Saturday marked the 35th American Business Women’s Day. Founded by the American Business Women’s Association, the annual day, formally established in 1983 under President Ronald Reagan, honors the countless contributions and accomplishments of the millions of women in the workforce.
One such woman is Teak’s Founder and President Jackie Herskovitz Russell. I recently sat down with Jackie to learn more about her experiences working as a woman and starting her own public relations firm when she was 30.
AE: What was your first job? How old were you when you started working?
JHR: I was 16 and a cashier at Burger King. I was fired after six weeks because I would give people their food and not collect the money. Customers must have loved me. The management didn’t. Now I think it’s ironic that I went into nonprofit public relations. Collecting the money is still not as important to me as doing the work.
AE: Did you always want to become a publicist? How did you come into the field?
JHR: I never wanted to go into public relations. I was a newspaper reporter who thought publicists were not that smart. I was urged to do PR by the publisher of a small book publishing company where I was a copy editor. Because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or not do, I made up the process myself and obtained great results from the start. I used what I knew about being a journalist to encourage other journalists to write or produce media stories about the books and authors I was promoting. Talking to a reporter as a reporter worked. I knew what they needed to create a great story and I gave it to them. At Teak, we still do the same thing 21 years later.
AE: What was it like starting your own public relations firm? You were so young! Did you have help? Were you scared?
JHR: Honestly, I was too ignorant to be scared. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and so there was nothing to be afraid of. Also, I had nothing, so I had nothing to lose. They say starting a business is like getting married or having children. If you knew what it really entailed, you might never do it. Really, it was easy to go out there and do something I was good at. Figuring out how to run a business and manage people took years. In fact, I’m still learning.
AE: When you founded Teak, the PR industry and many of Teak’s client industries were predominately male driven. Was this hard for you? Did you feel you had to prove yourself because you are a woman?
JHR: Not really. I was good at what I did and it didn’t occur to me that being female was a deficit. In fact, in many ways it was an asset. I had a few “me too” moments, but who hasn’t? I’m glad that will hopefully be different for the generations that are following.
AE: Now, the PR industry is flooded with women! The proof is in our office. How does this make you feel?
JHR: PR pros may be female, but the majority of CEOs / clients are still male. I went to a CEO conference for conscious capitalists last fall where I was one of eight female CEOs among 200 men. That was disconcerting. You’d expect conscious capitalists to have female representation.
AE: What advice do you have for aspiring female business owners, executives and entrepreneurs?
JHR: My wish for female business owners is that they believe in themselves. We know what we are good at. Ignore your fears, follow your passion, and make it happen.
Happy American Business Women’s Day and cheers to all of the hardworking women (and men) out there!
