Current Position: Public Relations for Eric & Christopher, LLC
Story Last Updated: November 2016 Current Position Updated: March 2019
While studying at GMercyU, I made an extra effort to meet with professors and counselors for guidance and career advice. They encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, which I did by seeking out internships in media and marketing. In my senior year, I even earned an internship in New York City at NBC Sports! Getting out of your comfort zone can lead to extraordinary things, like a great job somewhere totally unexpected.
After college I worked at a small marketing firm before taking a position at a global electronics company. I worked my way up, and after a few years, I landed a role in the public relations department.
While there, the owners of Eric & Christopher LLC, a Bucks County home accents and accessories company, asked if I would do some PR work on the side for them to help them get their name out in the home textile industry.
They are a wholesale business that designs and sells decorative pillows, totes and wall art, and they had one retail account in 2013. They now have over 550 retailers. I started doing PR for them just a few hours a week, and as the company exponentially grew, they asked me to come on board to help run the business: from daily operations to customer service, sales, public relations, marketing, budgeting and more. I was tired of the corporate structure at my old job, and I felt I needed a change somewhere that I could really make a big impact.
Since coming on board, I’ve helped to grow sales, and have helped to land some major retail accounts for the company. I’ve also secured television appearances on MSNBC, CBS3 and 69 News (WFMZ) and articles on our products in the Associated Press, Coastal Living Magazine, HGTV.com, The Cottage Journal and more.
I’ve had a front row seat to watch the company grow to its 10 employees. As we continue to grow, I’ll be in a more PR-focused role, but for now it’s really satisfying to know that I directly impact sales and help support the salaries of the people we have hired. I enjoy coming to my job every day because I am independent, and get to make decisions on what I believe will help the company move forward. (I even get to bring my dog to work!)
All of this has been possible because I learned the fundamentals of business and marketing. My mind is always thinking about creative ways to earn business, get our products in front of the right audiences, and how to network in a way that will market the company.
In September 2016, we won an award through the National SCORE Foundation (Service Corps of Retired Executives). We were even invited to Washington, D.C. to accept the award at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in front of hundreds of people from the National SCORE Foundation, the national Small Business Association and about a dozen other small business owners from around the U.S. receiving awards that evening.
