Quinn of Quinn: Choose people you trust and can be yourself with

Name: Florence Quinn Title: President + Founder Company Name: Quinn Follow my company on Twitter @QuinnPR_ What year did you start your career in commercial real estate: 1986 Please respond to one of the following questions with 150 words or less: When you launched your own business what were some of the initial challenges and how did you overcome them? I didn't know how to manage a company, and I was really bad at it. I took the advice of a friend who also has her own PR firm, and hired executive coach and trainer Grace Andrews. With Grace's help we evolved from a place of no structure to having a strong and positive workplace to which everyone contributes. One Christmas I made a "Co-CEO" pillow for Grace. What has been your experience with having a mentor or being a mentor yourself? I tell everyone who asks for advice in any area of life to get help. If there is a cost it is money well spent and free help is always available. I have quarterly lunches with fellow PR owners that are invaluable - for sanity checks if nothing else. Choose people you trust and with whom you can be yourself. Please reflect on a recent achievement and/or milestone for your company: Opening our Miami office two years ago with one executive. We now have a staff of nine handling world-class developments, including Swire's one-billion-dollar Brickell City Centre, the largest project underway in downtown Miami, and Island Gardens, which will have North America's first marina for superyachts. Who or what has been the strongest influence on your career and why? When I renovated my apartment I realized I wanted the same freedom of expression to make my own decisions in business. After that I started Quinn. What is the first thing you do when you arrive in the office in the morning? Empty my workbag from the night before, distribute the NYT and WSJ that I read on the train, hang up my coat, turn on my computer and grab my second cup of morning coffee. What time management strategies do you find to be the most effective for you? I write everything down on its own white sheet of 8 1/2x11 paper - even if it's only three words. This way I don't lose it. What is the best advice you have received and who was it from? Lara Berdine, SVP at Quinn, said two years ago that "it's time for a bit of a refresh." Those eight words launched the rebrand of Quinn into the lifestyle PR firm we are today. List 3 women that you would like to have drinks / dinner with and where would you go? Meryl Streep in my living room; Diane von Furstenberg in her design studio; Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, in my kitchen. What is your favorite quote? "Smith is not supposed to supply the spice; you are." -- written by Katharine Hepburn in a letter to me at college. What did you want to be when you grew up? When I was four I wanted to be a hula dancer. In grammar school Miss America. In college to be in NYC where people dreamed and where dreams could come true.