• How-to

In January 2011, ASSOCHAM predicted that the Indian PR industry will grow to Rs.47,520 crore by 2012. However, the PR industry in India is still at a nascent stage with a handful of firms following best practices and global services of quality. PR firms are of various kinds: boutique (5-10 employees), mid-size (10-50 employees); large (50 and more employees). It’s not important to have studied public relations or communications to be a part of the fraternity. But it’s advisable to have prior knowledge about how a PR firm operates and processes that need to be followed to maintain quality.

The basics
To start off, you’ll need basic infrastructure for your communication needs which means a PC, mobile phone and broadband connectivity. Depending on budgets, you can work from a home office or take one on rent. As far as funding goes, if you have a client already on board, that will give you a regular income. An initial loan from friends and family can be taken, if required, which can be repaid within the first six months. You can also start as a small consultancy, and register the firm when there is some money in your bank.

Licenses and registration
You will need to register under the following:
Shops and Commercial Establishments Act
of your state (e.g The Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1961) even if you are employing only one person.
The registration process is simple and you need to submit Form ‘A’ with proof of address, copy of PAN card and identity of the firm. The license is valid for five years and the registration fee depends upon the number of employees in the firm. You can get further details from www.labour.kar.nic.in

Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings andEmployments Act of your state
As an employee and the employer, you need to register your firm under the above Act. The documents required for registration are similar to (a) above, the annual fee payable is Rs. 2,500. There are various professional tax offices in your city and the jurisdictional office depends upon your office address. Unfortunately, there is no official website for this department to check the jurisdictional officer under whom you need to get registered.

Service tax
This is applicable once your firm crosses the threshold exemption of Rs.10 lakh of billing (in the first year only) and thereafter you need to charge service tax on your professional fee at 10.30 percent (current rate). The registration process is online now and you need to follow the steps mentioned in www.aces.gov.in.

Obtain a Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN)
If you have formed a partnership firm, LLP or a private limited company you are also required to obtain tax deduction account number. TAN is mandatory requirement for deduction and remittance of withholding taxes (TDS) to the Income-tax department.
TAN application form (Form 49B) can be obtained online from www.nsdl.co.in or from TIN. Facilitation Centers in your city.

Getting clients
To win clients, it is important that you have knowledge of the client’s industry, understand market perception, their PR and business objectives and then make a pitch. You also have to make sure you have softer skills like keeping your word, and working on time. Remember, your job is to make your clients feel secure and be able to trust you with all their information. Networking will work to an extent, but ultimately it’s the work that speaks. Word-of-mouth also plays an important role when one starts a business. There are two kinds of client contracts: retainer (long term) or project-based (short term). As for value added services, you should know the strengths it will bring to the market, which could be specific industry knowledge, specializing in regional PR, or that your firm has a team which can cater to more than one industry vertical or anything they consider unique to them.

Dealing with the media
More than knowing about your firm, it’s important for the media to know about your clients and the consultant handling each one. This has to be done smartly. As a PR consultant, you’ll need to read a lot, understand how a journalist operates (likes to be sent an e-mail or prefers f2f meetings), know specific beats of each journalist and accordingly share information. Once you’ve identified the journalists you want to network with, share information about your client in a crisp manner at regular intervals.

Marketing your firm
It would be wise to list your firm in various phone directories as people call them when required. A good, clean website should be made and investment in web search can be done.

©Entrepreneur May 2011

Shalini Singh runs Bengaluru-based Galvanise PR.

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account number, ASSOCHAM, commercial, commercial establishment Act, Communication, galvanise PR, licenses, marketing, PAN, PR, registration, service tax, shalini singh, TAN, Tax deduction, TDS, TIN