Name: Katherine Heaviside
Title: President
Company Name: Epoch 5 Public Relations & Marketing
Long Island Pulse: What was the key step that really got your career underway? Was there a watershed moment that you remember as being particularly important to starting your career?
Katherine Heaviside: When I discovered that there was a job that actually paid me to write and learn new things every day, that was the moment I fell in love with public relations.
Long Island Pulse: What do you credit as the secret to your success?
Katherine Heaviside: Working with people who are better than I am in particular areas and letting them shine.
Long Island Pulse: How do you define success?
Katherine Heaviside: Success is waking up every morning and looking forward to going to work. It is never about money – it is always about enjoying what I do every day.
Long Island Pulse: Was there a particular moment in which you realized that you are exactly where you ought to be professionally or doing exactly what you were meant to do?
Katherine Heaviside: There is always the next hill to climb, so I never feel that I’m exactly where I should be.
Long Island Pulse: How do you attract and keep good employees?
Katherine Heaviside: Respect what they know and what they do. The most valuable people are those who are better than me in some area and are unafraid to criticize me when they feel I am wrong.
Long Island Pulse: What is the best way to get new business?
Katherine Heaviside: The best way to get new business is to do great work on your current business and new business will come through the door. Of course, we aggressively use public relations to tell the world of our successes and that brings in new business.
Long Island Pulse: What is the most important thing you do or tactic you use in making a sale?
Katherine Heaviside: Listen. Listen. Listen. There is nothing more effective than proposing a strategy to a client that answers their needs. The only way you can do that is by listening very carefully to what they are saying and not saying.
Long Island Pulse: How do you respond to adversity?
Katherine Heaviside: It isn’t always easy, but I try to take the attitude that adversity is a learning experience. It’s important to carefully analyze what went wrong, my role in the issue and how I could change how I handle a similar problem in the future. It’s very important to face things directly.
Long Island Pulse: How do you make yourself stand out?
Katherine Heaviside: My clients are the ones who we try to make “stand out.” When they are successful, I am successful. That said, it’s been pointed out to me that I usually wear red in large gatherings.
Long Island Pulse: What makes you different from your peers?
Katherine Heaviside: That’s hard to say. Looking at my peers I’m extremely proud of the level of talent found on Long Island. We’ve each helped raise the bar for professionalism in public relations.
Long Island Pulse: What was the most important thing you learned from other bosses you’ve had?
Katherine Heaviside: Treat the people you work with as you would like to be treated. My first boss in PR didn’t and I vowed to never be like him.
Long Island Pulse: What attracts you to the people you include in your social circle?
Katherine Heaviside: Intelligence, sense of humor, empathy and kindness.
Long Island Pulse: What qualities do you most respond to in others?
Katherine Heaviside: Passionate interests, energy, intelligence
Long Island Pulse: What qualities do you most negatively respond to in other people?
Katherine Heaviside: Arrogance, lack of a moral compass, laziness
Long Island Pulse: What makes you want to count someone as a close associate or a trusted ally?
Katherine Heaviside: I need to know that they share my appreciation for talent, results and professionalism.
Long Island Pulse: What is the moment when you knew that you made it?
Katherine Heaviside: Has anyone “made it?” Isn’t there always something exciting and new to pursue or achieve?
Long Island Pulse: What is something you do not do enough of?
Katherine Heaviside: Likely, it is just doing nothing. New information and technology is coming at us at warp speed. It’s all exciting and I want to learn as much as possible.