Peter O’Neill - Volunteer Spotlight

Spotlight nominated by Emily Tufeld, Narges Sandoval and Laura Soloff-Geller

Volunteer Spotlight: Peter O'Neill, SCORE Los Angeles

After spending his career as a Public Relations and Marketing executive for several Fortune 500 companies, principally in the healthcare industry, Peter O’Neill (SCORE Los Angeles Mentor) was matched with Dr. Roy A. Meals.  Dr. Meals is a retired orthopedic surgeon who at the time was writing a whimsical, yet scientific, book about bones.

The book publisher refused to set a launch date for the book until Roy significantly improved his presence on various social media channels and had built enough of a strong following that the launch risk would be reduced.  Roy was not very familiar with social media channels and the best way to use them for maximum exposure and to build brand credibility. Peter met with him a couple of times in person to offer both strategic and tactical advice and stayed in touch with his client for about a year. 

In October, Peter received Dr. Meal’s newly published book in the mail, and was delighted to find himself and SCORE Los Angeles listed in the Acknowledgements. The book is now available on Amazon and other notable book sellers.

Peter reports that Dr. Meal worked diligently on social media branding, eventually building a loyal following of over one thousand users. “Hopefully many of them will now be converted to book buyers!” Peter wrote to Chapter Chair Laura Soloff-Geller.

Since joining SCORE in December 2016, Peter has assisted clients with the development of business plans, as well as comprehensive marketing, branding and promotional plans that include community engagement and social media. He has become particularly popular among LA-based creative artists, including actors, musicians, writers, and stylists who are seeking advice on managing the business side of their professions.