PR Not BS

I’ve known today’s guest for about eight years – and she’s a very special person in my business as you’ll soon hear!  Today I’m talking to Hannah Edwards of Empowered VA Services, my right-hand woman and someone without whom I couldn’t imagine running my business! 

Hannah shares how we met for a morning breakfast at McDonald’s, and how we got on straight away – she remembers far more details than I do.  

She talks about what she does for me – and it’s obvious on hearing about the list of things she does, why I would now struggle to run my business without her.  Working with me, a journalist, she has to deal with my incredibly busy diary; the massive amount of emails I receive each day and then help with messaging clients. Plus, she also organises the logistics for when we travel to events and when we attend business expos.  

After starting her business in 2017 and working on lots of one-off projects, often for ‘I’ll give you a testimonial’ offer, she wanted to work somewhere where she’d be able to develop her VA work – and she talks about how this has developed. 

Recently she was named one of the TBE’s 20 Inspiring Women of the South West, and is also one of Theo Paphitis’ SBS winners. 

Hannah also shares how much she has learnt about PR while working with me, and shares the three things that she thinks businesses should be doing to be visible. 

To contact: Hannah 

Website: www.empoweredvaservices.co.uk
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahedwards_va/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmpoweredVA 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is a rugby union professional, known for playing Lock at Bath Premiership Rugby.  He recently retired from the game at the age of 37 and shares with me his journey.

Dave has played rugby since the age of 8, and has played professional rugby for Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, and France, for 20 years, and for well over 10 years with the international team. Unlike many professional rugby players who are forced to leave, he chose to leave the profession and talks to me about how difficult that transition was– from being an elite sportsman, moving to a new stage in your life. He shares how difficult it is to go from being in the spotlight, where everyone recognises you for what you do, to leaving and not being that rugby player anymore. However, you’re still the same man – the same person and he talks about how he has come to terms with that, and made use of his ‘fame’ in a positive way.

We also talk about the tragic death of Rob Burrows, and how the incidence of MND and other forms of degenerative brain conditions are significantly higher amongst rugby players. And also, following the moving images of the photo of Rob with his friend Kevin carrying him, how important the camaraderie and the strength of relationships are between people playing rugby. 

Dave then talks about his new ventures – the portfolio career he is developing.  His first foray into having his own business was running a bar, in the back of a renovated horse-box which he takes to events. The second is his training and leadership business, where he has the opportunity to use all of the skills he gained over the years as an elite sportsman. His passion for working with companies to help them is obvious.

Whether you are a rugby fan or not, you’ll find Dave’s story interesting.

To contact Dave:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dave-attwood-98698045/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.aperobar

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

I met my guest today while in Las Vegas, last year, for a tech conference and from the off, we just got on. 

John who is also a journalist, is based in San Francisco, California where he is best known for writing for Entrepreneur.com, a huge site.  Mainly his column is made up of stories about trends and tips and tricks to help people get their company growing faster and doing better. 

Advice for young entrepreneurs and professionals about how to do their job better, and how to run their business – how to get the word out about their company. Also, though like me, John also has to write about awareness days.

He tells us about how he started out in journalism in the 90s, initially writing for TV stations, but with his eye on the upcoming entrepreneurs of that time, including Elon Musk fascinated him. He began writing more stories about entrepreneurs and eventually left TV, moving to where the opportunities took him.

We share stories about the difficulties of living as a freelance journalist both in the UK and the US.  About how we are bombarded with stories that just aren’t that newsworthy – but the sender thinks it’s the best thing ever! John explains how he deals with this.

We also talk about writing controversial stories, where John explains how he deals with this and how the impact of writing about a famous person affects his earnings. This idea of earning more when an online story gets more clicks (per page), has been around for some time in the US, but only just starting to have an impact here in the UK.

With the changing landscape of the journalism, we talk about it and how anyone coming into the business can prepare themselves for those changes.

John and I have a lot of fun talking about the differences between the US and UK – and I know you’ll love listening to our conversations.

To contact: John

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jboitnott
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jboitnott
Substack: https://substack.com/@boitnott

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Today’s guest is the lovely Dani Seatter, who I met whilst networking in the Cotswolds. Dani runs a sustainable lifestyle brand called Eco-able, and, at the time of recording, she’s also a published children’s author of two books. Both were sustainably printed and have a sustainable message. 

As well as an online shop, Dani also has a physical retail shop in Cirencester.

After working as an early years professional for many years, Dani wanted her next career to be something that gave her purpose; something that would do some good in the world. After a conversation with her sister about Plastic Free July, and how difficult it was to find good products all in one place – that was her lightbulb moment.

She talks about how many of us don’t always make the sustainable choices we should, because of the busy lives we lead and the pressures on our everyday lives. This is why she set up her business.

Like me, Dani loves being involved in a community, and Cirencester, where she is based, is a community of independent shops and businesses where she is able to ask customers what they want, which helps her business to evolve. We also talk about all the other things she can get involved in within the community.

Eco-able has applied for awards and found the process of applying very useful in terms of having to look closely at the business and recognise what you have done well. This year she has signed up as a judge for local awards.

We discuss the media coverage that Eco-able has had and the variety of magazines and articles where the business has appeared.  And of course, we talked about sustainability and how businesses, and particularly small businesses can start to make changes in a manageable way.

Dani finishes by telling me about the amazing plans she has for the next year or so.

To contact Dani:

Website: www.Eco-able.co.uk

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eco_able

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today has recently spent time with me for work experience, and he’s lived to tell the tale! 

Ben Redondo Beck is in his 3rd year at university, studying journalism. 

At school, he enjoyed English and media studies and like many of us, maths not so much. However, he kept going back to English. Initially he considered doing a law degree, but then started his journalism course, and loves it. 

The course has a lot of practical units, which he particularly loves, and the university has a TV studio set up very much like a professional studio and he’s loved the opportunities he has had working on those parts of the course. They also recently worked on a module about crisis management, which he found very fast paced, and we talk about why learning about that is important. 

They are taught to understand how working journalists get their news stories which is wonderful training. 

Ben has a combination of skills including content writing, an ability to tell stories and handle the tech. He doesn’t see himself in the newsroom, but he does look forward to being able to create and editing content etc. 

Whilst working with me, I introduced Ben to networking, which after the initial nervousness, he thoroughly enjoyed. Also, he found being a guest on this podcast very different, because he is usually the person that asks the questions – and found it strange not knowing which questions were coming! 

 
To contact: Ben 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-redondo-beck-09b33a305/ 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

My guest today is someone who has recently joined my circle of amazing women in business. Vanessa White is an accredited breakup and divorce coach based in Cirencester.

She shares what being a breakup and divorce coach actually means, and how she supports people emotionally and practically on their journey through that difficult time.

Vanessa started her business only a year ago after juggling two different jobs and since then her business has taken off.  

After gaining a degree in nutrition, she worked in the NHS as a Registered Dietitian. Following that she worked in the food industry, and after a long career break, worked with special education needs students in a school. On reflection, she realises that all of her previous careers have built up the skills that she now uses in her own business: empathy, good communication and a good listening- being some.

Vanessa talks about how because of her own difficult relationship and ultimately her divorce she has been able to use her own lived experience, and the other skills she has to develop her successful business, supporting others going through the same thing.

We talk about what it means to be in an abusive relationship and how it takes away your self-confidence and how Vanessa managed to change her situation and learn to value her self-worth.  As you’ll hear, she is now a strong, confident woman who knows what she wants from life – and is helping others to discover their self-belief.

Vanessa talks about how she makes use of social media and networking for her PR, and how she understands the need to share her story.

She has recently developed a relationship with a national journalist with regards to sharing her area of expertise.

To contact Vanessa:

Website: https://www.vanessawhite.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessawhitecoaching/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-white-332a03287/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094770073631

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

My guest today is a man of many careers, but in all, and most importantly – he is a communicator. 

All of the professions Alastair Greener has worked in have focused on being able to talk to people: - hospitality, sales, acting, presenting and performing, and teaching other people how to present well. 

I’ve known Alastair for some years, and as you’ll hear in our conversation, we have collaborated on a few occasions, and we plan to work together even more later in 2024. 

He talks to about the importance of being your authentic self and how particularly important that is as a speaker – hence the title of today’s podcast – a quote by Oscar Wilde. 

He shares some excellent tips on what makes a good speaker; the importance of planning, and how to deal with the unexpected when speaking, including hecklers in the audience. 

Lastly, he talks about a fascinating and valuable project he has begun, complete with valuable data about generational communications, particularly in the workplace.  This comes from his passion for communicating effectively with different audiences – we have to understand each other. 

To contact Alastair: 

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastairgreener/ 

Website: https://www.presentyourself.co.uk/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alastairgreener 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest is a fellow journalist, Sue Kinnear who is the voice of afternoon bulletins for BBC Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and also an experienced radio producer and presenter. 

In her current role, she has to produce three minutes of news for her bulletins. This means she has to find, write and present bulletins every hour, between 2pm and 6pm  – and it has to fit three minutes precisely. 

Sue has years of experience in both radio and TV, and like me, she loves telling stories. 

Most of us have no idea how incredibly hectic it can be gathering the information together for each day from the morning journalist, ready for the afternoon radio shows, plus being aware of breaking news. And remember this isn’t for just one station, but two! You’ll be fascinated to hear how down to the last minute this can be.  

Also like me, Sue loves being engaged with local news. She has sole responsibility to make decisions about which stories go out in her bulletins. It is her job to keep everyone in touch with what’s happening nationally, but also for the local area – because listeners’ communities are important to them. She in turn loves the relationship that she can build with local listeners. 

We talk about the importance of including where you are based when you send a story to a journalist. If someone sends a story to Sue and it doesn’t say Gloucestershire or Wiltshire at the top, it will get deleted because she has so many emails and having to work to such a tight schedule, she can’t waste time with stories which are irrelevant to the areas she covers. 

Also, Sue underlines the importance of building a relationship with journalists – she recognises the names of people who have helped her with good stories previously, and so is more likely to use them again. 

To contact Sue: 

Email: [email protected] 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SueKinnear 

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

In today’s episode Fiona speaks to Mike Rees, who is standing as an independent candidate in the upcoming election of a new Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner.  

Mike stood as a candidate back in 2021 and came second to the person who secured that post representing the Conservative Party. With no political party support or apparatus, backed by volunteers and a small budget from supporters, Mike spent his own money and time to stand up for what he believed in. 

In this podcast Mike shares why he’s going for the role again – a role he actually believes should not exist. Given that it does, he feels that the person who oversees the county’s police force should not be influenced by party politics.  

He was inspired by the recent success of another independent candidate David Tully who stood as an MP for Rochdale. With no experience in campaigning and no political agenda, David came second. His campaign was all around caring for his community and the issues of importance in Rochdale. He lost to George Galloway. 

Mike talks about his first campaign and also how much he learned and this time he’s ready for the fight at hand. With the support of his family, he’s ready to hand over his business to a manager and devote his time totally to the role.  

For Mike, there are many issues to tackle within Wiltshire Police: 

• a demoralized and frightened grass roots police force. 
• too much spin among the police leadership and poor leadership. 
• a lack of transparency over monies and how they are being spent.  
• a lack of detail over performance when it comes to solving crimes.  
• a lack of public access to the police.  

As PCC, Mike says he would be honest about any challenges. He believes there has been a lack of investment in the police nationally, including Wiltshire and that needs to be addressed. Anyone who wants to keep in touch with Mike and his campaign can do so via his Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/MikeReesPCC 

If you want to find out more about Fiona & Scott Media why not join her group on Facebook – Fiona Scott’s PR Tribe – here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe 

Today’s guest is Rob Curtis who is a client and someone I’ve known for several years in Wiltshire’s small business community. 

He’s a digital marketing whizz now running his own company The Pursuit Agency however I knew him before that and supported him when he was about to ‘go it alone’. 

He’s also a bit like Tigger, from Winnie the Pooh, darting around with boundless energy or so it seems, moving from one idea to another.  This young entrepreneur is incredibly passionate about the world of digital marketing and that becomes obvious when you hear him talking, or when you meet him.

 Having previously worked for another agency, Rob started his own business, The Pursuit Agency less than two years ago, and has already won the national title of Start-up of the Year with the Great British Business and Community Awards. He’s also taken on his first team members and now ensures that his clients understand that they were on a digital marketing journey – not a destination.

 Rob talks to me about how he uses his love of strategy and processes to help his clients focus on what’s important for them, so they don’t feel like they’re wading through treacle with all the ‘digital marketing’ ‘stuff. By talking to both them and their customers, he finds the right solution for them. He also explains how this is something which flexes and changes over time – there’s no one-size fits all and things change over time. He makes it clear that this type of PR requires budget and there’s no getting away from that. Companies have to be prepared to commit to the power of digital marketing. 

 Rob also shares how important his family are to him and his success. Telling me the story of how he and his now wife, becoming parents at the age of 19, built a loving family unit from a very young age and how they’ve both supported each other to pursue their professional ambitions. 

During lockdown, Rob made the decision to find out if he has ADHD, after several people mentioned to him in passing that he may have that neuro divergence. He was finally diagnosed in early 2023 and he shares what’s happened since. Getting this diagnosis has helped his family to understand him and he, himself.

To contact Rob:

Website: https://thepursuitagency.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-curtis-the-pursuit-agency/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit my www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe