One Day or Day One?

By Jennifer Adler McLaughlin

Photograph by Sydney Sherman Photography, adlerpublicrelations.com

My new podcast, Earn It, is a podcast about ambitious entrepreneurship and the power of PR. I’m the host and am also the founder and CEO of lifestyle & luxury PR firm, Adler Public Relations. Each episode of the show features interviews with inspiring guests about how they put in the hard work and overcame obstacles to achieve their dreams and why success…and media coverage are sweeter earned.

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to be a guest on several PR and business podcasts, and I’ve always toyed with the idea of starting my own. Eventually I realized: there’s no time like the present— so why not now? I decided to start it as a space to share meaningful and inspirational stories — from why entrepreneurs take the leap, to challenges they've overcome and what they’ve learned along the way. It's geared toward listeners running their own business, dreaming of starting one, or just curious about what it really takes. I believe that information is power — and that by putting in the hard work and taking action, you can accomplish anything.

My dad always instilled in me that Effort Equals Results. And I’ve lived by that motto every step of the way. That’s what Earn It means to me — that anything you want in life can be achieved through hard work and perseverance. And when you do accomplish your goal, the success is so much sweeter knowing that you earned it with your own blood, sweat and tears rather than it being served up to you on a silver platter.

But the name of my podcast is also two-fold...For those unfamiliar with PR, the phrase “earned media” is the core of what we do. Instead of buying ad space, we earn media coverage by pitching our clients’ stories to journalists, editors, and producers — and the resulting third-party validation builds trust, customer loyalty and credibility.

Before starting my own PR firm in March of 2019, I worked my way up the ranks at full-service advertising agencies for the preceding 15 or so years. When I turned 35, I asked myself —

Why am I doing this for someone else, when I could be doing it for myself? So, I made a plan and started taking steps behind the scenes —I formed an LLC, bought a bigger house so I could have a dedicated home office, had a logo and a website designed, and won my first big client, which was a large credit union, all on the side. I made the difficult decision to walk away from my six-figure salary, full health benefits, a retirement plan, a team of people reporting to me and all the support offered by a large agency to start a PR firm of my own with nothing more than the dream and drive to do things my own way.

Photograph by Sydney Sherman Photography, adlerpublicrelations.com

I planned to give notice during my four-year review at my previous agency and I remember walking into work that day anxious about my decision. Our front desk had a letter board that the receptionist switched out with new inspirational quotes each day and on this particular day, the quote was “One day or Day One?” It was like divine intervention reaffirming my decision and has become a quote that I now live by. I put in my notice on that fateful day and a month later on March 11, 2019, the very first day following my last day at the agency, I officially started Adler Public Relations.

Connect With Jennifer

@earnitpodcast

@jenadler27

@adlerpublicrelations