Dawn Jones

Dawn Jones is the founder of Pressed PR – a boutique PR agency that focuses on PR for independent creatives. Deeply rooted in the music industry, Pressed PR was originally founded as a Music PR agency for independent musicians as Dawn is an independent musician herself. Throughout the span of Pressed PR’s existence, Dawn and her team have worked on a variety of campaigns ranging from independent artists just starting out to mega superstars with millions of fans. Partnering with various independent record labels, such as Los Angeles based Sun & Sky Records, Pressed PR has had the opportunity to work with celebrity artists on various release campaigns. Pressed PR’s music clientele has landed in the pages of Billboard, Atwood Magazine, EARMILK, HYPE Magazine, and many others. In an effort to expand their services to support all independent creatives, Pressed PR announced the addition of a Film PR division to the company in February 2020 with the intention to serve independent filmmakers in the basic promotional and publicity strategies needed to successfully launch their film. In its first three years of business, Pressed PR was named as one of “The 10 Best Indie Music Promotion Services That Are Worth It” by Two Story Melody, and plans to further that reputation in the film industry as well. Pressed PR’s mission is to empower independent creatives with a fresh, personal, and intentional approach to promotional and branding services.

Where did the idea for Pressed PR come from?

The idea for Pressed PR was born from one of my own personal experiences as a musician. I had been interning for a band and doing some publicity work, as well as a bit of publicity work for groups that I was involved in, and saw a need for an affordable PR Agency for independent musicians that would be the team member you needed to get things done. I took a leap and started serving people that were my colleagues and friends as I developed the company and before I knew it we had grown to serve artists all over the country.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Every day is different in the PR world – some days are office days and some days I’m out at shows, interviews, or other opportunities representing clients or supporting them for various events. Most days I spend a lot of time prepping campaigns or emailing various media personnel on behalf of our clients. I stay productive by “batching” most of my work…. Mornings are spent on immediate tasks, emailing editors/reporters, and prepping campaigns while afternoons are spent on the more creative side of the job – writing articles, writing press releases, putting together EPK’s, creating graphics, and more.

How do you bring ideas to life?

My team is extraordinarily helpful in bringing ideas to life. Sometimes you have this great idea but it takes a lot to execute it – especially if you are working on multiple projects at once. My team is really great at jumping in to do the tedious or time-consuming things that make these ideas a reality and for that, I’m really grateful.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Slow living. I think it comes from the sustainability trend and the realization that nothing lasts forever. Being more intentional with your time, what you have, what you do, etc. helps you to enjoy the small things and not be in such a rush to get to the next step or the next big thing. You really don’t need as much as you think you do to be happy…. just slow down and live life for a minute.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

I would say being really strict with my time-management and batching my tasks. I’ve always been able to really hone in and focus on a task when I know I have a certain amount of time allotted and that has helped me to stay productive day in and day out. “Pausing” your inbox and only checking emails 2-3 times a day has also helped increase my productivity because I’m not constantly being distracted by email notifications.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Not everything is as big of a deal as it seems and it will all turn out okay in the end. Work is important, but it’s not the MOST important – so make time for the things that are…. Your work will still be there tomorrow.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

There is no “luck”…. everything you perceive as good luck is really just a blessing from God.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Pour back into yourself. Whether that’s constantly learning new things, or giving time to yourself to relax, or treating yourself to whatever your form of “self-care” is at least a few times a week. I’m constantly finding ways to do all of these things and it helps my mental health as well as prevents burnout. Being an entrepreneur is really hard – no one prepares you for it – and the longer you are one the easier it is to forget to take care of yourself and your own needs because you are constantly taking care of something or someone else. So remember yourself and don’t be afraid to pour back into yourself daily. You can’t run on an empty tank.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

It’s very simple but effective: Focusing on serving my clients WELL and not just trying to serve as many as I can has been the key for me to grow my business. Pressed PR was largely built on customer referrals, so taking the time to ensure my clients are getting 110% of my/my team’s work ethic has been crucial to growing our clientele and getting even more business. It’s hard not to get caught up in the numbers and to serve as many people as possible, but I’ve been really intentional about providing quality service over quantity and in a service-based industry I think that’s an important strategy to maintain.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I don’t like to look at any of my mistakes as “failures” because, in the end, I learned something from each of them that made me better the next time. Learning to let go of clients that don’t create a positive working environment was one of the more recent lessons. It’s okay to say no to somebody if the working relationship isn’t in a good place. In the end, it ends up being better for both of you, so don’t let the possibility of saying “no” be scary.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

If someone could create a machine that washes, dries, and folds your laundry without you having to do anything other than put the laundry in and press a button…. I’d be one of the first in line to buy that.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

The best $100 I recently spent is always going to be the last $100 I spent on my team members at Pressed PR. Being able to delegate things to them and be confident that it will be done well has taken so much stress off my plate and allowed me to spend more time on things that only I can do…. And to have a better work-life balance.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

I have 2 pieces of software that I use daily that I credit for all of my productivity. Dubsado is a great client resource management software that saves me a TON of time with client communication, logistics, scheduling tasks, and more. Propel PRM is a PR tool that has radically changed the way I do business and left me with more time and resources to be able to manage more campaigns in an effective manner.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I’m currently reading The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Farris and it’s brought to light a lot of ideas on productivity as well as reminded me how to prioritize and not overwork yourself.

What is your favorite quote?

I am constantly saving quotes so this one changes every so often, but right now I am really attached to a quote by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He said, “The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex. What’s important is leading an examined life.” I connect with that because I’m trying to simplify my life and be more intentional…. But he’s right – it’s really easy to just make everything more complex.

Key Learnings:

• Establish effective time-management practices and stick to them
• Not everything is as big of a deal as it seems
• Pour back into yourself
• Serve your clients WELL, first and foremost
• Mistakes aren’t failures…. They are just learning lessons