Lauren’s Latest News is here to help get your marketing and communications wheels turning.

Wasn't it just a few months ago that I was writing the first-anniversary post? Time flies when you're having fun… and when you're busy.

Two years ago, at the height of the pandemic and several other world events, I decided to start a business, and I have never looked back.

In the third part of a three-part series, we offer 20 different types of content that you can create and share on LinkedIn.

In the second of a three-part series, we offer 10 more ways that you can engage on LinkedIn. We help you step up from simply commenting to sharing.

One of the biggest questions that we get regarding LinkedIn is: what do I post? In the first of a three-part series we offer 10 simple ways that you can engage on LinkedIn to get the ball rolling.

LinkedIn can be described as a combination of the coffee date, a networking event, and your resume all wrapped into one digital package. The last few years have proved that business professionals, entrepreneurs, and influencers need LinkedIn more than ever. If you think your industry is not on LinkedIn, think again. While it may be one of the fastest-growing platforms, it's also one of the most underutilized. Here are my suggestions for optimizing LinkedIn.

I always tell people that a website can serve one of two main purposes--a traffic director or a brochure. For me, it’s the latter. I treat my website like my brochure, or my sales presentation if you will. In other words, people are going to our website because they have been sent there (by me or someone I know). My website is social proof that we are not just a legit business, but we are great writers for a specific type of client. It’s a way for people to get to know more about us and confirm that they want to do business with us, or at the very least meet us if they haven’t already.

Last month, I posted a blog about Health Awareness Days and promised I'd continue the theme of sharing these each month, as a friendly little reminder to my followers. As a reminder, Awareness Holidays are similar to social media holidays but focused on bringing attention to a particular illness or affliction. Without further ado, here are the November Awareness Holidays courtesy of Healthline's article: Health Awareness Days in 2021 (healthline.com)

As a little girl, I was passionate about two things: The Wizard of Oz and a future career as a teacher. If you’ve poked around my website or social media, you’ll know that I use The Wizard of Oz analogy a lot, so clearly, my love for the brown-haired girl in the ruby slippers with the little dog has not changed. On the other hand, my career ambitions have changed quite a bit over the years. In fact, I’d say it’s been anything but a straight road (a yellow brick one?).

In this article published on LinkedIn Pulse, we talk about how in today’s world business owners cannot fly under the radar. There has to be a face behind the business. We answer the question, how can you do this when you're not too keen on the spotlight?

The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Lauren’s personal essay was featured on NAMI’s blog.

Some of you might have noticed the soft launch of my new logo. So, to those who noticed, thank you! And to those who commented, extra thank you! The new logo is part of a larger initiative to level up—a goal I had from the start of the year. In fact, I wrote it on my whiteboard in early January and haven’t erased it since.

Leveling up can mean so many different things. For me, it meant increasing my revenue and my reach—a solid year two goal. To do this, I also needed to level up the story I was telling and how I was telling it. I needed the branding to better align with the brand.

On Friday, I celebrate a big occasion---one year that I have been *officially* in business as Lauren Perna Communications. Technically, I didn’t launch to the public until a few months later but June 25th, 2020, is the day that I signed the LLC paperwork. The day that I finalized my move from freelancer, on-and-off jobseeker to entrepreneur and business owner.

The truth is entrepreneurship wasn’t in my plans for 2020. I always knew I wanted to work for myself, but my vision was a few years down the road. I had this belief that before I could do that, I needed to get a few more years in the corporate world. I felt like I needed more “concrete” experience…whatever that means. I thought I would miss working with co-workers or getting out of my house. I let myself believe all these things, enduring the seesaw of emotions that came with leaving my long-time job, freelancing, job-hunting, interviewing, coffee meetings, networking events, and everything in between.

Lauren’s personal article on her mental health journey was published on The Mighty. The article received high accolades and impacted many struggling with mental illness. The impact of visibility of this article propelled Lauren into her advocacy role for the mental illness community.