Meet Laila Dar | PR & Marketing Executive

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laila Dar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laila, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
The book that has had the biggest impact on me professionally is The Myth of the Nice Girl by Fran Hauser. It talks about how as women, we’re often taught that in order to be successful in business, we must “act like men”: tough, aggressive and ruthless. But that’s just an outdated stereotype. As women, we can be kind, in touch with our femininity AND be effective leaders. Being a “nice girl” doesn’t mean you aren’t powerful or ambitious; it means that you have the power to build genuine relationships and trust among your peers that will lead to your success.

This book really showed me that I can be successful by being myself. Being “nice” and wanting to help others doesn’t mean I’m a weak businesswoman. It actually makes me strong.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As a minority woman, I understand how it feels to be underrepresented, as if my voice and my experiences don’t matter. Having worked in public relations for several years, I already had a knack for helping small brands share their stories on a national scale. So in the summer of 2020, I combined that skill set with my passion for amplifying underrepresented voices to launch Rani Public Relations: an agency for multicultural entrepreneurs.

We work with indie brands on all things PR + marketing — including media relations, brand messaging, content creation, copywriting and brand consulting. We don’t ignore what makes you and your brand unique; we embrace and celebrate it. We love helping small businesses get the recognition they deserve, especially those founded by women, minorities, LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and other underrepresented groups.

The road has not been easy. It took a lot of research, experience and many mistakes to finally discover what my niche is, what services to offer and how to provide the most value for the brands I work with. But I’m so proud of where we are now!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Dallas is such a foodie city, so that would definitely be the focus of our itinerary! We would get a brunch board at Whiskey Cake, manicures at Mysa Med Spa, coffee & board games at Halycon, dinner at Vidorra, a tour of the Dallas Museum of Art, pizza at Klyde Warren Park and go to rock ‘n’ roll bingo at Lee Harvey’s.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I truly would not be where I am now without the guidance and mentorship of Erica Hicks Anderson, the CEO of PR VEIN. Erica taught me everything I know about public relations and what it means to be a powerful but genuine businesswoman.

Website: www.ranipublicrelations.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/ranipublicrelations

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/ranipublicrelations

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ranipublicrelations