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Navigating Your Financial Future:Tweets from the Brown Bag

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

The PRSA New Professionals Section held our first brown bag teleconference “Navigating Your Financial Future” with financial advisor Jim Beverley on Thursday.  In case you missed it, Beverley covered four main topics directly affecting new professionals: student loans, credit scores, retirement savings and budgeting. PRSA New Professionals Twitter hashtag #npprsa tracked the conversation surrounding Beverley’s most valuable advice.

On student loans:

@MelindaBiegen: Tips on paying student loans from #JimBeverly– Step 1) Organize your loans, start paying the ones off w/ the highest interest rate. #npprsa

@MelindaBiegen: Step 2) Never miss a payment! If you can, try to set up automatic payment plans. Don’t be afraid to pay a little extra too! #npprsa

@MelindaBiegen: Step 3) #JimBeverly encourages recent grads to see a local Tax Advisor to educate us further and answer any financial questions. #npprsa

On retirement savings:

@prsanewpros: Save early! If you want to have $1 million at retirement and start saving at 25 = $300/mo., at 35 = $700/mo., 55 = $5,326/mo #npprsa

@DZ_Invictus: Retirement savings through company withholding plans confers pretax convenience, possible matching benefits. #npprsa

On budgeting:

@daniellerideau: Creating a budget for my future. budgeting.thenest.com #npprsa

@JoriRobinson: Good to have 3-6 months of expenses in cash in savings that is readily available in the event you lose your job. sleepability #NPPRSA

On credit scores:

@AnnaCramer1: Any number in the 700s is good, 750 + is excellent for credit score #npprsa

@prsanewpros: Improve credit score: 1. reduce debt 2. get back on track with missed payments 3. spend less! #npprsa

What’s the bottom line from Beverley’s seminar?

@AnnaCramer1: Save some money every month, pay some debt off every month and most importantly: live within your means! #npprsa

If you are interested in hearing the playback of this discussion, and did not register prior to the event, please stay tuned to our online discussion forum for a link to the recording.  This event is free for Section members.

Jim BeverleyJim Beverley, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, Financial Advisor, Partners Wealth Management

Jim Beverley has 16 years of experience as a financial advisor. Beverley offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through NFP Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. NFP Securities, Inc. is not affiliated with Partners Wealth Management.  Beverley empowers clients by eliminating conflicts of interest, taking the time necessary to understand each client’s financial situation and educating clients on the solutions available to help accomplish their objectives.

Navigating Your Financial Future: Q&A with New Pros Brown Bag Speaker Jim Beverley

Heather Sliwinski Leave a comment

You have, or are looking forward to, one of your first jobs in public relations—and your first steady paycheck. So, how can you take steps now to ensure you are building a strong financial foundation?

Join New Professionals Section members for a free brown bag teleconference “Navigating Your Financial Future” on Thursday, April 21, hosted by financial advisor Jim Beverley.  Beverley is a financial advisor with Partners Wealth Management with more than 15 years of financial planning experience.

PRSA New Professionals Blog Co-Chair Heather Sliwinski spoke with Beverley to get a preview of some of the topics he will be covering on Thursday.

Heather Sliwinski:  In regards to their finances, what are the biggest challenges facing new professionals in today’s economy? 

Jim Beverley: These days I hear quite a bit about paying off student loans as a significant challenge to new professionals.  The cost of education required for getting a job and the recent investment landscape has made debt-free education a rare situation. 

HS: Another crop of seniors is graduating this spring.  What is a tip you have for those who are about to face their student loans? 

JB: Shop for the best available repayment strategy, pay every time on time and if you can pay more, do so.   Getting beyond these loans will help you get to saving money earlier in your life.  It also helps you build your credit for when you are ready to buy a home or car.

HS: Do young professionals often seek out your council? If not, why do you think that is the case? 

JB: Young professionals do not typically seek my council.  In most cases, I have the feeling they would rather spend their money on buying fun things for their life.  Cars, electronics, clothes and eating out seem to get the priority over paying for financial advice.  On the one hand, I understand that motivation, and yet if they would spend their first dollars saving for their own future, they would soon be able to afford all the clothes, dinners, cars and electronics they desire. 

HS: In your 16 years of experience, surely many of your clients have told you about financial regrets. What is the most common regret, and what can new professionals do early in their careers to prevent it? 

JB: By far the most common regret my clients share with me is that they did not start saving early enough, and when they started, they wish they had saved more of their income.  While there are many regrets, it is amazing to me how often I hear this response.

HS: If you could give just one piece of financial advice to recent graduates, what would it be?

JB:  Whatever your income is, live as if you earned 10 percent to 20 percent less than that, and get in the habit of saving money from your first paycheck.  Do not get into the mindset of, “as soon as I get x, then I’ll start saving”.  Save some of EVERY paycheck you get, and do it right away. 

So how do we start saving?  Find out by registering for the brown bag today!  Among the general topics, Beverley will discuss:

  • A sample budget based on an average entry-level public relations professional’s salary
  • Managing your credit, including what affects your credit score (and how it affects what you can do with your money)
  • An overview of available student loans, and tips to make the repayment process as painless as possible
  • Planning for retirement (clearly, you are not too young)

Jim BeverleyJim Beverley, CLU, ChFC, CFP®, has 16 years of experience as a financial advisor. Beverley offers Securities and Investment Advisory Services through NFP Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. NFP Securities, Inc. is not affiliated with Partners Wealth Management.  Beverley empowers clients by eliminating conflicts of interest, taking the time necessary to understand each client’s financial situation and educating clients on the solutions available to help accomplish their objectives.

Intro to Independent PR: Part Two with Susan Rink

Heather Sliwinski 1 Comment

According to the 2008 PRSA Membership Value Perception and Satisfaction Study, 6 percent of PRSA’s members are “independent practitioners”. This month’s “Intro to” series features two such professionals who once worked in agency, corporate and association PR and have since joined the ranks of independents.  Susan Rink, Principal at Rink Strategic Communications, LLC, spoke with Mike Greenberg of the New Professionals Section about life as an “indie”.

 

Mike: What was your PR experience like before you decided to practice as an independent?

Susan: I decided to go into business for myself in January 2007, after more than 20 years in corporate communications, specifically in employee communications.  I left Sprint Nextel after the merger and spent a couple of months looking for the “right” internal communications leadership role.  But after interviewing with a number of very good local companies, I realized that I simply could not work up any enthusiasm for another job that consisted of staff meetings and progress reports.  So after a six-month sabbatical, I decided to open my own communications consulting practice – and I’ve never looked back.

Mike: What do you offer clients that an agency doesn’t?

Susan: Most of my clients are marketing, communications and PR professionals who are looking for someone with my specific expertise to provide guidance, as well as an extra set of hands.  I think that is what differentiates me from a large agency – I manage the client relationship, develop the product and counsel my clients on the best way to sell the solution to their boss. They know that I’ve sat in their chair and struggled with the same challenges they deal with on a daily basis.

Mike: What is your work environment like?

Susan: For the most part, I work from a small desk in my dining room.  I contact my clients primarily via email and phone, since a good number of them are located outside the D.C. Metro area. 

Mike: What types of non-PR abilities and interests are needed in order to succeed as an independent practitioner?

Susan: I never wanted to be a sales person – both my parents were Realtors – but I quickly realized that in order to run successful business, I have to constantly sell my product: me. The other important elements – being customer-focused, understanding business essentials, being able to multi-task, being organized – are all skills developed in a prior career, skills that I use on a daily basis.

Mike: What are the greatest challenges an independent faces?

Susan: Isolation.  Although I’m an introvert, and enjoy working on my own, I find that I need a way to connect with other indies to brainstorm, trouble-shoot or sometimes just commiserate with me.  That’s why I’m so glad to be part of IPRA (the Independent PR Alliance, a section of PRSA’s National Capital Chapter).  IPRA members are very generous with their time and knowledge and are always willing to act as a sounding board to a fellow member.

Mike: What has surprised you the most about being an “indie”?

Susan: I never doubted that I’d love being an indie and having the opportunity to actually “do the work.”  I think the thing that has surprised me most is how much my skills and knowledge are valued in the real world.  There are few senior-level professionals who specialize in employee communications these days; most VP and SVP-level communications executives come from the media side.  These clients understand the value of effective employee communications and are willing to admit that they need outside help to overcome their challenges.

Mike: What advice would you give a new professional who wants to work as an independent?

Susan: The best piece of advice I can give anyone starting their own independent agency is to decide what they can offer that is unique, then figure out who needs that service. Define what you are and what you offer, then look for people who need that service.

Susan RinkSusan C. Rink, Principal, Rink Strategic Communications, LLC

Susan C. Rink is an award-winning employee communications professional with extensive experience in developing strategic communications programs and processes.  Her firm specializes in effective internal communication strategies to drive employee engagement in small to medium-sized companies.  Rink’s blog (http://rinkcomms.wordpress.com), as well as the “Take Note” podcast available on YouTube and iTunes, provide senior executives with tips and best practices for employee communications.

Rink is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), as well as the Public Relations Society of America’s National Capital Chapter, and is the 2011 Chair of the Independent Public Relations Alliance.

Farewell!

awilmes Leave a comment

With the Holidays in full swing, it is time for the 2010 PRSA New Pros Executive Committee to say goodbye! 2010 was another fantastic year for the New Pros section and we hope our programs and blog posts have helped and inspired our members.

A big thank you to the following folks for all their hard work this year: Janet Krenn, Sarah Siewert, Mike Greenberg, Adrienne Bailey, Brian Camen, Andi Wilmes, Crystal Olig and Leah Moon.

On behalf of the 2010 executive committee I would like to wish everyone a happy and productive new year. Next year’s programs promise to be the best yet, so stop by the blog in January for an introduction to the 2011 team!

career advice… Ticking Through Last Year’s To Do List Before January by Janet Krenn

New Professionals PR Blog Leave a comment

I’m big into lists. I write them. Re-write them. Revise. Lose. Re-imagine.

I wrote myself a “to-do by the end of the year” list last week, and it’s horribly intimidating. I’m not embarrassed to admit that it’s full of things that have been sneaking to the bottom of my “to-do” lists since April, and although I know I have a long month ahead of me, I’m propelled to get through it and start January with nothing hanging over my head.

Imagine! Only having to do the tasks and jobs that are new! (It does sound like a dream, doesn’t it?)

As PR professionals, we can’t control the speed at which new projects and responsibilities fly at us, but we can make sure we’re ready to take them on.

For me, this means I’ll be buckling down. I’ll be more focused at work, checking my Facebook page only when it’s work related or when I’m at home (shuddering with pre-emptive withdrawals). I’ll be a dynamo, or like some kind of well-trained PR Kung Fu master executing tasks with quick, deadly precision.

The list is long. Writing articles, sidebars, upcoming press releases. Then there’s video transcribing, scripting, editing. And then there’s the stuff that I don’t even know about yet, but will undoubtedly make its way to my desk, just as the clutter’s starting to clear.

But I know with my trusty list in hand, I’ll tick through the tasks of soon-to-be yesteryear, and when 2011 rolls around, I’ll be ready to take on the new challenges and rewards without fretting about projects fermenting on my desk.

So who’s with me and ready to write down, then take down, that to-do list of 2010?

—

Janet Krenn is the 2010 Chair of the New Pros Section. She’s optimistic about closing out a successful 2010 at work, even though she has 23 things on her to-do list, and 3 days into December, none are checked off!