Timing: Know when and how media folks want to be contacted. They have a million communication channels to manage – email, phone, text and social media pipelines.  Stand out by making it convenient and easy for them to work with you.

Speed: Promptly return all media phone calls. They are often working on a quickly approaching deadline, and when it passes you may never have another chance to contribute to that story, or be used as a source for that journalist or blogger.

Preparation: Be prepared for every encounter you have with the press, whether it is a formal interview, a tradeshow or an impromptu call. Know the two key points you want to make and rehearse the answers to the ten most likely questions, especially including the ones you’d rather they didn’t ask.

Background: The journalist or blogger can’t be an expert in every arena, so help them understand the value your company or product delivers, why this information is news and how it fits into the big picture.

Not true. Not ever.

Oftentimes, a simple customer survey, round-up of the latest trends in your industry or a few statistics to show your business’ awesome growth is all you need to turn a reporter’s head. Click HERE for a very recent example from one of our clients, Travel Experts, Inc., who we placed in Forbes by pitching some information on the latest luxury travel trends. Reporters like this kind of “news” because it is up-to-date, not too self-promotional and of interest to their readers.

Be sure to let them know what we are doing here and then let us know who they are and how we can reach out to them.  We will feature them here on our website and on our various social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.

We figured it was time to pause for a breath and take a look back at what we’ve learned over the course of that year.

Believe:  In yourself.  In your idea.  In your ability to get the job done.  In the fact that, no matter how radical the idea seems at first, people will come around to seeing how great it is.  In each case, these entrepreneurs had just their own belief in what they could do, and the idea they had, to become successful.

Know Your Strengths:  In each case the entrepreneurs knew what they were good at and where their strengths lay.   They were able to capitalize on that and turn their strengths into their business and then use those strengths to move further and become a success than some of them dared hope.

Do What You Love:  In each case the entrepreneur had a desire and passion about something whether that something was journalism, providing healthy grass-fed beef, starting an internet company or turning a love of gymnastics into something that could give hope to children who might have lost hope.  In each case these passions turned into something successful, dramatic, life-changing, and exciting.

Keep Learning:  At the same time, these entrepreneurs also had to be willing to learn new things as they went along.  Sometimes learning meant learning from mistakes and failures, but each entrepreneur came to the realization that in order to succeed they might need to either acquire new skills, or find people to surround themselves with who had those skills in order to succeed.

Know When to Hold’em, Know When to Fold ‘em:  Each entrepreneur had no real idea if their dream would become a reality.  Still, they pursued it like they could not fail.  At times they had to be willing to pull down the awning and start over.  Or, sometimes, to sell the business, but then be willing to start over again with a brand new dream.  Other times, though, they had to persevere through hard times in order to get through the storms to the pleasant weather on the other side.

If there is a common theme among the back stories for our entrepreneurs, it is that the back stories are never quite the same.  Surely, by looking back, you can find some common themes, but overall, each entrepreneur had different reasons for starting their business.  Some of the reasons the various entrepreneurs we have written about started their own business and decided to drive down their own path include:

• Getting passed over for a job
• Proving themselves to their parents
• Knew that there was a better way
• Wanting to return to his roots

Despite all of these varied background, each of them felt that they had a better way of doing things.  They all had dreams of “building a better mousetrap.”  They look at the world differently and wonder how they can change it, how they can improve it.  They don’t necessarily accept the way things are, but look for a new path.  Their stories prove that a single person can make a difference.

If there is one thing that can be learned from these successful entrepreneurs it is this:  Success looks easy when you are at the top of the mountain, but it’s the hand over hand climb that others might overlook that make these business people leaders.

We figured it was time to pause for a breath and take a look back at what we’ve learned over the course of that year.

The Quick Take:

We have spoken to business owners, politicians, scientists and more, over the course of the year.  Certain things seem to be consistent with each of them, even though each of them come from different backgrounds, had different ambitions, and started different companies.

An idea:  In nearly every case the entrepreneur had an idea.  It may have been considered crazy by some, and more than a few got little support, but they believed in that idea and believed in it enough to move forward with making it happen.

Mistakes:  In every case the entrepreneur had to learn as they went along, no matter how long they might have been in the business world before trying to strike out on their own.  Each made mistakes (some of them significant) along the way, but none of them let that deter them.

Determination: These business men and women had determination in abundance.  Even though they were knocked down, they got back up.  In some cases, almost through sheer force of will alone, they got their business not only off the ground, but to succeed.

No standing still:  In a few cases we interviewed entrepreneurs who had, technically, retired, only to find that their determination was so strong that they had to start another business venture.  A truly successful entrepreneur does not sit back, but keeps moving forward.

Jacob Sitati of Maurice + Fischer

Jacob Sitati, Managing Principal, Maurice + Fischer

Be Confident. Be confident in what you can do with your company.  If you are not confident and willing to tout what you can do differently from every other company, then people will not want to work with you.  He recently got that large utility company to sign up with him because he looked at them and said that he could do it better than a larger company.

Be Courteous.  Common courtesy is important and can go a long way towards making a good impression on people.  Returning emails and calls in a timely manner is something that some people seem to have forgotten, but really goes a long way towards making a good impression.

Publicize Your Offering.  Get the word out about what your business is and why it is better than the competition.  As Jacobs has said, you can be the best at whatever you do, but if no one knows about it, then it does not and will not matter.

Jacob Sitati of Maurice + Fischer

Jacob Sitati, Managing Principal, Maurice + Fischer

Jacob came to the United States from Kenya in 1997 on a full academic scholarship and attended Hope College, John Marshall Law School and Valparaiso University.  Jacob studied Economics and Political Science, Information Privacy and Technology Law and International Commerce and Policy. He also worked in labor and employment law firms for six years and worked in public policy in the insurance industry for 3 years before founding Maurice + Fischer with partners in 2009.

Maurice + Fisher came about because in 2009 Jacob’s contract was not renewed at his place of work during the ongoing downturn in the economy. Instead of looking for just a job, , Jacob got together with friends from emerging markets and came up with an idea that evolved to be his current firm of Maurice + Fischer. The stated goal was to tap into their vast knowledge and networks to help companies interested in venturing into the vast market in the Africa’s space. Through persistence and some luck they have been able grow the business and develop lasting client relationships.

Jacob Sitati of Maurice + Fischer

Jacob Sitati, Managing Principal, Maurice + Fischer

Jacob Sitati has a vision is to bring business to emerging world markets, such as his native Kenya.  His work with Maurice + Fischer helps companies looking for new opportunities to open up businesses across Africa, bringing jobs, modernization and hope to areas that need it.

The Quick Take:

Best Advice: Make sure the right people know what you do and what you can do.  It’s not how good you are at what you do, and you can be the best, but if the right people do not know about what you can do for them, it will not matter.

Greatest Failure: Not being recognizing when he had lost a deal when it was obvious very early on in the process.  In several cases, early on, he had the signs, but he was not able to realize it was going bad and he continued to waste money and resources on the deal rather than either changing tactics or moving on to something else.

Greatest Success: Bringing some of the very large clients that he has signed up recently on board and willing to expand into Africa.  For example, he recently got a very large utilities company to sign up with Maurice + Fischer rather than another company by explaining how he could help them better than anyone else.

What Makes Jacob Crazy?  Poor response to communication.  Jacob believes that a little courtesy goes a long way.  If you contact someone today and they take days to respond, it can be so frustrating.  It just takes a little bit of courtesy to send an email back to them, tell them when you might have more time to talk.

Give Thanks: Be thankful even for the calamities that may come your way because they teach you something.  You may learn to not make the same mistake again or recognize the strength you had to overcome a difficult situation.

Honor Your Beliefs: Be true to yourself.  When you have something drastic staring you in the face, and you realize that is it not good for you, have the tenacity to stick with your convictions and remove that negative from either your personal or work environment.

American Pride: Start talking to politicians about the lack of manufacturing in the U.S.  We need to be diligent and start insisting on building our manufacturing industry.

Greenwashing: Greenwashing is the act of claiming to be green when you are not and it is wrong because it causes confusion among consumers.  Those companies who falsely claim their policies are being environmentally friendly, prevent themselves and others from ever really going green.