Alex Shalman.comPractical Personal Development

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AlexShalman.com Practical Personal Development Podcast #10

Ronn Torossian, CEO of internationally acclaimed public relations firm 5WPR, is a devoted father, Jew, and all around decent human being. His company 5W Public Relations has been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise old, passive, and slow industry, since he founded it in 2003.

Since then, Ronn Torossian has taken the company to the Inc 500 list, as one of the fastest growing public relations firms in the country. 5WPR stands out as being diverse and aggressive, and continues to deliver excellent service to their clients, despite the bit of doom and gloom in these economic times.

Ronn Torossian works with everything from small businesses to mega-corporations, which includes accounts with corporate, religion, and government groups. The mission is to work hard, and deliver the true essence of a company to the media, and ultimately to the hearts and minds of the general population.

To name drop a bit, Ronn Torossian has served clients such as Evian Water, Snoop Dogg, Pamela Anderson, Marc Ecko, Bad Boy Entertainment, high powered Politicians, the Government of Israel, as well as 2 of the 50 richest people in the world.

Successful People Seek Other Successful People

One of the great things about Ronn Torossian’s job is that he gets the opportunity to network with people that are highly successful. One such person is Marc Ecko, whom Ronn Torossian asked “what drives you every day?”

1. Never stop pushing. 2. Know when to make decisions — whether they be good, bad, indifferent, ugly — make a decision!
~Marc Ecko

I’m a firm believer that we’re a mix of the people that we surround ourselves with. We absorb their philosophy and adopt their behaviors. Ending a relationship with a co-worker, friend, or even worse, a family member, that is doing harm to our way of life can be a hard thing. Especially if there is a great deal of emotional attachment or interdependency. However, it can open up more opportunities, and more time and space to fill with more positive people, that will help us improve both our lifestyle, as well as our impact on the world.

Most Significant Contributor to Ronn Torossian’s Success

God. His Mother. Working Hard. Ronn Torossian doesn’t believe that people get lucky in business, or that people that don’t work hard will get ahead. People that think in terms of 9-6 don’t have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

When you start to think in terms of “eating and breathing your company” you become success material. You bring your worries home to you at night, and into the weekend, and you do whatever it takes to keep your head above the water.

Ronn Torossian’s Day to Day

The day to day work is not always glamorous. It’s hard work, and clients can call at all hours of the day and night, depending on their specific needs and expectations. It’s not all about celebrity parties, and living in the lime-light.

There isn’t an exact formula or certainty to a day in the life of Ronn Torossian. It’s not like a scene from the Jetsons, where George Jetson comes in for his 3 hour day, and presses a single button repeatedly, while Mr. Cosmo yells at him.

Ronn Torossian starts off early by waking up at 5:00am. He arrives at the gym at 5:15am, where he runs and works out until 7:00am. Talk about being in great shape, last time I saw Ronn Torossian, his neck was the size of a tree-trunk (that’s a compliement).

Today work starts at 7:45am, Ronn Torossian takes care of business, does the interview with me at 9:30am, takes a client meeting at 10:00am in the office, another one at 12:00pm out of the office, two interviews in the afternoon, speaking to a college at 5:00pm, and then dinner with a client/friend at 8:00pm downtown. Running the large firm goes in between all of the meetings (which I’m sure he only told me a small fraction of in the interview), and then what’s left goes into ‘personal time’.

Ronn Torossian Blog

These are the rantings and ravings of a successful businessman. The content is anything from the business of being an entrepreneur, marketing thoughts and policies, thoughts on what’s going on in TV and media.

It’s a good read for an entrepreneur, as well as anyone interested in marketing, pr, and communications in their own brand. He writes it all himself and updates 4-5 times per week.

Surprisingly, most CEOs of Ronn Torossian’s magnitude don’t blog, and don’t share knowledge and tips with the world. This is another thing that separates 5WPR from the competition, makes them different, and shows that they’re playing to win.

5WPR – Playing to Win
~coined by Alex Shalman

Tips for Managing Small Scale Public Relations

Many readers of this site have blogs, websites, small-businesses, or some other kind of entrepreneurial venture. I asked Ronn Torossian for some tips for us, in order to handle our own, small-scale, public relations.

1. Don’t make the story about you, make it about something in the news.
2. Work hard, work hard, work hard.
3. Search engine optimization, twitter, facebook, and any way to dive into social and traditional media.

I was also curious to know how an unknown author could promote their book like the big boys. Ronn Torossian represents Barnes & Noble, so he knows this space, and how difficult it is to break into it.

1. Find the stories being written about your topic, and make sure you’re mentioned in them.
2. Seek out all the blogs and websites that write about your topic, and pitch to them.
3. Be very specific to the audience you’re trying to reach.

Ronn Torossian’s Productivity Tip

Like many of us, Ronn Torossian is still learning and tweaking every single day, and says that his faith in God helps him to keep pushing forward. The other thing that keeps him pushing forward is that he grew up with no money, which keeps him hungry every day.

Ronn Torossian got the opportunity to spend a couple of days with a client, that is one of the richest men in the world. Ronn Torossian noticed that the man wasn’t wearing a watch, one day after the other. Finally Ronn Torossian asked him “You’re one of the richest men in the world, how come you aren’t wearing a watch?”

The man recalled that when he was 13, he asked his dad for a watch for his Bar Mitzvah. His dad had to decline this request, because he could not afford to buy his son a watch. He saved up, and got himself a watch the following year. When he was a bit older and more successful, and accumulated X million dollars, he stopped wearing his watch. This served as a reminder from his youth, when he couldn’t afford a watch, and this fueled the hunger that pushed him to even more success.

Ronn Torossian’s Recommended Reading

• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy
• It’s Not the Big That Eat the Small…It’s the Fast That Eat the Slow: How to Use Speed as a Competitive Tool in Business by Jason Jennings

Final Tip for Success

Work hard, be focused, and don’t please all people. Please yourself, pleasure your clients, take chances. Even in an economy like this, there is a chance to win, you just have to understand what the market place is, what the market place is looking for, and go for it — don’t be afraid of failure.
~Ronn Torossian

More From Ronn Torossian

• Ronn Torossian Blog
• 5W Public Relations
• Ronn Torossian on Facebook

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