Victoria Kennedy was strutting around on stage in a bikini when an extraordinary thought hit her: “How did I get here from the convent?”
It was an unusual path for the PR professional who now runs Victorious PR. But as Kennedy herself now notes, it’s a path she wouldn’t trade for anything.
How Victoria Kennedy Got Started in the Beauty Pageant World
At the age of 16, Victoria Kennedy wasn’t like most teenagers. She was, in fact, thinking about devoting a lifetime in service to God. This spiritual journey led her to join a convent.
However, the convent wasn’t quite what Kennedy anticipated. It was hard work, and a life in which her Mother Superior routinely corrected and scolded her. In just a few short months, her dream of becoming a nun was over—and Kennedy had to start from square one.
Kennedy knew that she had a talent for singing, and she wanted to pursue a career in music. To do this, she wanted to study at her dream school—the University of Southern California. That next step had its own obstacles. To afford her education, Kennedy would need scholarship money.
Enter the beauty pageant.
What Beauty Pageants Taught Victoria Kennedy About Reinvention
It wasn’t Kennedy’s dream to be a beauty pageant winner—or even a contestant. But it did become an important stepping stone on her journey toward greater success.
First, Kennedy learned about the power of reinvention. The stark contrast between serving in a convent and going up on stage in a bikini highlighted the full 180-degree turn Kennedy had made.
According to Kennedy, this is because the failure at the convent forced her to look inside herself. What did she really want to accomplish? And what dream of hers was worth enduring the early growing pains that come from entering a new field? In the world of the convent, these pains proved too much to bear. But when Kennedy was pursuing her dream of becoming an international singer, she found she was able to accomplish things like entering a beauty pageant for scholarship money toward school.
With the scholarship secured, Kennedy went through the University of Southern California and attained her dream of becoming an internationally-recognized singer. Her journey took her through castles, cathedrals—and even a #1 hit single on the classical charts in Europe.
Returning to the U.S., Kennedy found that something was missing. As much as she enjoyed singing, there was one essential step that separated her from offering her fans the complete package.
Public relations.
How Kennedy Built a Public Relations Agency from the Ground Up
If Kennedy had started her PR firm, Victorious PR, straight out of high school, there’s a chance that she wouldn’t have had the success she did after going through her journey.
According to Kennedy, she learned the lessons of reinvention through her unique path. She understood that every new day was a decision to reinvent oneself. It’s simply one choice that many people refuse to make for themselves.
That wasn’t the case for Kennedy. When she decided to add the public relations element to her career, she found that she was a natural. Her ability to reinvent herself was one of the most important skills she learned along the way. In just a short amount of time, the agency was earning six figures—after building it from the ground up.
Kennedy’s own story gave her insights that she can now share with her clients. Rather than hindering her, her whirlwind success story provided the fuel she needed to provide clients with the cutting-edge PR advice they needed.
Lessons Learned Along the Way
According to Kennedy, there are a few key lessons she learned that she is now free to share with clients. The first lesson is to build a loyal fanbase, says Kennedy. Today’s digital marketing opportunities through everything from Tik Tok to Instagram create endless opportunities to build an audience of appreciative fans. Second, Kennedy says that collaborating with others is a major key: podcast hosts, platforms, and marketing all starts through genuine relationships with a wide network.
Kennedy also recommends that her clients showcase their talent and get mentioned in top publications, helping to connect with an audience. And since Kennedy’s first experience with a major audience in a beauty pageant, up until now, she’s learned lessons in how to build and grow that audience. Today, at Victorious PR, she shares those lessons with clients so they, too, can learn how to reinvent themselves.
Victoria Kennedy is a well-respected authority in public relations. She is a highly in-demand speaker on authority building and personal branding and has helped many clients boost their visibility and revenue. She has spoken on TEDx, the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, Inman Connect, and several other high-profile events, in addition to being featured in over 200 publications including Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Yahoo Finance. Click here to get into top publications: victoriouspr.com
