Where to start? Where to begin?

 So you have been through it all.  You attended four years of college and got a bachelors of science degree. You decided that wasn't enough so you found yourself in grad school.  Now that you have walked across the stage twice, diploma in hand, you find yourself fresh out of grad school with big dreams of becoming a celebrity PR agent. But wait, did you forget to schedule your intro to celebrity PR class somewhere along the way? Chances are you aren't the only person standing there clueless and thinking, "Where do I start?" I think the best place to start is to see how other success celebrity PR agents have gotten to where they are today. I have chosen one very prevalent celebrity PR agents to look at, Jonathan Cheban, who now has through his success become a celebrity himself. I think to help put into prospective that one does not become the best over night, and to help you create realistic goals, it is important to look at others who have been successful in your industry and what it took for them to get to the top.

Jonathan Cheban graduated from Hofstra University. He began his career working with publicist Lizzie Grubman, owner of a well established PR firm that works with some of the biggest celebrities in the industry.  While working for Lizzie Grubman Public Relations, Jonathan saw an untouched market where corporate brands would be connect to entertainment through partnerships.  With this idea in mind, Jonathan launched his own company Command PR in 1999, a company that today has offices both in New York and Los Angeles.  Command PR's client list consists of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Jennifer Lopez. Although it seems that Jonathan became very successful very fast, in actuality it has taken him over 15 years to establish his name and company within the entertainment industry. Now with his own show The Spin Crowd of E!, Jonathan continues to work hard to make sure he remains an asset to his clients and their success. 

If you are like me you are thinking, "Great! How am I going to start a company in an industry where the larger agencies would crush any new start ups."  So I took to the internet and found an industry professional who has a few tips on how to become a celebrity PR agent from the inside:

1. Try to intern for a PR agency. This will help you familiarize yourself with the PR industry and to gain some real life experience.

2. Use your internship to move up the ranks in the company. With hard work you can go from intern, to account coordinator, then to account executive.

3. NETWORK. NETWORK. NETWORK.  The people you meet in your lower level positions are more than likely your ticket into eventually working with celebrities.

I think one of the most important things to remember when trying to break into the celebrity PR world is to have self-discipline.  If you don't understand the industry and what it takes to achieve your ultimate career aspiration you may become discouraged early and give up.  So hang in there! Rome wasn't built in a day, and great PR agents certainly aren't either!