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: Sue.kinnear@bbc.co.uk

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

My guest today, Zoe Hewitt, swapped her role as a set designer in film and tv to be an interior designer – because the skills are pretty much the same. There are obviously other reasons, which you’ll hear about.

Zoe has known what she wanted to do since being a young child, and got useful careers advice from school – unlike many of us and especially me who was told that I could choose between being a secretary or a nurse – which did I fancy?

Zoe has always been proactive, and has made her own opportunities. In fact, she’s never really been employed, but has always been a freelancer.

During her time as a set designer, she worked in theatre and worked in tv including on the iconic series Torchwood, filmed in her home town of Cardiff.

Now, living in Bristol, she has built a career around making a difference to someone’s life by the use of interior design – to bring, joy, calm, or peace- whatever the client is looking for.

Her main style is all about colour – people don’t go to her for beige!

To contact Zoe:

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

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

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 was imagining my guest today talking to me from sunnier climes, only to be told that he was actually in a very cold LA!

Nathan is the CEO of Miller Ink, a strategic communications agency with headquarters in LA, and offices in New York and San Francisco. He has spent the last 20 years in communications, working with a variety of large corporate clients, high profile individuals, entertainment leaders and some non-profit advocacy groups.

He previously worked at the UN as the chief speechwriter and communications director at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations; in Brussels with a ‘think tank’ working on EU issues; and in politics in LA and in Washington.

When Facebook started in 2004, Nathan was a freshman at college, had a Facebook account before many other people, and used this to his advantage in his first PR job.

Nathan talks about how he works on crisis management with some very large US companies, including representing a custodial bank in a lawsuit with the Federal Reserve!

It may seem odd for someone who works at this level to chat to a fellow PR from another country who specialises in working with small and micro businesses. Yet, as you will hear, we have a lot in common.

One is the mantra of No BS when it comes to PR!

To contact Nathan:

Website: https://miller-ink.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/millerinkla/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MillerInkLA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MillerInkLAI

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 has been described as a serial entrepreneur – a title she hates!

However, Rachel has been running different businesses over the last 20 odd years.

Prior to Lockdown, she and her husband ran a software business, but thanks to the huge changes that took place, 50% of their clients left. Like many small businesses, they were left wondering where they were going to make the money to pay for everything.

Her husband, Elliot is an amazing pizza cook, so he suggested they started selling pizzas.

I’m sure when many of you hear this, you’ll be thinking, how on earth would that work.

Rachel and Elliot were incredibly well organised, and most of this is down to the fact that Rachel likes to know the figures and plan ahead. Plus, she also understands and knows how to use marketing well.

When it comes to competition, she has a great attitude – which is almost ‘bring it on’. This isn’t just about Pizza – it’s about understanding how to run a business successfully.

Apart from feeling hungry as you listen to us chat, after listening, you are all going to wish you lived within CasaGees’ delivery radius!

To contact Rachel:
Website: casagees.co.uk 

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