Sarah Hawes

I ignored her – thoughts about doing anything with my life other than writing or performing just weren’t there! And so five years later, having finished a degree in broadcasting, got my first job as a trainee reporter with The Gravesend Messenger (where the editor offered me a job on day 3 of work experience) and written my first front page story for them, I very joyfully popped a copy in the post to that careers teacher with a note … words to the effect of ‘you were wrong’… A friend who was a teacher at the same school said her face was priceless when she opened it in the staff room, but she did pass a message to me saying she was proud and glad I’d ignored her!

Wind forward to today, and I’m running Izzy PR, a *full service PR agency able to take care of all PR & Marketing needs for businesses across a wide industry spectrum. Just don’t ask me to do tech or beauty – well you can, just I’ll refer you to someone much better at it than me!I couldn’t be where I am now though, without the job-hopping I’ve done…Kent Police press office, marketing for a charity, Essex Police online journalist, account manager at a major Kent PR agency, broadcast journalist with BBC Radio Kent and a stint in the NHS too on the PR & Marketing side.

At most of those jobs there was someone who taught me the ropes and guided me. It was at the agency that the boss told me ‘you’ve got a business in you, Sarah’ – she knew it then and has always been in the background supporting me along the way when I’ve needed it.

All have given me the skills to have started Izzy PR in 2015 and take it full-time in 2017, building up clients, working with them monthly, ad-hoc and for project work, but always giving them the benefit of 20 years in journalism!

With that experience comes the ability to liaise with the media, send them the stories and information they want, written in a way that gives it a good chance of getting published. Sometimes, what I sent is published word for word!

* Full Service Agency
I’m working closely with a graphic design agency, to offer the full service, so if a client comes to me wanting website content, I can also arrange graphics, photography, videography and even web build too – all under the Izzy PR roof instead of them working with different people for different things. The idea is to make it easy for them and bring continuity and clarity to their communications.
I can even set-up media training for you if you want to get better at being in front of the camera or working with the media – usually good when there’s a crisis.

I’ve also started a networking group for PR & Marketing professionals in Kent – The PR Crowd. It launched in May in collaboration with another PR colleague and brings together the county’s professionals to work together, collaborate, help and support.

And lastly, I’m running 121 training courses for LinkedIn and my first group course; ‘5 Ways to Maximise Your PR’ is also available.
It’s been an interesting move into self-employment but one I don’t regret and am thoroughly enjoying!