Women Thriving in Business

Episode 301: Why Public Relations Matters in Business | Gigi Peterkin

July 14, 2021 Nikki Rogers Season 3 Episode 1
Women Thriving in Business
Episode 301: Why Public Relations Matters in Business | Gigi Peterkin
Show Notes Transcript

An effective marketing strategy is essential to staying competitive in the marketplace. In addition to focusing on sales and exposure, it’s important to build trust between your brand and your customers. This is where public relations (PR) comes into play.

However, most people have a vague understanding of what public relations are and what it involves, as well as what benefits it provides to your business. 

But how does it work? In business, PR is a tool that helps promote the brand’s credibility and builds relationships between companies and customers. 

If you are curious about PR and how it can help grow your business, this episode is definitely for you. For this first episode of Season 3, my guest is Gigi Peterkin, the owner and founder of Amplify PR, a public relations firm that supports traditionally underrepresented entrepreneurs sharing their stories and finding opportunities through strategic media exposure. 

Join us as we talk about how public relations, marketing, sales differ and complement each other, and why PR is so important to thriving in business. Gigi also shares her journey from corporate PR to business coaching to entrepreneurship on her own terms.

Thriving Points:

  • My focus is representing these leaders who were really making huge contributions and a huge impact with their businesses and not being represented in the media and not having their stories told.
  • When you get more specific, you actually can be more effective.
  • Marketing to me is the conversation, sales is the invitation, and PR is the reputation.
  • It's all about networking and connections to help our clients really elevate and amplify their message and then manage their reputation.
  • The ROI with PR is not (directly) tied to sales, it's tied to the reputation that will eventually dot the line back to sales.

Get to Know the Guest:

Gigi Peterkin is the owner of  AMPLIFY PR, a full-service boutique PR firm based in Philadelphia, PA that represents women entrepreneurs with stories of impact not being told in the media. She has built the business for 25+ years and counting, generating PR placements, building brand credibility, increasing trust, and helping entrepreneurs put more money in their pockets.

Gigi has worked in PR since her first job out of college, and since then she has been hooked. She’s an ambivert/excitement junkie who can spot trends and connect the right people at the right time. With these skills, she leaped up the ladder to VP of her own group at a prestigious PR firm by the time she was 40. From crafting stories, creating strategies, and generating PR opportunities, these are the intersection of her life’s work and her innate gifts & superpowers.

Connect with Gigi:

A Team Dklutr Production

Nikki Rogers: Your business is an asset that can support a thriving life. I believe this, and I'm committed to making this a reality for every entrepreneur and business owner who listens to this podcast. The Women Thriving in Business Podcast was created with you in mind, whether you were thinking about entrepreneurship or you're a business veteran, this podcast has inspiration, information, and advice you can use to thrive in business.

Women Thriving in Business features candid, unscripted conversations with entrepreneurs, business experts, authors, and academics who will contribute to your business success. I seek out and talk with business leaders who have built, grown, and thrive in business. My name is Nikki Rogers, transformation coach, author, and the host of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast. I work with women entrepreneurs to develop the mindset, strategies, and connections necessary to thrive in business. Join me and your fellow Thrivers each week on this journey of discovery and success.

Welcome Thrivers to a new season of Women Thriving in Business Podcast.  We are in Season 3 and I'm so excited to bring to you my guests for this season.  We have a lot of great folks lined up and you are going to be amazed at the talent, the insight, and the greatness that you're going to get from this season's guests. 

To get the season started off right, today, my guest is Gigi Peterkin of Amplify PR. She's one of my fellow relentless coaching members, and I'm delighted to have her here as the first guest of Season 3. Today, Gigi and I talked about the difference between public relations, marketing, and sales, and why PR is so important to thriving in business. 

Gigi is passionate about helping women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of color, and LGBTQIA entrepreneurs whose stories are typically underrepresented in the media, get their voices out, share their stories and reap the benefits and opportunities that come from successful media placement. 

Have your notebooks ready as Gigi shares with us how she got started in business, why is she so passionate about what she does, and what are some of the first steps that you can take toward getting some great PR for your business? Let's go! 

Welcome Thrivers to this week's episode of the Women Thriving in Business Podcast. My guest today is Gigi Peterkin, who is the CEO and founder of Amplify PR. So welcome, Gigi. 

Gigi Peterkin: Thank you so much, Nikki, and thank you for having me. I'm so excited to talk to you today. 

Nikki Rogers: Yes, so let's get right into it. So Gigi, tell us about your business and then also tell us what inspired you to start your entrepreneurial journey.

Gigi Peterkin: Oh, I love that. I love that story. So the business, Amplify PR, exists to represent women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs and founders from communities that are traditionally underrepresented in the media.  What this means in numbers is that women especially are 84% less likely to be quoted as an expert in the press than their male counterparts, and you can bump those numbers up if you are a woman of color.  Also 75% less likely to get VC funding, so what this means for startup companies and women entrepreneurs who are starting up is that they don't have the money to compete in terms of advertising and paid media, so they really need these PR hits to help them compete with their male counterparts and other counterparts.  

When I saw those numbers, I knew that if I was going to get back in the PR game after some time out, I was going to do it with a focus on representing these leaders who were really making huge contributions and huge impacts on their businesses, and not being represented in the media and not having their stories told, and that's what we do. We get their stories out and let them be their voice for everything they're doing that is kicking ass in the business world, as well as their community, so that's Amplified PR.

Nikki Rogers: Great, and so I heard you say that you got back into the PR business after being out for a while. So,  tell us a little bit about the twists and turns that your entrepreneurial journey has taken.

Gigi Peterkin: Yes really, and I brought that up because it was getting out of PR that led me into my entrepreneurial journey. I had what I thought was my dream job. I'd been headhunted until the world's largest firm up in Manhattan. I felt like I'd finally made it. I was even willing to have a four-hour commute with two small kids at home as a single mom, and I was going to make it all work. I was going to have the dream.

I've really, really burnt out, not only on the work, which was exhilarating, but on the types of clients we were representing and the types of work we've been doing, and not feeling that it was feeding my soul. When I left that,  I left PR as well, and I started doing my own business consulting.  I was able to work from the kitchen table, be there when the kids were coming home. I had enough contacts that I could give lots of different communication consulting advice to people. 

And that worked for a long while.   I did a little small stint going back into nonprofit, trying to continue to feed my soul. And then I said, that's it, I'm just doing a coaching business. I did that for a number of years until my coach and several of my clients were asking me to do PR work for them. 

This was just about a year ago. it was through that journey that led me not only solidified me in my entrepreneurial journey but led me back into PR and really into the solid footing with this company because I feel like I have so much more to give and so many more ways to serve with a PR firm than quite honestly being another coach out there in the landscape.  It was very twisty and turns, and it had a lot of ups and downs,  and a lot of things to balance with kids and getting them into their teenage years and keeping them on track. But I wouldn't trade any of it. 

Nikki Rogers: I love that.  You found a way to leverage your talents and your passion and marry them into one, a needed business but also one that is lucrative. I think there's definitely a market need that leads to business success, so I love that.

You were just starting to talk a little bit about some of the challenges that you face, so can you tell us a bit more about some of the challenges that you have faced as you have started your own company? 

Gigi Peterkin: Wow. That's a question you don't often get asked, and I really appreciate you asking it because it was from those challenges that every success I've had was born. I think my first challenge was really deciding where to land, especially as we are learning more about people who have these multiple skill sets and are omnipotent and having to wear so many different hats and communications in PR. My first challenge was really, what did I want to do, and what did I want my business to be? 

And that's how I fell under that umbrella of consulting. It's nice and big and broad, and I could go in and do some strategy work and all of those things. I think if I had really had a passion for being a business strategist, I would have stayed in that space. But again, it was this thing that I knew that I knew could make me money, but because it was so fuzzy and amorphous didn't make me the money that I thought it would be. 

So I think my biggest challenge was thinking I'd come up with this aha thing that everybody needs because there are all these strategy consultants out there, but not being able to tell a cohesive story to connect with a real core audience to be able to identify my audience.

It was all just very squishy for a long time. So the biggest thing I had to learn was really to get really specific on what I do and who I serve, and that the more specific I got with that messaging,  the more people I called in. There's such a fear that if we get too specific, we're going to be calling in less and it was no. Not only was I calling in more people, but I was also calling in the right people and it was just clicking really quickly. 

Nikki Rogers: I love that because I think we want to be all things to all people, and what you're saying really speaks to that idea of just because you can do something doesn't mean you should be doing it.  That when you get more specific, you actually can be more effective. 

Gigi Peterkin: Yes, the service that you're delivering is so much more valuable because you're delivering what people need to the exact people who need it. You've come up with an offering that's exactly what people need, and it just is so much more fulfilling.  I love getting up and doing what I do every day versus how many meetings do I have and did I do this thing? When you're working for yourself and it feels like drudgery, something is wrong. So really learning to listen to that and to surround me with the right people to help me figure it out, those were just two huge keys and ahas. 

Nikki Rogers: What were some of the steps you took as you were going through this process? And really, part of the discipline. Like, no, I'm going to stick to this one thing. 

What were some of the steps you took in order to really figure out what you wanted to do and what you ultimately wanted to offer to the world?

Gigi Peterkin: Step one for me is always screaming into the void, so I really let myself be scared for a minute and really realize that it's time. It's time. As Tiffany Largie, our mutual friend would say to do the damn thing. I knew I had to figure it out.

Once I got that moment of inspiration  From a coach I was working with who just asked me, do you really hate PR? And that one question led me on that path. But the first thing I did once I got those things together as I went to people I had worked with before who I really trusted, especially in the PR space. I had written down the outline of a business plan of who I would serve, some research that I'd done, and invited them to be on an advisory board with me for about a month.

It was very clear what I could offer them in terms of payment for that, which wasn't much. I also made a donation in their name to their favorite charity, and really just would outline for them over that 30 days time, what I was thinking, taking their feedback,  let them ask me questions because they were outside the bubble. 

And I have a mentor who used to say, you can't see the jar from inside of it. In our own entrepreneurial journey, we're always inside the jar so we can never see what's going on around us. That to me was huge because it helped to validate so many of the things I was thinking.

They saw things that I never would have seen on my own in terms of asking questions and finding some gaps in some questions that I had to answer. Once it felt solid, and I felt like I had done enough research into the market, validated what I knew in my gut that I'm not hearing from women. I'm not hearing from the LGBTQ CEOs about anything other than their sexual orientation.

Why do I need to know who they're sleeping with?  I want to know what they're doing in the world.  So once I was able to validate that, and even find research from journalists that yes, we have a roster of white men, and we keep going to them because it takes us 15 minutes longer to find another expert because we don't keep this roster.

I was able to really say, okay, not only is this thing that I want to do, it's really needed and then come up with a plan for how I would deliver it. Like you hear from so many people, then I just went and did it. I put a website up, and I let a bunch of people know what I was doing, and I just started getting clients and I launched during the pandemic last year.

And I didn't question any of it because it all just felt really right and aligned. I just started getting clients from word of mouth and kept going from there. So it's been very cool. 

Nikki Rogers: I think that's great.  I think one of the questions that come up a lot is the distinction between marketing and PR. So can you talk to us about the differences between those two?

Gigi Peterkin: Sure, and I'll even throw sales in because some people when they ultimately confuse marketing and sales then they don't know how PR can bring money into their business.  Marketing to me is the conversation.  Sales are the invitation, and PR is the reputation. They all sit side by side.  I believe you need all three of them for your business to thrive.  

So marketing is the conversation about what you do, who you are, telling all the people in all of the places that you need to be,  and letting them know. Sales is, of course, the invitation to come and buy. It's the offer.  PR is the reputation,  and that's the thing that you need to build and guard. We do that primarily through earned media. PR is also known as earned media, versus media that you pay for which is advertising.  Not to say that people don't pay for PR placements. People pay plenty from PR placements and a lot of money. And now PR has taken on a whole different meaning with social media, bloggers, but it's really sharing your story with somebody else and having somebody else tell your story and tell other people about the things that you're doing. 

The boost that gives your credibility and your business's credibility quite frankly, is something that you can't buy. So when you are an expert, and you have put your thought leadership out there and your expertise out there, and then you come in and work with a firm like mine, we'd start with competitive analysis. Then we go into messaging and it's only after we can do those two things,  then we're ready to pitch you to the media.

That for me is the other component of PR. People tend to think that PR is all media all the time, but often, it's the reason that we signed six months and longer contracts with our clients because we really need to know upfront what's going on, and what their competitive landscape looks like, who else is out there with their messaging? What's the differentiator for the client?  What type of media conversation is happening?  

For us, we love that kind of research because it helps us understand where our client's story can really, really shine.  What language do we need to speak for it to resonate with the media? And it's fascinating.

I have a client that does a lot of work in AI, and if I were to go out and talk about their service that they have that talks about how many people are in a building at one time, which is still important for COVID. If I go use the term occupancy management,  I get absolutely no response from the media. If I use the term capacity manager, which is what they're all talking about. Our responses go from zero to 10 times. We get at least half of what we send out, we get back.  

There's a little bit of geeking out in PR when it comes to the research and really refining that messaging, and then it's just all about networking and connections to help our clients really elevate and amplify their message and then manage their reputation once everybody knows who they are. That's the other side of the coin. 

Nikki Rogers: I love this idea of the juxtaposition of marketing sales and PR, this conversation, invitation, and reputation. If we were to put that and dollars and cents, because when we first started our discussion, you talked about women, people of color, and the LGBTQIA community not being represented in the media. So what does that mean in terms of almost dollars and cents? For every appearance in the media, does that translate into X dollars of sales at some point? What is being missed out on because these voices are not a part of the media landscape? 

Gigi Peterkin: It always goes back to opportunities.  I would love to be able to translate it into hard dollars, and really quite the answer is it depends because when you have an appearance, first of all, there's going to be the difference between, are you appearing in an online or print magazine through an interview or are you having a broadcast appearance? And now broadcast is online too, as much as on TV and on YouTube. You tend to get more legs from the print appearance, but you get a bigger bang upfront from that broadcast appearance.

So it's about trying to solve for that. Is it regional or is it national? And the thing that's really going to translate it into dollars and cents is going to be in your preparation for all of these appearances, because are you making an ask? Or are you just going up there and telling your story?  And it's something that we really want to prepare our clients for is that yes, you want to go tell your story but you also want to do some sales and make that invitation. Do you want to open the door for people who are seeing that you have an offer right now? How can they get a hold of you?  Where should they go to see more of your things? And then once they're there, what do you have that sticks to help them come into your funnel?

Because the conversion is only going to be as good as, is there an opportunity for them to sign up for your email list? Is there a giveaway that they're going to get? We often will create promotions or contests or something around a media appearance so that when we send people out, they can have something like that that not only attracts an audience,  but that keeps them there because maybe there's a giveaway. Maybe there's a contest. Maybe there's the ability to appear on this person's show if they're out there promoting a show that they have and they're looking for guests.

It all comes down to how you use that appearance and how you architect your message, and then afterward how you capture them. And then finally, making sure that you either get that recording if it is a broadcast appearance and then taking that out and leveraging it on your own channels. So there's that initial bump, but then there's also the: Oh my gosh I'm so excited. Did you see me? There's having your network of 20 trusted people to share that out along with that invitation. It's a very layered approach. 

Nikki Rogers: When we think about, as entrepreneurs, we're just starting out and maybe we're not yet at the stage of hiring a PR person, but how do you help or what are some tips that you would suggest for entrepreneurs and thinking about where they appear as well as how to best leverage opportunities?

You hear about a lot of, oh this is for exposure. I guess one is figuring out where to appear and where to be, and then two, balancing exposure versus this is something I actually should be getting paid for because I'm sharing my expertise.

Gigi Peterkin: Yes, and especially on the stage. The stages and the South by Southwest, and those big names things that never want to pay. I think that if you're going to get exposure, my first go-to is, yes, get on stage. But balance that out with being on other people's shows as much as possible. And quite honestly, letting them do the work and the editing and the producing of it.  

So I would say for strict PR exposure, probably switch what you would think of from marketing exposure, so from marketing exposure, I think we either want to get on our own stages or get on stages as much as possible.

That's where we really need to balance. When should I be getting paid versus how much am I taking this as an opportunity? For the earned media from PR, which tends to be smaller segments so you don't have the opportunity to really go, architect, an entire talk like you might from the stage. Smaller segments but bigger audiences, I would say if you're starting out, get on as many shows as long as the host of the show is aligned with your values, then I would say, do the show. Do the podcast. Answer the interview questions as long as they're moving through the world in a way that not only are they broadcasting to the audience that you want to connect with, but they're in alignment with your values and your ethics because there's nothing worse than some people really wanting to go on Joe Rogan.  Some people say I'm not a fan. I don't care how many people he has and there's plenty of other shows out there. We tend to counsel from the heart on that rather than from the numbers. 

Nikki Rogers: One of the things, Gigi, that you mentioned doing the PR workshop that you held last month was about the concept of PR being when other people talk about you.  So just when you were explaining that I thought about the idea of borrowing someone else's stage, borrowing someone else's audience as being a key part of PR.  Can you recap what you said? I know you said that marketing is really talking about yourself, but PR is when other people are talking about you. So can you just talk about that a bit? 

Gigi Peterkin: Sure. It's the difference between being invited on a show like this, where there's a host, and they're willing to say, I think my audience really should know about you coming here and let's have this conversation versus stepping out on a stage, either an event that you create.  They're all very valuable, and they just all feel different niches. That's why even the voiceover blurs when you have those little segments on the news and somebody else says, Ben and Jerry's has just donated X amount of their proceeds for blah, blah, blah, blah.

You never hear from the founders, but they went out and did something that's aligned with their brand that gives back to not only the people they serve but the community at large. And they're getting hosts of how many talks shows to talk about them and to share this information for free, probably based on a press release, because they're Ben and Jerry's.

They're not going on stage and saying, and we also did this. They build up their brand enough that it's enough to just go and do an act of service to remind everybody, and then they usually have an ice cream that goes with it. 

So they're making the invitation,  supporting your community, and getting our really cool ice cream, and everybody else is the one talking about it. They're really other than putting a press release out, not lifting a finger. So I'm glad you mentioned the intensive because, for the people who can't hire, there are definitely ways to do it.

We do a PR intensive about every other month, which is really an afternoon where you can come in and break it down, and learn how to do your messaging,  how to pitch,  how to architect. I have also added something that's new that we're just sharing at large, which is how to prepare yourself for that media conversation because people tend to think I'm a great speaker. I can get up on stage and have this conversation, but again, have you thought about your delivery? Have you thought about where is my asset going to work in that it's natural? How am I going to get this across? Where am I going to send people? 

And then also, if I get a tough question, how do I handle that? If I happen to be in technology and maybe my firm hasn't done something, but by association,  a bunch of other AI companies has done something shady and now I'm the spokesperson for all of AI.

How am I going to handle that? How am I going to redirect them back to the message I want them to tell? It's a lot of nuances, and while the investment is scary, firms like mine exist that have solopreneur packages so that we can work with people who are starting out, who we really believe in,  who is going to make a change, not only in their community but to the people that they serve. And they've got a story to tell because they've already had an impact. 

Nikki Rogers: You bring up a really great point around that preparation for media versus people may be posting on social media. They may be recording videos, but that really being prepared for a media event, media interview, I think that's a different set of skills.

And you just mentioned something that you're not really just only representing yourself and your company that you may now be representing an industry, because you just happened to be the person that they asked to come on. You're just bringing up really great points that it's a different paradigm, it's a different world when you actually seek out media attention or garner media attention. 

Gigi Peterkin: Yes. I like the word paradigm. It's a completely different shift because, on the one hand, you have somebody else helping you tell your story which is great. On the other hand, you're answering somebody else's questions, and reporters are worth their salt. If you have a PR firm or you say, hey, can I get my questions in advance? They're going to laugh at you. They're going to cancel the interview, or they're going to know that maybe there's a soft spot. You don't know what you're doing because it's really not protocol for them to share their questions in advance.

They're going to come up with other questions on the fly. So you're answering somebody else's questions, you don't know what they're going to ask you. You can go in with the intention to tell one story, but all it takes is one little news blip and suddenly you could be getting a question. That's not to say that all the media is sort of out to get you, they're out to tell the story.

They have an angle. They have a lens, and they're out to tell that story and to get the information that fits their narrative. Your challenge is to tell your story and your narrative and make sure that it is as authentic and true to you as it can be. And to not give the opportunity to be misconstrued or misunderstood, or even misquoted or partially quoted in a way that's not going to be in alignment with what you really wanted to say.

Nikki Rogers: Yes. I've recognized that even in doing this podcast. After I do the interviews, I have to edit.  Sometimes it's time for clarity, and I'm just recognizing how you could take a quote from here. As you said, you're shaping the narrative and the person who is conducting the interview or owns the media channel gets to shape that narrative. 

Again, being prepared for engaging with the media, I think it's super important. 

Gigi Peterkin: Yes, it really is especially when we're doing these quick social media videos, we're so used to talking in soundbites. And when you talk in sound bites, sound bites can really be mashed up. That's why you really want to go and speak inside of a narrative that needs to be contained and represented in that container as much as you possibly can.

Nikki Rogers: It's a lot to think about. Gigi, as you think about what you've accomplished over the time you've been in business, which accomplishment are you most proud of?

Gigi Peterkin: There've been some really cool media placements that we've gotten, and I think it would be the first place my brain would go. But The accomplishment that I'm most proud of is that my business exists as it does today and that more founders are finding out about us and that we're able to either represent them or counsel them and give them the strategic advice that they need to get their story out there.

And That even outside of the entrepreneurs and founders that we work with, that we are building relationships with media who are saying, wow, I need to expand my expert lists and that we're building relationships with other marketing firms. And that other PR firms are also taking a look at how they're doing what they do and who they represent and how to make things more equitable. I'm happy to be a part of that and still have a voice. 

Nikki Rogers: Great. Now the next question is a two-parter. One is, for those who are just starting out in business, what are some of the business tips that you would offer to them? And then the second part of that question is, as small business owners looking to engage in PR, what are some of the tips that you would give them?

Gigi Peterkin: Those are two great questions. So business I would say, plan more than you think you need to, and that's everything from content. Know who you are, know why you're doing and what you're doing, and be able to articulate that really clearly, regardless of whatever business you're in. I think we think: oh, I need funding and oh I need an office. You need to know what you're doing, why you're doing and who you're doing it for. And you need to be able to super clearly articulate that in every space that you are in, to all the different stakeholders who matter to you.   

I think people might think that that's soft or squishy, and that business needs to be all about the numbers. And for me, it needs to start with the story and you need to be able to tell it really clearly. And then you need to know how much you need to make each month to make this beyond a hobby? To take this beyond a hobby,  what are your clear revenue goals? Who are your clear targets for selling to, and how are you going to reach them? 

That to me is the basis for that. For small businesses looking for PR, it's a really great question. First, really know why you want it because the ROI with PR is not tied to sales, it's tied to a reputation that will eventually point back to sales.

But if you're having sales and a number of crises, not the time to seek out PR. If you've been around for a while, you have a solid story that you want to tell, you have a product launch, you have an event that you think is really newsworthy. PR can be driven by a moment in time, or it can be driven by all of your moments in time, and it's time to tell your story.

I would say, do the research. For me, if you meet with a firm that says that they're going to guarantee you placement, and they're not going to charge you for it. I would say run and I in turn have not hired clients because they have wanted me to guarantee without forking over the $10,000 that it takes to guarantee that I'm going to get them on the cover of Time magazine which would cost more than $10,000.  

Also to understand that while the media placement is going to be the end goal, there is more to it. So to know that it's a long game, that we have to earn it if you are in the market for some paid placements that you know that you're going to need to come together with a budget for it, I would say if you're a small business out there and you're lucky enough to get some media coverage and you don't know where to turn,  you can go to winthemedia.com, and come and download our media training book.

We've taken our guidebook that we prepare for our clients. We've just put it out there online so that people can win when they have these conversations, and it's at least a place to start.

Nikki Rogers: I love that. I love that.  These are great tips, and just to reiterate for businesses in general, plan more than you think and watch your money. 

So I think that's a key one. Know your revenue goals and actually track those. I think that's one of the challenges that a lot of small businesses have. They don't want to turn toward the finances, but you'd definitely have to.  But I love that tip about PR, know why you want it. 

Gigi Peterkin: Yes, be really clear. 

Nikki Rogers: I think that is key, and really thinking from a long-term perspective. As you said, it's your reputation so it's about the long game overall.  

So two questions that I like to ask folks who come on the podcast, one is, what songs are on your power playlist? 

Gigi Peterkin: I'm so lame. I don't know that I have a power playlist because I listen to podcasts all day. I don't even listen to music anymore. What songs would be on my power playlist?

Nikki Rogers: You can pick one or two. 

Gigi Peterkin: So my kids heavily influenced me, and actually, what I need to really pick me up, my power pop playlist kicks off with BTS's Dynamite. Always kicks off with BTS's Dynamite. And then I moved pretty heavily into David Bowie's Under Pressure with Queen to round that out and then Lord knows where it's going to go because I often put it on shuffle and I have everybody from Nina Simone and Billie Holiday in that shuffle to Jay-Z and Lauryn Hill,  then The Rolling Stones. 

So yes, but you've made me think. My top two usually go from BTS Dynamite and the Under Pressure because that's usually where I'm at when I'm hitting that button.

Nikki Rogers: Love it, love it, love it, love it. And what is one book that you would recommend or that has really changed your approach to your business? 

Gigi Peterkin: The most recent book that I've read, The Atomic Habits has really changed how I've been approaching it. I know it's top of mine because it is the most recent book that I read.

Probably, 15 years ago it was Know Your Strengths, which was something that just made me step into that. But yes, Atomic Habits has been very, very cool. 

Nikki Rogers: I am currently listening to that on audiobook, so I'd love to compare notes once we're all done reading. I feel like that's the collective book that we're reading in our coaching group. So I think there's a book club coming soon after this.  

Gigi, it has been great chatting with you today. If folks want to learn more about you or reach out to you, how can they connect? 

Gigi Peterkin: They can connect with me. You can always send me an email at gigipeterkin.com. You can find me on Instagram. If we're in a clubhouse room together, please say, hi. And those are the three top places that I spend my time because of a clubhouse, my Instagram DMs are where I tend to get a lot of cold outreach these days that I welcome. I love it when people pop up in my inbox, especially if it's, I heard you, I saw you. I'm curious about blah, blah, blah. 

Nikki Rogers: Great, and we'll add all that information into the show notes. And you also mentioned a website where your guide is posted. Could you share that website address again? 

Gigi Peterkin: Sure. If anybody goes to winthemedia.com and then they will get a link to download the guide, as well as the ability to sign up for additional media tips. There are seven steps in the guide, and then we're also doing a breakdown of those because it can feel a little overwhelming, it's really not. It's just a matter of taking one step at a time like anything. 

And that's all in winthemedia.com because we want you to win.  We want you to go out there and to win, and to win hearts and minds. And ultimately, wallops of those you serve. 

Nikki Rogers: I love it. So Gigi, thank you so much for being on the podcast. 

Gigi Peterkin: Nikki, thank you so much. It was great to talk to you and to see you do your magic and how all this comes together. So thank you for the opportunity. I really enjoyed it. 

Nikki Rogers: Thanks. Take care.

Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Women Thriving in Business Podcasts. If you like this episode, share it with a friend. You can also join us on social media to share your feedback and comments. We'd love to hear from you. Be sure to like, review and subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode. Until next week, keep thriving.