Today we’d like to introduce you to Greta Schmid.
Greta, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Manhattan Beach, CA and was blessed to have incredible parents who helped guide and shape me into the woman I am today. I went to the University of San Diego and studied Communication and Media Studies and then made my way to USC and received a Masters Degree in Strategic Public Relations. While studying to get my Masters, I started interning at a Fashion & Celebrity PR agency in Beverly Hills and completely fell in love with the industry. I knew at the end of my first day at my first fashion PR internship that I wanted to make a career out of fashion and beauty public relations.
From there, I finished my degree and internship and was offered a full-time job at the agency I was interning at. However, I had to turn it down because my fiancé at the time, now husband, was in the military and had to move to Hawaii. I wanted to be close to him, so I also moved to Hawaii and lived there for a couple of years. During that time, I got into fashion personal styling and wardrobe/closet makeovers and also worked at a marketing and advertising agency. I always dreamed of moving back to Los Angeles and diving back into fashion and beauty PR. Once my husband finished his time in the military, we were able to finally move back to LA and I got a job in-house for a fashion designer as the in-house PR Manager. I worked there for several years and then moved back to the agency side of things. But when I went back to the agency side, I had to restart from the bottom and work my way up.
I always knew I wanted to start my own company, it was just a matter of how and when. I’ve been a boss babe mentally since I was a little girl and knew I wanted my own company and wanted to be my own boss. Both of my parents both own their own business and have always taught me that I can do anything I put my mind to, it just takes time, hard work and dedication. I worked my way up to becoming the Media Director at a large agency and then I got pregnant with my son. Instead of worrying about what I was going to do with my career once I had my son, I took advantage of the fact that I could use my time wisely and realized it was the perfect time to branch off and start my own company. I started RAGDOLL PR two years ago and have never looked back and can honestly say, I’ve never been happier.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting a PR agency has definitely had its challenges. Establishing RAGDOLL PR as an actual agency and acquiring my first few clients were a few of the challenges I faced. When you’re just starting out and you get on calls with potential new brands and they ask you who your current clients are, its tough to secure established brands when you don’t have any clients yet. So I had to start very small and slowly prove RAGDOLL PR to be an established company that has a track record of providing results. I spent a lot of time focusing on generating results and making sure the first two clients I had were very happy. If you can get one or two brands to trust you, and you can show impeccable tangible results and knock placements out regularly, then you can use that as leverage and as a stepping stone to acquiring more clients and new brands. As I continued to sign new brands, I was finally able to start growing consistently.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with RAGDOLL PR – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
RAGDOLL PR is a full-service fashion and beauty public relations agency specializing in editorial, media, influencer, celebrity, social media, and event press. We essentially work with fashion and beauty brands, as well as some medical and health experts, and get them placed in various forms of media. We specialize in product placement in media and on social media influencers.
As a company, we are most proud of the trust we build with our clients and the results we generate. Everyone that works with us loves working with us. We provide an in-house PR feel through constant communication and honesty. I would say our honesty and transparency sets us apart from other agencies. I tell my brands how it is upfront, from the get-go. I want them to understand how PR works and truly know what they are signing up for. It’s a two-way street and it takes work on both ends to make placements happen.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I want to continue growing RAGDOLL PR and continue working with incredible brands that I love representing. I’ve always been really passionate about PR and I always felt like that is what set me apart from the rest of the pack. I genuinely just love what I do. I want to expand, grow and become an industry leader and help take brands to the next level through organic PR strategies.
I am not really looking forward to anything in particular, I just look forward to every day. I view every day as a blessing and am genuinely thankful to be exactly where I am right now. I remember years back when I just dreamed of being where I am today. Every day, when I drive to the RAGDOLL PR office, I smile, Starbucks in hand, because I feel like I have accomplished and am accomplishing my dream. RAGDOLL PR is my baby, and I just want to keep growing steadily and continue creating something real, genuine and influential.
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
Fashion and beauty PR continues to undergo transformations and seems to be continuously changing on a daily basis. It seems like every day there are new budget cuts on the media front and there are less and less editors to work with. The shift from print to digital is also prominent and I see this continuing to take over. I foresee a lot more emphasis on online and digital media outlets and much less on print publications. I foresee more and more print books closing.
It’s also now the era of the social media influencer. I foresee this continuing to grow, although not at the same speed and level is has been. It seems as though people and consumers trust individuals now just as much, or more, as they trust established media institutions. However, the influencer market has become overly saturated and is not having the same effect necessarily as it used to. I see the industry continuing to get more and more overcrowded ultimately diminishing the influence that influencers have.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ragdollpr.com
- Phone: 310.999.9933
- Email: [email protected]
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
