The feast for independent communicators

Stan Didzbalis, co-founder of AgencyLink, impressed me when I met him a few weeks ago at a meeting of the Alliance of Independent Practitioners (AIP), a subgroup of the Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Stan was there to deliver a talk called “The Feast Before You,” in which he shared an overview of current business trends that favour nimble independents. He knows his stuff, having devoted his career to making things happen in journalism, marketing and PR.

AgencyLink, his new venture, aims to bring together PR clients and firms in a new, more productive way. In a short interview you can download right here, you’ll hear Stan briefly talk about this, but the main subject of this quick podcast is the world of independent communicators and how they can specialize to survive.

By the way, this audio file is part of a pilot series I’m working on for AIP. It currently lives behind a firewall at the IABC eXchange, but in the future, we’ll be making some of this content public.

If you’re an independent, be sure to check out AIP Toronto.

Here are the show notes:
00:45 Intro of Stan Didzbalis of AgencyLink
01:20 About Agency Link and its mission
01:57 Independents must specialize; if you try to be a chameleon, you’ll end up a charlatan
03:10 Corporate clients want people who understand their business, who can come in and provide value from day one. Specialization also helps you to target your marketing.
04:00 Being a trusted advisor
04:20 Value of networking and building alliances
06:09 Comments from members at the meeting

Comments

[Sue Horner]

Another great podcast in the series, Donna! You're doing a terrific job of conveying the type of information and energy that characterize AIP meetings. I speak for many other AIP members when I say, "Thank you!"
Sue

[Donna Papacosta]

Thanks so much, Sue. You're too kind. I'm blushing.