Leslie Yerman
The first interview of the year is with the self-employed communications consultant and writer Leslie J. Yerman. Her vast experience working in public, private and nonprofit sectors, as well as her life experience, have helped Leslie to build her business and a solid clientele base, and have given her the confidence she needs to follow her dreams -combining her skills with her passion.
Leslie J. Yerman has worked in a wide variety of positions and sectors. She worked as press assistant on Capitol Hill and for the government in Washington D.C., writing press materials, testimonies, and speeches. Then she moved on to work with nonprofit organizations in a variety of communications capacities. She also was vice president of a D.C. special events firm that did museum art show openings for corporate underwriters, as well as other events and benefits. She was a communication consultant in Washington, before returning to New York, where she was a senior executive in her family’s graphic arts business until her father closed it 1991. She also started a nonprofit organization in New Jersey to provide education and training to school dropouts of ages ranging from 18 to 24.
Nine years ago Leslie moved back to New York City and worked for two years for companies on a software project. After being laid off, she felt that the jobs available were not offering her enough remuneration and not valuing her experiences, so she made the decision to work for herself. Leslie initially focused on the health care industry, working with an institute of Weill Cornell Medical Center and clients focusing on consumer health communications. A recent success story has been her work to help a client start-up a medical society. The valuable business plan she wrote helped the society come to life and receive its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Her client list also grew to include educational institutions, nonprofits, and small businesses (restaurants, yoga studios, and marketing firms).
Recently, Leslie has decided to pursue her passion, transferring her skills and focusing her work on what she is most interested in – the independent film industry. In order to broaden her horizons and be more involved in the current and future events, Leslie is a member of many film-related organizations, and is the Vice President of Communications for the New York Women in Film and Television (NYWIFT), the preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York City. You can visit its website, which Leslie creatively helped develop, update, and write at www.nywift.org.
Leslie J. Yerman’s believes “good communication is everything”. Her mission is “to help nonprofits, artists and filmmakers to achieve their goals” drawing on her many skills. Her services include marketing, outreach, communications, fundraising and development, creative copywriting for print and multimedia, copyediting, and production.
At the moment, Leslie does not have employees; she wants to grow her business but she does not want to lose her greatest strength – offering one-on-one personal consultations. She markets her business through networking and business referrals. However, Leslie is selective about her clients. She is often disturbed by some of the ethics she sees in the world, and it is very important for her to work with people whose values are about more than just making money.
Leslie has a home office, and while she enjoys working at home, she acknowledges that sometimes it is hard to balance personal and professional career. When she is working on a project, she ends up neglecting other activities that she likes to do, such as attending her Buddhism class or going to films or museums. Although the downside of working at home is the lack of social interaction in a personal way, she shares that she has effectively helped clients by phone and email without ever meeting them. Her days are very productive, but sometimes it is hard to manage her time between her business, the board meetings she attends monthly, and her personal life.
She finds most satisfying the fact that as an entrepreneur she does not need to “play politics” as when she worked for other companies. By being her own boss, Leslie can do things her way, and dedicate 100% of her time to getting the job done, instead of wasting time or getting sidetracked by a company’s culture and politics.
When asked if any advisors have made a difference in her entrepreneurial career, Leslie J. Yerman mentioned people in her spiritual life, who have helped her set her personal goals, and most importantly, helped her believe in herself and in her professional career, encouraging her to follow her heart. Leslie offers the following advice to entrepreneurs: “Really believe in whatever your vision is, and don’t let negative forces discourage you. Life is about ups and downs. Follow your dream and never give up.”
Since working for herself, Leslie has learned to appreciate and respect her talents and skills and to be receptive and giving to clients and people who need help even if she does not see the results right away. She recommends that even during difficult times, you should always believe things are going to change, and keep going.
For more information about Leslie J. Yerman, her company and her services, please visit her website at www.lesliejyerman.com.