In The Company Of: How PR consultant Claire Strachan champions underdogs, small companies and charities

1. In a nutshell, what does your company do and how did it start?

Katy Pollard and I were introduced to each other as competitors roughly six years ago by Paula Grizzard, and hit it off straightaway, so started working together with property expert Alex Goldstein as our first joint client. We represent SME’s across Yorkshire in promoting their businesses and showcasing thought leaderships across numerous publications including the Yorkshire Post, Insider, Yorkshire Living and many more.

2. What's the most surprising thing about it?

The range of companies we work with, but also the way we work with other PRs. Two years ago, I set up the Yorkshire PR Support Group, after seeing a couple of PRs struggling with both mental health and lack of work. The group now has nearly 70 members, and we all look out for each other and have regular socials which now include our local media contacts. It is about collaboration, not competition.

3. What do you do in the business?

Katy and I work well together, as she is the organised person with the spreadsheets and contracts, whereas I tend to be out and about a bit more, meeting potential new clients. Our skills complement each other really well and people refer to us as “work wives!”.

4. How did you end up here?

I’ve had a varied career working with Oxfam and the NSPCC at university, as I always wanted to work with a charity, but the advice they both gave me was to get experience in business and bring it back to a charity. So, after eight years in marketing with First Direct, I applied for a role as a fundraising manager with the National Autistic Society. I then helped to raise £1.2m to transform the Robert Ogden School in Barnsley, through the Yorkshire Post Hidden Disability appeal, which led to my career in PR.

5. If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?

I would probably still be working with charities, as I still support as many as I can pro bono when time and finances allow.

6. What motivates you?

Making a difference in people’s lives and seeing our work transform lives. From supporting Ukrainian refugee Yana Smaglo launch fashion company Nenya, to working with the Yorkshire Care Group to get a property builder to change legislation meaning Ronnie, one of their individuals with severe autism, and others like him can now live in new housing estates.

7. What one thing do you wish you had known when you started out in business?

How challenging being self-employed can be, and the rollercoaster ride it takes you on. From loving the freedom and independence, to more recently trying to get through cancer treatment with no sick pay and very little time off.

8. What excites you about business?

Championing underdogs, and smaller companies and charities. We tell our clients’ stories and help get the sort of high-profile media coverage that’s usually only available to big companies with big budgets.

9. What is your pet hate in business?

We have a saying in our house: “Nice, necessary, kind?”. If not, don’t say it. That should apply to business too, as you never know what anyone else is going through, and a smile or kind word can make all the difference.

10. What advice would you give to people just starting their careers?

Find something you love, enjoy and are good at. Don’t stay on for A-levels if studying isn’t for you, which so many teenagers are pushed into now. Life isn’t about how much you earn; it is about how happy you are with what you have.

11. Who in business do you most admire, and why?

I have been lucky enough to have amazing mentors, from Sir Robert Ogden to Deborah Meaden after winning Dragon’s Den with Yana - there is no higher praise than Deborah telling you that you have done a cracking job! However, at the moment we both admire anyone working in struggling sectors like care and hospitality. Any independents still surviving also deserve a medal.

12. What moments of your career so far stand out?

Getting the Hidden Disability Appeal to the £1m mark and seeing the difference it made to all the children at the Robert Ogden School. Modelling clothes for Yana on Dragons’ Den was another fab opportunity, especially when she then won the pitch.

13. What sets your company apart from the competition?

The majority of our work comes through recommendation, so our reputation tends to precede us, and we have never had to pitch for work, which makes us very lucky.

14. What is the most difficult challenge your company has faced? And what challenges are you experiencing at the moment?

Like most small businesses, it was the pandemic as we almost lost all our work. I did free PR for the Harrogate Scrubbers, providing Harrogate Hospital with over 3,000 scrubs, and continuing to provide for GPs, dentists and hospices. When the economy turns like currently, many companies cut their PR and marketing budgets, but the savvy ones know it’s not good business sense.

15. Have you got a five-year plan for the company?

We have an ongoing plan that gets tweaked as needed. Our goal is to keep working together, support each other and enjoy the client work we do.

16. Why is it good to do business in Yorkshire?

There is an entrepreneurial, can-do attitude that is particular to Yorkshire. People from our county love to support each other and we love to be part of that and help raise their profiles, so they succeed in business.

Factfile

Name: Claire Strachan.

Age: 52.

Birthplace: Lancashire (sorry!).

Job title: PR consultant

Company name: Claire & Katy PR.

Company address: Wetherby/Meanwood.

Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cstracs/

Company founded: 2019.

Turnover: N/A.

Number of staff: 2.