an Athena Leadership Awards Program
honoree in twenty eighteen and graced thecover of Hudson Valley Magazines Women in Business
issue that same year A past fortyunder forty recipient. Please welcome my guest
and friend, Philomina Finelli. Thankyou so much for having me here.

(01:34):
Are Michael, It's great to seeyou in the studio. It's great to
see you too. That was funto read. You made me sound good.
Thank you for that. Yeah,you know, I used to like
craft these things myself, and betweentime and then going to people's about me
page, I was like, well, wait a second, why am I

(01:55):
rewriting everything that they've already written,and especially coming from a our company.
So well, we'll uncover the goodstuff as we get talking this morning anyway,
because all all of those things,they're just facts. But the real
story is the things that you don'thear between those sentences, which I'm very
interested in. So we When Iwas reading your bio about yourself, some

(02:19):
things came up that stood out forme and that I think I'd like to
start with. And it has todo with your history. Of course,
your professional history and everything in termsof PR will be breaking down a little
bit down the road, but yourhistory at home with your family and the
traditions that you're kind of carrying on. Yeah, that's where it all begins
for all of us, right wherewe start in our childhood, who we

(02:43):
were, and then who we becomefrom there, And definitely who I grew
up around definitely shaped an influence whoI became. Starting with my own dad,
who was an entrepreneur. What kindof business did you that have?
He had a delivery service, sohe brought items from one place to another,
whether it was checks from a bankor appliances for electronics stores. He

(03:07):
was the guy who delivered microwaves andrefrigerators and those kinds of things. And
I grew up seeing him take thatrisk of becoming a business owner and very
self taught at that, and watchedhim piece it together, sometimes successfully and
sometimes not, and I thought,oh boy, I'm never going to go
into business for myself. That's crazy. What a wild ride. When times

(03:30):
they're good, they're very good,and when they're bad they're tough. Speak
to us about the bad times,because that's probably the hardest part that an
entrepreneur goes through. Yeah, SoI watched my dad. We'd have times
where we were a flush with cashand doing well, and then other times
when people that he was doing businesswith weren't paying their invoices, and he
and my mom were trying to figurethat out. And I'd overhear them talking

(03:52):
at the dinner table and wonder whywould anybody decide to go into business for
themselves? Until I found myself doingthat same thing. When when you were
thinking about why would anybody go intobusiness for themselves? Were what were some
of the experiences that you were witnessing. So you you mentioned invoices not being
paid, but I'm sure that there'smore that goes into this that. But

(04:14):
we both know that you were watchingand witnessing as a kid. Absolutely,
I remember him having family inside thebusiness and then if something didn't work out
well and needing to tell those peopleit wasn't working, having a business partner
that ultimately he couldn't trust, andhaving his finances commingled with that person.
So I was very clear on thethings that I learned that were good that

(04:35):
I saw him do. But thenI was clear also on the things that
if I were to ever open abusiness, which I thought I wasn't going
to, but here I am thatI knew I would do differently, and
you know, you know, notpracticing nepotism in my business, not working
with family members. Having sole ownershipat this time seems like the right thing

(04:55):
for me too, so that Icould have some of that decision making autonomy
and being real clear on invoicing practicesand getting an accountant involved early on was
critical for me. Not managing thatpiece, that's probably that's a piece that
I remember working in other businesses asan employee and witnessing the invoicing issues.
So I'm interested in that. Whatgood practice is there. We'll kind of

(05:19):
talk about that in a second,but just want to go back to what
you were just sharing about your dad. So you saw that he had to
figure out relationships and be able tonavigate through those relationships, and you witnessed
that at a young age, whichthen turned to your values in your business.
And I remember reading about your businessand actually in the bio that you

(05:42):
sent over about how you live byyour values. You hire buy your values,
and you fire buy your values,And it sounds like that was kind
of like taught to you at thedinner table. Yeah, dinner table wisdom
was big in my house, andjust learning by absorption, And the one
thing that I did take away wasthat if you don't have a compass around

(06:03):
where you're headed, you're going toget lost along the way. So for
me, early on in my business, defining the values we were going to
live by as a group, asa team was critical. Knowing that if
there was a tough decision to bemade and we weren't sure which way to
go, we could let mistest thatdecision against those questions, does it meet

(06:24):
these values? Does this feel trueto us and to what we all agreed
to and signed up for. Andwhen someone comes to work with you as
a member of your team, you'remaking a promise to them. When you
sell that you should come work withme. You're saying, well, here's
what you're going to get if yousign on to work with me. Here's
what I can promise you. Andso for me, upholding that promise is

(06:46):
imperative. And then also with ourclients, like I have certain expectations of
them, I put it right outthere so that people can opt in or
opt out about if we're a fitfor values and Michael, you run a
very values values driven business yourself,Like it's very clear that you have a
mission at the heart of what youdo at Dent ten and I admire that

(07:06):
that's something that I stand for also, because there's there's tons of business out
there to be had no matter whatkind of business you're in. But when
you're clear about the vision and aboutwhat you stand for, you're going to
attract right fit clients, right fitteam members, and they're going to flock
to you because they get what itis you stand for. Yeah, and
I think you know, we couldtalk a little bit more about that in

(07:30):
your business, and I want togo into your your team as well.
But again going back to your dadand seeing the roller coaster ride of dealing
with bad clients, right, sowe learn that you got to find a
client that's also a good fit foryou, and they both have to you.
As the as the salesperson, businessowner, account manager, or whatever
your role is, you have aresponsibility, but the client also has a

(07:53):
responsibility and they have to live upto that part too. We see that
in everything we do. Yeah,years ago, I I remember working with
someone when I first started my agency, and he's in real estate as a
business, and he used to say, good fences make for good neighbors.
And it's so true when you havethose fences, when people know where the
boundaries are, what your expectations are, and you communicate it clearly through your

(08:16):
fences. They know where they needto dwell. Yeah, and they know
when they're crossing a boundary. Yeah, people need boundaries. I remember having
a conversation one of my team membersboundaries and accountability and going through some goal
setting. We were doing some goalsetting. I was setting up some accountability
in there. I was setting upsome boundaries in there and he turned turned

(08:39):
as they turned to me, butit was on a zoom. He turned
to me. He looked up andsaid, this is great, he goes,
this is what I needed. Thisis what I've been waiting for.
So people want that. I thinkthat that's something that we forget that we
think that by creating accountability and bycreating boundaries, we think that it's going
to be met with with a pushbackor some sort of resentment. But the

(09:03):
truth is that people need that tothrive. And we see that in our
businesses. Yeah. We all wantto know what the expectation is for us.
Yeah, and if you're a conscientioushuman being, you want to perform,
You want to know what the baris. Yeah. I thrive on
that. So your dad sat apretty high bar in starting a business,
being successful in a business, workingthrough the challenges, and as you said,

(09:24):
some of the successes. But foryou at the time, it wasn't
right for you and you were justkind of concerned about it. But then
started wearing a funny T shirt aroundthe house. Yeah. So there's a
picture floating around somewhere. I haveto dig it up, but it was
of a little me, maybe fouror five years old, with a shirt
that said the Boss. And whenI did open my own business ultimately years

(09:48):
later, I remember calling my fatherhe's no longer here, and saying,
Dad, I think I'm going tostart a business. Like I have this
thing going where there's seven or eightpeople calling me every month looking for my
services, and I'm sending them aninvoice and they're happily paying it and they're
asking for more work for me andreferring me to friends, and so I
think I have a business going.Almost by accident, I think I need

(10:11):
to try this out. And hewasn't surprised at all. He's like,
uh, I always knew you woulddo that. But I did grow up
hearing from him very firmly and frommy mother that you can do anything you
set your mind to. And Ithink, as a young girl hearing that
so many times, I must haveinternalized that message and really believed it.

(10:31):
And you took that message and youstarted your own business. But I'm interested
in how you what you think aboutthat message because we hear that message,
right, But I think that there'smore meaning behind it of like, you
can do anything you set your mindto. I'm just interested on your thoughts
on that. Yeah, so firstyou have to set your mind to it,
right, Like you have to believeit in your mind. But that
isn't the end step. It doesn'tmean that you just conjure something up in

(10:52):
your brain and it manifests. Youhave to take the actions. You have
to take those baby steps and thethe put in the work when nobody's watching,
when it's not glamorous or pretty orfun, And that's where the real
work happens. And that's how youtake something from a thought that you've set
your intention into a reality. Andthe most defining moments of my careers my

(11:18):
career is are the ones that nobody'sseen that are very much behind the scenes.
When I was studying hard something Ididn't know, or when I came
in early to examine things that otherswere doing so that I could replicate them,
Or when it was nights and weekendsand I was tired and weary,
and I kept going. And I'msure there was decisions that you had to
make along the way, so manyof them, so many decisions that you

(11:43):
know, you don't see that whenyou see someone's outward you know, success
in quotes, you don't see allthe things that go into it, all
the moments where maybe they lost,maybe it wasn't a win, and they
had to pick themselves up and getup the next morning as if they just
won. What was one of yourgreatest losses early on in my business life?
You mean early on it was duringthe pandemic, and or no before

(12:07):
the pandemic. Part of me earlyon in the business when somebody pushed a
boundary with us and I was firmon where it went, and I said
no, and I stuck to it, and we lost six figures of business
overnight, and I had to getup the next morning as if it was
like just any other day in mycareer, and get up and make it
happen, and meet payroll and doall the things that I needed to do

(12:31):
and have that focus on that drive. Still, what were the feelings that
you experienced when losing that big client. I think I knew it was the
right thing to do, but thereis that moment when you face down your
fear and you say, what theheck did I just do? Like I
know, I said I would liveby these values. I knew, I
said I would make decisions according tothem. But when it actually happens and

(12:54):
it sinks in and you're looking atthe numbers or you're processing the decision,
it can be scary. There weredefinitely feelings, Yeah, I mean I
experienced them too as a business owner, and I go through exactly what you
you you talked about. I'm interestedin the rebound. How do you rebound
from a loss of a six figureclient? Well, what's interesting speaking about

(13:16):
mindset and doing things you set yourmind to. After I wallowed in my
stuff, and I always give myselfa wallow period. I think it's okay
to sulk or feel sad for acertain period of time, but I put
a framework on that too. I'mlike, Okay, I'm going to allow
myself a day or two to processthis, and then I'm going to pick
myself up because it's not going togo down like this. This is not

(13:37):
the end of the story. Afterthat, I did set out to replace
that. I was like, we'regonna we're gonna figure it out, we're
gonna find right fit folks, andwe're going to be right back to where
we were in six months. Itonly took three and in six months I
had surpassed it. Yeah, Imean it has to do with the mindset.
And you're so right about the wallowingperiod like I have. I know

(13:58):
that I'm going through something right nowat Denton. And I met with a
consultant yesterday and sure he owns aninsurance agency as well, which is really
nice. It's it's so nice inour industry, and I think you probably
have it in your industry too,where we actually have people that do the
same thing that we do and justlook out for each other. And he's
got he's got a ten million dollaragency, he's got a huge agency,

(14:20):
and he's also got a consulting businessand on the side, and so he
consulted with me and he's doing itactually for free. So I really am
appreciative of him. But with thatcomes accountability. People always ask about mentors
and ask about people helping and thisis kind of just coming out out of
left field for me right now,but it's it's in my mind. And

(14:41):
it's funny because I met with himthree times already, and in my mind,
I'm going, you know, whenis he going to start billing me?
And he said to me, I'mnot going to bill you. He
said, I'm doing this, andbecause there's a friend in the relationship of
course who referred him to me.He said, I'm doing this in the
hopes that, you know, whenwe do get your business to where you
want it to be, that thenyou hire me, right But for now

(15:03):
it's it's really just you and mejust trying to figure things out together.
And now I'm going to the accountabilitypiece. So he said to me,
this was yesterday's meeting, and hesaid, listen, these are the things
that I want you to do.On Monday, New Year's Day, he
said, I want you to dothese these things, and some of them
include phone calls and other other thingsthat I have to do for the business

(15:24):
in order to make sure that we'reset for success in twenty twenty three.
And I went silent on the phoneand He's still talking, and he goes,
are you still with me? AndI said, I'm processing, right
in my mind, I'm processing.I'm going, okay, do I want
to do those things? One?Right? Why don't I want to do
those things too? And how canI do those things? Three? They're

(15:46):
probably very uncomfortable things, weren't Theyvery uncomfortable? Very uncomfortable because there are
things that I shifted from by fromgoing from a salesperson to a business owner.
I shifted away from I mean,some of them are are cold calling,
are reaching out to people like yourself, right, people that I know

(16:07):
that I have relationships with. Sothey're uncomfortable because I shifted from that role
of salesperson to business owner. Butas a business owner, we still have
to do those things that are uncomfortable. And we're talking about leadership and everything,
him and I and he says tome, okay, Michael. It
goes I you know I said themon processing and it goes okay, Michael.
He goes, So here's what's goingto happen. He goes, you

(16:30):
have Monday to do that. Hegoes, and on Tuesday, I want
you to call me at ten am. He goes, And if you didn't
do any of the stuff at thatthat I asked you to do for Monday.
Don't even call me. Wow.I like how he drove the hard
line with you there. You droveit. He said, don't even call
me. So I said, youknow he said, and he said,
that's okay because these are the decisionsthat we have to make. But it's

(16:52):
accountability. And it really made methink. So I'm going back to this
whole rebounding thing that I was askingabout, because I did. I wallowed
in it last night and I waslike, all right, what am I
gonna do here? Like do Ireally want to do this stuff? But
if I want my business to besuccessful, I have to do this stuff.
And if I want help from others. When we think about mentors,

(17:14):
then I have to do this stuff. Mentors are so important, but when
you're working with them, they aregiving of their time and you should follow
through. You're wasting their time.Yeah, yeah, And I think that's
what his point was, like,don't call back if you didn't do this.
I appreciate that. I wonder inyour business. You know, you

(17:37):
are an honor reef for the AthenaAward, and that has to do with
Women in Business, and you werealso on a cover for Women in Business
Hudson Valley magazine, and you havea team of nine women, And I'm
just very interested in that mentor relationshipthat you play, the role that you
play in mentoring these women to besuccessful and to go off on their own.
It's one of the most important rolesI play right now. So for

(18:00):
years, I was the lucky andI still am the lucky recipient of the
knowledge of others, and I wouldask others to show me things they were
doing or if they would teach me. And now when somebody asked me that
same thing, I feel like Ihave a true obligation to them to pay
it forward, to give back becauseI was given so much and I might

(18:22):
not be able to do it rightin the minute it's asked, but I
will take all those inquiries seriously.If a young college didn't reaches out to
me and they're like, I'm consideringa career in PR, can we talk,
the answer is always going to beyes. If somebody's early in their
career and they're like, I wantto be a vice president someday, I'm
going to figure out how to getthem there right I'm going to help them
have the tools and the skills,and I'm going to invest in them because

(18:47):
others did that for me. Soit's the right thing to do. And
it's also the most gratifying part ofwhat I do because the company doesn't run
well, even my company right now, without future leaders. Right, I'm
not going to be here forever.As much as I'd like to be,
I don't think that's reality. SoI need to help these other leaders develop

(19:07):
and grow into their full potential.And that's what makes the company strong.
It's not Filimina, inc. Right, it's all of these individuals with their
own talents and skill sets that arecontinue to learn and grow and develop and
pay it forward to others themselves,and that's how we create a pipeline of
great people. Yeah, what wasthe choice? Why? Why did you
make the choice that is to havea obviously you have a women owned business,

(19:32):
but then have a women only staff. It was not a conscious choice.
I won't say I set out toset to create a company of only
women. It just so happened lotsof great women applied and maybe saw something
in me that they wanted or viceversa. So it was by accident.
We do not discriminate against men.I'm happy to have male members the team.

(19:53):
If anyone's listening and they're like,you know what I fit in with
this team, like put me inbe all for that? What is what
do you find as a strength byhaving an all women team like gender based
strength? Sure? Yeah, Imean you know the reason why I asked
that question one I thought it wasa conscious decision, So I apologize for

(20:15):
the assumption. But the reason whyI do ask the question is because I've
had many women entrepreneurs come on theshow and strong women presence, and they
just talk about that that the discriminationthat happens that we're all very aware of.
While I hope that we're all veryaware of being the only woman in
the boardroom, being the only womanin the tech industry, sometimes being the

(20:36):
only woman in the room, forgetabout the boardroom, but in the room.
And so I just wonder what andI understand and because of those conversations,
we talk about the strength and thatwomen have, but also what the
strength that diversity has and plays intoour industries and into what we do.
And so I just wonder how yousee it as a strength for your business?

(21:00):
Right? Now. Yeah. Soone thing that is nice is that
there is a feeling of camaraderie andfriendship within the people at the agency,
and I think that shows in theway we work with our clients. I
think the clients feel that chemistry.And I think the way my company is
set up, which is with amodel of flexibility, always has been by
the way, since before it wastrendy and cool. There's always an element

(21:22):
of work like that, whole worklife balance and flexibility. It's something I've
always believed in. I believe it'syou can do great work from anywhere.
I've always believed that you can dogreat work while having a family or passions
and interests outside of your job.That doesn't make you a weaker employee.
It makes you a stronger one.And I think that message happens to be

(21:44):
one that appeals to women. Yeah, I think it should appealed everyone.
It should appeal to dads, itshould appeal to men. I think it
does appeal to men for sure.I think we just have a larger role
right now in that space. Andso it's it's kind of like going through
this change that we're experiencing where we'rehaving more women in the workplace, more

(22:08):
women rise in the ranks in thec suites and becoming entrepreneurs. Same thing
with diversity and all cultures and ethnicitiesand sexualities and everything, and that's kind
of shifting now. So you know, I always, you know, bring
it up because you know, justtrying to empower anybody that's listening, that's

(22:29):
on the other end, that's wondering, hey, I'm all alone, that
you're not right. Oh no,no, And um, that's the one
message I hope that if somebody iswatching what I've accomplished, that they get
is that anything is possible. Youdon't have to start off with the right
degree, you don't have to startoff with m kind of having an inn
or an opening, Like you cankind of promote yourself and make your own

(22:53):
reality that whole you can do anythingyou set your mind to you. But
like almost on another level, likeyou can choose where you want to be.
You're not stuck, and you'll dealwith some adversity. And I think,
you know, I have two daughters, and so I think about that.
That's why I asked you to expandon that question of like you can
be whatever you want to be,because we do have those conversations with them,

(23:14):
But what does it really mean?And how do you really go about
getting what you really want? AndI so maybe it has a little dot
dot dot after it that says ifyou put in the hard work even when
nobody's watching. Yeah, maybe that'show I would categorize it. That's one
hundred percent. And that's where Iwas going to go next with was when
you were saying about when nobody waswatching. And for me, people know

(23:38):
me now thankfully they don't know methen. The people who knew me in
my past I still know today.But most of the people who know me
now go, oh, Michael,you're such a positive thinker, you're such
an optimist, and here you aredoing all these things and I'm going,
yeah, but do you know howmuch work went behind the scenes to get
to where I am today? BecauseI wasn't always like this? You know,

(24:00):
I was a mess, forget aboutit. I was, you know,
just we won't go too far intodetail, but I was a mess.
Now. I get you. Ifif you were to sit down nineteen
or twenty year old Filomena and interviewher, you would have been talking to
a very very different person. Yeah, tell me about her okay, So
she went to Duchess Community College,not a fancy school. She had an

(24:22):
associate's degree in early Childhood education.Does not have a degree in PR anything
communications related, and so I setout to do teaching. At first,
I thought I was gonna be aschool teacher. And I remember getting to
the part where you do an internshipand you're teaching as a job, like
you're trying it out out in thefield. And I had straight a's.

(24:45):
Everything was going fine. I obtainedthe degree, but something in my gut
said, this is not it.This something doesn't feel right. Even though
everybody thought it looked good. Thisis a great choice, this is a
sensible career option, you're good atit, you have straight a's. Something
in my heart and in my gutdidn't line up, and I thankfully I

(25:06):
listened to it. I also wentto community college, so yeah, community
to community college. I went toNassau Community College and then got into Marist.
I graduated with a communications degree,but didn't go into communications until recently.
So I think it's really interesting.I think all young people or even
people who are starting a business thatmaybe we're doing something else previously, need
to know that it's okay. Itdoesn't matter, it will be okay.

(25:30):
If you have the passion, thecommitment, and you're willing to learn,
you can figure out another option foryourself. You're not stuck with the label
that you started with, right,right, So yeah, I did eventually
figure that one out. Like it. Something didn't feel right. I tried
sales for a while, I waswaitressing. I was kind of down on
my luck, and someone actually saidto me, Oh, you should go

(25:52):
back to the city. You lovedbeing in this city. But I knew
that My thing I always cared aboutwas communications. But I didn't know how
I was going to get foot inthe door. So what was the reason
for teaching? What inspired you toeven go down that route. I've always
loved young people and had an actfor dealing with them, But it was

(26:12):
my mother. I didn't know whatI wanted to do. This is a
true story. I didn't know whatI wanted to do for college, and
my mom was looking at the brochurefor Duchess and she flipped through and she's
like, teaching, that would bea good career choice. You should do
that. You're good with children.And because I didn't know what I wanted
to do. I said yes tothat and kept moving forward. But I
probably, in hindsight, should haveslowed myself down and thought about what I

(26:37):
really was passionate about and where mystrengths lie, and had a deeper conversation.
So it wasn't actually even me whochose my career. Ultimately, I
went to a headhunter talked about wantingto be in communications, not even knowing
what that meant. This is inNew York City back in the nineteen ninety
four and he looked at me andhe's like, well, tell me about

(26:59):
what your interests and tell me aboutwhat you do when you can do anything
you want. And I started goingdown the list. I'm a voracious reader.
I love to write. I loveto engage with people and find out
their stories and what's going on withthem. By the end of the conversation,
he says, WHOA, I thinkI know what you should do for
a living. And I was incredulouslyturned to him and I was like,

(27:19):
how do you how do you know? He's like, I think you should
be in pr Do you know whatthat is? And I told him the
truth. I said, no,I don't, and he handed me a
news article about the man who ranthe company that I eventually went up working
for, Howard Rubinstein. What wouldyou describe is PR to others who are
listening. I mean, there's atextbook definition of developing mutually beneficial relationships between

(27:45):
a company and their audience intended audience. But it is kind of about the
relationship building. It's not just sendingout press releases or applying for awards or
sending up a media stunt or it'sso much more. It's really about what
is the thing that needs to beunderstood about the business or organization, and
what are the creative ways that wecan earn that trust and develop that relationship

(28:08):
on their behalf. Yeah, becauseI think so many people see PR as
you just PR stunts, right,or PR like what we see on social
media. But I know that inyour agency it goes deeper than that,
and I'm interested if you could expandon a little bit. Yeah, it's
so much deeper. So PR getsoften confused with advertising and marketing. Yeah,

(28:30):
that's where I'm going with that.Constantly confused, and most people don't
understand the difference. They'll call meup and what they really need is advertising,
or they'll call up an advertising agency, and what they're really looking for
is PR. So one of thethings I try to do is sort of
explain how those things work. Andthey work very well alongside one another,
but they are different. PR isgenerally the earned side of a relationship,

(28:56):
the publicity that you pray for butdon't pay for. We jokingly say,
but the best and easiest way todescribe it to you is a little story
that is common in my industry andinvolves two people going out in a date.
So say we're sitting down at dinnerand you turn to me, Michael,
and you tell me how handsome,funny, charming, and eloquent you

(29:17):
are. That's something called advertising.You're telling me what's great about you through
your own eyes. Right, youcould also, at said dinner, turn
to me and tell me how charmingand easy to get along with I am,
and how it's no wonder we're hangingout together because we have so much
in common. That's a little somethingcalled marketing. Okay, you're talking to

(29:40):
the other person, kind of feedinginto their deep desires needs, kind of
affirming that decision with them. Butif I was to get up from the
table we're sitting at to go powdermy nose at the restroom and another woman
stops me and says, you're talkingto Michael Esposito from Denten And it's like,
yeah, yeah, we're having dinnertogether. And she says, oh
my gosh, I go way backwith him. We do volunteer work together.

(30:03):
He's a great community member, likefabulous father, all around good guy.
And isn't he handsome too? Andthen I go back to the table
feeling like, Wow, I'm hangingout with a winner here. That is
what PR does. It's that thirdparty credibility. It's the talking about you
that happens when you're not at thetable with someone, and it's very influential.

(30:26):
I love it. Let's go backto it. No, I like
this conversation. That turned out great. Yeah, and so you do that
in many ways. One of themthat I read about was speaking engagement,
So I'm interested in that as well. Obviously, yes, so no one
of our clients gets the same exactprogram as the other one. There are
many different tactics that one can usein PR, but speaking engagements is one

(30:48):
of them for building credibility and authorityand getting a message out. So there
might be somebody who wants to positionthemselves as a thought leader in a particular
industry, whether it's green energy oraffordable housing, and one of the things
we might do is seek out differentplaces where they can talk about that message
to people who need to receive it, who can ultimately be their clients and

(31:11):
customers, or that would build theirreputation as someone in the know on that
topic. So part of why I'mso interested in that is obviously, you
know, I'm a public speaker,and I teach public speaking and toastmasters,
and you know that's how we kindof also got to know each other through
your husband. Shout out to Mike. But I bring that up too because
and maybe it was my confusion onPR as well, because I always promote

(31:36):
learning public speaking as something that isso important in order for you to market
your business in order to sell more, especially when I'm dealing with salespeople,
in order to get your message outand become a thought leader, and sometimes
it's met with the I guess therejection of well, that's how's that selling
a product? And I really believein it in that it's it's selling because

(32:00):
you're getting letting people know who youare, You're you're positioning yourself, like
I said, as a thought leader, and so people are trusting in you.
But I guess well, great sellingdoesn't begin with selling. Great selling
begins with educating people, sharing informationwith them that they can use, and
letting them know that you're someone theycan go to and trust for more of

(32:20):
the same, right, And that'swhere great selling begins. So that's why
speaking engagements and I'm glad you're outthere preaching that message are so valuable.
Now not everybody chooses to use thatavenue, or maybe they use it in
combination with writing about what they know, or talking on a podcast or radio
show about what they know, oryou know, issuing a tip spaced article

(32:43):
with five things you should know fortax season or whatever the case may be.
There's so many different ways that youcan share a message, and the
best ways or when you share thatmessage in multiple ways at multiple times so
that people can better absorb and understandit. It's repetition. So that's PRN
that I'm actually talking about, andthat's probably why that's probably why there was

(33:04):
a disconnect between me and some ofmy managers then, because they're like,
you're doing pr but we want youto do more sales, so that sales,
Yes, that makes a lot moremars. Like that top of the
funnel awareness that helps you close thedeal faster, hopefully because people are like,
I know you, I trust you, I like you, right,
do business. Yes, you're goingto close a deal faster. Or I

(33:25):
put your name into Google and whileall these amazing things come up, and
I encourage everybody who's listening, like, check out what your reputation footprint is.
What do you see when you putin your company name? What do
you see when you put in yourown name? Do you like it?
Does it tell the whole story?Or their gaps in your story areas of
misunderstanding, Like you help me identifyone of mine today inadvertently, which is

(33:47):
that I've intentionally built an all femaleteam. Like I'm proud of my all
female team, but it's actually notthe core thing to my messaging. So
maybe that's something I need to findtoo. Yeah, I mean, yeah,
it's And it happens because you know, when I first learned about diversity
in the workplace, and in termsof what we're speaking to, of of

(34:08):
course, we I think we canunderstand what I'm saying within the context of
this conversation. There's a podcast Iwas listening to on a company called Gimlet,
which is now a big podcasting company, and the founder what he did
was he actually just recorded himself fromthe very beginning stages, like raw footage,
like raw excuse me, audio oflike literally getting dressed and going out

(34:31):
to a meeting, literally getting dressed. Like that's like the first episode is
actually it's edited, but it's ofhim asking his wife about what shoes he
should wear to this meeting with thisinvestor, like literally, and he goes
through the whole process, and hegoes through the process of finally, now
it's like episodes series season two orthree where he actually has a firm and

(34:52):
one of the issues that arise islack of diversity in the workplace. And
he's introspectively thinking how could this havehappened when you know, I encourage diversity
and I embrace diversity and I wantdiversity. And what he realized when seeking
out more diverse employees and seeking outand he tasked somebody with this, was

(35:14):
that we hire from our circles.Yeah, we have circles, and you
know my LinkedIn and your LinkedIn.We hire from the people that we know
first to be like, we're notjust sending out this broad um net initially,
and people need to see themselves inthe narrative so that they can imagine
themselves there. I think that's verypowerful also when it comes to diversity,

(35:37):
Yeah, is kind of seeing yourselfrepresented. So you know, is it
is it that nobody's mail on ourteam yet and therefore not a lot of
men apply when I post a jobor that's exactly what you're speaking to because
that's exactly what was happening, washe want you want to get to my
team photos, Ye, jump in, But that's exactly what was happening,
was that he said that that there. That's what they uncovered was that because

(36:00):
of that lack of diversity, peoplewere not applying. Yeah, so they
had to actually encourage them to applyso that when they finally did apply,
then more people applied that looked andwere like them, because it's not just
a look, it's also sexuality andall the other things. Yeah, although
we did have a few male applicantson the last round, but the most
qualified person went out and that persondid happen to be female. Yeah,

(36:21):
And there's and we totally get thatthat you got to go with the most
most qualified. But um, Ithink that that's what happens, you know,
it's it's what you what you Andthat's what I learned from that episode
was it's really about it's about ourcircles and it's about who they see.
Like you just said, that's whatthey see and so ye subtle things like
images and words that do really addup to the narrative that you believe.

(36:44):
Yeah, I ended up hiring allfemale team too, by accident, that's
funny. And I had merit cecilKatie, Sheila, Uh, you know
all of these I mean all contractorsthat you know, went from building my
website to coaching me to doing mymarketing, Um, all these different roles.
Robin did my content, you know. And I looked back and I

(37:06):
remember, I think it was theSeal who said that to me one day
in a meeting. She goes,yeah, and you have all these powerful
women around you, and I wasjust like, oh, my goodness,
that's all I have around me.That's hilarious. Well, women, women
do tend to get it done,Michael. And it happened by accident.
It was just through the relationships thatI formed over the years. Yeah,
mine was a happy accident. ButI love the team I have and I
wouldn't trade it. But it's sortof a happy accident, and it's inadvertently

(37:29):
become kind of part of the brandimage at this point, and so I
embrace it. It wasn't something Iintentionally set out to do, but I'm
like, here we are, yeah, and yeah they're they're pretty badass.
I want to go back to thethings that we don't see, because that
I think is is huge for ourentrepreneurs and business leaders who are listening,

(37:50):
is that we see the hard work, right, we see the dedication,
We see the passion in the businessowner or in the salesperson or the C
suite executive. We see that,but speak a little bit more about when
you were twenty years ago at RubinsteinAssociation twenty four actually twenty four now.
I was a twenty one year oldwhen I started there, right, and
so climbing that ladder could not havebeen easy, and especially when we're talking

(38:10):
about diversity, Well, it definitelywasn't because I was a clear underdog and
the job I did get this islike part of the story. The job
I got was the job of administrativeassistant, so the most entry level position
in the company. And when Iwas interviewed by the person in human resources,
she told me in the interview,this job is administrative assistant. It's

(38:34):
not a promotable position. Your jobis two three fs. One of them
doesn't have an F in it filephone facts. Do you get that?
Are you good with that? Andyou're it's not promotable. And I shook
my head and I accepted the position, and then I, in my own
mind, promoted myself, which Iknow sounds insane. I wasn't actually looking

(38:55):
for the promotion or the recognition,but I decided that I would do that
job, do it very well.But I was going to teach myself PR
because I was interested in PR.So I came in early, I stayed
late, I read books, Istudied, I sought out mentors, and
I literally taught myself the job onthe job, and ten months later I
was promoted. To everybody's like extremewonder And really what the magic was behind

(39:22):
that was that people in the officesaw me becoming the person I wanted to
be. Whether someone was going torecognize it or reward it or not,
I was going to do the workbecause I wanted to be that person.
Where does that come from? Thatinner desire to do something like that?
Because what you're speaking to I've readin books right where it's like, you

(39:43):
know, be the person today thatyou want to become tomorrow. Right.
We read that in books, wesee those quotes. But as a twenty
one year old, where did youlearn to think that way too? Well?
I was living on my own,We'll start with that. So it
was very much a make it orbreak it situation. And I had had
a genuine interest, like a desireto learn. And I didn't care if

(40:04):
I never got a promotion. Iwas going to learn while I was there.
So if I needed to come infrom Poughkeepsie and commute to New York
City and arrive at seven thirty inthe morning and be the first one in
the office every day, I didn'tcare if anyone said good job, Philamina.
Like I was there for me.It was like a fire in my
belly that I really did want tolearn. I still take that with me
today. So what most people don'tknow about me is that same quality is

(40:28):
exactly who I am. I showup and I want to learn, I
want to grow and I don't careif anybody claps their hands or hands me
own award. I'm going to readbooks about business. I'm going to talk
to people who are smarter than me. I'm going to make friends with people
who are different than me and askthem questions. I'm gonna I'm going to
seek out to become who I needto be an next to show up as
the best me. I think thatthat's something that's sometimes overlooked. You know,

(40:53):
people will ask you. I'm sureI will ask me, well,
why are you doing that? Andyou know you're not going to get like
you said, the wrecking ission orpaid for it or whatever it is.
I mean, I'm generalizing. Welive in a world where like everybody is
seeking immediate gratification, and that's notalways the case, especially in business.
As you know, Yeah, youdon't wake up automatically with a huge company
and you have to it's it's whatAnd when I talk about a lot,

(41:15):
and it has to do with familytoo, like why are you doing this?
Why are you going out of yourway? You know? And I
go and I my response is alwaysI'm doing it for me. I'm doing
it because it's what I want todo. It's it's what I want and
the outcome of it is what Iwant to see. I want to see
that outcome, and so therefore that'swhy I'm seeing it through. It doesn't
matter whether the policy assigned or thefamily member you know is happy or not,

(41:37):
or whatever. It is, thepoint is that I'm doing it because
that's what I feel is right.And I think when we talk to about
values right because it aligns with ourvalues. I'm taking on businesses as clients
and nonprofits and stuff that I reallybelieve in them. I want to see
them succeeds. So I wake upevery morning excited to help my team and
me do the best for them.And when I watch them succeed or you

(42:01):
know, get a grant that theymight not have, or win an award
recognizing their business accomplishments, like I'mtheir biggest fan. You know. Going
back to that whole conversation we're havingbefore about picking your clients, you know
that plays another role right in pickingthe right client to work with, because

(42:21):
it's if it's not someone who's alignedwith your values, as you said,
like that six figure clients not alignedwith your values, then you don't have
the passion to work with them,and it makes it hard to wake up
and want to go and fight forthem. Right and if, if,
and when we sense that, Ido part ways with them, because that's
the right thing to do. Youshould never be in a relationship or your
heart's not in it, or whereyou feel like you're not going to be
your best self for that person.So if I sense that happening for one

(42:44):
reason or another, or I sensethat what I thought I was getting into
isn't quite the reality of things,I'll have a hard conversation. I'll be
radically candid ye out it, whichis again very important because that's how you're
able to then help them the bestthat you possibly can, because you're not
looking for the recognition. You're lookingto make sure that you're doing the best

(43:04):
job that you possibly can. Ithink there's so much to take take from
that one. I just want everybodyto know that to go from Pickepsie New
York City takes two hours by train. Eay, you know, and we're
not yeah, we're not talking.You still got to get to the train
station both ways, twenty minute walkand delays and all the other things that
I'm sure happened. So obviously allowedof tenacity in that end the weather because

(43:28):
it's also even on a snowy day. Just because you're on a train doesn't
make it any easier. And Idid not take the subway. I always
walked the twenty minutes in each direction. And I was like very proud about
like no rain, no wind.I was like a postal worker for PR.
I was like, I'm doing itthe PR postal worker. I remember
I grew up in Queens and Iremember waiting at the bus stop and I

(43:50):
would see the worst car drive bywith like the bumper falling off hub caps,
rolling down the street, it puttingalong and going. I just can't
wait to have my own car becauseI hate public transportation. I hate it.
Taking the subway and taking the buseswas so exhausting because they're late and
you're out in the ray. Butyou're right when you would just start walking,
it's like, you know what,screw this, I'm walking. Yeah,

(44:13):
it was. It was great.It actually it got my brain going,
like I believe movement helps our brains. I'm a big walker. I
used to be a big runner.I believe that actually helps, especially an
entrepreneurship, like with clearing your head, like keeping in movement, getting fresh
air. It helps you be morecreative, solve problems, and moving for
me as like meditation. Yeah,like a moving meditation. Do jobs is

(44:37):
famous for that for taking long walks. I don't do sitting meditation. I
do moving meditation. Do you tellus a little bit more about that you're
a moving meditation. I've always beena fan of being outside for long periods
of time, whether it's walking orrunning. And I feel like some of
my best inspiration hits me or ifthere's something I'm tossing around in my mind
over and over again, I'll doit on a walk. I also feel

(45:00):
like, even for meeting team members, I sometimes do something called a walkie
talkie where we go on a walkand we talk about something, and it's
the great equalizer. When you're sideby side with someone instead of across a
boardroom table and you're talking, youcan let your guard down, Like I
have two children, like you,I have two daughters, and I feel
like sometimes when you're in a carand you're in motion and they don't have

(45:23):
to look you in the eye andthey can just talk and let it all
out, you can have some ofthe most meaningful conversations and talk about really
tough things. And when you workwith humans, as we do in business,
they're people, they're whole people.They're bringing their whole selves to the
job. I'm a human. I'mbringing my whole self to the job personally
and professionally, and sometimes you justneed to talk. I love that.

(45:49):
I just got like a great parentingtip from you. I'm envisioning myself like
ten years from now, or probablyless now because Denis will be eight in
January. I'm envisioning myself driving becauseI love driving, so I don't mind,
but just being like, hey,let's jump in the car and her
not knowing where are we going.I have no idea, but I just
need to hear from you. Yeah, if you can't get them on the
walk the long car ride, I'lloften do it like going on an adventure

(46:12):
with them. Yeah. I likethat. That's pretty cool. That's a
good parenting tip. I want togo back to the business tip here of
I really like what you said there, the walkie talkie and the great equalizer.
Could you share more about that strategy, because when we're sitting across a
boardroom table and I'm the one inpower in the scenario. It sets a
certain dynamic. It's like you versusme across the table. It's a more

(46:34):
intimidating environment. But when we're eitherhaving a casual coffee and sitting relaxed,
or we're on a walk, youknow, we're just two people out on
a walk. And that's that's tome how business should be done. Two
people talking. What kind of conversationsdo you start? Did you start noticing
as when you started doing that andimplementing it more well. I love letting

(46:54):
people talk about their plans, theirdesires for the future, things that they
feel are in their way, andwhen you stop listening, you lose your
whole company. This is like astrong statement to make, but I have
a reason for it, and it'strending in the news right now. If
you've seen the story about Southwest andall the flight cancelations and the debacle with

(47:15):
their technology crashing and the pr backlashes, people are angry about their holiday flights
being canceled and the system failing them. We're starting to hear from employees at
the company, and we're hearing abouttheir former leader. There was a pilot
who came out and he talked aboutthe old CEO who was like the visionary
for the company, and he wasvery involved in day to day operations,

(47:37):
very in touch with the people,listened when they said they needed tools or
solutions when something wasn't going well,he was engaged with them. What change
is. Later he retired and someoneelse came in, and that person was
focused on the P and L,the number side of the business. But
what he forgot was the people.Those people on the front lines. They

(47:57):
are the heart and soul of thecompany. And when you stop listening to
them and their hopes and dreams andwhat they need to do the job best
things that are going well, andwe should be doing more of things that
we need to kabash because it's notworking. That's when you lose touch with
the company and things spiral out ofcontrol and it can change the whole feeling.
So when I chat with a team, with my team members, I

(48:20):
want to hear from them what's workingand what isn't. When I have a
big strategic decision to make, I'mnot making it without them. It involves
all of us, whether it's duringthe pandemic and are we going to keep
our office space or are we goingto shut it. We're gonna hire.
Should we hire in this spot orin this spot? What's more beneficial to
our team? They often have thebest input that guides my decision making.

(48:43):
I really work for them, it'snot the other way around. I'm working
for them. I thought that wasso powerful, what you said, when
you lose your people, you loseyour company. Yeah, it's There's actually
a podcast that interviewed the former CEOof Southwest and I do remember him speaking
a lot about relationships. I listenedto it probably about two years ago,

(49:05):
so I don't remember it vividly,but when you bring it up right now,
I'm like remembering some of what hehad talked about, and a lot
of it had to do a relationship, which he was masterful at engaging with
employees and listening, which is typicalof like a visionary. I feel like,
right, visionaries typically listen a lotmore and kind of like are more
vocal. But sometimes we can getblinded by our own visions in business,

(49:28):
so and we can get myopic.We can focus on one aspect and get
very near sighted about what we're doingand not have that far away view that
we need. That Sometimes somebody who'snot you can have and it's it's why
Actually, like in working with anexternal PR agency, a lot of companies
do think of ideas they would nothave otherwise, or different solutions to their
problem because sometimes you're just too closeto it. If everyone is, you

(49:52):
know, on your payroll, andthey're telling you what you want to hear,
you're not going to get the rightanswers. So creating an environment of
safety where people can share feedback,even our clients, about what's working and
what isn't makes us stronger. Itsounds like that's kind of like part of
also as you're taking on a newclient, So could you share a little
bit more, maybe a story orsomething that where you do essentially again needs

(50:14):
analysis I guess of a client whereyou can uncover certain things for them that
they may not have even noticed.Yeah, so there's a lot that goes
into it. Before we start workingwith a client, before I even talk
to them about being a client,I send them a document called set the
Stage before we engage. And Ifeel so strongly about this because what it

(50:35):
does is it lays out expectations ofwhat those values are. I'm talking a
little bit about what the expectations arewhat they can expect of us, what
we expect from them, what kindof budget they'd be investing, but also
more importantly, like how we're goingto communicate what it takes to have success
in this relationship. And then theycan either say, you know, this

(50:57):
sounds like me, this sounds likea right fit, or oh, I
don't know if this is exactly whatI'm looking for, and then I can
point them in the right direction.But we begin there, like, so
there's an early conversation about what it'sgoing to look like and feel like to
make sure there's a fit. Andthen from there we always have an immersion
and a kickoff where we're kind ofuncovering what are the business and strategic goals?

(51:19):
Right, Like PR should not happenfor PR's sake. I can make
that happen. I'm good at it, But what I prefer is PR that
ties to real measurable goals. Andso I want to unearth, like,
what is the company looking to accomplishin the next few years, What are
some of these successes you've had,what are some of the setbacks why?
I ask a lot of questions,and what I am looking to do is

(51:40):
uncover those hidden moments or trends inthe business that they may not see for
themselves, right, and figure outhow can we how can we take that
and move it forward? For you, right, to help accomplish this thing.
It's probably very therapeutic for them.It's it's funny when working with people
like yourself or a marketing right.It's as a business owner, you start
learning, like you said, uncoveringthings. That's why I was so interested

(52:01):
in that. You start learning somuch about your business that you didn't even
realize, Like working with this consultantfor me, you know, it's like
there's so many things I didn't evenrealize. I'm going, wow. You
know, even the smartest people needcoaches or they need guidance and counselors around
them. And you know, someof those might be mentors who are unpaid
or like a board of directors,if you will. Some of those are

(52:21):
going to be people that you know, we look we look up to as
leaders and we learn from them,and some of them are going to be
paid consultants. And the second Istarted bringing in those experts around me is
when my business became bigger and betterand more efficient and more fun to run.
Frankly right, because then they starthelping. Oh yeah, you so
you also work with a lot ofnon for profits and charitable organizations and you

(52:44):
do a lot of work in thatspace. I'm interested to hear one about
that passion for working in that space, and then some of the stories of
the companies that you have helped,the charities that you have helped. So
you're making me smile for those whoare listening, I'm smiling right now.
The reason I name my company Impactwas very intentional. It's definitely not Finelle
Communications or finell EPR. And that'sbecause I wanted the people we worked with

(53:07):
in some capacity to make a positiveimpact on the communities or the people they
touch. That was in my heart, and when I looked at different names,
that was the one that felt rightto me. And even before my
business was an official business, someof the organizations I was working with,
I was volunteering for them and doingtheir pr when I didn't have a business,

(53:29):
just because I wanted to. Soit was very natural to me.
And now obviously we have paid clientsin that space and it's a big part
of our practice, but we arevery much drawn to it and it's the
same strategies and tactics that you usefor a for profit organization, but transferred
over into these nonprofits, which,in order to be successful, need to

(53:50):
be run like businesses. How doesthat work today? Before we got on
air, we were just talking aboutthe state of our economy and where we're
at. And so with purse stringsbeing tight and corporations tightening their budgets and
people tightening their budgets, families andall the rest, how do non for
profits and charities succeed or get donationsthat they really need to help their communities.

(54:17):
Well, I will tell you thereally smart ones are using, whether
it's internal or external, professional communicationssupport in order to succeed. Because getting
your message to the right people isgoing to attract donors, attendance at fundraising
events, it's going to attract grantfunding. It's going to shape the reputation

(54:38):
of the organization so people know it'sa trustworthy organization to give to. So,
even with times being tight, wedo feel like not for profits are
increasingly leaning on us. It's moreimperative than ever to differentiate yourself from one
to another and to make sure youstand out. Like think about if you
work in the intellectual and developmental disabilityspace. How many not for profits are

(55:00):
there right here in the Hudson Valleythat do that kind of work? Or
mental health? How many mental healthnot for profits are there? And some
of the most successful ones are investingin public relations as a way to let
people know what their mission is,why, how it's affecting the people they
support, and how to get involved. Would what would your advice be to

(55:20):
the companies or to excuse me,to the non for profits that don't have
a budget for PR. Become selftaught as much as you can read articles
on it, read books on it, listen to podcasts, watch what others
are doing and emulate it. Youcan learn a lot by watching others in
your same space. So research whatyour competitors are. Even not for profits

(55:42):
have competitors. Get out there anddo some of things like talking about your
mission. Learn to become a goodspeaker so that you can move a crowd
to emotion. Yeah, like kindof whatever your strength is, lean into
that. If you're great at socialmedia, lean into your social media.
Yeah. And I think that thatgoes to businesses too, right, there's
so many businesses saying that are inthe same boat that don't have a budget

(56:02):
for PR. I love your storyof the date and understanding marketing and advertising
and PR. And I think,you know, it's kind of like asking
for a referral, you know whento me, that's how I was relating
the story is I think non forprofits could do the same is also asked
for Hey, okay, you donated. Who are your friends and family that

(56:23):
you can tell this to this storyabout, Well, those people can ultimately
become brand ambassadors. And you know, if you have a board of directors,
make sure you're engaging that board.So if you don't have the even
if you do have the resources,always lean on the resources of your board.
Your volunteers like those are your brandchampions. They can be out there

(56:43):
preaching the gospel for you. Yeah, as as I conclude, you have
a quote that you stick by.You have a mantra and a quote.
The mantra is persistence pays two simplewords, but sticking to it and putting
in the work, even if ittakes a while, always gets you to

(57:04):
where you need to go. Sothat's kind of probably in the subconscious of
Philomena is all of that. Andthen your quote is if you don't tell
your story, someone else will.Yeah. I share that one quite a
bit because it's true. Think aboutall the misconceptions that people have, and
it's because you're not out there fillingthe gaps for them. Even today I

(57:29):
cleared up one for your listeners.The more that you're out there sharing your
story, the more you're going toown your own story, fill in gaps,
explain what it is you stand forand why you do what you do,
and what separates you from the personnext to you. And if you
don't do that, your competitor probablyis they might be the one sharing the
story about you. Or should youever hit a bump in the road with

(57:50):
your reputation, if there's no footprintto Lena, no goodwill built up,
no brand equity, you're not goingto have much to stand on. But
when you have that, your customersincline as will quickly come to your defense
and explain who you are and whatyou stand for. So invest in your
reputation. Always share your own story. Yeah, that's that's important in your

(58:10):
company and branding it, but alsojust in your personal relationships. Right,
it's you know, with this guychallenging me about the first it's like,
I'm challenged to reach out to people, but on the other end, I
know I've built strong relationships to whereI can. And you know that's so
important, right, because we goout, we're networking, you're networking all
the time, and when we're networking, I think that that's part of that

(58:35):
foundation building of getting to know theperson and helping them get to know you,
so that when you do need tocall on them, right, that
leg is already built. As yousaid first, ye, it's it's something
you're investing in all along. Youdon't just start it when it's like December
twenty second and you want to dosomething on January one, Like it should
be a constant quest to share yourown story, to help others, to

(58:58):
reach out, to take all ofthe actions, and to be persistent about
doing it all the things that youknow you want to become. That you
set your own mind to taking thosesmall actions every day, every week,
every month, every year, becauseno matter what, even if it's slow,
you're going to continue to move forwardand improve, and it's going to
get you closer to where you wantto be, which might be a destination

(59:20):
you hadn't planned on them. That'sokay, also, yeah, I think
that the other thing I want tojust make sure that we reiterate is your
habits of I love your walkie talkie, I love the walkie talkie, your
walking meditations. But that whole selftaught thing and continuing that, you know,
that's what this podcast is built on, is to help people learn how

(59:45):
people continue educating themselves and reach outto people like yourself to be able to
learn from. And so I lovethat you're continuously doing that and that that's
something that's innate in you. Well, yeah, it is okay to be
the administrative assistant. And parallel,when you're an early business owner, you're
basically the administrative assistant. You arelike at the bottom of it. You

(01:00:07):
are learning it from the ground up. There's a lot you don't know that
is okay. It's going to makeyou a stronger person by learning all of
the menial tasks, by doing allthe little things that nobody sees. That's
going to make you stronger and better. And it's absolutely okay. By the
way, fast forward a few yearslater, I was a vice president at
that company. So like, neverlet anybody tell you that you're only going

(01:00:29):
to be this, or you're nevergoing to be that because it's not true.
Yeah, I mean, originally that'swhere I was going with that story,
but we ended up going sidetracks.I'm happy. I'm happy that you
brought it back to the bring itback. It's so important to say it
like, don't believe in those limits. Yeah, I love that, you
know. I want to make surethis will be in the show notes,
but I want to make sure ifanybody's listening right now and want to be
able to reach out to you,what would be the best way to contact

(01:00:52):
you? So many ways. Youcan connect with me on LinkedIn. I'm
probably the only Filimina Finelli on there, so you have Also, um my
company is on their Impact PR andCommunications. You can also find me and
my company on Facebook, Instagram,um at PR with Impact uh www dot

(01:01:12):
pr with impact dot com. Oryou can give me a ring on my
cell phone at eight four five threezero nine three two seven two No prank
calls please. That's the third P. Oh you three P right, third
F third meant the other F.Your three fs that got Filimina Finelli by
phone right at HR person put inas a three f's. Yeah. I

(01:01:36):
didn't correct her either, because Ididn't want to be sassy. Well yeah,
it's a little tough one. Laughing. Now I'm like, ha ha,
yeah, now you got it.And then of course we got to
give a shout out to to Mikeand your your family. Go ahead,
Okay, Yeah, I would beremiss if I didn't mention my husband,
Michael Finelli, and my daughters,because when I had this little crazy idea
about I have these clients, maybeI need to open a business when I

(01:01:59):
was freelancing, it was my husbandwho said go for it. He's like,
I don't know anything about PR oranything about running a business, but
go for it, and I've gotyou. And he was in my corner
from day one and still is anddid all my daughters, who make sacrifices.
Everything I do involves my family too, and business is absolutely personal.

(01:02:19):
When I go around town and peoplestop me to tell me about their latest
PR crisis, my family's along forthat ride, and they've always had my
back, and I love and appreciatethem. They are truly the motivation that
keeps me going on those days whenit's hard to get out of bed.
I have a family to wake upfor and fight for. I could see
Mike doing that. He's so funny. Yeah, he's so supportive. He's

(01:02:42):
got you. He's like, Idon't know anything about this pr business thing,
but um and he sells fig trees, so you gotta. He's the
fig guy. If you want figs, Mike's your guy. Yeah, he
was. When we were at wedid the walkway well. I did the
walkway fast, then tended the walkawayfast, and then I see fig trees
walking by my tent. I justkeep seeing fig trees, and then of
course I saw you, and You'relike, oh, yeah, Mike's got
the fig trees, Dana. I'mjust like, all these people are walking

(01:03:05):
by with fig trees. It wasso cool. The support goes both ways,
right. I put on my hatlike sit out on the windy walkway
and sold big trees with him today. But like, that's what it's
about, right, You have tobe in it together. It is.
It's so cool. Well, Iwant to thank you so much for coming
on today. It's been such apleasure to have you on the show.
Finally. It's so great to finallybe able to book you as a guest.
It's awesome. Thank you so much. Thanks for giving me an opportunity

(01:03:27):
to share my story, and youkeep telling all the good stories. I'm
gonna keep listening. Thanks, Thankyou for listening to The Michael Esposito Show.
For show notes, video clips,and more episodes, go to Michael
Esposito Inc. Dot com backslash podcast. Thank you again to our sponsor,
dent Ten Insurance Services helping businesses getthe right insurance for all their insurance needs.

(01:03:50):
Visit dent ten dot io to geta quote that's d N t N
dot io and remember when you buyan insurance policy from Denten, you're giving
back on a global scale. Thisepisode was produced by Uncle Mike at the
iHeart Studios in Poughkeepsie. Special thanksto Lara Rodrean for the opportunity and my

(01:04:11):
team at Michaelsposito in