Good Writers Pave the Way

The current media situation is baffling businesses, changing the scope of PR, stressing out PR clients, and transforming journalism. I think of everyone dealing with the influx of social media and the death of many forms of traditional media has been most challenging for journalists. As someone who has worked in public relations in Vermont for over ten years, I have made a great many friends with journalists, writers, and editors, and while I feel their pain, I am also amazed at the resilience many of them show in fighting back and foraging their own way. I feel in some regard, this has helped boost the respect levels between the two professions, especially for those of us who are entrepreneurs.

I have done some super cliche writing lately, but seriously, the only thing I can think of in regards to the economic situation and the evolving media landscape is something I have learned is true in every aspect of my life - if you want something done you have to do it yourself. And that is what several journalists I hold volumes of respect for are doing. I am going to be sharing their endeavors with you over the next few posts...

B.J. Roche, a talented writer whose work has included recent features in The Boston Globe and Yankee Magazine, also teaches journalism at UMass Amherst (my parent's and brother's alma mater) and provides a variety of career and entrepreneurial counseling for enterprising journalists. Most recently she launched the website FiftyShift.com - a deep yet humorous foray into the lives, livelihoods, areas of concern and interest to the modern midlife woman.

I think one of the most exceptional concepts of this website is since it is written by a career writer and teacher, it is so easy to follow and everything seems pertinent and relevant. The site is well organized, it is easy to navigate, has a great mixture of photos, links, and headlines, and subjects span everything from being a cougar to how to tackle Facebook; from how to talk about aging issues with parents to how to plan a midlife sabbatical. Of course there is the usual tax info, retirement info, travel info, and gardening and cooking tips, but it's very clear this website isn't managed by a company trying to sell some of these products/services - it's managed by a woman shifting into her fifties as well and who really knows what's up with this demographic - and how to deliver it.

Well done and for all my pals out there in this demographic - you have got to check it out - www.FiftyShift.com!

Lessons from the Road

Wow, I have been a bad, bad blogger lately! I apologize. June has been an intense month of ups and downs. The elation of the music that has shaped my life returning coupled with judgments in the professional world which have been hurtful and downright wrong. I have built a professional persona that is true to my personal being. This was something that was fundamentally important to me in starting my own business. I have also found that being true to myself, being real, and being honest about who I am has had far more benefits than I could ever imagine. I have developed much stronger media relationships since managing my own Vermont public relations business solely based on the fact that I am not a "typical PR person." That results in press coverage for my clients and that is one of the things I love most about what I do.

Unfortunately I continue to learn that people have judgments, and while they are more often than not related to jealousy and their own insecurities, it doesn't stop the fact that they are painful and ugly.

Luckily while I learned some difficult lessons this month, I was also blessed with the culmination of my love affair with Phish and went to four shows in the beginning of June. It made me think a great deal about where I was when I first started listening to them, where I was when they broke up, and where I am now. Returning to Phish as an adult with a bunch of other adults has been inspirational and the lessons I learned then, most certainly do apply now. These lessons are an integral part of what I hold dear to my personal and professional lives - lives which have been intertwined with Rachel Carter PR and living a life that is honest and true in everything I do!

Life Lessons from Phish and the Road:

1.) DON'T JUDGE!!!! The crazy guy dancing next to you with the green wig and sparkle sunglasses is actually a high power, well respected DC lawyer.
2.) CHILL OUT! Sometimes you need to stop it all, completely engage in something else, let you mind not think, and release all that pent up energy.
3.) YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO HAVE YOUR WAY! If someone's dancing too close next to you, don't fight back, move and create a new space.
4.) SMILE! Everyone is, don't worry about why, just smile back - it feels good.
5.) LISTEN FOR ONCE! Actually listening to the music - it does wonders.
6.) CONVERSE AWAY FROM THE MUNDANE! No one asks you what you do - that stuff just doesn't matter. Build friendships based on common interests and loves and you'll be connected for life.

I came back from Phish feeling more confident about who I am, more satisfied with my life, and more relaxed about the fact that I really do have to stop sweating the small stuff. Sometimes the small stuff is blogging, so I took a break. Good to be back and can't wait to go see Phish again in August - I mean, isn't this why I started a business in the first place?

VT Business Expo Booths

Rachel Carter PR apprentice, Emily Bellmore, and myself headed off to the Vermont Business Expo a few weeks ago held at the Sheraton Burlington.

The Sheraton really does hold the prize (in my opinion) for the best conference space in Vermont. I have never attended an event there that wasn't polished and must give kudos to the Sheraton for another job well done. Of course, I would also have to give kudos to Delaney Meetings & Events, which I think most folks would agree, offer a second-to-none industry standard for event planning in Vermont. And a major hats off to Antonia Opitz of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce who is responsible for the entire overall event. Great work!

Emily and I planned for a full day at the Expo for two reasons: The first is I wanted to give Emily a good amount of time to meet friends and colleagues of mine and really actively engage in an apprenticeship. The other is I wanted to have the chance to see what other businesses are doing in Vermont! As a small business owner, I seldom get the opportunity to just check out other people's work and talk with them about what they are doing. It was refreshing and enjoyable. (Pictured here is Emily engaged in booth games)

Most fun was checking out the booths - let's see if my thoughts match up with any of the winners:

One fun stop was chatting with my friends at Shadow Productions. Not sure if they were trying for a booth award, but their friendliness and general way they do business is award worthy in itself!


Always good to chat with my friends at City Market and wherever they go, they present themselves right on target with their brand - good work!


When I played the Wheel-of-Fortune, I won a ham from McKenzie Country Classics. Unfortunately I did not actually redeem my prize because I had no place to keep it cold, but was most appreciative - perhaps they can partner with a local cooler provider?


Tilley's Cafe certainly rocked both the games and the costumes - they are so good at presenting themselves. Oh, and they have valet parking in downtown Burlington - talk about solving problems and having amazing customer service!



And then there was my personal favorite booth - Safeguard of Vermont (and New Hampshire). These folks had costumes! And not partial - full on! They even had a rocking horse to go along with their western theme. Oh, and what do they do? Promotional products! I think they have won my business for creating Vermont Vibes car decals!


Interested in knowing who actually won awards? Check out the VT Expo Best Booth Awards!!!

Tweet Tweet Tweet

Twitter took a foodie turn in the Mad River Valley last night at the Round Barn Farm's Great Vermont Locavore Tweet-up. Created by Chef Charlie Menard of the Round Barn Farm's local and organic catering company, Cooking From the Heart, the event brought together Vermont foodies, localvore supporters and participants, and Vermont twitterers. Promoted mostly by the Round Barn Farm on Twitter - http://twitter.com/roundbarnfarm, the event was well attended with the perfect mix of the above!

Seven Days also whisked it into this week's issue and you can check out more on the event in the article.

I'd like to take a few moments to recognize some of the great folks I met and caught up with last night and instead of linking to their websites, I will direct you to their Twitter pages!

I had a fantastic time chatting with Jeff Connor, owner of the Grunberg Haus, a delightful inn located in Waterbury and also the author of one of my favorite Vermont Blogs - Vermont Travel Notes!
http://twitter.com/GrunbergHausVT

It was great to catch up with my old neighbors from the Bobbin Sew Bar & Craft Lounge and awesome to see how well they are doing and living out their passions and mission!
http://twitter.com/thebobbin

I loved meeting MariaLisa Calta in person - one of Vermont's very best food writers and also the PR gal for Circus Smirkus - one of Vermont's best entertainment concepts ever!
www.smirkus.com - (no Twitter yet, but I am sure it won't be long!)

It was inspiring chatting with Brian Swichkow, an energetic, driven, and talented young Vermont entrepreneur - watch this guy!
http://twitter.com/swichi293

Meeting neighbor and Seven Days' creative culinary writer, Suzanne Podhaizer, was a treat - she is so innovative with covering Vermont food related stories and integrates excellent social media practices!
http://twitter.com/feedmenow

I am very much looking forward the story Candace Page from the Burlington Free Press is working on - she's creatively incorporating 140 characters into it and can't wait to check it out!
http://twitter.com/CandacePage

As always I enjoy running into Amy Kirschner, the amazing mastermind behind Vermont Sustainable Exchange, and really enjoyed being able to spend some time together!
http://twitter.com/vtexchange

It was great chatting briefly with Vermont Edition's Jane Lindholm - one of my most favorite segments of VPR; after maybe the jazz I enjoy at night and did so as I headed home from the Tweet-up.
http://twitter.com/JaneLindholm

And of course always running into PR pals - wish we could all spend more time together - colleagues are not part of running your own business!
Claudia RenchyMorton of KSV - http://twitter.com/MonkeyHouseMama
Andrea Learned (women marketing guru) - http://twitter.com/AndreaLearned
Sandy Yusen of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters - http://twitter.com/sryusen
Nicole Fenton of City Market - http://twitter.com/NicoleFenton

Oh, and my Twitter is http://twitter.com/RachelCarterPR

Kudos Chef Charlie and the Round Barn Farm! This event was great proof of how social media connects people on a real, personal level - yay!

VT Business Conference Report

It may be a Monday, but I feel as if I am in the midst of Vermont Conference Week. Friday wrapped up the start with the Women Business Owner's Network (WBON) Conference at the Hilton in Burlington. As outlined in the below post, the New World of PR was the overall topic and the speakers were great! I was especially impressed with the Seven Days speech by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. And, no, I am not just saying that because I am a PR person. I was inspired by their tenacity and boldness (which as the owners/publishers/editors of Seven Days I am fully aware, but was inspired to hear it live) and was also completely amused by the way they told the story. And when it comes down to it folks - traditional PR, new age PR, tech PR - it's all about how you tell the story. Be real and make it relevant. Pamela and Paula did this for the large group of women business owners who gathered for this well run conference.

I think my workshops went well and enjoyed helping business owners try to figure out all this new media slop so it's actually a bit tasty. I will say the Hilton needs to get with the program and stop trying to be so obvious about trying to make a buck and offer wireless to all as a part of their conference package. Is it really worth annoying several presenters so you can charge ten bucks per wireless session? Couldn't you just include wireless for all at a conference with a password in the fee structure? Are you really that ignorant to customer feedback? Maybe you need to Twitter.

So moving on now that it's the middle of Vermont Conference Week - this Wednesday and Thursday is the long anticipated Vermont Business EXPO brought to us by the new media savvy Vermont Business Magazine and my new favorite networking vehicle - the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Every day I learn more reasons as to why Vermont businesses should be a member and do believe my Vermont public relations business will be joining in the near future. And speaking of savvy, check out the EXPO's You Tube feature!



If you haven't made plans to attend this year's EXPO, you should seriously re-consider your marketing goals and make sure there is a measurable reason why you are not attending. (Even if you don't have a booth, you can still attend - otherwise why would there be booths?)

Hope to see lots of folks there - I will be there for the day Wednesday!

Building Blocks For Literacy

I had the utmost privilege to work with the fine folks at the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston, Vermont last year to help with PR trainings for the launch of BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY®, a research-proven program for parents and early care/education providers to help prepare children for literacy success.

The experience of working in a training capacity was great and the Stern Center in general is an amazing organization committed to helping individuals identify their learning strengths as well as their needs and to finding solutions that allow everyone to learn. But I must say, the most rewarding part of my work with the Stern Center was truly learning about BUILDING BLOCKS FOR LITERACY®. This program really is what it is all about as far as putting an end to the lack of literacy that afflicts this country. And instead of people just blaming the fact that both parents have to work to support families in today's world, BUILDING BLOCKS directly attacks the root of the problem without placing any sort of blame. It trains those who teach the young children - preschool teachers, parents, and other committed adults to easily encourage the practice of the specific skills which held children learn to read.

From the press release distributed nationwide when the program launched a few weeks ago: This free on-line 12-hour course provides adults with a toolbox of enjoyable activities to build a solid foundation for children to succeed at reading once they enter school. Studies have shown that this kind of preparation can help decrease the number of children at-risk for reading failure.


And studies for real - the Stern Center is by far one of the most respected and well researched institutions dealing with literacy and while the official research specific to BUILDING BLOCKS began back in 1997, it truly began when charismatic Dr. Blanche Podhajski founded the Stern Center in 1983.

Kudos and hats off to all involved and if you're reading this and have a preschool age child or know people who do - do everyone a favor and send them this link - www.BuildingBlocksForLiteracy.org!

The New World of Public Relations

It is a whole new world out there and the dino days of old school PR are either done or need to be completely integrated into the existing landscape of social media, grassroots networking, word of mouth marketing, and viral communicating. As Peter Shankman referred to and we all know - old white dudes don't run the show anymore.

Interested in learning more? If you are a woman business owner, aspiring business owner, or marketing professional, I HIGHLY suggest signing up and attending the Women Business Owner's Network spring seminar - The New Rules of Online Marketing & Public Relations.

I first joined the WBON two years ago, a few years after I started my Vermont public relations business and the first event I attended was the spring seminar. I left that seminar and started a website, met with a banker, registered with the state as an official business, found a bookkeeper and began preparing for my own accounting process, and started three blogs. Now I am in my third year of business and I credit so much of what I have learned to my experiences with the WBON. When I chat with other aspiring women business owners, the first piece of advice I give them is to join and learn from this fantastic organization.

The spring seminar is being held next Friday, May 15th at the Hilton in Burlington, Vermont. Presentations and workshops will be presented by the following:

Paula Routly & Pamela Polston - Seven Days

Pat Heffernan - Marketing Partners

April Cornell - April Cornell Holdings and http://musings.aprilcornell.com/

Elaine Young - Champlain College and http://champlainprofessor.blogspot.com

Marion Dane Abrams - Madmotion, LLC

Teresa Langston - Net-Spin, Inc.

Cathy Resmer - Seven Days and http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/

and myself - Rachel Carter PR

I am honored to be among such a stellar cast of marketing and PR professionals and media experts and am excited for the wealth of information that will be flowing through the seminar. Don't miss out - this is a GREAT chance to propel your business forward and gain concrete next steps as to how you can more effectively manage your marketing in sync with how the world really works.

More info is at www.wbon.org - see you next week!