Lynn K. Hobson is a woman of many talents. From becoming a university professor to being a sought-after publicist, she has perfected all aspects of being a business professional. The Washington, DC native has worked with the legendary Mike Tyson, The Diplomats, Lil Mo, Essence magazine and more.
I sat down with her to discuss her business as well as past and present projects.
EB: How did get into public relations?
LH: I read this book called The Personal Touch: The Things You Need to Succeed in Today’s Fast Paced Business World. It was written by a publicist called Terry Willams. Which, at the time, she had her own PR agency called the Terry Willams Agency. She represented all the black progressive celebrities back in the day. Her clients included heavyweights such as Chris Rock, Boyz to Men and Eddie Murphy. I wrote her a letter asking her for an internship with her company. The internship then later became a job. I became so heavily involved in my career that I dropped out of school at Howard. I decided to pursue my career full time. I went from being an intern to Terry’s personal assistant then to becoming a junior publicist. I left and then I went to do some independent PR work on my own where I worked with Mike Tyson. This was after the incident when he bit off Holyfield’s ear. He was a client of the Terry Willams Agency, but she dropped him because she didn’t want the drama.
She had a lot going on in her business at the time and she fired me because I had different views at the time. I was young [and] I thought I knew everything at the time.
Then, Mike Tyson’s sister contacted me. She told me they needed a publicist. Mike Tyson then became one of my first clients as an indie publicist. I helped him develop his record label, Iron Mike Entertainment.
I started receiving more clients as time went by. [Clients} such as Mike Pitts, he had a record label called Bystorm Entertainment, and at the time he was also managing The Notorious B.I.G.
I also worked with Epic records, Dipset (The Diplomats). I worked with Dipset for about 12 years. Later, I wrote a book called the Diary of a Hip-Hop Publicist describing my experience working as a publicist.
My clients range from recording artists, celebrities, reality stars, influencers, writers, and small businesses.
EB: You’ve had some noteworthy speaking engagements at Howard University, Georgetown University, Microsoft and more. What’s being your most consistent message to your audience?
LH: The most consistent message to my audience is to not give up and to be consistent. Consistency brings results. If there is a financial issue, then do the work that doesn’t need a financial component to it. If you want to write a book, but you don’t have the means to get it published then, write it. Do what you can. GOD will provide along the way, if you take certain steps to what you want to accomplish, GOD will push you 10 more steps forward.
EB: In 2017, you released “Diary of A Hip Hop Publicist”. What was the inspiration behind writing this book?
LH: The inspiration behind writing this book has been my very colorful career. People always want to know how I got to this level in my career, and how I make it look so easy, but it’s not. There’s so much that I have had to do. The things that were going on in my life were difficult. My Mother was recovering from breast cancer when I was pregnant, and I lost my child. With all these things going on, I would still put a smile on my face and perform for my clients.
EB: Since your launch of your business, what has been your most memorable moment?
LH: The most memorable part of my business, I would say would be having a historically Black college and university acknowledge my work. The institution reached out to me and offer me a job. I didn’t have to go through the traditional interview process. They just asked if I had my degree and gave me paperwork to sign. They have been observing me and were very impressed with my track record in public relations.
EB: What advice would give to a young female who’s looking to become a publicist?
LH: The advice I would give a young female, would be to go out and network. I suggest that you do your research; researching other publicists and keep track of them and what are they accomplishing. Networking is key! You should go to events in the industry where you want to be and work in. There’re many different types of publicists : Entertainment, Author and political publicists there’s so many.
EB: What’s next for your career?
LH: I have established a publishing company called, “The Hobson Publishing House” with my sister Trina Stackhouse. We are going to be publishing books for independent authors. Also, I plan to expand my pop-up shops and expos to many more states as soon as I perfect them here in New Jersey.
You can follow Lynn K. Hobson on Instagram @IAMLynnHobson.
