Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Wilson.
Hi Beth, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! I’m Beth Wilson, born and raised and PROUD Memphian, fan of all things Memphis – small businesses, sports, and more – runner, traveler, and PR pro. My professional story began at the University of Memphis, an institution that has changed my life and made me a Tiger fan in more ways than one. I started as a news editorial major, then took a couple of required marketing classes and loved them. I wasn’t prepared to switch to business school, but one of my academic advisors recommended public relations – the perfect blend of journalism and marketing. I took an intro to PR class, and fell in love with that, too. And the rest is history, as they say.
I started working odd jobs at 15, but my career launched at Varsity Spirit, a phenomenal Memphis-based company that let me combine my personal passion for competitive cheerleading and athletics with my inner work ethic. I made lifelong friends there, before moving on to Mahaffey Fabric Structures/Mahaffey USA in 2008. It was there that my entrepreneurship wheels began turning, thanks to the mentorship and guidance of my incredible boss William Pretsch, and I began considering what starting my own business one day might look like. Fast forward to 2013, and I went back to school to earn my Executive MBA, also from the University of Memphis.
From that point, I moved on to inferno, a full-service advertising agency, where I served as director of public relations. I oversaw the PR department and had the opportunity to build and develop a team there, where we focused on providing strategic communications counsel to content marketing, media and community relations, and event management and promotion (where my six years at Mahaffey came in quite handy). I joined The Seam at the start of the new decade, where I served as director of marketing and public relations, and had the opportunity to help elevate the company as it developed and enhanced industry-leading agtech and sustainability initiatives.
I should pause and give The Seam, whose team members are like family to me, a tremendous amount of thanks for giving me the breathing room I needed, at a time when I truly needed it, as well as space to think, grow, build, and strategize. My time there gave me that last bit of strength and support I needed to go out on my own and launch my dream business – during a global pandemic, no less.
Equally due a great amount of thanks, William Pretsch, as mentioned above, continuously pushed me out of my comfort zone by having me speak at and represent the company at numerous industry events, take on a business development role, establish my five- and 10-year plans (and update them regularly), and so much more. He ultimately became one of my best mentors, and I still live by his guidance to this day.
It has been a long, interesting road, but a willingness to take risks – and a competitive spirit – is what has powered me. I’m convinced that we all come pre-set with a certain comfort zone, but that is not where we are meant to stay. As a runner, I can’t help but reach for the analogy that people may start a race at slightly different points, but it’s ultimately the journey and the destination that matter, as well as your endurance along the way. (That competitive drive certainly helps here, too.)
Scientists at Yale have told us that if we are not burning ourselves out and afford ourselves enough rest, risks and uncertainties actually prime our brains to learn and grow. So, I always tell people to keep moving forward, because their comfort zones will move and expand with them.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
A smooth road? What’s that like?!
I’ve navigated everything from my parents’ difficult divorce at the age of 13, to seeing my mother work three jobs to keep me in cheerleading and my younger sister in private school, to my own financial challenges early on, to struggling with infertility, to professional roadblocks, to trying to balance a career and family life, and more. My late husband’s struggles with his physical and mental health, which ultimately led to his suicide in early 2021, as well as my dad’s heroic battle with cancer, compounded a lot of the heaviness of my story these last few years.
It’s also worth stating that running a business is hard. The livelihoods of your team members are in your hands, as is the satisfaction of your clients. The success or failure of a business begins and ends with the entrepreneur, even with supposedly “small” or routine choices they make like which tool to use or insurance provider to go with.
There’s really no understating the impact that challenges have on people – and I’m aware that despite all those things, I’m pretty lucky. For example, my divorced parents are now close friends, and our blended family is together to celebrate every major holiday, birthday, and milestone. They meet up and cheer me on at professional recognition and sporting events, and they were with me – together, at every meeting, appointment, and breakdown – as I went through the unimaginable process of being a new widow.
I have the unwavering support of my sisters, extended family, friends, clients, and peers – without whom I wouldn’t be standing here today. I also had the means to launch an academic scholarship at the University of Memphis in my late husband’s name – The Brent Wilson Inspiring Hope Scholarship. I’ve remained aware of my advantages and privilege, and I am grounded by those.
I could easily dwell on the struggles, or let them weigh me down, just as anyone could. But that’s no way to live. I’ve found that when you put gratitude at the forefront, you’re not only able to put challenges into perspective, but also you give yourself the space to access the support systems and positives in life that you do have.
And being able to lead such a fantastic team and serve incredible clients through my business are huge sources of gratitude for me. There was a mindset shift from “I have to” to “I get to,” as well as a firm belief that we’re all exactly where we’re supposed to be when we’re there, and that has served me well.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Wilson Public Relations?
PR runs along the “PESO” model, a term coined by my dear friend and another professional mentor, Gini Dietrich. PESO stands for paid, earned, shared, and owned media. Our firm focuses on the “-ESO” in PESO. Our service offerings include media and community relations, content marketing and traditional thought leadership, social media development and management, and strategic council and planning.
Wilson Public Relations is values-based and relationship-based, and the clients we work with are truly growth-oriented companies with innate, powerful stories just waiting to be told. And while certainly not all our clients are from Memphis, the ones that are – including some extraordinary nonprofits – share our passion for unleashing the potential of our city and its amazing talent.
Our perspectives make us unique, and the support we provide our clients is very much informed and shaped by the backgrounds of our team members. Pretty much the only thing everyone on the Wilson PR team has in common is communication and strategic skills. We otherwise bring diverse industry backgrounds to the table, from museum and nonprofit experience to the agtech industry and digital marketing.
Two of us have had teaching experience in PR and communications at the university level. The composite of all this expertise is the original vantage points and unique angles we’re able to bring to the strategic work we do for our clients.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Hard-working for sure, and I’d like to think a kind person – but certainly meek early on. I feel that my innate curiosity is what led me out of my shell over time, and I have always gotten my energy from being around others. Additionally, “never stop learning” has been a motto for me, and that has kept me motivated to explore and try new things. And I believe even from a young age, the thought of owning my own business was always circulating.
My love for travel and having fun, in general, stemmed from my childhood. When I was little, my mom worked for Delta Airlines, and that enabled our family to travel widely during my formative years. Then, in the EMBA program, I was given the nickname “Captain Fun” – something that I feel has been resurrected since I launched my company, moved downtown, and continued to surround myself with fun, curious, and inspiring people. If there’s a new opportunity or adventure, you can count on it that I’ll be right out in front – likely dancing my way through it!
And now: There’s a relentlessness of pressure in the world, and everyone, myself included, is looking for something to hold on to. Gratitude is something I return to almost habitually. My family, friends, clients (many of whom are also dear friends), industry peers, and even strangers have rallied around and supported me along this journey. What a blessing they’ve all been. My gratitude cup truly overflows.
I’m also confident that there is always something to take solace in or a personal achievement you can feel proud of. Let that anchor you, and it can completely transform your mindset, whatever is going on around you.Contact Info:
- Website: www.wilsonpublicrelations.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethbwilson/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethbwilson901
Image Credits
Kim Thomas and KPFUSION
