By Emily Horner
A woman who set up her own PR business in Leeds has told students at Leeds Trinity University that she has learned that confidence is the key to success.
Ellie MacDonald set up MacComms in April 2015 as she wanted to base her business on treating people right.
Ellie said: “I literally clawed my way into the industry [with] utter determination,
“I crossed my fingers and hoped it all worked out”.
Speaking today at Journalism and Media Week, Ellie said she had learned to fake it till she made it.
She said: “Confidence is as important as competence – slap a smile on your face and hold your head up high.
“If you believe in it then other people will too.”
Despite not having any marketing qualifications, she hustled her way in through working for an energy saving firm, and then went onto working for the Chamber of Commerce.
However she then decided to go it alone.
“I’m going to do it my way – if you can’t find it then create it yourself.”
The way that she has set up her business herself is to create a more personal approach with her clients than what she saw with other corporate businesses.
She has helped more than 100 Yorkshire based businesses over the four and a half years, nailing her success around building relationships with her clients.
She learned the importance of a friendly, informal atmosphere when meeting clients and at networking events such as Entrepreneurial Spark Natwest.
“My business is about relationships. You cannot teach someone positivity and friendliness.”
Three of her clients have been shortlisted for the Yorkshire Post business awards this month.