Drasnin Communications

released, Drasnin had arranged for her to
be greeted by a limousine, a dashing young
man with a ponytail, and a barrage of
media, including NBC, ABC and CNN, all of
which were wondering why she was having
a press conference. The headline in the Los
Angeles Times read, "She Walks, But Will
She Talk?"

While Drasnin admits it may not have been
the most conservative or professional way
to let people know he was opening his
doors for business, it certainly showed the
world that he knew how to utilize the media.
Drasnin said that what he learned in Los
Angeles was that PR is all about stating the
truth and painting a picture that suits the
client. "You never lie to the media, and you
never take on a client you don't think you
can help."

Some of Drasnin's other clients have
included American Express, Embassy
Suites, Debbie Fields of Mrs. Field's
Cookies, and Ken Blanchard, author of The
One Minute Manager.

Drasnin's operations have changed
considerably since he began working from
his pool cabana. Now he and his
employees work from a very trendy office
less than two and a half miles from his
home.

"I am proud of my business and my staff.
Good entrepreneurs know how to hire to
their weaknesses. I am not the best at some
things. I am good at understanding that I
have a few core competencies. What I am
good at I do, and what I am not good at I
hire out to those weaknesses. That means
surrounding yourself with people that are
better than you. You can't do it if you are
uptight. You have to believe it's all about
business and not ego."

Drasnin Communications is unique in that
it gives its clients flare that they can't get
out of New York and Los Angeles
agencies. Drasnin doesn't believe that
every story is a business story. "I believes
that every story that is a business story
has features that can be pitched to lifestyle
editors, family editors, trend editors, or
technology editors-that is good PR."

Drasnin Communications likes focusing on
new product launches, professional sports
figures, celebrities, and especially
entrepreneurs. "We offer entrepreneurs
some of the best access to national media
that they have ever seen."

Drasnin's main goal is to get his clients to
be community outreach driven. "Be it
helping burn victims, supporting Cancer
and AIDS research, keeping kids in school,
etc. That is one way we can make our mark
on the world."

Drasnin says that PR is the passion that
drives him when he gets up in the
morning until he goes to bed at night. A
typical day for Drasnin involves waking
up in the morning and spending some
time with his wife and playing with their
dogs. He sometimes works in the garden
for a bit because he lives so close to his
job. "It grounds me and makes me feel
comfortable before I have to paint up the
smiles and be on stage."

Once he gets to work, Drasnin gives
personal attention to his employees,
inquiring about their lives and sharing
bits of his own. After morning greetings,
it's time to get to work. Drasnin says that
he focuses on having people inside the
company be as creative as they can, not
micro managing them. Drasnin's work can
involve anything from new business
proposals and crisis management, to
working with account managers and
sharing visions of where the clients
would like to go. The extremes can range
from three or four new business
acquisition meetings back to back, or
simply taking a client to lunch.

Drasnin says that his greatest success
has been having big celebrities and
corporations hire a company of his size in
San Diego, which is outside of a large
media market. "There is nothing like
marketing, and big names make it that
much more exciting."

Drasnin says that he enjoys having the
ability to find balance as an entrepreneur.
He has a personal trainer that he works
out with at his house twice a week and he
attends the gym at least one other time
during the week. "I am always at the gym
or with my trainer when I am supposed to
be. I never forsake exercise. At forty-two
years old, I think I am the most fit I have
ever been in my life."

Drasnin is also passionate about being a
cook. He even had his own catering
company back in college. He also enjoys
fishing and gardening in his free time.
"Being an entrepreneur, I do not have to
account to anyone else for my time."

As for items that Drasnin has splurged
on since his success as an entrepreneur
began, his favorite toys are his cars. He
has fully restored a 1974 Triumph TR6
and recently bought a Mercedes Benz
600SL. "There is nothing like having a jet
black Benz with a V12 with 389
horsepower." Drasnin also enjoys
remodeling his 1927 home in Mission
Hills San Diego, complete with a lap pool
and view of the ocean.

When it comes to advice he would give
to other entrepreneurs starting out,
Drasnin says, "Be slow to hire and quick
to fire."

service accounts the way he wanted to.
Owners of agencies were constantly
diverting his time towards media relations
and they typecast him for his abilities.

Drasnin soon realized that he did not work
well for others because he had a strong
entrepreneurial spirit. He decided to pick up
and move to San Diego. He rented a home
with a large pool cabana in the back yard
and decided to make that his headquarters.
He took $2000 on a credit card and had the
cabana wired for a fax machine and other
equipment. He also brought in a small
Macintosh computer.

Drasnin said to himself, "This will be my
world. I will be a home-based business."
Thus, on May 1st, 1989, Drasnin began his
journey with Drasnin Communications.
Drasnin says one of the first memories he
has is lying on a raft in his pool pitching
the Today Show and Wall Street Journal
with a cordless phone thinking, "This is it!"

Drasnin was lucky enough to have a
mentor named Dave Nuffer that helped him
every step of the way. In return, Nuffer told
Drasnin that he must always keep his door
open to any entrepreneur that wants to
start a business. He told Drasnin to give
them counsel, teach them about Public
Relations, and share contacts with them.
Nuffer told Drasnin, "It is not about stifling
the competition. It's about getting people
excited about the industry you love."
Drasnin says that he is definitely a PR man
and loves his industry. "I see the world
through PR glasses."

Drasnin had a number of previous Los
Angeles clients that had vowed to remain
loyal wherever he went because they
respected his abilities as a PR person.
Drasnin was involved with a number of
major celebrity charity events and had
several celebrity clients including Michael
Landon and Dick Van Patten.

One of the challenges that he faced when
living in San Diego, was taking his PR
experience from Los Angeles, the second
largest media market in the nation, and
introducing it into sleepy, twenty fourth
market San Diego.

One of the first opportunities Drasnin had
to put his name out in the arena was when
a client informed him about a Madam that
had gone to prison on pimping and
pandering charges. She was alleged to
have a Rolodex with some of the biggest
names in San Diego as clients.

Drasnin decided to visit the woman in a
California prison. When the woman was