It’s never easy to fall asleep in a new place. New bed, new sheets, unfamiliar walls…all make for an unusual experience. The first night in my apartment in Charleston was no exception. As I completed my evening routine and settled into bed, the room got quiet and the sounds surrounding my building became magnified. It was hard not to hear the music coming from a bar just a few steps away from my bedroom window. Instead of trying to tune it out, I quickly found myself trying to listen to the guitarist sing, while peering out my window to gaze at the activity under the canopy of cafe lights. As I went through the next few days, I realized that this was going to be my evening entertainment and musical lullaby every night, and I oddly looked forward to it. I was new to Charleston, and I had very few people to hang out with initially, so this was a nice substitute. I would open my window and listen to the music whether it was a band on the weekdays playing old Beatles music, or the DJ on the weekends playing Kanye and Drake.

I loved sitting in bed watching the bar cater to whoever was going to be present that night. Pull out a cover for when it rains, turn on the lights when it gets dark. Small details to entertain the audience and draw customers in (it sure drew me in, and I was a building away).

In this uber competitive world where everything and everyone is fighting for attention and investment – details matter. They are what set you apart from the other guy, or the other bar around the corner, which is what I have learned at Lou Hammond Group. My internship in the Charleston office at LHG taught me more than the basics taught in school. At LHG, I have learned what cannot be explained by a teacher or studying for an exam, such as the relationships with the clients and how best to help them. Throughout my internship experience, I have written and distributed press releases and pitches, sat in meetings with clients and witnessed what public relations truly consists of.

Anyone can easily open a restaurant or bar, but it is the attention to detail, knowing your audience, expression of creativity and uniqueness of the experience that draws the customers in and creates an atmosphere that compels them to return….again and again.

LHG is a firm that helps their clients successfully achieve that for their endeavors.

I have always been an observer, which is why I am interested in public relations. Public relations helps to bring people together, and this industry is meticulous, focusing on the details. In the public relations world, employees work hard to create relationships and make it their mission to observe and react to how this work is received. Every night I observe that bar just a building away from my window, and see the small, minuscule details that they do to make their customers happy. That is what I have applied to my experience in public relations. At Lou Hammond Group, we focus on the little things to help others see the big picture on behalf of our clients.