It's not every day someone tells you what a fantastic job you're doing for them. Fortunately for me and the rest of the team at Dittoe PR, we hear it more than most people.

Part of me was jaded by corporate America. At 25 years old, I came to expect I would never receive a hardy handshake, pat on the back or even a complimentary email after performing above expectation. Continuously striving for perfection and approval in the eyes of my supervisors grew old and I soon became disenchanted with my role in the company. Not a good sign, right?

I regularly write about how lucky I am to work at Dittoe, how this is my dream job, how Dittoe is truly the best Indianapolis PR firm... What you may not realize is, I mean it.

Today I received the best compliment I have received to-date from a client. After sharing some good news with them I received a one-word email that will have me smiling for the rest of the week: "PHENOMENAL."

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia

Working at Dittoe has changed my life. No, I'm not going to get all sentimental on you but I am serious.  I thought I'd be doomed to a lifetime of working 9-5 at some job I hated. You know the feeling, waking up every morning wanting to call in sick, dragging yourself into the office and then spending your time counting down the seconds until quitting time.

Now I look forward to coming into work each day. I get excited thinking about the emails sitting in my inbox, messages in my voicemail and the ideas I came up with the night before to help bring more coverage to my clients.

Each day is another opportunity to ask, “What can I do now?" and provide the best service to my clients - the kind of service they've come to expect from Dittoe.

What's even more important is I want to work hard for my clients because they get excited when I'm successful and that excitement is what keeps me going. My hard work resulting in a "phenomenal" reaction is plenty reason for me to continue working my tail off here.

Please do me a favor today... when someone around you at work or even at home does something really well or impressive, tell them. It will make their day and encourage them to do it again.

In my experience, marketing, advertising and public relations agencies tend to have lots of turnover.  It's not because people are unhappy or not talented, but because over time clients are lost and there's a constant shifting of positions. 

I had a friend who worked on one account at a big firm in SC -- when the account left her agency, she was let go.  Two months later the firm landed an even bigger account and she had to essentially interview to get her old job back.  Her story always frightened me and I think it had a little bit to do with me starting my career in a corporate environment instead of with an agency.

Now that I'm in agency, I'm experiencing a very different world than she did.  Part of the reason is that we're a PR firm, not the all-encompassing advertising, marketing and PR agency.  However, I think the real reason is because of our clients, team and leadership.

The last time I checked, Dittoe PR ranks as the 5th largest public relations firm in central Indiana.  I think that's fabulous - we're not the biggest but we're definitely competitive in our space.  We have great clients who stick with us for years and we're constantly growing because word is getting around about our clients' successes.

After working here for just over six months, we're already expanding into the office space next door.  This summer we're adding five more desks and all but three will be occupied.  I'm guessing that by Christmas we'll have every desk filled. 

My friend in SC can hardly believe that we're expanding with the intention of not downsizing at a later time.  Deep down inside, I think she might be a little jealous.  It's an exciting time to be working at Dittoe.  We're moving on up -- well, moving next door.

A major component of what we do each day is build relationships.  In fact, you could even argue that the majority of good public relations professionals succeed because of their existing relationships and their ability to build their contact lists into much more than just names, email addresses and phone numbers.

Over time, PR executives begin to know their clients and their media contacts as much more than just CEOs, VPs and columnists.  It's inevitable -- bonds will be formed.

I've come to understand what types of coverage each of my client views as "solid," "dream come true" or "not what we were hoping for."  Each client is different -- as are their people, stories, products and/or services.  While one may be jazzed to be featured in a online review -- the other might prefer a review to run in a specific trade publication.  It's my job to determine what's going to provide my clients with the best amount of coverage AND keep them really happy with the services I provide.

It's almost like a marriage, really.  There are challenges and hurdles to overcome every once in a while -- but usually it's pretty smooth sailing because I want to keep my clients happy and they want to provide me with what I need to do just exactly that.

Yes, some marriages fall apart.  It's inevitable.  Not every company in this world is a perfect fit for Dittoe Public Relations.  Not only do our clients research us to find out why we're so successful and how we can help them -- but we research our potential clients to make sure their goals fit with our abilities. 

So why would a company or individual need a PR firm?  Well... think of it this way:  At my previous job I handled all of the public relations, which meant I cultivated all of the relationships on top of my other duties which included business development and marketing projects.  Here, not only does each account executive cultivate their own relationships for each one of their clients but we share contacts from time to time, producing hundreds, maybe thousands, of solid contacts who recognize the name "Dittoe Public Relations" when we call or email them. 

Remember, it's who you know.  At Dittoe we focus on public relations -- that's it -- not marketing, not advertising... just PR.  It's what we do and we do it well.  We cultivate relationships with members of the press on a daily basis because in the long run, they're the ones who are going to provide the "dream come true" coverage our clients are expecting.

We’re a small company here at Dittoe, but that’s how we want to keep it. With only ten public relations professionals, we’re able to give our clients the personal attention they need, and more importantly, deserve.

I see numerous benefits to keeping a company small for both its employees and for the clients, but what I’d like to touch upon in my blog post today is- Why a small company needs a “personality.”

As a young, hip and dynamic company, Dittoe makes sure that our image portrays the ‘real’ us. Here’s why I think showing a company’s ‘true’ personality is important:

• A company’s personality is what makes it unique and stand out from the competition  
   
• Showing your company’s personality and character helps build loyalty, establish long term relationships with customers and grow brands 
   
• While customers might come to your company based on your product or service offering, what keeps them coming back is an emotional bond 
   
• Bonding helps generate repeat sales and a long term business relationship 
   
• Land big customers.  It’s hard enough for small business to land big name customers. But show a celebrity you’ve got a ‘personality’ too, and they’ll be more apt to give you a shot. 
   
• The personality of your business actually reflects how your organization works and performs the service you are offering.

Our amazing personalities are what have helped Dittoe become the best Indianapolis PR firm- bottom line.

Have you ever sat down at your desk, started working on a new project and suddenly thought, "If I was in college right now, I'd still be in bed asleep?"  Every once in a while it hits me... usually after a conversation with a childhood friend or college classmate.  I'm getting OLD.

It really doesn't seem like that long ago I watched my Dad graduate from business school -- I remember it was after Independence Day because I fell out of a lawn chair in our driveway and scraped my head on the concrete when a firecracker went off nearby.  My lovely scab throbbed the day I watched my Dad receive his MBA.  That was 22 years ago this summer.

I remember learning how to drive a manual transmission in my Dad's convertible.  We spent hours making figure eights in a huge parking lot -- practicing shifting gears, looking out my side mirrors and his foot hitting the "brake" on the passenger side.  That was 10 years ago this summer.

Just yesterday I was in college, going to class, living in my sorority house, going to fraternity parties and playing field hockey every fall.  Seriously, my biggest concern then was an upcoming paper or who my formal date would be.  Wake up call... that was 4 years ago this summer.

Now most of my friends are married or engaged -- some are even starting families, buying houses and looking at minivans.  We've all chosen careers... some of us are doing what we always thought we'd do, others ended up in a completely different arena.  My parents talk about retirement and tell me constantly how important my 401K is instead of telling me to eat my vegetables or clean my room.  Life now is a far cry from what it used to be. 

Looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.  Everything I've experienced, good and bad, has brought me to this point.  I'm the happiest I've ever been in my adult life... it's not fair to compare my life now to kindergarten with Mrs. Frank or my roller rink birthday party.  I'm excited to think about where I'll go next and what will happen.  No doubt, Dittoe will play a big roll in this chapter of my life.

I'm sure years from now I'll think about how easy I had it "back then," when I was in my twenties, married with no children and working at the best Indianapolis PR firm.  No doubt the stress and struggles I am currently enduring are not easy, but years down the road they will seem just as petty as some of my college and high school concerns do to me now.

As nice as it is to reminisce about the good ole days, it's exciting to imagine what life with be like 5 or 10 years from now.  I'll have to try not to blink -- I don't want to miss it.

This weekend I'm heading south to my alma mater, Hanover College, to participate in the Center for Business Preparation Colloquium.  The Center for Business Preparation is like a business school within the liberal arts college.  Students with any major can apply to be in the center and if selected, will gain hands-on business experience.  I wish it was available when I was in school!

My friends will be the first to tell you I'm slightly obsessed with Hanover.  I loved my four years there.  I got married on campus three years after graduation and this past fall was the first time I missed homecoming (but I did attend Coach Perry's last football game later in the season).  I feel incredibly lucky to have gone to such a great school. 

At the last colloquium I attended, a student asked me if I had any advice for him.  Even though I'm not at all wise, I do know what's important: "Write well," I told him.  If you are a poor writer, your job opportunities will be very limited.

With degrees from the Indiana University, Butler University, Notre Dame University and Hanover College, Dittoe PR is certainly comprised of a well-educated group of people.  More importantly, everyone here writes extremely well.  I am amazed at the amount of talent each account executive possesses.  Any company or individual looking for a quality PR firm to do business with will be amazed at the energy, education and talent this group has. 

On Sunday, approximately 45 Hanover students will hear five business problems and be randomly assigned one to discuss and provide a solution for in a presentation to the group.  Faculty and alumni will grade the students on how well they work with their group, the quality of their contribution and their overall participation. 

These students will one day be working in the real world and I hope they all succeed at what they do.  That’s why I’m going back to Hanover on Sunday.  Well, that and I could use a new coffee mug... maybe I can get one that says "alumni" this time.

So this week I'm attending my last board meeting for Indianapolis Chapter of the American Marketing Association.  I thought I would be looking forward to being done with it, but I find myself feeling sad my time with the organization is coming to an end.

I joined the AMA when I was promoted into the marketing department at Autobase, Inc.  After being a member for only three months, I volunteered to be the chapter's secretary and year later I was nominated and accepted as the chapter's vice president of programming.

With no experience or guidance, I set up all of the programming for September 2007 through June 2008.  I attended every luncheon and networking meeting that I could.  I even wrote programming summaries for the luncheon invitations and chapter website.  The AMA has been a big part of my life over the past two years.

I am fortunate to have held such an important position in our local chapter at such a young age.  Not only am I friends with fellow board members but I'm on a first name basis with local CEOs and entrepreneurs.  I'm also more familiar with local marketing and PR firms, as well as local companies.  I feel like I'm truly a part of Indy, that I actually know people here (which is an awesome feeling when you're from out-of-state).

But it's time to move on.  I keep trying to think of moving on as "growing up."  I grew a lot professionally and personally with the AMA and now it's time to grow even more.  Who knows what my next endeavor or adventure will be.  I'm determined to make 2008 my best year yet, so anything is possble!!!