Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephania Schirru.
Hi Stephania, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Libreville, Gabon, and raised in Germany. After I graduated high school I was recruited by a professional basketball team in Italy and played professional ball for a couple of seasons since I was undecided on what to study. While playing I got injured and realized that I couldn’t solely rely on basketball and earned my bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Oklahoma State University and the University of Bamberg. Soon after I worked in marketing for Coca-Cola helping one of the largest brands in the world launch product innovations and wholesale campaigns.
That’s were I really discovered my love for everything marketing and public relations and decided you get my master’s in marketing from Texas A&M after graduating summa cum laude I got a role as an event coordinator at a Dallas based shoe-retailer pushing forward their annual signature event and helping position them as a leader in the industry. As it is with small business you wear multiple hats. I was in charge of so much. I found the venue, organized casting calls, secured sponors&vendors, marketed the event, write communication pieces, invite press and celebrities, coordinate cross-functional meetings, coordinate interviews, create & manage budgets, write the run of the show, hire event staff, etc. I was basically doing public relations without knowing that this was an actual profession.
Their brand and signature events grew tremendously and become such a hit that people from all over the country would fly in to attend. My role was expanded to marketing manager where I took on digital marketing tasks. I was so overworked and underpaid in my 9-5 that my auto-immune disease lupus broke out and I almost died. Not only wasn’t I able to go into a traditional office setting due to my recovery but I also wanted to provide a better work environment for myself and others.
On top of that, I started to notice that black athletes, fashion designers, and entrepreneurs were proportionally offered significantly fewer media and brand opportunities. I wanted to become part of the solution and founded my PR and marketing company. I made it my mission to amplify black voices in mainstream media and connect them with the right brand partners so they can create additional streams of income as well as take their business to the next level.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not a smooth road. There are many ups and ups. In the beginning, figuring out who your ideal customer is was a bit of a struggle. Also convincing someone to pay your retainers upfront without a huge portfolio in the beginning was very frustrating.
Even after having an extensive portfolio today, it’s still sometimes hard to convince people to trust you, especially with so many scammers out there. We often have to do a lot of education upfront on what Public Relations is why it’s worth so much and why they should invest in it if they want to take their business to the next level. There have been many BS inquiries that ended up just wasting our time. Luckily we have processes in place now that weed those types of inquiries out.
I wanted to help everyone but not everyone was able to pay me my worth, so I often didn’t charge what I should have.
The clients that wanted to pay less ended up requiring the most work and become the biggest headaches. I didn’t have a blueprint I just kind of figured it out. Also, I wasn’t aware of industry standards in terms of rates to charge.
Even though we have contracts in place you sometimes come across clients who don’t honor them which means you’re losing income or have to waste resources and energy to receive your compensation. You have to constantly build relationships and have potential clients in your pipeline. I have clients who stayed in touch and observed me on social media for years before becoming a client.
I really had to learn to go with the flow which means some months you might only have two clients and others you might have 10. In the slow months, you have to find ways to supplement your income. For me that meant creating digital products and hosting online classes.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dynamically Branded?
Dynamically Branded started off as a lifestyle and fashion blog covering topics in fashion, branding, inspiration, and lifestyle. The main purpose of this blog is to educate readers on industry-specific topics as well as to provide professional advice through past experiences and insider knowledge. The blog later developed into the Public Relations and Marketing Firm Dynamically Branded which is based in Dallas TX.
Our target markets are professional athletes, emerging designers, and lifestyle brands of color. We help traditionally marginalized groups gain brand awareness, trustworthiness, and new clientele. We further develop creative marketing strategies that will help set our clients apart from their competitors. Our lasting relationships with the media enabled us to secure press placements in top-tier media such as Vogue, the Washington Post, CNN, People Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, HuffPost, Essence Magazine, and many more.
We connect our clients with brands that align with their mission in order to create additional streams of income so they don’t have to rely on their sport alone. What makes us stand out are our relationships with the media and brands. Further, I speak 4 languages which help secure opportunities globally for our clients. I was a professional athlete myself so I can fully relate to our sports clients and understand how to solve their problems.
Seeing that our clients were able to build long-lasting personal and fashion brands thanks to our expertise is extremely rewarding. One of our clients for example went from track athlete to cosmetics business owner. Another one has a multi-million dollar fashion brand with flagship stores in Dallas and New York. We helped them build the foundation for generational wealth to provide for themselves and their families. Plus we were able to tell their authentic stories educating a mainstream audience and highlighting that black people are not monolithic.
We also created an online fashion marketing course for fashion designers and boutique owners who can’t afford those high Marketing and PR retainers yet. The course is called “Elevate in 60 Days” and teaches them all the key marketing strategies to build a PROFITABLE Fashion Business. This course also includes one on one sessions to dive even deeper. Seeing our students grow their businesses from 0 to multiple six figures is amazing to watch.
Any big plans?
This summer we will be working on a fashion show during Miami Swim Week and we’re also working on an exciting project with the Summer Olympic Games in Paris next year. I can’t share details yet. You will see more courses and masterclasses online from us as well. Our team and business are growing and we are expanding into more markets.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://dynamicallybranded.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dynamicallybranded/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dynamicallybranded
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephania-schirru-68906a25/
- Other: https://elevatein60days.com/
Image Credits
Dynamically Branded
