Like many women entrepreneurs, I started out as a mom-preneur, which meant I literally launched my business from my kitchen table. I have twin girls, and when we moved from northern to southern California and away from my family, their father and I just didn’t have the heart to leave our babies in daycare. So, I stayed home with them during their early years, working as a freelance reporter. Then, a business contact asked me to write a press release for a tradeshow he was putting on in Los Angeles. Oh boy, I’d never written one before, and I must have read about 100 sample press releases before I wrote mine! But, after I saw my first press release picked up by the media, that was it, I was hooked! I have seen my byline in print lots of times before, but this was different. I knew this was the business for me.
2) What values do you try to live by?
For me, to be successful in public relations, or in most things in life really, is to create win-win situations for everyone that you work with, not just for yourself.
I still work with the media a lot, and when I pitch them a story about one of my clients I keep in mind what the editors are looking for, what their readers want. I don’t work with the notion of trying to “sell” this product or that service just to get my client in print; I tell a story that hopefully will be interesting for a lot of people.
I think I’ll always be a journalist at heart, and I love writing about unique and interesting people. And, to me, everyone’s got a newsworthy story! Thinking about the needs of other people that you work with, how to help make their job easier and make them more successful is the real rush for me. And, when I keep these things in mind, I am rewarded tenfold!
3) Who do you consider to be a role model?
Asian women entrepreneurs! My parents were immigrants and entrepreneurs, and I saw how hard they worked while raising a family and going through the whole cultural conflicts with me and my sister.Being an entrepreneur takes sacrifice, especially for women. Sometimes we start off with different dreams, but women are such masters at reinventing ourselves, particularly when we become mothers. I know that’s a worn-out cliché, but it’s true!
My mom was a chemical engineer in the Philippines before she and my dad opened their import/export business in northern California. They were the “middle man” between mining companies in Asia and heavy equipment and machinery suppliers here in the U.S. I remember hearing my mom talk on the phone to these suppliers in Tennessee or other parts of the Midwest and the south. She has this heavy Filipino accent, and sometimes I’d hear her yelling at these guys if they screwed up or didn’t have her orders on time. But, she knew every part of a bulldozer or crane down to the last nut and bolt, so I knew she also had their respect. You can tell from all the great gift baskets we always got around the holidays, too!
4) Name one of your biggest challenges and how you learned from that situation.
Fear of failure, self-doubt are common challenges for many entrepreneurs. But, they can also be our main motivators. I overcome my fears by praying a lot! I’ve had some very challenging personal events happen to me in recent years, but looking back they have all helped make me who and what I am today.
I feel very fortunate to be doing what I love and having the independence and flexibility to spend time with my children. If we are willing to learn from our mistakes, we can take all of those experiences and turn it into a positive for your personal as well as professional life.
5) When was your most successful moment to date?
I’ve been very fortunate with the media placements I’ve been able to get for my clients. Our clients have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Cincinnati Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, etc. as well as the top Asian American media outlets. And, that’s always a big coup for any PR agency.
But for me, it was getting my Accreditation in Public Relations (APR). I never had any formal training in PR; I always thought I was going to be a journalist forever and be the next Connie Chung! But, I fell in love with public relations and helping clients succeed in their own businesses. By getting my APR, I proved to my clients, my peers and to myself that I was 100% dedicated to this profession, and that I would be constantly learning new and better ways to improve my services to them.
Corin Ramos, APR, is the president of AsianPRwire AsianPRwire.NET, a cross-cultural public relations and ethnic news distribution agency specializing in the Asian and Pacific Islander markets. Corin worked for over 10 years as a print and broadcast journalist before she transitioned into a career into public relations. As a public relations specialist, she has worked both on the agency side as well as in-house. She has developed and implemented national branding campaigns that have resulted in extensive media and public exposure, including placements in both local and national media such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Cincinnati Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Orange County Register and local and national television and radio programs.Corin is a frequent speaker on “How to Get Publicity in the Asian Media.” In January 2006, she received her Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Universal Accreditation Board. She is a board member of the Orange County chapter of PRSA and co-chair of its Diversity Committee. She is also co-founder of the Asian Women Entrepreneurs based in southern California, and the Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Council of Orange County.
Corin was born in Manila, Philippines and came to the U.S. when she was five years old. She lived with her family in northern California and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley before moving to Orange County in 1996.
Best of all, Corin is the mother to 12-year-old twin daughters, Shyla and Lauren Walson.
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