Telling stories the right way and making sure they are heard is what Pat McNamara does best.
As founder and CEO of APEX Public Relations Inc., McNamara, 52, is known for being honest and straightforward in an industry often caricatured as being neither of those things. She’s also been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs and says what keeps her motivated and successful is a focus on trust and lasting relationships.
“The business I’m in is a lot about relationships. I don’t think clients ultimately buy on price. Particularly in the service business, people want good relationships — they want to work with people they like,” McNamara said.
Born in London, Ont., McNamara studied journalism in Calgary after getting an undergraduate degree from the University of Western Ontario. Like a lot of young journalists, she switched to public relations to get steady work and spent 16 years working for different agencies before deciding to branch out on her own.
When she started APEX in 1998 she was the sole employee in a small office, buying furniture on the same day new clients were walking in the door. McNamara even pretended to be her own receptionist once when a call came in because she didn’t want an important client to think she had no secretary.
At the time, a recession was in full swing and the tech bubble hadn’t yet burst, yet APEX found the year 2000 to be its best growth year in large part because while other PR firms were crumbling under the weight of economic hardships, McNamara’s firm was revving up to take on clients.
Now, years later, McNamara’s company numbers more than 30 employees and is a growing force in Canada. McNamara credits a lot of that growth to the increasing importance of good public relations management in a world where information travels faster than ever.
“PR used to be a ‘nice to have,’ now it’s a ‘have to have.’ Public scrutiny is huge today so it’s in the best interest of a company to be as transparent as possible and tell their story,” she said.
McNamara used to be the chair of the Canadian Council of PR Firms and when it comes to negative perceptions of the public relations industry, McNamara is adamant that a few bad apples shouldn’t be allowed to spoil the batch. She says the industry as a whole strives for ethical behaviour and practices because the public can see through lies and misdirection.
“As an industry we need to be clear that we are encouraging our clients to be transparent. You ultimately need to tell the truth and that’s what we encourage our clients to do,” she said.
McNamara’s best piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs? Don’t go it alone.
“I’m a really big proponent of good advisors because it’s absolutely impossible to be good at everything.”
