Linda Varrell, a seasoned PR Professional with a strong sense of community, recently founded WordLab - a unique business model combining mentorship with support for small businesses and non-profits in need of PR and marketing expertise. Join us and find out what the impetus was for this Daughter of Change to start WordLab, what her biggest successes and challenges have been and how businesses can collaborate to help young people starting out while also helping their local community.
Linda Varrell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindavarrell/
WordLab: https://wordlabpr.com/
BroadreachPR: https://www.broadreachpr.com
[00:00:00] Linda Verrall has more than 25 years of experience in communications, public relations, crisis handling and project and sales management. As a former vice president and company spokesperson for a publicly traded financial institution, she created and executed external and internal communications campaigns supporting expansive growth, product introductions, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, financial disclosures, high visibility, construction and technology projects, as well as numerous crises. In 2006, she founded Broad Reach Public Relations, an award winning women owned strategic communications firm based in Portland, Maine. She is nationally accredited in public relations, holds a master's degree in organizational leadership, and is regularly tapped to speak at sea level events and industry specific conferences. Linda serves on numerous nonprofit boards, including as president of the Maine Public Relations Council, [00:01:00] chair of University of Southern Maine's Corporate Partners, and is a board member of the Maine Press Association. She has also served as adjunct faculty at both USM and Thomas College. Linda recently launched Word Lab LLC, a nationally recognized Department of Labor apprenticeship program providing public relations, marketing and public affairs training to young professionals while serving the communication needs of small businesses and nonprofits.
[00:01:35] Welcome to the Daughters of Change podcast. I'm your host. Solar. Each week we'll be bringing you stories from around the globe of the women and girls who are changing the world, each in their own unique way.
[00:02:00] Linda, [00:02:00] welcome to the Daughters of Change podcast. Well, thank you, Mary. Thank you for having me. Well, I'm excited. And we also have two special guests here today. We have Rocsi and Kellog, and they are golden retrievers. Is that right? They is correct. Yeah. Roxy is five and Kellog is too well.
[00:02:18] So they may join into the podcast. So if you hear they're all we're all one big happy family here today. So, Linda, this is really exciting. I love what you're doing with Bird Lab and the whole concept of an apprenticeship program for young people, particularly in the area, in the fields that youre helping them with, because there's not a lot of entry level jobs in that area at all.
[00:02:42] No, they're not. And in some of our market research with colleges and universities across northern New England. The career career department is career counseling centers would support that as well that coming out of college. There are very few entry level jobs in their chosen fields.
[00:02:59] It's not that [00:03:00] they can't find work. The key is can they find work in their chosen field? And so, you know, it's that age old, that old age, old age challenge. You need experience to get a job and you need a job to get experience. So we're hoping to bridge that gap and really help these young people launch their careers.
[00:03:20] And so before I jump in to the questions that I'm going to be asking you more specifically, can you tell the listeners a little bit like encapsulate exactly what word lab is?
[00:03:31] Yeah. So word lab is a communications apprenticeship program.
[00:03:34] So what they're working on is, you know, public relations. So they might be doing press releases, event promotions, social media. They might be doing market research, working on email marketing. They might be doing pitching and media relations. We actually have an event tomorrow, so we're gonna be working with the media in the morning.
[00:03:56] So it it runs the gamut in terms of communication [00:04:00] strategy, marketing, a little bit of public affairs. They'll also be potentially sitting in on some crises strategy that we might that we might be assisting with. So it really is. I want to say it's kind of PR lite and that's what we've been using lately as as a phrase, but it's a two thousand our program. So they're going to be with us for a year. We actually pay them, which is a little bit different from an internship, because a lot of times internships are either unpaid or they're very short term and they really don't delve into real world activities.
[00:04:39] So you found this need out there in the marketplace, both from the standpoint of young people needing to find that entry level work within their chosen field. And then on top of that, within an area that doesn't have a lot of entry level work to begin with. And then you're matching them with smaller companies and nonprofits [00:05:00] that might not have the budget for to either hire their own person within that role or maybe not the budget to hire a really large PR and marketing company. So you're kind of filling two. Nisha's with that.
[00:05:13] Yeah, we're trying to.
[00:05:14] So, you know, in my capacity as president and founder, broad reach public relations, what I found over the years is that we were never at a loss for resumés and inquiries for jobs. And, you know, there was a time when I was receiving, I don't know, probably a resumé, a week of folks that wanted to move to me and come back to mean and they could not find a job again in their chosen field. And it was always painful for me to say no. And so Broad Reach actually implemented an apprenticeship program about eight years ago and we would only hire one. And it was always sad because it was quite competitive. And again, we only hired the one and take that with the [00:06:00] numerous requests we would get from nonprofits, because every nonprofits doing an event, they're trying to raise friends, raise funds. And, you know, they don't have the big budgets to do the promotion, to get the media there, to really, you know, think about, you know, how are we going to maximize this opportunity?
[00:06:19] And so.
[00:06:20] Have I had two challenges I had, you know, all these folks looking for a job. All these nonprofits and small business looking for help. And, you know, how can we put them together so that it's a win win for everyone?
[00:06:36] So you had that success with the apprenticeship program or with the intern that you were hiring at Broad Reach.
[00:06:44] What was the catalyst that got you to go from seeing how this was working? Well, with one or two interns or entry-level people at your public relations firm, Buarque Broad reach into actually starting word lab as its own distinct entity. [00:07:00]
[00:07:01] All right. That's a great question, Marie, because sometimes we ask that of ourselves today, you know, why didn't we just expand our apprenticeship program within broad reach? That broad reaches a high level strategic communications firm. And so, you know, we're not in the business of education. And I wanted to make that distinction clear. In addition, as an entrepreneur, I really needed to look at the current business model and get to what we were doing and making sure we were staying in our lane and delivering high quality communications like crises and event promotion and different things like that.
[00:07:40] But at a higher level. So the good news was I was invited to participate in Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Businesses program last year. And the challenge was how do you develop and expand on a growth opportunity? And rather [00:08:00] than seeing this as a challenge, I saw this as an opportunity, again, to put young people together with small businesses and nonprofits. And if we created the right business model, we could contain the expenses cycle. The apprentices through because we wouldn't be you know, we wouldn't have the the layer of senior leadership. You know, we would have. We would have advisers who would be working with a larger pool of junior staff who are also mentoring each other as they went through the program. So let me walk you through this. Cohort one, which includes four apprentices, was hired in February. Now, Cohort 1 had a little different experience because they actually got a taste of entrepreneurism because we were starting the company up. We were doing the logo. We were doing the Web site. And they were a part of all of that. So they got a little bit a taste of [00:09:00] how to develop business, how to do how to launch a brand and how to, you know, establish a foothold in an industry.
[00:09:10] So that was pretty exciting. So they started in February. Cohort 2 started in June. And Cohort 2 is really the proof of concept. So as Cohort 1 was learning. Were they able to transfer that knowledge to Cohort 2? So it it's really a learning environment. So they learn, you know, in of themselves. They have curriculum that they have to participate in a hundred and forty four hours over the course of the year, the 2000 hours they have to put in. But they're also working within a group. So cohort two, there's three of them. So they have each other for support. Cohort one, there's four of them. So Cohort 2 can go to Cohort 1 and they can work out problems and workshop them together, you know, and then they have our senior program director, Wing Clark, who's a longstanding communications professional. He set [00:10:00] up the programs at Main Med and hospitals across across the country and then also has been adjunct faculty. So between both of us, we have, you know, deep communications experience.
[00:10:12] We have deep experience in teaching and we have a passion for bringing and keeping these young people in Maine.
[00:10:23] And it's nice. I love the way that things expand upon themselves. And it's almost that idea or that concept of paying it forward. So the first cohorts in are helping the ones behind them. And so you're seeing early on, you're also teaching them about mentorship, which I think is really, really important.
[00:10:40] You know, they're learning from a young age or from, you know, getting there just when they're getting their toes in the water, how important it is to help other people because they've experienced somebody helping them. So that's that's really important as well. So you have this program ready [00:11:00] to launch before you started. What was your reception? What happened when you reached out? First of all, the reception from the apprentice's or the potential apprentices and then secondarily or an equally important, what was the reception to the business community in terms of coming to board lab as a as a solution for their communications?
[00:11:27] Now, those are those are two really great questions, because as part of our market research, we had to identify, you know, what was the market for these services. So I'll speak to that in just a minute. But when we started recruiting the apprentices, as I indicated, you know, I was receiving resumes on an unsolicited resume is on a fairly regular basis. And so we had a stockpile of those. In addition, we posted the apprenticeship program on Indeed.com and we did that for two days and received 28 inquiries applications. [00:12:00]
[00:12:00] So we actually had to pull. Yes, because we were only hiring four. And we already had you know, we already had some previous inquiries. So that really was eye opening. And a lot of these inquiries from indeed were from around the country. So I know young people want to come to me. We just need to figure out how to put them in jobs and put them in jobs in fields, you know, that they want to be in. Absolutely. So that that was interesting. And I would love for you to hear from a couple of the apprentices in cohort one because they weren't quite sure if it was a real opportunity or not, because we didn't have an office, we didn't have a way.
[00:12:47] So they're like, what is this, some backroom operation? Exactly.
[00:12:54] So but they quickly found out like, oh, no, this is a legitimate job opportunity [00:13:00] on the waterfront in Portland, Maine. What young person doesn't want to be, you know. Yeah, right on Commercial Street.
[00:13:05] So we were able to quickly fill cohort one and we almost had Cohort 2. You already filled. But just we really needed you know, we needed to bring in the revenue. And so that speaks to was there market demand for this? And we started. Communicating with a couple of our smaller nonprofit clients from Broad Reach, and they were really excited about the program, really supportive, and they said absolutely, you know, we're happy to have the apprentice's work with us. So that first client was the chromo center. Wow.
[00:13:42] Chromo Center for Disabilities Awareness. And they were amazing just embracing the opportunity. And it really enabled us to see some early success. Some one of the apprentices was able to secure or, you know, over and over two minute segment [00:14:00] on Channel 6 for the Krumholz Center, which was great.
[00:14:05] Oh, you're doing. That's that's really that's pretty impressive, right?
[00:14:10] Yeah, that was very impressive. And then our our second really big win is, you know, shipyard and Fred Fawzy. He's always you know, he's probably means, you know, highest serial entrepreneur. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. And so when we talked about the program and he met all the apprentices, he's like, wow, I need to I need to help this. And so we started out small working with Eli's soda and did a couple of did a couple of press releases.
[00:14:41] Nothing major. Well, we got a lot of press because Eli's was some changing their formulation to going to all-natural. And then they also launched a new diet, root beer. And so the group was really excited that they were able to secure, you know, both national press, [00:15:00] industry, press and local press on that. And so it was a real win win for everybody. You know, they were able to work with a with a fun brand. They were able to work with a great company that really understands entrepreneurism and young people. And so it's really generated a lot of enthusiasm.
[00:15:19] And for those of you out there listening who don't know shipyard beer, I mean, the the root beer is good, too. But if you haven't tried the beer, you ought to go get some. Ed, Fred's got a sponsor, but he's as good beer.
[00:15:32] And yes, this time a year. Yeah. First in the original pumpkin beer of Ryan heads out there.
[00:15:39] That's right. Available pumpkin head enix in a cooler near you. Hopefully in your fridge, right? Right. So in terms of the small businesses, Lynda, that that come toward lab. You know, I'm sure a lot of people say go, oh, my God. You know, I would love to have an opportunity to work with a company like that. But [00:16:00] in reality, are there certain things that should be in place for a company before they're ready to work with word lab? I mean, is it just the startup that's like, okay, can get ready start or where should they be at?
[00:16:12] Yeah, that's a great question.
[00:16:13] And actually we've been having a lot of conversations in different forums on just that question. Companies really need to have their brand established and launched. So they need to have their logo that their website, their brand messaging and they really need to have a clear understanding of who their market is.
[00:16:31] And, you know, and it isn't everyone. Whenever you ask somebody you know, well, who are your clients? Oh, well, you know, who are your potential customers? Oh, well, it's everyone. Well, no, it isn't everyone.
[00:16:43] That's a lot of pressure if it was everyone.
[00:16:45] So, you know, they really need to be clear on who their customers are, who their clients are, where they are, you know, and what they want them to do. And then we can come in and we can help them sort out some of those, you know, some [00:17:00] of those opportunities, some of those strategies. And we work with marketing. So I always want to make that really clear, that marketing and PR really need to go together. And someone asked me, you know, what's the difference? And I've always said, you know what? Marketing captures the wallet. You know, PR captures the heart. And so, you know, like I said, the two really need to go together.
[00:17:24] So they have to. They should be somewhat established from the standpoint, as you said, it's it's not just in the idea phase. It's in the. OK. We've actually launched and we have we have an idea around our brand and the audience that we're going for.
[00:17:40] Right. And a perfect example is word lab.
[00:17:43] So we had set a schedule to launch word Lombok in the end of May, early June. And we were working with a great company here in Portland to to launch our brand and or our logo, our Web site, Visible Logic.
[00:17:58] And, you know, we [00:18:00] had such a tough time with deciding on, you know, the final logo, deciding on the final colors.
[00:18:06] And and had we actually launched in May, we wouldn't have been ready. Yeah, you know, and and so I was glad that we did have the delays on our launch in terms of us getting our story out there. Certainly there weren't the delays on there. And so we didn't really launch until July. And immediately when we started putting our story out there, we were getting recognition in the press. So, you know, the press Herald and the forecaster made bids different things like that, which was great because our Web site was ready. Yeah.
[00:18:42] You know, and and you you know, timing really is everything.
[00:18:47] And you really need to sometimes just say, you know what, we're just not ready. And that's okay. Yeah.
[00:18:54] 'cause you get it out there and it gets some traction. And then what? You better be ready to deliver on what you say you're doing because that's [00:19:00] really your first impression right into the public. Right. So you want to make sure that you're ready on your on the other end as a business. So with mentoring the young people, Linda. Have there been any surprises in that process for you as to what that entails? Have the thing been things that you're helping with that maybe you didn't anticipate or.
[00:19:21] I think that's a great question, because I've worked with young people the majority of my career.
[00:19:26] You know, I was on the board of Maine Youth Leadership for, you know, 13 years. I've worked with high school students.
[00:19:33] I was adjunct faculty. And I think the one thing that continues to surprise me is, you know, self-confidence and self-esteem. They just really struggle with that.
[00:19:46] And I don't know how to help necessarily with that.
[00:19:55] So kind of the tack that I take is, you know, if you believe you can, you [00:20:00] can. And if we don't raise the bar and set the expectation, then, you know, they're not going to live up to it. And, you know, one of the comments that I say is, you know, I'm not going to give up on you until you give up on you. And that actually rings a bell with with a lot of people like, oh, wait a minute. You know, my career and my success is my responsibility. And what tools can I give them and can we give them to help them do that? But it it's interesting to me, you know, that whole piece around confidence and fear of failure, fear of feedback even more. So it's it's something we're working on.
[00:20:45] We're learning you know, we're learning different assessments, you know, helping them understand, you know, how they deal with ambiguity, harm, helping them understand, you know, their locus of control, you know, internal versus external. Do I have control over, [00:21:00] you know, what I'm doing right here? And how is that affecting, you know, my success and my decision making?
[00:21:07] Have you noticed in the process or do you feel like that when they have when these apprentices have some of these successes, like, you know, landing this story on Channel 6, which for those of you that aren't a main, it's the number one station in the state. So it's a big deal. Do you see their confidence build as things like that happen?
[00:21:29] I do. And what happens is they start to realize, like, wait a minute, I did that. It's like, yes, you did that.
[00:21:36] And you did that through clarity. Persistence. You did that with passion. You know, you understand the client. You knew the story and you really wanted to get that out there. And, you know, that's the difference in an apprenticeship program. It's really hard to not take the work from them. You need to guide them [00:22:00] through it and let them do it. And that's really hard for a lot of people to stand back and watch folks making mistakes. But they are going to make mistakes. And you have to let them make mistakes. But you also have to give them the feedback. One of one of the key elements in in giving feedback and I was just at an H.R. conference last week and we were talking about give credit where credit is due. Positive and negative in the same time horizon. So how many times have you heard supervisors or folks say, well, I'll dress, I'll address that?
[00:22:36] Yes. You know, two weeks from now. Yeah, but they give the kudos right away.
[00:22:41] You read. You need to give both positive and negative in the same time horizon. And that's really important as is candor.
[00:22:51] Yeah. Yet to be to be transparent, because if you don't tell if you don't tell a young person, I mean, how are they going to learn? Right. And especially coming I know for me [00:23:00] coming out of college, out of the classroom, into the real work world was a very different reality. Either the classroom vs. being, you know, working for a company. So this is I love I just loved this whole program. Exactly. So, again, I think it's really clever. Hopefully you'll come visit. Oh, I totally well, and I actually I actually went to talk to you about daughters. A change in a couple of freelance clients, I have said. Yeah. So there's been a lot of talk in Maine specifically and maybe in other states, but about attracting young people to businesses with true entry level jobs so that they can get them started here and bring them into the market. Do you feel that the time for the talk is over and it's time for the rubber to hit the road? Are you seeing that? What what what's what are you seeing?
[00:23:50] Yeah, we finally are seeing that. And the Maine Department of Labor has been outstanding. They launched a program called the Maine [00:24:00] at Work Initiative, which was about connecting employers and job seekers.
[00:24:05] And one of the elements of that program was the Maine apprenticeship program, which had been, you know, kind of quiet for a number of years. And employers didn't really understand, you know, what services were available through the Department of Labor. Now, we were very fortunate to have him as a client on the broad reach side. Over the last few years and learned intimately about that program. And that was also one of the factors that went into creating word. LeBas Oh, we can set up a legitimate apprenticeship program as a business. And so what's happened and which is the good news is more and more companies than ever have tap this program for support. The majority of them are within the organization. So like a large employer, like a chimborazo or a. Or, you know, a main general or different things like that, and they'll have The Apprentice show [00:25:00] apprenticeship program within their organization. What we've done is we've established an apprenticeship program for an industry. And so, you know, we would love to see more of that. We'd also love to see more dollars flowing into the program because there aren't a whole lot of incentives for employers to do this. There aren't a lot of tax breaks. There aren't a lot of reimbursements. You know, so the employers are funding a lot of this themselves.
[00:25:31] So you hear that anybody out there listening? Dollars. Dollars. Dollars would be nice. And I would also imagine that for, you know, a startup that, you know, is on solid ground that's looking to attract new people in that deed, something maybe more than an intern. And they want something to grow with them. It would be a great opportunity on that level, too, because you're bringing them in and you're teaching them. So maybe initially [00:26:00] you're not, you know, paying the 60 or 70 thousand dollars a year that you know, but you're have some that's actually growing along with your business. So there's there's a lot to be thought of around that. I love it. I love that concept. I often work with, you know, young kids out of college with daughters of change. I love it. I love the. And plus, they bring great energy into the workspace, you know, and they look at things differently. And when it comes to social media, are you kidding me? You know, so they do, you know. Yeah. I just I really when you were telling me about the program, when we met to talk about sort of other things, I'm like, we have to do a podcast. This is great. So how do you. Linda, how do you feel that businesses can collaborate together and work more effectively to help young professionals and to maybe help the economy as well as the more collaboration that could be happening or any tips on that?
[00:26:59] Well, I think [00:27:00] a lot of organizations are starting to do it now, you know, with, you know, over the last five to 10 years, you've seen, you know, the young professional organizations through their chambers.
[00:27:09] You know, like you have Papale down here in Portland, you have Midcoast Magnet up in the up in the Camden area. You have same in Lewiston, Auburn. So you do have, you know, the young professionals organizations.
[00:27:22] But I think, you know, there needs to be more formalized opportunities where young people are networking with seasoned professionals and that, you know, there establish mentorship programs, you know, take someone under your wing, go and have a coffee with them once a month, ask them what their challenges are. Ask them what they're seeing for opportunities and how they're growing and and what you can do to support their career and be an advocate for them. That's really hard. And, you know, I'm not saying I'm perfect by any stretch of the imagination.
[00:27:58] But what I do know [00:28:00] is that if we as seasoned professionals kind of let go, you know, of our own insecurities and really share, you know, our failures and our successes and, you know, how we've handled things and be genuine and authentic and transparent, that's how they learn, you know, and then they they learn from each other, you know. So having a conversation with one of the apprentices and say, OK, now how are you going to share what you just learned with everyone else? So I think businesses, you know, even if they just took one intern, you know, as a small business, I mean, we had an intern in 2009 when only had three employees. You know, and the fourth was he was an intern over the summer because their dad reached out to us at an event we were promoting and and we said, sure. Know. And that worked out great. Like I said, it's not [00:29:00] always gonna be perfect. But if folks work together and understand what the expectations are and if they need help, there's plenty of companies out there that are doing internships. The state will help you with an apprenticeship program, you know, so there's a lot of resources.
[00:29:18] Linda, you mentioned that it's important as a mentor to share your challenges are the things that have happened. So for the daughters of change out there listing what was appropriate? Was there a maybe the most significant challenge you had on starting either one of your businesses because you're an entrepreneur? Because I think sometimes, you know, we look to people that are already established and doing really well and we think, oh, they didn't have any problems. Why am I having challenges? Eddie, anything that you faced as a challenge that you had to overcome?
[00:29:51] Yeah, there's a couple of things. You know, first was when I was in my you know, I had a 25 year career in banking and two [00:30:00] years before I left, two years before I started Broad Reach.
[00:30:03] I actually, you know, had a very candid conversation with my boss, wanting to know, you know, is there going to be a seat at the table for me?
[00:30:10] You know, in this organization, I was a senior ranking middle manager and was pretty much told candidly no. So that in of itself set in motion a kind of a reality check for me. And I would had a very supportive household and my husband had been self-employed for a really long time. And he said, well, then I guess it might be time for you to go out on your own and well, what am I gonna do? And it's like, well, didn't you put a business plan together for a marketing firm when you were working on your when you were working on your masters? And, you know, let's just talk through this.
[00:30:47] And so over no bottles of wine, which is key. Yeah. And chocolate.
[00:30:53] You know, we talk through it. And I kept saying, you know what? What about, you know, what about this expense? What about [00:31:00] insurance? What about health care? What am I gonna do about health care? And he just looked to me and he said, you know what, health care is just another line item like paper. And that realization. You know, really hit home like, oh, let's not give this any more meaning than it needs to have and let's focus on how am I going to drive revenue, you know? And how am I going to harness the sales experience that I had over twenty five years being in retail banking. So that is how the transition to broad reach happened. And when I said I was leaving the president, the bank was like, well, how about we be your first client? And here I'm thinking he's going to fire me. And they became our first client for the first four and a half years. So it it really, you know, the the challenge becomes the opportunity, you know, when you start to work through it.
[00:31:50] Now, fast forward to today. And Word Lab. You know, we're in Lavas business plan. Broad Reach never had a business plan. And we just, [00:32:00] you know, kind of get it. It had a small, you know, business plan I did in college. But word lab had a full on business plan. I had, you know, the org charts. I had the financial.
[00:32:12] I had everything buttoned. We we had secured an angel or a benefactor. One of the broad reach clients, Bob Parslow, Wireless Partners, was really into the program and helped us launch.
[00:32:27] And then my mother had issues and were actually even before that, we had lost our operations officer. So I was four months into a wild partying word lab. The prentice's had only been on board for two months.
[00:32:45] And so our operations officer, you know, decided she needed a life change and we needed to support that. And then a month after that, I started having issues with my mother. And my mother passed away in July. And so I probably lost two [00:33:00] and a half, three months. So that's a real setback that, you know what, your your your life is going in a certain direction.
[00:33:08] And then at some point you just have to step out of it because you have other things you need to deal with. And, you know, so now, you know, the sales hats back on and where, you know, looking to bring on new clients and, you know, we're back out visible and, you know, and focused again. But, you know, just about anything can derail you from getting your company going in the right direction.
[00:33:33] I'm sorry to hear about your mom. And I think time because, you know, our mothers are our mom. And, you know, it seems to me that for a lot of women, I mean, this can help with men, too, with a lot of women that are starting new businesses, particularly, you know, 40 plus. You have you know, you you've got the kids. You're you're they called like the sandwich generation almost because we have our kids on what end. And we've got our parents that are [00:34:00] now needing our help almost like children again. So it. Kudos to you for getting things back on target. Now, what are you what are your visions for Word Lab..
[00:34:12] What are my visions for Word Lab..
[00:34:14] So, you know, the big picture was that we would have four Koha. So over the course seven years that we would be working with 16.
[00:34:23] I found that seven is probably enough.
[00:34:29] You know, we have the two cohorts.
[00:34:30] My my short term goal is that we start recruiting for Cohort 3 in December and we bring them on board the end of January so that when Cohort 1 off boards and we help them with their careers, that Cohort 3 is is getting ready to launch. So that's really the short term. You know, we'll continue to grow our client base and our base of friends and advocates because we not only have small business in nonprofits, but we do have larger companies [00:35:00] and organizations as well as clients that and we're doing projects for them.
[00:35:05] You know, we're not you know, these aren't big retainers or anything along those lines. It's they see the value and they want to provide some opportunities and work, I think, for longer term. And we've also already been in conversations with some folks in New Hampshire and some folks down in Connecticut. They're interested in the model. And so we're working on feasibility right now. We've already, you know, trademarked the name. We've developed the curriculum. We're still finishing the curriculum because obviously it's a year. So we're having to develop it and then test it. And but the goal would be to license this program and work with the other states Department of Labor and set up a word lab down in Connecticut, set up a word lab over in New Hampshire, because the challenges we have in mean and again, what we learned through market research, it's not just me, it's northern New England. [00:36:00] You know, the young people are not coming to northern New England. Connecticut has the same issues. When we were talking with them, New Hampshire has the same issues.
[00:36:10] So, you know, it it's great if you're in Boston, but a lot of young professionals don't want to be in Boston.
[00:36:18] So today, Maine, tomorrow, the world, right?
[00:36:22] Maybe. Yeah. No pressure. No pressure. No. I'll just stick with New Hampshire. Connecticut, for the record. Well, think of it there.
[00:36:30] Although, you know, I remember starting Daughters of Change and one day saying to myself. A while this could be global. This could be really big. And I started to hyperventilate, which I usually do it. I went downstairs and I found out a Reader's Digest and I was fanning myself with the Reader's Digest. I put it down and it opened up to a page with a quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. That said, if your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.
[00:36:57] So I was like, oh, good, because I'm scared. [00:37:00] Well, and.
[00:37:03] I'm not going to get this right. But one of my favorite quotes from Robert Kennedy is always do those things you're most fearful of.
[00:37:09] Go. Yeah. That's where you that's where you learn. Right. And that's, I think, where confidence builds, too. Linda White is the best piece of advice that you have for the Daughters of Change out there listening today.
[00:37:24] Well, the first is always, you know, don't be afraid of risk.
[00:37:29] You know, you need to go over it. You need to go around it. You need to go through it. But you do need to embrace it and realize that it's there.
[00:37:37] But, you know, if not you, then who? You know, if I'm not doing this, then who is? And just thinking about if you have the idea, you have the resources and if you have the support system, why not try it? And one of the things that, you know, again, I. My husband has been incredibly supportive and [00:38:00] he's like, well, you know, this is either going to be incredibly successful in 12 to 18 months or you're going to chalk it up too well. That was a fun experiment.
[00:38:09] And now, you know.
[00:38:13] And that pragmatism is I think what entrepreneurs need to have is that, yep, we're buckled in and we can't get out until this ride stops.
[00:38:25] Yeah. Yeah.
[00:38:27] And and enjoy the ride. Now while you're on it. And so. So that's kind of the first and the second. You and I talked about early on was, you know, sometimes you need to, you know, disengage with your critics. And what I mean by that is, you know, we can have conversations and you could beat me up on, you know, you need to get more sales in or, you know, we need to make payroll. And I'm going to hold up my hand. And I might say I'm sorry, you're not being helpful here. Yeah. You know, so shut it down [00:39:00] or bring me some ideas or help me work through these problems. But to continue to harp on me on what I already know to be true is not helpful. And and people struggle with that. You know, they struggle with setting those communication boundaries and kind of deflecting the critics, because I don't care if you're trying to launch a company, if you're trying to lose weight. You know, if you're trying to improve yourself, there's always gonna be people who say, well, haven't you done enough? Well, don't you need to do more? And you know what? Think about what's helpful for you and and don't let them get close enough.
[00:39:43] I like that. So take the risks. Enjoy the ride and learn how to set boundaries up with your critics, however well-meaning they may be. Absolutely.
[00:39:53] And it doesn't mean that critics need to go away.
[00:39:55] But you need to. You need to decide when [00:40:00] to let them in and when to keep them at bay.
[00:40:04] I love that advice. I should have talked to you before I started a. Although I don't have large Linda.
[00:40:11] Part of what we like to do on the Daughters of Change podcast is find out how we can connect and support you and word lab. So what can the listeners out there doing? Spread the word on or help? Oh, wait, that wait. Was that keylogger? Was. That was Roxy. That was Roxy. She. Did you hear that? She had she's like you better gives you.
[00:40:31] Oh. She said you better support by Bubba. OK. Yeah. How can we connect. It's up for you, huh?
[00:40:40] So for us it's really it's really threefold.
[00:40:44] So sending apprentice candidates our way and especially those who are young Mainers looking to come back home.
[00:40:55] Oh, no. Those should be the first kids that we're focusing on. Like how do we get these young professionals [00:41:00] back to Maine and get them into jobs in their chosen fields? That's the key. It isn't just getting them back here to do work. It's getting them back in their chosen field, because then they're gonna be more apt to stay. And that's that's important. Getting them back and then keeping them here. So the second is really, you know, letting folks know there's an opportunity for support for, you know, public relations, communications, some marketing. And, you know, bringing projects to the table and then third to get to get to go global.
[00:41:44] Wow.
[00:41:46] You know, to to go big. You know, we are actually looking for an investor, which is, you know, which is unusual. You know, broad reach we launched. And that's been a going concern, very successful. And, you [00:42:00] know, we don't have investors. We have some key employees. And, you know, we'll be looking to to take care of them over the next few years. But but word Lab..
[00:42:10] It's it's a big idea. And, you know, another piece of advice is, is never delegate that big idea. You know, if it's your big idea, you know, bring the resources to the table that you need and bring the talent to the table that you need. So, you know, I'm not all things to all people, you know, a great salesperson.
[00:42:32] I'm a great mentor to young people. Do I need potentially someone with a deeper knowledge of business and finance? Absolutely. Do we need someone who, you know, wants to help take this idea? You know, statewide or nationwide?
[00:42:50] Nationwide. So just to recap that apprentices. Yeah. You know, more apprentices, particularly young people from Maine that like to get. We'd like to get back to [00:43:00] mean businesses that could utilize word lab for the projects that. Can those businesses be outside of the state? Oh, absolutely. OK, see here that businesses. And then thirdly, invest. And this is going global so they can be from outside of the state, too. So we're going to make sure that all of the ways that people can get in touch with you are in the show notes. But let's just give a shout out for the Web site for word lab right now, which is which is do I need to give you the WWE?
[00:43:30] Now, I think I think we're past.
[00:43:32] I hope we're beyond W W O word lab P R dot com. OK.
[00:43:40] So word lab P R dot com. And that's where people could find information if they want to apply for The Apprentice chip program for the next cohort coming up, as well as how they can get in touch with you if they want to invest money or if they have a business that would like to partake in the services. [00:44:00] And and that's a good way for people to be able to get in touch. I imagine there is a way to get in touch with you or with Wayne through there, through the Internet.
[00:44:08] Actually, there's an email address. It's called Hello at Word Lamport com. And that goes to you on the apprentice's.
[00:44:14] And and for us, it's really, you know, or for for any business or non-profit. What they need to be thinking about is do I need help telling my story? Do I need help with the with the more tedious aspects of communication? You know, do you have a social media post, you know, editorial calendar? Do you have a social media posting plan? Are you getting e-mails out? Are you promoting your event? Are you calendaring your event? Are you following up with the media? Are you writing a newsletter or are you writing blogs?
[00:44:46] Like, you know, think about all those things that really take time and thought and, you know, if you could use some help.
[00:44:54] You know, I've got seven young people who are very excited about learning [00:45:00] about new companies. We have one. I'll give you a quick story of a very recent success. We have our restaurant up the midcoast and we not we they do.
[00:45:14] The apprentice's just landed them on 2 0 7 0, which is for those of you that aren't from Maine, that is a local magazine show on the number one station that is very, very much coveted spot to get on to us. Yes.
[00:45:29] So, yes. So we were we were pretty excited about that. And, you know, those are the things that we're working on.
[00:45:36] Fantastic. So you you've heard it here today, huh? First of all, someday there will be a word lab near you if there wasn't isn't one already and there are opportunities. So make sure that you check out the Web site, reach out if you have any questions. And again, we'll make sure everything is also in the show notes. Linda, any last words before [00:46:00] we sign off?
[00:46:02] Marie, it's been very exciting to be here. So thank you and thank you for letting me have my dogs, which is very exciting. I invite people to come visit us.
[00:46:10] We're down at 19 Commercial Street in the heart of the heart of Portland on Portland's waterfront. So we love visitors. And I also, you know, ask your listeners to really think about, you know, what are you doing to, you know, mentor and train the next generation?
[00:46:28] Because, you know, Generation X is really small. And as our baby boomers start to retire, it's going to be up to those of us in Gen X to really reach out and create and create an environment where we're mentoring and we're being deliberate about it.
[00:46:52] Thank you for listening to this week's episode of the Daughters of Change podcast. To learn more about today's guest or any of our previous [00:47:00] guests, you can visit. Daughters of Change dot com forward slash podcast. You can connect with Daughters of Change on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching those platforms for Daughters of Change. If you are a daughter of change yourself and would like to appear on the show, send me an email at Marae at. Daughters of Change dot com. Thanks again for taking the time to listen today.
[00:47:24] Take care.