NEWS
Getting to know Strand PR MD Laura Pearce
September 2022
Reading time: 3 minute(s).
Strand PR is celebrating an amazing 10 years in business. For a decade, Managing Director Laura Pearce has been at the helm of the award-winning company, securing clients from a range of different sectors.
Based in a village near Royston, the firm has earned itself a reputation for delivering results for local and national companies, achieving hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of media coverage.
Now, after a decade of steering Strand through Brexit, a recession and the pandemic, Laura reflects on the company’s achievements, lessons she has learnt and what the future holds for the firm.
When was the lightbulb moment?
I was at work and one of the few women who worked there suggested I set up a business so I could freelance at the company she was moving to. They were offering me £100 more than I was already on. So, I quit my job.
However, the freelance work I had been promised fell through, but the seed of working for myself had already been planted and from there Strand PR was born.
How long did it take to get Strand off the ground?
It took a few weeks to land my first client, The German Crutch Company.
But, things really stepped up when I met my first retainer client, the Fox and Duck in Therfield. I hit it off with the landlord after discussing catering for my Mum’s 60th and I’m so proud that 10 years later, they are still a Strand PR client.
Where did the name Strand PR come from?
I wanted to sound like an established London firm, so, I turned to the Monopoly board and went through the places on there. Also, when it comes to PR and marketing there are so many ‘strands’ to bring together. I think it works.
Life is a series of hurdles; some you’ll walk over without knowing it, some you’ll have to give a hop and a skip over, some will require a bloody big jump, and others will just hit you square in the face and floor you. But then, you get up and you keep on going.
Where do you get your work ethic from?
I got my first job at 13 as a waitress and I worked really hard. I think that working hard is a value that has been instilled in me by my parents who are both grafters.
I realised money was the key to helping my family and ultimately my freedom, so I took as many shifts as I could fit in.
One day the famous Richard Madeley walked in. I got so nervous serving him that I managed to spill gravy on him. It felt like the end of the world to me and clearly, he had been a little bothered as he left a 50p tip – a record low for the restaurant.
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given?
That life is a series of hurdles; some you’ll walk over without knowing it, some you’ll have to give a hop and a skip over, some will require a bloody big jump, and others will just hit you square in the face and floor you. But then, you get up and you keep on going.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
The love of life.
What’s next?
I want to continue building an environment where people thrive. I want my team to want to come to work every day and enjoy being part of something.
What do you do to relax?
Read, walk the dog and I’m a hospitality fiend, I love finding new places to eat. And people. I find people one of the joys of life.
