"Make sure you have a customer/client base that needs or wants your product or services, then just do it," with Kendra Riley

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Photo Credit: Kim Adelmeyer of Matty A Photography

Kendra Riley founded Dawning Public Relations in 2013 with a focus on helping brands elevate their exposure through comprehensive communications campaigns, with a focus on public relations and social media management. Originally from Valparaiso, Indiana and with a degree from the University of Arizona, Kendra has taken her Midwest roots, Southwest education and 15+ years of experience to create a communications company that has helped businesses in every industry. In addition to her day-to-day work, she is also an advocate for the MLD community after two of her three daughters were diagnosed with this extremely rare terminal illness. She continues to help other families like theirs in addition to being a member of the Executives’ Association of Greater Phoenix, a board member of The Armer Foundation and a committee member for the Phoenix Heart Ball benefiting the American Heart Association of Arizona.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

  • I’m originally from Valparaiso, Indiana but have called Arizona home for the majority of my life. Since graduating from the University of Arizona in 2005, I have practiced public relations and social media management both in-house with various businesses and with PR agencies helping a large variety of clients. After meeting my husband and wanting to plan a family, I decided it was the right time to finally branch out on my own and for the past 7 years my company, Dawning Public Relations, has been helping everyone from the small independent business to nationwide brands with storefronts from coast to coast develop and implement communications campaigns to reach their target demographics.

  • I’m now also a mother of three girls, two of which have an incredibly rare terminal illness called Metachromatic Leukodystrophy. When I’m not working on my business, I’m being an advocate for them and families like ours to raise awareness and get any and all available treatments, research and changes made for families faced with this disease. During the pandemic we actually moved to Italy for six months to get our youngest daughter gene therapy treatment which could potentially save her life. She was the 31st child in the world to receive this treatment and has not yet shown any symptoms, unlike our middle daughter who is currently enrolled in Hospice.

What inspired you to start your business?

  • I always disliked the 9-5 format of corporate life and wanted to be in a place where I could make my own hours, my own schedule and not answer to someone else. What better way to do that then by becoming your own boss? It was the best decision I ever made.

Where is your business based?

  • Phoenix, AZ

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

  • First, I came up with a unique name (Dawning, which comes from my middle name Dawn, means coming into existence or beginning to grow and that’s what we do for our clients), then I made sure I had a website, used an attorney to file all of the LLC paperwork and started reaching out to people through emails and lunch meetings to let them know I was here and could help.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

  • Honestly, referrals. PR companies don’t often promote themselves in the same way they promote their clients and word of mouth from happy clients has been biggest source of raising awareness. I am also a member of the Executives Association of Greater Phoenix, an invite-only networking group featuring 100+ business owners in greater Phoenix, and that has definitely increased my visibility and helped grow my business.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

  • My biggest personal hurdle was letting go of some control and hiring help for my growing business. I wanted to think that I could do it all but as the business grew and our family grew that just wasn’t possible.

  • Finding the right accountant was also a difficult task. I went to a friend who only did accounting (not taxes) and when I switched to a CPA because they did both my friend’s feelings were hurt and they haven’t spoken to me since. Which shows how much of a friend they were in the first place I suppose. I really just needed someone who could do both so I had fewer people to coordinate things with at the end of the day.

How do you stay focused?

  • My business coach, Rena Huber, has been vital in helping me stay focused and keeping a to-do list to prioritize my tasks. Meeting with her each month has been essential during some of the most personally chaotic times in my life.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

  • I started my company with a goal of being a work-at-home-Mom (WAHM); I wanted to have that flexibility of being able to work but also spend as much time as I could with my family. And because of that, I only hire WAHMs with as much, or more, experience than myself so that I’m helping like-minded women build the lives they want while also allowing my clients to have access to the best resources in the business (as opposed to landing the client and then handing them off to a junior account executive or someone lower on the totem pole, as many larger PR agencies will do). We also don’t put ourselves into a niche, we help clients in every industry you can think of – from vineyards and hotels to asphalt companies and online schools.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

  • Making time for others. Not just my clients but my friends, colleagues, networking group members, etc. Taking time for lunch or drinks to just catch up has done more to grow my business than anything else. Ann Landers once said, “People who care about each other enjoy doing things for one another.” It’s true in life as it is in business.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

  • Make sure you have a customer/client base that needs or wants your product or services, then just do it. Listen to your intuition and take that leap of faith. For all the things you’re not great at (accounting, for example, is not my strong suit), hire people or partners who are so it’s one less thing on your mind and your plate.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

  • My favorite app: Duolingo. Ever since we had to move to Italy during the pandemic I’ve been learning Italian and practicing a little bit each day.

  • I wish I had time to read more blogs and books but it’s nearly impossible with everything going on between work and our daughters. So I’ll share the last book I read: Harnessing Grief by Maria Kefalas. She is a fellow MLD Mom, advocate, founder of CureMLD.com and all-around force to be reckoned with when it comes to helping families like ours.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

  • Critical Mention has been a great new resource I’m using because it helps keep track of all of my clients’ news coverage and easily compiles it all into a pdf or sharable online link. It has saved me a lot of time for month-end reporting.

  • We also use Canva a lot for creating social media content and ads for clients.

Who is your business role model? Why?

  • Jennifer Moser, founder of J Moser and Co. When I was working in the agency world and learning the ropes of the business, she really taught me a lot – more so than I would have learned at a larger agency where I would have just been another cog in the machine. From pricing structure, building out proposals, going to potential client meetings, and keeping on task for our clients, working for her was some of the best experiences I ever had. And when it was time for her to start her family, she still was running her growing business. Seeing her do it all showed me it was possible to achieve what I wanted from life as well.

How do you balance work and life?

  • By delegating. I used to think I could do it all but I’ve learned it’s ok to ask for help and I’ve continually hired contractors to take on new projects as we’ve grown so I have less on my plate and can devote more time to my family. Especially since the pandemic and getting our daughters’ terminal diagnoses. There was no question as to what was more important…it was life and family and love and advocacy and hope. But in order to devote the time I needed to that – going to doctor’s appointment after doctor’s appointment and moving halfway across the world for our youngest to get this life-saving treatment – I had to delegate in order for my business to continue functioning. And it surprisingly even ended up growing during that time!

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

  • Yoga and wine (but not at the same time). I used to do yoga at a studio regularly before the girls came along but since then have used Beachbody to practice at home, even if it’s just 30 minutes. I really think it helps clear my mind and have a better day. And as for wine, my husband Dave and I will usually open a bottle of our favorite red after the girls are all in bed. It’s as close as we can get to a date night these days.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

  • Continual growth, both personally and professionally. I don’t think you can have one without the other. I plan on continuing to grow my business, continuing to be an advocate for my daughters and other families like ours who are faced with an MLD diagnosis, and to hopefully start writing a book about this incredibly unreal time in our lives.

How can our readers connect with you?

To learn more about Dawning PR you can visit www.dawningpr.com or email me at kendra@dawningpr.com.

To learn more about my family, our girls, and our journey as we fight MLD, you can visit my blog www.rileysroad.com.

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