Chuck Reece Session summary

Checkered past of Chuck Reece

Chuck Reece breaks down his steps to owning his own business.
• Journalism: Reece first interned with Advertising Age and with AdWeek.

From this, he learned how to write, which is the most important skill to have, and the art of checking and double checking facts. He also learned how to interview. He emphasizes that being able to listen and talk to people is important and that also leads into telling a good story, events tell stories and these stories have elements.
Once upon a time- the beginning
Then suddenly- a turning point
Fortunately- what we can do to help
Happily ever after- positive results

• Politics: He then worked for Georgia governor Zell Miller for three years.

Here he learnt:
1. Media relations: How to deal with reporters, dealing with people he used to work with.
2. Strategy: Businesses do not communicate out of goodness of their hearts, they do it because they have to.
3. Political Communication: It’s about changing the attitudes of people, influencing them to vote etc.
4. Speechwriting: Ties back in with knowing how to write. We need to write for clarity, Journalists needs to understand, general public needs to understand.

• Corporate Communications: Director of Global corporate communications for Coca-cola
1. Politics: Inside politics of a corporation, who approves what? There is a definite hierarchy and we need to become familiar with how it works.
2. Corporate finance
3. Print-web mixture: Print frames, web spins. Be careful what medium you use for what message.
4. Info architecture: This focuses on the way a website is organized and how easy it is for the consumer.

• Agency: Reece worked for GCI a global communication firm, owned by a global marketing/PR company. It is important for a college student for come into an agency job with exceptional skill.

1. Consulting: Telling clients’ things they haven’t thought about yet, as students, we need to show our brilliance.
2. Variety: Brings versatility.
3. Management: Knowing how to work with people and doing it well.
4. My own value: PR is a billable business, knowing your worth and understanding your value.

What smart clients want
-skills
-judgment
-value
-and Reece is cheaper than an agency
You can be an entrepreneur when you have all 3.

Things you forget when you become an entrepreneur
-Insurance
Disability
Life
Health
-Info technology
Viruses
Networking

Concluding thoughts and questions:

• Read “The World is Flat,” it may be boring but it is very important for college students.
• Got where he is by building skills and taking a leap.
• To build a client base, you start with one client, mostly always stolen.
• To set yourself apart in an agency, it’s more about who you are and how well you work with people.
• Reece recommends that you find someone to become your mentor, be careful when you make that decision.