In the News
IN THE NEWS: Hope Katz Gibbs featured on Business Battery Pack TV
September 28, 2012, BusinessBatteryPack.com — “The first thing you should do when you start a business is get a client,” public relations expert Hope Katz Gibbs of Inknadescent PR told the hosts of BusinessBatteryPack.com today.
“A lot of times when people want to take the leap into entreprenuership they tend to lean towards something that they do as a hobby or are really passionate about,” Gibbs added. “But if in the end you don’t have a legitimate client or person trading you money for your services then is it really a business?”
Host Frank Do noted: “This is one of my favorite quotes from the Business Battery Pack hangout session with Public Relations expert Hope Katz Gibbs,
Stay tuned for the full broadcast, coming later this week.
Entrepreneur, PR Specialist Hope Katz Gibbs featured on MO.com
August 9, 2012, MO.com — Entrepreneur and PR specialist Hope Katz Gibbs was featured today on MO.com, a website that interviews entrepreneurs from all walks, across all industries, and from around the world.
“We focus on their habits and methods; what makes them tick,” says founder Brian Null, noting M.O. is the abbreviation for Modus Operandi or Method of Operating and we interview entrepreneurs to learn about their methods and to share their strategies and business philosophies with our readers.
“We’re entrepreneurs ourselves and we get energized talking with others that have traveled down the same path of launching a new business or folks that are just about to embark on the adventure of starting a business,” he says.
The Network Journal Interviews Hope Katz Gibbs on: "How to Develop Your Entrepreneurial Mind"
May 30, 2012, The Network Journal — In today’s edition of The Network Journal, reporter Ann Brown explained how entrepreneurs can develop their creative minds.
“Some of the most successful businesspeople are those who think outside of the box,” she writes, and quotes Inkandescent PR’s founder Hope Gibbs about some of the steps needed to accomplish that goal.
“Creativity is the key to making any dream come true. Innovation in business is obviously driven by imagination,” Gibbs says. “But do keep in mind that all of the creative thinking in the world won’t make a business successful. A strategic plan, with goals and a timeline, is the key to turning the best ideas into reality.”
Hope Gibbs featured in Parents.com article
In a December 2011 article for Parents.com, reporter Linda DiProperzio writes about how interfaith families across the U.S. celebrate the winter holidays.
“One thing that can make the process easier is discussing with your spouse what each of you would like to do to celebrate your respective religion during the holidays,” she explains. “Whether it’s decorating the house or attending services, work out all the details well before the season begins.”
When interviewed, I told Linda about our way of mixing my Jewish roots with my husband Mike’s Catholic upbringing. Linda shared:
Hope Katz Gibbs, a mom from Arlington, VA, makes sure her house is decorated for both Hanukkah and Christmas, and isn’t afraid to combine the two. “Our tree is decorated with popsicle-stick ornaments in the shape of Jewish stars,” she reveals.
IN THE NEWS: InkandescentPR featured in article: "Small Business PR: Unique Goals and Challenges"
January 25, 2011, PR Newswire — “If there’s one thing that every small business can benefit from at one point or another,” writes PR Newswire columnist Grace Lavigne in an article entitled, Small Business PR: Unique Goals and Challenges.
“But it definitely takes a different approach to help a small company or ‘solopreneur’ than it does a larger firm,” says PR specialist Hope Katz Gibbs, founder and president of Inkandescent Public Relations. The trick, says Gibbs, is to help clients avoid what she calls the “Trifecta of Small Business Failure,” which is when they have one of these three attitudes.”
The Wall Street Journal interviews Inkandescent PR owner Hope Katz Gibbs
October 6, 2010, The Wall Street Journal — In today’s issue of the Wall Street Journal, reporter Emily Maltby interviewed five small business owners for an article entitled, “Preparing for a Double Dip.”
“Many business owners are worried that the economy will get worse before it gets better,” she explains. “Here’s how some are readying their companies for a double dip.
Business owners are making New Year's resolutions [Associated Press]
December 30, 2009, Associated Press — “Small-business owners aren’t just putting together budgets and sales projections as 2010 approaches,” wrote Associated Press reporter Joyce M. Rosenberg in an article that published in dozens of newspapers around the country on New Year’s Eve. “Like the rest of us, they’re making some New Year’s resolutions but their goals aren’t about losing weight or exercising more. Business owners are resolving to fix problems in their companies or come up with ideas for working smarter in the new year.”
Working on work/life balance
Hope Katz Gibbs wanted to spend less time at work in the new year and more time with her two children. But “instead of dialing things back for a work/life balance, ramping it up seems to be the best strategy at this point,” said Gibbs, president of Inkandescent Public Relations. Her Washington-based company, which targets entrepreneurs, expects to have more work as more people start businesses.
So she looked at her family life and realized that overbooking her 14-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son with after-school activities wasn’t the answer. “The trend is to overextend them, give them a million activities, make them competitive,” Gibbs said. “I’m trying to have more fun with them rather than micromanage them.”
So Gibbs and her husband, illustrator Michael Gibbs plan to involve her children more in her work, taking them to child-appropriate work events when possible. She likes the idea of exposing them to the business world so they can find out how it works. “It’s balancing in a different way,” she said.
Hope Gibbs offers "6 Tips for an Easy Move with Kids"
December 30, Life@Home magazine, Century 21 — In today’s issue of the Century 21 newsletter, reporter Robyn Friedman writes:
Hope Gibbs thought her move from Clifton, Va. to Arlington, Va.-a mere 45 minutes away-would be easy. And it was for daughter Anna, 14, who found new friends on Facebook even before she moved.
But Gibbs’ 10-year-old son Dylan found it more difficult. “You’d have thought we moved to Mars,” says Gibbs. “He still wants to go home despite having made tons of friends.”
Hope & Michael Gibbs featured in Washington Post article, "At home with work"
By Dan Rafter
Special to The Washington Post
November 21, 2009
When Michael Gibbs and Hope Katz Gibbs moved this August, one house in Arlington rose to the top of their wish list: a remodeled and expanded ranch home. The big selling point? The house had enough flexible space that both of them could both set up their own home offices.
Both Hope, owner of the District-based Inkandescent Public Relations, and Michael, an illustrator, work from home. And they needed a house that would allow them to create two home offices. The ranch house in Arlington fit.
The couple have since turned their new home’s large basement into two separate offices. The space also includes a dance studio for their 14-year-old daughter, Anna.
“This is nothing new for us. We’ve each worked from home since we got married,” Hope said. “It enables us to both work as much as we do and still take care of our children the way we want. I remember when the kids were babies: I’d work, and he’d hold a baby. Or I’d be nursing one of the kids and be interviewing people on the phone. We couldn’t have done it without both of us working from home. I think that working moms have a tough time when their husbands work incredible hours and are out of the home all the time.”
Parade magazine features The Gibbs Family in article, "The Best of Both Worlds: Making the holidays happy in a house with two religions"
Article by Lynn Martin
Parade Magazine
December 4, 2008
Journalist Hope Katz Gibbs, 44, a veteran of Hebrew school and her husband Michael Gibbs, 54, an illustrator and former Catholic school altar boy, make sure that their shared traditions provide plenty of glow—from the candles on the menorah to the Christmas lights that bedeck their suburban Virginia home. If you want to know how well they’ve meshed their two cultures, look no further than their tree—adorned with popsicle-stick ornaments in the shape of Jewish stars.
“We’re trying to teach our children to be good, moral people,” says Hope Katz Gibbs, explaining that Anna 13, and Dylan, 9, are learning about both religions and reap the benefits of two celebrations. On Chanukah, the family lights candles, says prayers in Hebrew and enjoys a dinner that includes matzoh ball soup made from Hope’s grandmother’s recipe (the secret’s in the fresh dill and parsley seasoning.)
On Christmas, “We do the tree, the lights, and the whole Santa routine,” says husband Mike, adding that it’s one of his favorite times of year. On each occasion, they take a few, important minutes, to re-tell the story of the holiday. Hope’s mom Bobbi Katz often comes to Christmas dinner, Mike’s parents, to Chanukah. “It’s all about sharing,” says Hope. Still there are parts of the other’s celebration that neither partakes of. “I still don’t eat the Christmas ham and Mike doesn’t like gefitle fish,” she laughs.
Hope Gibbs tells The Mom Entrepreneur show she "Turns Lemons into Lemonade"
By Hope Katz Gibbs for Traci Bisson’s blog
The Mom Entrepreneur
November 22, 2008
In addition to blogging and working as a freelance journalist, I am also the owner of Inkandescent Public Relations — a PR firm I officially launched this fall.
I left a good-paying part-time job as the leader of corporate communication for a global futurist firm to embark on this new venture, and although I had an inkling that the economy was faltering (I worked for futurists for two years, after all) I hoped for the best and took the plunge. So when our financial institutions tanked and the recession firmly took hold, I continued to stick to my plan and hope for the best. How could I not when that’s what I always tell my kids to do!