Location and Why Are You So Special?

     Step one in the PR Book for Dummies: location. It’s all about the location. Your success in the area of public relations you pursue depends on this key detail. It you want to go into politics you do not go to Belmont, Indiana, you go to Washington, D.C. If you want to climb that corporate ladder you do not choose to live in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. I know this sounds trivial but I made the mistake in choosing my location not based on what I really want to do with public relations. I find my self in a state of “UN-“. Unbundled from myself, possible unhappiness because this was not my choice but the choice of someone else, and unsure of wait I can do here. I am not saying I am miserable, but I am saying that I have no goal or direction here and it’s a little nerve racking.

     I've moved to Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville is the biggest city in Western North Carolina and is home to around 400,000 residents, a superb collection of art deco-styled buildings, the largest home in America (the Biltmore Estate), it's the gay capital of North Carolina and has a creative bustling environment that is waiting to be discovered. Fashion PR and/or Wedding Planning are the two career options I am looking into. Wedding planning is my first option to look into.

Though this city is not known for its fashion, like New York, it does have a competitive and thriving wedding industry. I begin my travels with an internship with a lady named Janet Frye who runs a successful florist business called The Enchanted Florist. She deals primarily with weddings but is apt to accept offers for arrangements for other special events. I also have accepted a job offer with the Biltmore Winery and I start training Tuesday, May the 18th. Both jobs will help me to see what goes on back stage for weddings and will teach me a little bit about different aspects that are part of a wedding.

     This is how I am going to set myself apart. I am going to know every thing I can about a wedding, not just the planning and consulting but every little detail that makes a wedding something to remember. To those who has read down this far, when you decide what field you would like to take in PR you need to decide what elements would help set you apart from everyone else. What makes you so different and what makes you so special to where clients would choose to hire you over your competition?