Faces Of Our Economy: How one burnt-out Sydney journalist decided to become his own boss and tackle the PR landscape

The Economy is a big word that gets thrown around by politicians and professionals, businessmen and social workers, lecturers and students. It is usually associated with words like demand and supply, boom and bust, trade, distribution and production, but we at IBTimes Australia believe there’s more to our economy than just statistics and percentages. Our economy is made up of success stories, failures and everything in between, all of which would not exist without people.

Faces of our Economy is a campaign that seeks to dive deeper into the makeup of the Australian economy - Australians from all walks of life, and at different stages of their journey.

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It’s been a long journey for small business owner Mathew Chandler to get to where he is today. Over the last year or so, Chandler has been running his own start up, Acumentum Communications, from his home office in Sydney’s inner west, specialising in what he knows best: corporate communications, brand strategy and content.

Like 95 percent of the economy, which is made up of SMEs, Chandler’s story is one riddled with roadblocks and challenges. He certainly didn’t start off striving to be his own boss, but the long and rocky road he has traversed throughout his career has equipped him with the skills needed to run his company today.

Chandler first began his career as a cadet journalist, before climbing the ranks to become a reporter and finally property editor of the Australian Financial Review.

Like many journos before him, Chandler crossed over to so-called dark side -- public relations, or PR -- when he realised he was falling out of love with journalism. After eight years with the AFR, the break-up moment came when management “took a scythe across all of the well paid and older journalists” and left the industry run by younger, less experienced writers.

“When you take out talent like that and you’re working for a financial publication, what tends to happen is you end up having lots of young people who haven’t been through economic cycles running the organisation,” he explains his decision, what he calls a case of “professional burnout”, to us.

“So you lose a mentor in that.”

Yet, the relief didn’t come through immediately, after his next job at Multiplex Group left him “completely and utterly shattered”.

Chandler’s much-needed break came in 2006 when he joined Colonial First State Global Asset Management, which got him moving in the right direction.

“Working in investor relations meant I was more connected in a financial sense and that my capabilities went beyond just the written word, to understanding how companies operate from a financial perspective,” he says.

Soaking up all the wisdom and knowledge that came with this new position made his redundancy from the company eight years later a positive turning point. Instead of focusing on one door closing, Chandler did what he always does and saw the silver lining.

“I had an opportunity to continue what I’d always done, which was to be paid by an employer or to go out on my own.”

Taking a leap of faith, Chandler ventured to make Acumentum Communications, and therefore being his own boss, a reality.

“The impetus for me really was that I wanted a new challenge. I wanted something to own. I wanted to make my mark on the world that was only my own.”

The reality of being your own boss

All businesses are tied to the swings of economic cycles -- no one employee or employer is immune to the dreaded slow down -- so while Chandler is happy being at the top of the food chain, honing his skills as a former journalist and PR consultant, he still has to face the trials and bear the responsibilities of running a small business. His biggest fear is not knowing where his next client will come from.

“You have to settle with yourself that there will be peaks and troughs of income, particularly in your first year,” he says.

But always the optimist, he describes his time alone in the world of business as calm and logical, especially since his “simple” business mantra sets the tone for him: thrive by doing what you love and discovering what you’re passionate about.

“I love getting up in the morning. I love doing what I do. There are still moments of stress but it’s stress that I can own because I’m in complete control now.”

Chandler also has a brighter outlook on the economy than his counterparts, both in and outside the world of PR.

“In my line of work, people always need words and not everyone can write,” he quips. “The only way it will impact me if people can no longer afford to do nice things. I haven’t been largely impacted by movements in the economy.”

His sentiments match the outlook portrayed by the most recent IBISWorld Public Relations Services market research report. Released in December 2015, the report notes that mixed economic conditions such as lower consumer confidence over the past five years have not affected the PR services industry “to the same degree as traditional advertising”:

“While marketing budgets tend to be one of the first items targeted in cost-cutting efforts, public relations (PR) services are often seen as more focused and therefore better value than media advertising. As a result, spending on PR tends to be less volatile and holds up better when budgets are cut.”

Interestingly, the IBISWorld market research report also notes that the $515 million PR industry in Australia is highly fragmented, with the four largest companies accounting for less than 20 percent of total revenue in 2015-16.

But Chandler’s worry of building a strong pipeline of work and clients shouldn’t be dismissed. On this end, he says a decades’ worth of experience isn’t enough to run a successful business. In fact, Acumentum Communications has relied as much on Chandler’s knowledge as the ever important ritual of networking.

“Word of mouth just built this company,” he explains.

More to PR than meets the eye

Although it is easy to write off public relations as simply a way of ‘spinning’ the news, Chandler says his services are a means to giving his clients, which include numerous ASX top 50 companies (by market cap), more room to breathe.

“What I’m allowing Australian business to do is have flexibility in the way they operate. If they [larger organisations] had to employ every single service provider, then business would be inefficient.”

Chandler says this flexibility stems from businesses saving time and money by hiring companies like his own to avoid employing somebody full time and keeping work on a project to project basis.

And it appears this value he is adding is real. Two years on since it was established and Acumentum Communications is going strong with enough stability to add another member to the small team of one. But Chandler is biding his time in becoming a mentor since he wants to be able to have the hours to nurture the career of the next generation instead of leaving it to fend for itself.

“If I’m going to take someone on, I want to give them the opportunity that I had in my career.”

Chandler is particularly keen on mentorship, considering he had rejected guidance as a young journalist -- a move he now regrets. He urges young people, especially novice journalists, to be next in line to receive the information and guidance of the previous generation.

“For a long time I didn’t have a mentor because I thought I knew everything. The older I get the more mentors I’m happy to take on in my life because I don’t know everything.”