On this week's show, I'm joined by Ana Kaplan of Kaplan Communications, a PR company that works with beauty and holistic companies. Ana worked for a large PR company but increasingly felt like they didn’t match her values. So, during COVID-19, she took the brave move of leaving them behind and setting up her own company that has the unique approach of blending PR and marketing with holistic wellbeing. In this interview with Karen, Ana discusses the importance of creating stories, the all-important ‘hook’ and the crucial difference between PR and Marketing.   KEY TAKEAWAYS How do we know when a new venture is the right path to follow? Leading on from Ana sharing her story of how she began her company, we discuss the idea of following your heart and the green flags to look out for. Ana moved from working for a large PR firm to setting up her own. She talks about the lessons she learned from the big firm and how they have shaped her philosophy on both her work and selecting the clients she chooses to work with. What is the difference between PR and marketing? Ana explains, giving examples, so that you can organise and be efficient. ‘The Hook’ is one of the most important aspects of creating a piece of modern marketing. But what is a hook?, what makes a good one?, and how does the approach change for different types of media? Ana explains. BEST MOMENTS “When things feel natural and fluid, that’s how you know it’s meant for you.” “Are your goals coming from a place of ego or from alignment of where we want to be in the world?” “When you're writing a PR story make sure you’ve done your research on who you are sending it to, don’t just cut and paste.” EPISODE LINKS Website: https://www.kaplan-communications.com/about Yin Yoga: https://thepoweryogaco.com/hybrid-plugin/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaplancommunications/ https://www.instagram.com/ana.stasia.maria/  VALUABLE RESOURCES Getting Started Guide             Artisan Perfumery Mastermind   ABOUT THE GUEST Ana Kaplan is a PR specialist focused on supporting wellbeing and beauty brands; she is also a yin yoga practitioner.  Ana holds space for healing yin yoga sessions incorporating galactic reiki to re-calibrate the nervous system as one melts into a deep meditative relaxed state.  From a young age Ana has always been attracted to spirituality and helping people holistically. The benefits of practising yin yoga has created an awareness of a different quality of being which she weaves into her unique PR approach. When she works with clients, Ana harnesses an intuitive edge to deliver valuable and recognised results. By working in alignment through her bespoke PR services, she is able to share her knowledge for all to benefit from her unique and effective PR philosophy.  ABOUT THE HOST Fragrance expert, author, teacher and speaker; Karen Gilbert runs courses in the UK and online which demystify the secretive world of perfumery in a fun and interactive way. Karen has inspired thousands of students to explore their olfactory sense and create their own personalised fragrances. With extensive product development experience in both the commercial perfumery and the organic skincare industry, Karen is able to offer a unique insight into creating natural and mixed media fragrances for fine fragrance, room scents and skincare/bodycare products using commercial perfumery techniques. Karen is also a certified meditation teacher and has a passion for helping people to create daily rituals that integrate scent with other modalities to shift state and increase your sense of wellbeing. CONTACT DETAILS Website Instagram Facebook YouTube Email