Have you ever been part of a boot camp fitness program? I know lots of people who have (myself included), and the purpose is typically to learn how to be fit or get back to being fit in a short period of time. Wouldn’t it be great if there was something like that for leaders of PR agencies? A way to learn how to run a fiscally fit, successful agency or to get your firm back in shape after tough times?

Guess what! There is! It is called PRSA’s Counselors Academy conference, and this year it will be held in Austin, June 9 – 11. As the 2013 conference chair, I visited Austin earlier this year with some other Counselors Academy members for a conference planning retreat. In addition to meeting with one of our conference keynote speakers, Richard Binhammer, touring Four Seasons, the conference hotel and meeting with local PRSA members, I tagged along with my conference co-chair, Tom Garrity, for some boot shopping! (Notice the not so smooth transition from boot camp to just plain ole boots?)

When I agreed to go to a boot store, I had no idea we’d have an experience with a business owner who has so much in common with many of our Counselors Academy members. Jerry Ryan at Heritage Boots might not be a PR guy, but he is passionate about offering a quality product, struck out on his own because he had an idea of a “better way to do it” and is successful because of his commitment to his vision. He’s also quite the media darling, receiving news coverage locally, regionally and nationally in outlets such as The New York Times.

So grab yer hat and git yer boots and mosey on over to the Counselors Academy Conference registration page and sign up for our PR agency “boot camp” today. And if you need some new boots to wear to the conference, make sure and see Jerry at Heritage. You might also learn a thing or two about running your business while you are there.