Caroline Kalentzos is an Instagram influencer and CEO of POSH PR®, a PR agency serving luxury lifestyle brands and women-owned small businesses.
She started her career as a medical salesperson but soon transitioned to work in the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle spheres. Over the years she has taught herself web design, event planning, brand building, and more to best serve her clients.
What motivated and inspired you to start your own business
The funny thing is, I’m a great #2. I don’t even think you have to be #1 to build your dream life. But I wanted to specifically empower women and build a company that is built on love, with women, and for women.
Sometimes, God knows what you want better than you do, so I took the plunge despite not ever thinking of myself as an entrepreneur! When you take your God-given gifts and combine them with what you’re passionate about, you’re unstoppable.
Tell us about your business.
POSH PR® is a boutique PR agency specializing in fashion, lifestyle, and beauty. We handle media buying, branding, editorial photo shoots, press, social media strategy, blog management, influencer marketing, and event planning—and we’ve more than doubled in size in the past year!
Are you currently running any promos/contests/giveaways that you would like our readers to know about?
Yes! We have a Facebook Group that gives you access to PR inside tips, discounts on workshops, and all of the tools and resources we use.
Until recently, we used this group exclusively to communicate with clients, but we have opened it up to all boss babes who are looking for a supportive and resource-rich community!
Additionally, we are hosting our PR workshop, “The PR Behind the Pretty,” on January 26. Group members receive a special discount!
List awards/certifications/accomplishments.
Our slogan, Champagne Is Always The Answer®, won Best Business Slogan.
It may sound silly, but it’s one of our FAVORITE awards because we are passionate about helping women create the champagne lifestyles they dream of!
Where is your business based?
The Doll HQ is in Richmond VA, but we have clients nationally and even some worldwide.
What were the first few steps you took to get your business up and running?
Early in my career, I came up with the Unicorn Guide: my magic formula to building a brand that has no competition. This outlines my philosophy that staying true to yourself—and believing strongly in what you can do—is the key to attracting clients and achieving success.
What has been the most effective way of raising awareness of your business and getting new customers?
At our core, we are social media marketers. We believe that being true to yourself is what attracts others, so Instagram is our greatest outreach platform.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Growing pains are real, y’all! When I worked in medical sales, I was a national manager and communications director. I knew how to lead a team to success! But the type of women I work with now are very different than drug reps.
Learning when it’s time to hire another doll—and how to find the right one—is always a challenge. And then, learning how to communicate with a creative PR team is another! But, it’s been extremely rewarding to grow my business so rapidly.
How did you overcome these challenges?
Crazy as this sounds, my secret to success is driving to Starbucks every morning and calling my mom. She is my business mentor and best friend, but also the former VP of the American Heart Association! Her encouragement each morning gets me through the day. That, quality employees, and plenty of prayer!
How do you keep motivated through difficult times?
Can opera and a diet Sunkist be my answer? Kidding but also not kidding. In all honesty, our clients motivate me more than anything else. It’s an honor that someone trusts us with their BABY (their company!) so I want to please and serve them to the best of my ability.
How do you distinguish yourself from your competitors?
I fully believe that when you are true to yourself, you have no competition! I’m unapologetic about loving the things I love, and not doing anything I’m not obsessed with. That’s enough to distinguish my brand from others!
What is the best advice you have received recently?
My husband recently told me, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I’m sure others have heard that, but it really hit me: by surrounding myself with positive women who are work hard every day, I am setting myself up for lasting success.
What advice would you give to other entrepreneurs?
Don’t let fear guide you. At the end of the day, the only thing stopping you from achieving your dreams is yourself! And when you do fail, know that closed doors don’t always stay closed, so keep pushing!
What are your favorite business tools/resources and why?
We use Basecamp to keep all of our projects, deadlines, and communications in one place. Plus, it’s easy for clients to use!
Because Instagram is such a big part of what we do, we love Planoly for drafting grids and scheduling out auto-posts.
What is a good article or book you have read recently?
My sweet friend Cara, of The Champagne Diet is such a great resource! She wrote Girl Code, which I consider a must-read for all female entrepreneurs!
What are you currently learning about for your business or looking for help with?
The funny thing about owning a PR agency is that our clients ask us EVERYTHING, so we are constantly learning new things!
But right now, we are focusing on designing our ideal workspace: for real, we are building a brand new office! We’re so excited to create space for client meetings, photo shoots, zones where we can really focus, and a coffee bar, of course.
What are your goals for the next few months and how are you striving to achieve them?
For the most part, honing in on our workflow: recognizing exactly what we need in our custom-built office and making it happen, as well as streamlining communication between me and all employees so that we can serve our clients fully!
What social media outlets do you use? List them below.
Instagram @poshpr, @thecarolinedoll
Facebook @thecarolinedollblog, @thecarolinedoll
Facebook Group www.facebook.com/groups/theprdolls
Website www.poshpr.com, www.thecarolinedollblog.com
Email heydoll@poshpr.com
Hashtags #dollspartypretty #theprdolls