Woman Grows “Crazy Idea” Into Nationwide Medical Marketing Agency
Full Circle PR of Hillsborough County
Michele Krohn, the owner of Full Circle PR, has operated her public relations and marketing agency for medical practices since 2007. Krohn was one of the original marketers for Baycare Health Systems when she noticed a need that physicians would bring more cases to the hospital if they had more patients.
“I decided to switch and go and focus on getting these fantastic physicians that we have in our backyard; getting them more patients,” Krohn said. “All I had was this crazy idea, and I needed somewhere to go and some guidance on how to launch it from the idea to actually making it happen.”
Krohn reached out to the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida 15 years ago in hopes of receiving startup assistance. Since then, she has grown her business to become what it is today. “I have been with the Florida SBDC at USF for the last 15 years for every step of growing a business to a nationwide business representing over 300 practices,” she said.
She originally received consulting services from Daniel Scott and later started working with Bill Burnham at the Florida SBDC at USF. Burnham was able to help keep her business growing through Growth Acceleration Services offered at the center. Growth Acceleration services require a deep dive into a company’s financials and operations to find hidden profits.
Over the years, Krohn has taken her business from just an idea to representing more than 300 practices nationwide and employing 25 team members.
Burnham also provided guidance to get the company through COVID-19 successfully.
“COVID-19 affected our business in many different ways,” Krohn said. “We were able to step back and look at our processes and improve our processes. It allowed us to come together as a team and brainstorm what else we could do, where we are launching new products and new services. So, we used that downtime to help just brainstorm the business versus doing day to day activities.”
Krohn plans to utilize the Florida SBDC at USF in the future in the same way she has done for the last 15 years. She seeks their guidance and support throughout her business endeavors and has current plans to complete a DISC assessment on her team, which will teach them how to utilize each other’s strengths and weaknesses to work together more effectively.
She says she will also continue with the Growth Acceleration Service. Phase two of this service focuses on marketing efforts.
