PR queen Roxy Jacenko says the coronavirus has made her reassess her priorities

As the coronavirus pandemic plunges Australia into an economic crisis, Roxy Jacenko has revealed her once-lucrative PR empire has taken a hit.

The 39-year-old publicist has lost 85 percent of her business in just three days, but she is determined to bounce back and says the one upside of the catastrophe is that she now understands what really matters in life.

She told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I have realised in my past 12 days of isolation, along with seeing my first agency [Sweaty Betty PR] near collapse, that my sanity and stability is more important to me than another Hermès Birkin bag or an Aston Martin.’

She added of her designer wardrobe: ‘If there is a buyer, I am a seller.’

Like many others, Roxy confessed she’s been having a hard time making sense of everything that’s been happening lately.

‘I think it was pure shock watching something you started from nothing crumble in 72 hours,’ she admitted, calling it ‘so confronting’.

She added: ‘I did say to Oli [husband Oliver Curtis] that it’s lucky I am on a cocktail of anti-anxiety pills to ensure I didn’t lose my marbles totally at the mess COVID-19 has left my “first-born” in!’   

Roxy said she ‘never’ could have anticipated the detrimental effect coronavirus would have on her company, Sweaty Betty PR.

‘For the past 15 years, I have focused on being extremely hands-on and working IN my businesses to ensure that the business was always extremely stable and profitable,’ she explained.

She said she’s now working ‘with a very reduced number of clients’, after having to let four staff members go. 

‘We have had the horrible task of making some four valuable staff redundant, which was heartbreaking, but with the downturn which happened so fast, we were left with no choice,’ she said. 

Roxy said her remaining team members have had to band together to try and get things back on track. 

‘We have a tight team, which we can manage, and all are working around the clock to keep things going,’ she added. 

‘I am extremely proud of them and the fact they have taken the agency on as their own and really care.’

Despite hitting a rough patch financially though, Roxy said she’s still in a position to keep her home and offices. 

‘Property-wise, I own my office premises and home, so I don’t have any plans to sell –  it’s about the only stable asset in this environment!’ she said.  

Roxy urged other Australian businesses to hang in there and to use this difficult time productively. 

‘Keep going and don’t give in, don’t be absorbed by the hype,’ she said. 

‘Tweak your offering to suit and listen to what the customer needs and work WITH them. Use this time of “less noise” to focus on what’s next, how you will do it, and prepare and lay the foundations so you are ready to push GO!’

As for her own business, Roxy said she’s certain she’ll be able to bounce back from this after facing both personal and professional hurdles in the past. 

‘I always do [bounce back]. I have fallen hard many a time personally and picked myself up, this is no different… I’ll bounce back as quick as we fell!’ she said.