January and February are AYT Career Central months with guest blogs and features from arts professionals. Our second guest blog in this exciting series is from Chloé Nelkin, Director and Founder of PR consultancy firm, Chloé Nelkin Consulting.

The last five years have been the most exciting whirlwind for Chloé Nelkin Consulting – a bespoke PR consultancy specialising in theatre, opera and art. We’re about to celebrate our fifth birthday in March which is a huge milestone for me and my team.

I did a lot of work experience during my teens and, during my time at university – I studied art history at The Courtauld – I became involved with (and then chaired) a student-run contemporary art exhibition. Through this, my PR skills rapidly developed and I knew PR was the job for me. Various freelance jobs and a stint at a large agency followed before I entertained the possibility of setting up my own company. In March 2010, Chloé Nelkin Consulting was born.

My major outlay was branding, printing and the website because I was able to work from a home office – even without this option, there are so many good free work spaces (even libraries).

As I gradually networked and expanded my contacts, hard work paid off and word of mouth came into play. At first, I only worked with visual arts clients but, at the end of 2011, I was offered a contract for what would become a major London arts festival. I was nervous but the more I heard the keener I became and I took the challenge. I didn’t get much sleep during the festival but it was a triumph. By taking the risk, I gained confidence and the love I already had for theatre and opera grew. I decided it was time for my business to take a new direction and now over half our work is theatre-based.

Whenever possible, I read scripts or listen to the score before we agree to work on a project. It’s really important to me that we believe in the work we’re publicising. If we don’t, how can we expect anyone else to? We also pop into rehearsals, when we can, to see the work develop. Our theatre clients include: smaller companies who we work with on their various shows, such as LAStheatre and Aria Entertainment; venues we look after all year round such as Theatre503; and larger organisations such as Opera Holland Park.

We also have a presence at the Edinburgh Fringe; last year we looked after 11 amazing productions including Circa, Sabrina Mahfouz’s Chef and Clara Brennan’s Spine as well as the IdeasTap Underbelly Award. Edinburgh is so important to me, not just in terms of being a key part of the theatre year, but providing the opportunity to watch so many shows, encounter new companies and find out what’s hot and what’s not.

PR is a very competitive industry and it was daunting to set up. I truly believe the reason CNC has grown is because I love my job and that is one of the things that has made the business a success. We pride ourselves on our attention to detail and the fact we get to know all our clients to understand what they want.

Honesty is really important to me. If we don’t ‘click’ with a person then we don’t work with them. If we don’t think a show is going to get coverage I’d prefer to say so at the outset rather than promise the world and have a disappointed client. I wear my heart on my sleeve and get emotionally involved in my work. There are tiring days, often I don’t finish work until well past midnight and free weekends are a rare luxury but I’m doing what I want to be doing.

Everyone who works for CNC is passionate about the arts and we’re now a team of four. Although everyone has different skills, we have much in common and there’s a great dynamic.

For a while I’d considered taking offices rather than working remotely. After looking for over a year, I finally found the dream space in Berwick Street and we recently moved in. Working in the same office has made a huge difference – even having all the stationery, newspapers and magazines in one place makes the world of difference. Being together, has enabled the team to grow closer and have a good giggle while we work – we’ve even got a champagne fridge.

CNC’s colour is dark pink so, of course, our front door had to be appropriately branded. That door makes me smile every time I open it and, for me, that happiness shows things are continuing to go in the right direction.

To find out more see Chloe Nelkin Consulting website or follow her on Twitter @chloenelkin.