Meet Lauren Reed & REED Public Relations

At BluePrint Strategy, we’re committed to providing a thoughtful and collaborative approach to understanding your business’s needs. We provide a set of easy-to-understand blueprints that paint the path toward your business’s success, including programs and action plans to achieve your most important objectives. Simply put, we're your business partner and we enjoy celebrating our clients. Here’s what Lauren Reed and REED Public Relations shared:

Summarize your business/company in 1-3 sentences

REED Public Relations is a full-service PR and marketing agency that develops strategies to meet clients’ business goals. Our primary services include media relations, cause marketing, crisis management, social media, public affairs and event management.

What is your favorite quote? Why?

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor." - Mark Twain

There is so much to see, do, eat and experience in this world! There are often many reasons not to do something (like, say, start a business) and sometimes the things you want to do make no sense at all to the people around you, but you know in your heart that you have to try. I’ve made it a rule to follow my passion, but not on a whim if there is great risk. Basically, it’s okay to book a really fantastic trip impulsively but don’t decide in a day to throw your house on the market, especially if your husband is out of town. It just might sell in a day.  And yes, I am speaking from experience here!

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment, personally and/or professionally?

Our agency is the only PR agency in Tennessee to be invited to join the Public Relations Global Network. We were competing against the top agencies in the state for this spot. Our agency was only three years old at the time, and we certainly felt like the underdog in the process. We were told they selected us due to our energy, enthusiasm and growth potential. The fact that successful agency leaders from around the world believed in us was definitely a confidence boost, and to be able to have this network of peers to share knowledge and business with has been amazing. This has resulted in numerous professional opportunities for me—including being asked to represent Nashville by speaking to the network in Kyoto, Japan.

And for the cliché answer—my family is everything. Watching my children grow into these tiny humans with their own personalities and opinions is such a joy, and every time I watch them do something kind, creative, or entrepreneurial, I feel that I have everything I need right there.  

Are there any web links that you would like to share with others (i.e., web site, news articles about you or your business, affiliated community organizations, etc.)

• https://www.reedpublicrelations.com

• https://www.prgn.com

• https://www.instagram.com/reed_pr

• https://www.facebook.com/ReedPublicRelations

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/reed-public-relations/

• https://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2018/05/04/best-places-to-work-reed-public-relations.html

Welcome Keri Cable

Keri brings over 30 years of accounting, finance and management experience to BluePrint Strategy.  She completed her education at San Diego State University and began her career with Deloitte, where she specialized in Mortgage Banking, Real Estate and Municipalities.  Upon leaving public accounting she became a Controller for Four Seasons Vacation Ownership, a start-up timeshare operation within the well-known Four Seasons Hotels. 

After taking a short hiatus to raise her children, she returned to the workforce and obtained a Controller position with SPX Corporation, a fortune 500 company, where she assisted in the sale of one company and the double-digit growth of another.  This brought her to Tennessee, which has been home to her and her husband and three children for 15 years. 

Most recently, Keri was a Controller for Ingram Industries, assisting in the growth and development of the company responsible for the distribution of electronic textbooks to Universities and Higher Education Institutions.  The common thread in Keri’s career has been the ability to develop and improve processes and procedures for companies of all sizes and assist the accounting and finance team to grow and experience efficiencies.  When not working, Keri enjoys watching her children’s sports, being at the lake on her boat or riding four-wheelers in the mud, accompanied by her husband and children.

Keri joins BluePrint Strategy as a Financial / Data Analyst. Welcome Keri, we’re so thrilled to have you as part of the team.

Meet Bill May & High Value Manufacturing Consulting

At BluePrint Strategy, we’re committed to providing a thoughtful and collaborative approach to understanding your business’s needs. We provide a set of easy-to-understand blueprints that paint the path toward your business’s success, including programs and action plans to achieve your most important objectives. Simply put, we're your business partner and we enjoy celebrating our clients. Here’s what Bill May and High Value Manufacturing Consulting shared:

Summarize your business/company in 1-3 sentences:

 We believe that in order for manufacturing companies to thrive in today’s global economy, they need to be lean and quick to change. That’s why High Value Manufacturing Consulting offers experienced professionals who can deliver bottom line results quickly. After our initial 3-5 day Proprietary assessment we provide a road map with short-term tasks that create immediate results. We’ll touch base regularly and monitor your progress after each task. These quick response solutions mean less out of pocket consulting fees, netting you high value manufacturing results. 

From the beginning, we’ve been driven by our high values. These values drive our collaboration supporting manufacturers as we help you grow profitably. They drive our desire to provide exceptional, unmatched value in every client project. They shape the culture of our company and serve as a baseline for how we operate as a company. 

What is your favorite quote and why:

“If the only tool your have is a hammer, Everything looks like a nail.”

Consultants typically bring as specific tool to the client in hopes that he will be able to use it to resolve their problems.  At HVMC, we first assess the situation, determine what to most impactful 2 or 3 problems requiring addressing and then select the appropriate tools to effectively resolve those problems quickly.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment, personally and/or professionally:

Personally: Taking care of and providing for a family of five women and girls; Wife, daughters and grand-daughters.

Professionally: Creating a new business, growing it into viable enterprise, and then selling that business to a much larger company…..All after turning 60. 

Are there any web links that you would like to share with others (i.e., web site, news articles about you or your business, affiliated community organizations, etc:

www.highvaluemanucfacturingconsulting.com

www.linkedin.com/in/bill-may-aa0ab828

Connect with Bill May & High Value Manufacturing Consulting today!

Know Where Your Business is Going?

Need a Business Strategy Consultant?

We are currently accepting inquiries from small business owners about our “Simple Strategy” services. Regular monthly meetings with an experienced business consultant to review your company’s financials could be just what you need to jumpstart unprecedented growth.  

Your time is valuable. So is ours. Let’s divide and conquer and do what each of us does best. This is the basis of a healthy consulting partnership for a small business.

You be the boss. Being a small business owner is stressful and consuming. The value that BluePrint Strategy clients receive by seeking our consulting expertise is time, insight, energy, and ultimately additional financial resources to manage the day-to-day demands of keeping the business afloat. 

We will be your advisor. BluePrint Strategy does detailed research, analysis, and reporting of the financial health of your business. With this knowledge, you can make better informed decisions about the future as well as more productively utilize time to impact the success of daily operations. 

Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

Meet Eric Jackson & Element 47

This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week, and what better way to celebrate than to honor our very own BluePrint Strategy client, Eric Jackson and Element 47. At BluePrint Strategy, we’re committed to providing a thoughtful and collaborative approach to understanding your business’s needs.

We provide a set of easy-to-understand blueprints that paint the path toward your business’s success, including programs and action plans to achieve your most important objectives. Simply put, we're your business partner and we enjoy celebrating our clients. Here’s what Eric Jackson and Element 47 shared:

Summarize your business/company in 1-3 sentences:

Element 47 helps businesses tell the story – via culture, brand, and marketing – that sets them apart from the competition, enabling them to connect to their ideal customer.

What is your favorite quote and why:

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

-John Wooden

You’re not always responsible for what happens to you, but you can be 100% responsible for how you respond. I fail to live up to this on a daily basis, but I keep trying.

What do you consider your greatest accomplishment, personally and/or professionally:

Raising a productive, functional child to adulthood tops my list of personal accomplishments. I’m excited to see her graduate with degree #2 from the University of Tennessee and make her way to Charlotte. I told her Charlotte was a good choice – Nashville is full (that’s a joke…kind of).

Professionally my greatest accomplishment might be convincing Jamie, Gretchen, Jason, and Zach to work at Element 47. AND they keep showing up. They’re seriously great humans; smart, funny, kind and and professional. They make all this fun and profitable! 

Are there any web links that you would like to share with others (i.e., web site, news articles about you or your business, affiliated community organizations, etc.):

“47?” That’s the most common question I answer when I introduce Element 47. Here’s the short story:https://element47.co/blog/why-47/. And then there’s the “what we do” talk:  https://element47.co/what-we-do/. Lastly, I just joined the Dismas board recently. It’s a great organization. Gerald Brown is leading the charge to help men recovering from incarceration, make a successful re-entry into society. You can learn more about Dismas here:  https://www.dismas.org/.

Connect with Eric Jackson & Element 47 today!