This is “Featured Soloist,” a feature that appears every Tuesday at The Solopreneur Life.

Laura Petrolino

The purpose of “Featured Soloist” is to give all of us a glimpse at how other solopreneurs operate their small businesses. This week we meet Laura Petrolino, who owns a public relations and communications business based in Tampa, Fla. If you would like to be the “Featured Soloist,” please send me an e-mail, Larry@TheSolopreneurLife.com.

Name of solopreneur:
Laura Petrolino

Name of business and city:
Flying Pig Communications, Tampa, Fla.

Web site address:
flyingpigcommunications.com

Type of business:
Public relations and communications

Why did you start your own business:
I really felt there was a need for affordable and effective marketing and communications assistance for nonprofits and small businesses. These are organizations that have a lot to offer, but not a lot of funds or resources often to tell the world about themselves, their products and their services. Flying Pig relies on old-school relationship building and networking to help these organizations reach their target clientele in creative and simple ways that offer an amazing ROI.

What is the story behind the name Flying Pig Communications:
Simple: anything is possible. No matter how small your resources, short your budget, difficult your market, any business owner can be successful in their communications with the proper planning, creativity and execution. Don’t think you can compete with your neighbor’s multi-million dollar budget? Think again! Even in the toughest economy, pigs do fly!

What was the best thing you did when you were starting up your business:
Realize that “it takes a village.” No man is an island, and that is especially true for business owners. I reached out to those around me and offered to help them with their businesses in any way I could. I worked to form coalitions with fellow business owners, create a referral train and donate my services in little ways when I could. This type of partnering and relationship building is a core component of all of the campaigns I develop for my clients, thus a core component of my own business planning and outreach.

What is a mistake that you made that you have learned from:
Sadly, being too trusting. I prefer to do things with “a handshake,” but I soon learned that that was the quickest way to be taken advantage of. This is sad to me, because I prefer to work with clients as friends. I hold up my side of the agreement, you hold up yours. I like working in a environment of complete trust. Unfortunately, I learned I had to protect myself, so now I have stricter contracts and payment terms.

What is your biggest current challenge in the business, and what are you doing to try to solve it:
The growing pains of expansion. I’m currently developing a very small and talented staff to help me with clients and expand Flying Pig’s service offerings. It is tricky finding those lines of what you want to let go of, how to best develop systems of quality control and the trust of letting others (although amazing and talented individuals) represent a part of the baby you’ve developed. I’m very lucky though to have some amazing people working with and for me, so that helps the transition be that much easier!

What are your goals for 2010:
I’d like to be able to focus on the educational side of my business quite a bit more. Flying Pig University hopes to be able to provide short courses for nonprofit and small-business professionals to help them conquer their communications and marketing hurdles, strengthen or create their business brand and positioning and create “do-it yourself” marketing plans.

What’s your advice for aspiring solopreneurs:
If you are going to do it, do it all the way. Take the leap and devote all you have to your business and its development. It is very hard to be a part-time solopreneur. Get yourself to a point that you can go at it full tempo and go for it! Also, never stop learning; budget your time so you learn something daily that can help your business, or sharpen or expand your skills. As a solopreneur you always have to be one step ahead. A constant focus on expanding your knowledge base will help this become a reality.

Welcome back! If you would like to work with me, Larry Keltto of The Solopreneur Life, click here.

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• Featured Soloist Tommy Walker: “Don’t Sell Out On Your Vision”
• Featured Soloist Jill Chivers: “Be Extra Patient”
• Featured Soloist David Billings: “It’s All My Roller-Coaster Ride”