PR Not BS

Fiona Scott
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Fiona Scott is a straight talking PR professional, a former TV journalist who has run a successful PR company for 14 years. Fiona dispels the smoke and mirrors around the world of public relations and instead presents you with practical advice, hints, tips and inspiration.

  1. 4d ago

    Holly Bird on providing pet care and peace of mind!

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Holly Bird, owner of Birddog Catwalk, a premium pet sitting and walking business based in Malmesbury, Swindon, Bristol, Cirencester, Chippenham and nearby areas. Holly shares that she’s always had a love for animals and grew up with pets as a child including guinea pigs and a budgie, when she was only five. When she was seventeen, Holly started working in a dog kennel in Salisbury and absolutely loved it.  Over the years, Holly gained her degree and worked different jobs. But whilst business networking, she bumped into a man who had a full-time job in marketing and did pet sitting on the side at weekends. He told her he had booked a nineteen-day dog sitting gig and had booked time off his marketing job to do it. Holly was running a virtual assistant business at the time and she realised she could do something similar and work remotely from any setting. Holly goes on to say that it made sense for her to start a new business in dog sitting because she wasn’t able to have a dog at the time, but that this could give her the chance to still be around animals and engage in her passion.  Holly shares that she signed up initially to an app where she could book dog sitting jobs and she quickly became fully booked. She loved it but soon realised she couldn’t keep up with the demand alongside her responsibilities as a parent, but it was clear there was a demand for this service. She then came up with the idea of Birddog Catwalk.  Fiona asks Holly whether she thinks the demand for this service is increasing because people want their pets to stay in their own homes, rather than being put in kennels. Holly agrees that this is definitely the case. She shares how many dogs are often rescue dogs and can suffer with bad anxiety. Although she isn’t sure why this is the case, she knows and feels many owners want their dogs to be looked after by someone who’s trusted and can look after them somewhere where their pet feels safe. She also notes that many owners want their dogs to stick to a familiar routine to help with anxiety and her business can offer this to anyone who may need it.  Fiona goes on to play devil’s advocate and asks Holly why people should pay for this service rather than having someone do it for free. Holly says this is a great question and yes ultimately, you can ask a neighbour to pop in and feed the cat. However, if you would like to make sure that the person looking after your pet has plenty of experience, is first aid trained should anything go wrong, is DBS checked and has business insurance on their car, then Birddog Catwalk is the place for you. Her staff also have backup in case the person looking after your pet becomes unwell, then it’s up to Holly’s business to provide that cover. All the information on their clients is stored safely and is accessible to all her staff, so that the right care can be delivered to your pets at the right time. Holly’s staff also bring their own biodegradable poo bags and natural treats to give your pet. Holly says she’s always cared about the environment, and this is an ethos of her business. She feels her team takes steps to look after the planet and offer that personalised experience for every client and their pet. She also notes that her team is happy to water the plants, bring in the bins and monitor the home situation to make sure everything runs smoothly for everyone. You aren’t just paying for a dog sitter, you’re paying for peace of mind, and this is something you can’t put a price on.   Fiona shares with Holly a personal anecdote of when she received awful care for her dog Jess and they discuss together the importance of knowing that your pet is being looked after properly while you’re away. Holly explains that at Birddog Catwalk, the team have a client portal where they’re able to send regular updates alongside photos, videos and voice notes so that clients know their pets are being looked after correctly. They discuss how you never know where people may have cameras in their homes, so it’s imperative to treat pets with the utmost care and respect.  Fiona then asks Holly where the name for her business came from. Holly notes that it’s an unusual name, but she knew she wanted it to have the word ‘bird’ in it. Although her surname is ‘Bird’, Holly explains this wasn’t the reason she chose it for the brand, rather she wanted it because a ‘bird dog’ is another word for a ‘gun dog’ and also shows that her company can care for other pets alongside cats and dogs. Holly says her team can look after birds, guinea pigs, mice, reptiles etc. and she wanted the name of her business to reflect this. The unusual side to the name also helps the business to stand out from the crowd. Originally, gun dogs or bird dogs were types of hunting dogs developed to assist owners in finding and retrieving game. However, these days they’re known as some of the most loyal, loving dogs you could wish for. They’re extremely friendly, get on well with other animals, and are often described as ‘the perfect family dog.’ Holly wanted the business name to show understanding and expertise around animal care but also to reflect her personality.  Fiona and Holly go on to discuss the challenges of running a business and Holly explains how creating a dog sitting company was very different to her initial VA company. She shares that there were more things to consider when it comes to looking after animals, but most importantly, what to do if things went wrong. Holly explains that the business is still relatively new but she’s happy with the turnover for the first year and is excited to see what the future holds.  Fiona asks Holly what the ‘meet and greet’ section of her service entails. Holly shares that the idea is to introduce the sitter to the animal. This gives the pet a chance to get used to the person, their smell and their voice so that they can begin to familiarise themselves with another adult. Having these strategies establishes trust with the animal and means the walks can happen without any issues. It’s for the safety of the client but also for the sitter to feel safe in a stranger’s home and provides a risk assessment so they can establish if the house is a safe place for everyone involved. Holly says she does this to safeguard everyone in her business.  Asked about her goals for 2027, Holly says she has many hopes and ambitions for the next year, including growing her team and collaborating with others. She’s excited about building partnerships with other pet businesses including a shop in Malmesbury called ‘Toff tails’ pet boutique. Toff tails is an independent pet lifestyle boutique located on the High Street in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. The boutique focuses on providing thoughtfully curated, high-quality products for both cats and dogs, as well as pet themed gifts and accessories for pet lovers.  Holly feels this shop is very aligned with her purpose and ethos. She’s excited to collaborate where she can and expand her contacts. She’s also working with a new platform called ‘my pet pal’ because they give specific software and features to help the business to grow. She’s looking forward to expanding the business and engaging with new clients. You can find Holly Bird via her email hello@birddogcatwalk.com, her website birddogcatwalk.com and via Facebook birddog catwalk and Instagram @birddogcatwalk.  To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  2. Sep 29

    Margaret Rooke on Dyslexia, Confidence and Finding Your Own Path

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes guest Margaret Rooke, an author and writer who has decades of experience in books, magazines, newspapers and writing for charities. Originally, Margaret followed her childhood dreams of becoming a journalist. She went to university and wrote the student newspaper, then local newspapers before moving onto nationals. She built up a career as a writer. Margaret began writing for charities and since then has created a name for herself as an author. Margaret’s books are great for encouraging and inspiring children, teenagers, their schools and families. She has just released a book called ‘Life After School: Dyslexic and Taking on the World!’  Fiona begins by discussing Margaret’s experience as a journalist and they share some mutual understandings of writing to help people in need. Margaret discusses how after losing a job which really broke her heart in her forties, she decided to try her hand at writing her own book. She says her family found out that her daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia at just age fourteen. She explains how it was a great shock to them because she seemed to excel at school and then at secondary school she seemed to reach a halt in her learning. Margaret found a poster she had made for ‘anti-bullying’ week, and she noticed that her daughter had spelt the word ‘adult’ wrong. Margaret explains how the answer came to her suddenly that it must be dyslexia. They decided to get her tested and the results confirmed this was the case. She recalls how this destroyed her daughter’s self-esteem and she wanted to make sure that no labels would have a negative impact on her life or stop her daughter from achieving her goals.  This inspired Margaret to research dyslexia, and she felt strongly that this was an opportunity to change the narrative around dyslexia and to inspire others who may have the condition. Fiona asks Margaret how her daughter is now. Margaret says she has got a job she loves now and is thriving. Margaret also shares how this unexpected situation brought about a different opportunity for her and helped give her a purpose. Since then, Maragret has carried on writing and now helps others to write autobiographies. She helps with the writing process and/or mentoring others to write.  Fiona shares with Margaret that a large proportion of her clients also have dyslexia and, in some cases, ADHD too. She asks Margaret what her take is on this and why it could be. Margaret says that many people who have the condition struggle with shame and she’s trying to change the narrative and help others to remove this in-built shame. By titling one of her books, ‘dyslexia is my superpower,’ she interviews ten children about their experience but also gets them to think about and reflect on what their strengths are. Her later book, Life After School: Dyslexic and Taking on the World!’ returns to the same group of children as adults and explores how having dyslexia has impacted their lives. She notes that many of these people have incredible problem-solving skills, better than many others. This could be because they’ve spent much of their lives having to solve problems continually. She also notes that even though in some cases they may have felt things didn’t go as planned, they were able to find another path with a great level of confidence while having an adult on their side.  Margaret notes that much of the issues faced by these adults was actually due to the subliminal messaging they received at school, and this is something she feels passionate about changing in the education system. Margaret talks about the importance in childhood of having at least one influential adult who can inspire a child to be the best they can be, despite having dyslexia. She feels we all have the ability to do this for another person and therefore we should do so. ‘It’s not their fault that school wasn’t right for them, they will still have all sorts of talents and ways they can build a great future for themselves.’ Fiona talks with Margaret about her experience as a journalist also and that for many years she would be extremely aware of grammar and spelling mistakes, but Fiona has had to learn over time that many people do not notice the same things she does and in some cases, this can be because of dyslexia. She notes that we mustn’t judge a person straight away because we don’t know what the reason could be.  Fiona goes on to ask Margaret what her plans are for the end of 2026 heading into 2027. Margaret says one of her main goals is to continue selling her books and pushing sales over the next course of the year. She says one of her books is doing tremendously well but she wants to give more talks, write articles and raise awareness about dyslexia, especially in children. She feels the individuals interviewed for her books have some amazing ideas and thoughts and she wants to continue sharing their words with the world.  She notes how one child she interviewed said ‘If I find a way of cleaning out the oceans or repairing the hole in the O ozone layer, nobody’s going to say to me, I’m not listening to you because you’ve spelt it wrong.’  Margaret notes that we shouldn’t close our minds off to all the amazing attributes our brains can have. Some people’s brains just work in different ways.  Fiona asks Margaret to share some advice to other aspiring writers about how to find an agent. She notes that many people these days don’t know how to find an agent or choose to self-publish their books. Margaret shares that because she’s been around publishing for a while, she had contacts who could help her. She recommends going down the ‘traditional’ route if possible because working with publishers means you can see and share the amount of talent within that organisation. Her publishers have a great sales team, and you know there is someone working for you and your book. She feels the personal touch she receives from her publishers is really important to her. Margaret says she knows self-publishing is getting bigger and bigger but if you do this you have to pay for your own proofreading, editing and design.  Fiona shares how she chose to self-publish both her books but that she did it with ‘eyes wide open.’ Fiona says she does it because of her goals and was able to put the effort in but reminds listeners that if this is something they’re interested in then they must research properly beforehand.  Fiona asks Margaret how she approached her first book. Margaret says for her first book she interviewed all sorts of people including, Darcy Bussell, Richard Branson and a Scottish premier league footballer. She submitted a chunk of the book to a publisher which helped her to approach the following books/stories. The pair discuss the importance of understanding how the money works when comparing self-publishing and ‘traditional’ publishing. However, they both recognise that determination and consistency is key to success.  Fiona goes on to ask Margaret how she found the process of promoting herself. Fiona says before starting her own business, she had always been behind the camera and great at making others look good, but she found it a whole new challenge to promote herself. Margaret says she is part of a society for authors which provide great training courses. She remembers how she went on TV to promote her first book and found it terrifying, but she knows the importance of doing so to spread the word. Margaret shares that her current best seller is ‘Meet the dyslexia club! The Amazing talents, skills and everyday life of children with dyslexia.’  You can contact Margaret via her Instagram and TikTok handle @margsrooke and she is on LinkedIn as Margaret Rooke. You can also find her via her website margaretrooke.com To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  3. Sep 15

    Emma Carter makes tech human!

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Emma Carter, CEO of WestSpring IT.  Emma’s small business is based in Bristol and offers clients technical support and IT services to companies across the UK. She’s known Fiona for many years as a client and as a friend. Fiona takes Emma back to her background. Emma describes her history as working in ‘sales’ although she feels she wasn’t ‘that good of a salesperson’ but she had the unique ability to go from industry to industry. When she was at Yellow Pages, her management and leadership skills were developed. From there, she went on to Biffa (the waste company) and from there to Excalibur which was her first experience with IT. After 9/10 years, she left and went to a digital marketing agency before joining WestSpring where she is now and thoroughly enjoying it.  Fiona begins by asking Emma about her time at school and her childhood. Emma explains that she spent her childhood years in Portsmouth with her mum. She then moved to Slough for her dad’s work and grew up in the most deprived area of Slough. Emma says she did well at school, but it was about working hard for her rather than ‘brains.’ She’s the eldest of six and learned very early that she had to contribute. She left home at sixteen and actually always wanted to be a teacher but she couldn’t find work experience and actually ended up working in a mobile phone shop. She absolutely loved the experience and was offered a ‘Saturday job’ at the end of it. She eventually found an apprenticeship in administration with a brilliant mentor, which is something she feels is incredibly important in life and business. Emma really touches upon her childhood in poverty and explains how money as an adult became a sense of security. She was told that sales was the easiest way to earn money and that’s what she did. She always worked hard and wanted to build good relationships with people.  She feels it was later in her career at Yellow Pages that she learned good relationships equals good sales and began to understand the world of business more. Fiona then goes on to ask Emma if she’s a ‘tech geek’ and Emma laughs in response, saying ‘no!’ She feels because she went from advertising to waste disposal and then to IT doesn’t feel like that. For her, management and leadership skills are what got her to where she is today. Emma says she liked to make the ‘tech’ world sound human, and this is something she strives to do in her business.  Fiona asks Emma to tell listeners about the company WestSpring and what she feels she has brought to the table. Emma explains that they had been around for 8 or 9 years when she joined. It was created by two amazing founders, Jason and Phil, and they started with a credit card around a kitchen table. They had seen the poor way that some MSPs had treated their clients, and they wanted to change this. They took on Emma as CEO because they felt they had taken the business as far as they could but didn’t have the skill about how to grow at scale. They’d focused so hard on winning any client without finding consistency and stability to enable the business to grow.  Fiona then goes on to ask Emma about why she always valued media outreach, especially during her days at Excalibur, when Fiona and Emma met. Emma says that PR and media activity helps to form trust in the relationship before it’s even needed. For example, if someone was to hear her talking on the radio or a podcast, the person would get a real representation of who she is as a person and what she stands for. She feels this helps the person to make decisions before even picking up the phone or emailing. The PR and the media bit is really important. However, she does touch on her earlier days, when she used to be afraid that people would be intimidated by her and her reputation. But now, Emma feels she owns this in her everyday life and the people known to her, realise that she does this with care and isn’t afraid to have difficult conversations. Fiona also talks about how she sees similar traits in herself to Emma and that they can’t ‘not be themselves.’  Fiona discusses with Emma how when she worked at Excalibur, she used PR to show how important and valued their team members were. Emma explains this because they had a lot of competition with bigger companies in Swindon and they found recruitment difficult, so they needed to prove to people why working for them was the best decision. The PR really allowed them to share that ethos and culture with others.  Fiona asks Emma what her biggest challenges have been so far as the CEO of WestSpring. Emma says the first was working with the founders can be very different because they struggle to give up an element of control to someone new. Secondly, some of the people found the change hard, especially when they needed to implement new structures into the company.  Fiona goes on to ask Emma how she’s going to tackle the challenge of keeping the small business intimate feel while allowing the company to grow. Emma says that has been a challenge over the last 6 months. They’ve also had to think hard about what growth means to them in their company. Emma says they’ve found that growth for them is sustainable growth by winning the right types of clients, not just any clients and if they’re aware of what their forecast and pipeline looks like so that they can schedule recruitment and plan resources that might be needed and find partnerships and clients to support them on that growth journey.  Fiona notes how Emma has always been committed to personal development and self-awareness. Emma talks about how much of this comes from the mentors she had in the past. She says James Phipps was a massive help in the early stages of her career because he signed her up to a group called Vistage which puts you around a table with other senior leaders of businesses and you have a safe space to share what’s going on in your business and gives you the chance to see some great speakers. She talks about how important networking is and that socialising with others who are also CEOs and founders’ means they understand the pressures you have to face every day. Fiona asks Emma, ‘When you started at WestSpring, you contacted me quite soon... why?’ Emma says “as a board that it was really important to start making sure that people knew who we were straight away. We’d done well at making some relationships, but we had to tackle the idea of making sure people knew that PR isn’t the same as selling. We wanted people to understand who we are and our culture. We also felt that authenticity was important and Scott Media’s reputation preceded you with other clients and we had great references. We needed a mentor who was honest, would be up front and wasn't afraid to give feedback.” The two then go on to discuss a moment while Fiona was in Canada earlier this year and an opportunity on TV and radio came up for Emma to talk about working from home. Emma was able to give a different viewpoint to this as she values working in the office and she talks about the importance of such opportunities and taking them when they arise.  Fiona then asks Emma what her take is on AI. Emma says that AI gives an element of automation and productivity gains that doesn’t replace people. Creativity comes from humans and that can’t be replaced but AI can be used well as a tool in business. She feels everyone’s opinion of AI is different, but it may help to save time in certain cases or to help with organisational tasks. Emma also talks about her friends who are artists and musicians who have had their work stolen by AI. She feels this is a huge problem in today’s society. There is a moral side that doesn’t like the environmental impact of it but for businesses it can be helpful to use. She says for business owners they have to decide what their use of AI is like for them and how does it suit them individually. Emma says the best thing about AI for many businesses is the efficiency it brings to the table.  You can contact Emma on usual social media channels under ‘WestSpring IT’ and on LinkedIn or email emmacarter@westspring-IT.co.uk. Listeners can tune in to hear everything about Emma Carter’s story. To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  4. Sep 1

    Joe Tompkinson talks about going from policing to tech

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Joe Tompkinson. Joe is one of the founders of the Swindon based tech company called MyMarketr. Joe explains how their company helps to support people with their marketing at a very reasonable price. He goes on to say how this is a really exciting time for business as there is so much happening in the tech industry.  Joe begins his podcast by telling the audience how tech hasn’t always been his career and that he was originally a police officer for fourteen years. Joe was also featured as a policeman on the TV show ‘999 What’s your emergency?’. He goes on to say that policing was always a big part of his life and identity but after fourteen good years in the police force, he felt it was time for a change. He states how he made great friends through the show including cameramen, who are still great friends of his today.  Fiona asks Joe how he made the leap from policing to tech and IT. Joe explains that he has always been a ‘proper techy geek’ and even when in the police force, he loved to test out new equipment. His background before the police was security through sales marketing. He feels his interest in Tech is something that has always been there, even if only behind the scenes for a long time. Joe goes on to share that he feels he is now ‘exactly where he’s supposed to be’ and feels very content with the path his life has taken. He explains how he built up a tech business at home alongside policing. He built up a great side gig which worked well with his family dynamics and having three young kids. However, his wife told him that she didn’t see him policing for much longer. He enjoyed the job, but the tech side of things was making enough money that he finally took the leap to doing tech full time.  Fiona says that she has joined to use Joe’s service because she writes a lot of stories etc. and MyMarketr has helped her to consider how people are searching for people on the internet. She explains how this really worked for her business. She explains that as a busy business owner, it can be hard to find the time to do everything so it’s really helpful to have this level of support. Fiona asks Joe what makes her a good client for him, and he explains that it was a ‘great win’ for him. He talks about the keywords that need to be used for a lot of AI platforms. Google wants high-quality content and having relevant content on your website, leads people to your blogs etc. MyMarketr looks at what content you need on your website in the broadest sense and focuses a great deal on your competitors, what they are doing, what is the gap between you and them etc. It helps to build content strategies that build up your business and online presence. He also talks about how MyMarketr aims to push their clients beyond their competitors to help them take the lead. He also explains that AI is being used a lot more now to search for things, so we need to make sure we are doing what we need to do for AI to make sure businesses, and business owners don’t get left behind. Joe and Fiona also go on to discuss how important making mistakes is in business. Joe recalls at the beginning when his support system failed, and he had to email all his clients to let them know that they were investigating the issue but that he was there if needed. He also goes on to say that this event led to him giving clients his WhatsApp number which meant that he built a stronger relationship with them. In his words ‘you can’t put a price on that.’ Therefore, reiterating that building relationships and having that personal touch in an increasingly digital world, can really make a difference.  Fiona talks about how she’s been using it to manage her domain authority. Domain authority is a score from 1 to 100 created by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine results pages. The higher the score means a better rank. This is the trust you build with Google.  Joe says that one of his main goals is to give business owners more time to work on the business. He says getting feedback from clients is really important to help them understand what can push the business and increase their domain authority.  Fiona goes on to discuss with Joe the fears many journalists have around using AI. While AI offers many positives, it also has negatives and it’s clear that AI is taking jobs from people in some sectors. Joe agrees and understands why AI can be so controversial. Fiona then asks Joe how he gets around copyright issues when using visuals and images with MyMarketr. Joe responds with ‘We use royalty free imagery and another thing you can do is use AI generated imagery.’ Photography is an art form and finding the right person to take your images is really important. Joe stresses the importance of clients using authentic imagery because people can tell when AI has been used too much. Joe reminds listeners to remember the importance of having your own mobile device to take photos on. This way the images belong to you and there can be no copyright issues. He explains that ‘you don’t have to go far in your own home or office to find images that can be relevant to the point you are trying to make online.’ He does say that you can’t beat a great photographer with professional images, but not everyone has the budget for this straight away.’  Fiona finishes the podcast by asking Joe, ‘Is there anything coming up in 2027 that we can look forward to for MyMarketr?’ Joe says that he’s always been obsessed with having everything just available to you as a business owner. He wants MyMarketr to integrate into other things. Especially Chrome and Adobe. He wants to create My Companion, a marketing companion that can flag up something and say such and such has just released this and you should write about this...’ The idea is to showcase things for clients using AI that can sit in the toolbar and organise things for you with prompts.  You can contact Joe at MyMarketr.io or on LinkedIn, Facebook and TikTok.  To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  5. Aug 18

    Dr Deborah Cohen talks medicine, marketing and misinformation

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Dr Deborah Cohen. Dr Deborah Cohen is an award winning medically qualified broadcaster, journalist, editor and author who has worked across mainstream and academic print, digital, TV and radio. Deborah begins by introducing herself to the audience. She explains that she’s written a book called ‘Bad Influence: How the internet hijacked our health.’ Deborah tells us that the premise of the book is to get the reader to question whether what they’re seeing online is medicine, or is it marketing? Often there are techniques and tricks that are being used which we don’t understand as ‘evidence-based medicine.’ (The idea that the treatments you get, in the NHS for example, are based on robust medical evidence).  Fiona then asks Deborah why she decided to write the book. Deborah states initially, that she trained to be a doctor and worked on the BMJ (British Medical Journal) for about 12 years and she set up their investigative journalism. Deborah worked with Panorama, Dispatches, Channel 4 news, The Telegraph and as part of the international consortium of investigative journalists. Later, she decided to go freelance and was recruited by Newsnight to do some of their health and science content. In 2019, she was doing more investigative research but in 2020, Covid hit. Her editor realised they had someone on the team with a medical background and wanted to use this to their advantage. They asked her to be on the health team. Deborah recounts the time of panic, distress and uncertainty. She talks about the phenomenal pressure she faced and the rise in social media, mainly because people were stuck at home with nothing else to do. Then she was headhunted by ITV news to be their science editor. She talks about how burnt out she was but that it was a great experience. After deciding to leave, Deborah thought she would go back to doing documentaries. However, the market had totally changed. She notes how even the BBC where she had worked for years, wanted more ‘influencer’ type people reporting on quite heavy affairs. She came to a crossroads and had to decide what to do next and she realised she needed to understand social media better, especially since the internet is a place many are now going for their health information. She shares that the book started from a conversation she had with her cousin’s friend in her aunty’s garden about an AMH test. An (Anti Malarian Hormone Test) to see how fertile she was. Deborah said to her, is it really going to tell you that though? And the lady’s reply was, ‘well that's what it says on Insta.’ Deborah told her that fertility is much more complex than just AMH and there are many other factors involved. Deborah explained that if she was going to go to her GP about her fertility anyway then the test was redundant and was a waste of money. This struck Deborah as a real issue because it was being marketed as a fertility test, which really concerned her. Her friends were also getting information about HRT, ADHD and full body testing on social media, which she felt she had to take a closer look at. Deborah explains how this book took her on a really interesting journey to understanding the impact that social media can be having on our physical health as well as our mental health. She describes the book as a science book that tells a story. Her book has now been shortlisted for an award. Fiona then goes on to discuss with Deborah how algorithms can be damaging. Algorithms can’t ‘see’ the difference between good and bad; they just see interaction which leads to more of the same content. Interacting with bad messages leads to more bad messages. Fiona then asks Deborah if she believes there are any answers to tackling this issue. Deborah says that medical professionals need to be everywhere. Fiona also discusses with De Deborah about the misinformation spread online about weight loss jabs and how the healthcare profession is facing more challenges than ever before.  Dr Deborah goes on to talk about how social media has allowed damaging advertising to go directly from pharmaceutical companies to consumers now. This never used to be the case but now this can be so hard to regulate. She talks about how we used to always consider someone healthy until proven sick, whereas now it can be considered sick until proven healthy. Is it normal for us to continually be questioning what illnesses we may have? Dr Deborah also talks about the fearmongering that is caused by this and that companies are profiting from scaring consumers.  Fiona asks Dr Deborah if she thinks we are losing the ability to think critically about what we post on social media. Deborah says she doesn’t think it’s about thinking critically, she thinks it’s more about our lack of exposure to this level of information. For example, Americans are used to drug ads because they’ve grown up with them and a healthcare system that is privatised and commercialised. Whereas, in the UK, we are not used to it. The two go on to discuss the similarities in their fields and how medicine and journalism link.  Fiona then asks Dr Deborah what her plans are for next year. Dr Deborah shares that she still wants to do journalism and promote her book. She says how the book is a different experience than she’s had before. She’s really glad how well her book has landed and the reach it’s had all over the world and she wants this to continue. Fiona expresses that she feels Dr Deborah will be able to write another book connecting with likeminded healthcare professionals.  Deborah’s book is available at all bookshops. You can contact her via Instagram and LinkedIn. Her handles are DebCohen001.  To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  6. Aug 4

    Angela Roberts shares how important networking is in business

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Angela Roberts, who she met around fifteen years ago. Angela was running her own business, and they met at an ‘I am woman’ networking group. Angela talks about how valuable networking is because you ‘make those contacts that nobody can ever take away from you.’ Fifteen years later, Angela had a job in marketing for ‘Gensmile’ a dental group and just after the lockdowns, she decided to help other businesses by starting her own networking group in Malmsbury at the Old Bell Hotel who’ve been very supportive over the years. Angela explains that Cotswold Networking is now full time for her. Fiona shared how she used to buy loads of scarves and jewellery from Angela back in the day and notes how even then, a lot of product-based businesses ‘don’t and didn’t bother’ with networking, which she feels is a huge mistake. Angela says that everybody should be networking because it’s not just about getting people to buy off you, it can help you build your business by finding social media managers, solicitors if you need them and finding others that can help you in your business.  Fiona goes on to ask Angela, why, when setting up the Cirencester networking group, did she choose to have evening meetings? Angela explains that she had a day job, and she’d only ever been networking in the evening. She also explains that some businesses may be busy in the day, so it gives people the chance to be more sociable in the evening and she’s now introducing the Witney group in the day, with a morning session to see how it goes.  Fiona then asks Angela why she has steered away from other networking groups which include a single seat policy. When asked what her thinking was around that, Angela explains that she wanted variety. She thinks it’s important that when choosing people for your business, you can pick someone who’s the right fit for you etc. It could be that you need a solicitor for your business, but if you don’t like the person then you won’t work with them etc. This fits with Angela’s belief that people buy from people. She also shares how important she feels collaboration is for business owners. Next, Fiona asks Angela how she made the final leap of faith to make networking her income rather than her full-time day job. Angela shares that she started opening more and more groups and it was taking up all of her time, and she had no work life balance. She says handing in her notice to her day job was the best decision she ever made.  Fiona asks Angela about what groups are available and how people can find them. Angela says she covers Malmesbury, Cirencester, Cheltenham, Witney, Bristol, Corsham, Worcester and Bath.  She stresses that this isn’t just a social event but it’s a chance to network and get to know people. There is a process to the events whereby people swap tables and get to meet others with a minute timer each.  Fiona asks Angela why some people may choose not to volunteer to speak at events. Angela says a lot of people haven’t got the confidence and if they’re new it can be quite daunting. She does stress however, that speaking is important to grow your network and business.  Fiona asks Angela what her top three tips are for networking. Angela says turning up regularly, taking responsibility for their networking and following up with people after by connecting with them on LinkedIn and communicating afterwards.   Fiona asks Angela, ‘What is the wrong mindset to have when it comes to networking?’ Angela says the people who don’t make the effort at all and don’t come often can make it difficult. Those who aren’t able to put themselves out of their comfort zone and just sit in the corner quietly will really struggle. Angela also shares that people who leave quite early also miss great opportunities. Try to stay for the whole event if you can. Angela says a top tip for finding success is to make the continued effort and attend social events such as ‘curry club’. She shares that people are most likely to get out what they put in and that having the right mindset when it comes to networking is the most important thing.  Angela says that there is also a chance for the members of her eight groups to attend and swap to different groups in order to widen their circle further. She encourages people to make the most of these chances.  Once you become a member, you get a space on the website with your photo and bio etc. This is a valuable bit of marketing to take full advantage of.  Fiona then asks Angela what she envisions for small businesses in 2027. Angela says there are a lot of challenges facing small businesses currently and that now is the time to get out there. ‘Don’t sit in your office struggling on your own, take the chance to get out there because there are so many people who can help you.’ She finished by saying that there is a lot of support out there and new friendships to be made. Fiona then asks how much it costs to be a member. Angela says you can come twice as a visitor before being asked about becoming a member. There is a cost to being a member, unless you know a member and they can invite you for free. Once you become a member it’s £40 + VAT a month. That gives you one membership group a month and then all the other benefits mentioned above.  If you want to have more than one group it is £70 + VAT. Fiona then asks Angela what else she’d like to share. Angela says her next plan is to get others in to help run the groups for her because she’s so busy. Angela says she has found Natalie who runs Forever Living to run the Worcester group, but she is still looking for others too.  You can find Angela via her website or her email which is info@cotswoldnetworking.co.uk To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  7. Jul 21

    Arthur Dallimer believes people should embrace change

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Arthur Dallimer, who Fiona met a few years ago. Arthur is an extremely experienced property developer local to the Swindon area. He’s been doing property for 12 years and contacted Fiona to learn about PR and how to develop his business. He’s Swindon born and bred; he knows the people and has a great love for Swindon.  Arthur shares his opinions about Swindon as a town, and he wants to encourage people in the community to embrace change.  Fiona begins by asking Arthur about property and he shares that when he was 17 years old a property went up for auction in the local village where he was raised. He knew the house, he knew it had been burnt down many years ago and ended up in auction because the man who owned it had passed on. He goes on to state that because he knows the house and the road so well that he felt a great connection to the property and wanted to save it. Arthur says he was lucky enough to have inherited £50,000 so he bought it and decided to renovate it. He estimates that he made around £70,000 from his first project.  Arthur says he learned a business brain from a young age. Fiona then asked Arthur how he knew he had a ‘business brain’ and where he learned this from. Arthur shares that at 9 and 10 Arthur began selling chicken eggs at school with a friend of his. He said he became engaged in trying to solve problems and create solutions. He also went to a business school over the summer where he learned a lot about money. He also shares that he’s always had a dream of being able to make money so that has been a motivator over the years. Fiona asks Arthur where his attitude towards money comes from. Arthur replies that it’s deep from his upbringing and he felt a lot of responsibility to help with his autistic older brother. He also shares that support doesn’t come without a price and he wants to give his family the best life possible. Fiona also goes on to ask Arthur what he likes and enjoys in life. Arthur states that he soon realised material goods such as clothes and accessories didn’t bring him much satisfaction. He wants to do something to support a better lifestyle and to see the world. He shares that he loves going on holiday and wants to experience as much of the world as he can. Fiona then asks him about uni, studying, making money and property. Arthur says he went to university and studied accounting and finance. His mother instilled a need in him to drive for the best and although he says he doesn’t use his degree on a daily basis, he feels he’s learned a lot from it and the university experience. Arthur recounts that when he was a student, he would complete his lectures and coursework and then come home at the weekends to work on the houses. He says he worked around 100 hour weeks, including his part time job, but it was something he loved doing and so he felt it was worth it. He says ‘not to worry, I did still have fun at uni and party! But I also wanted to make money.’ Arthur shares that he became a millionaire at the age of about 23. He says he uses his accountancy degree to use the knowledge to his advantage. But collecting assets was more his interest and this is where his business grew. He says he sells property for commercial purposes and also for residential purposes.  When Arthur hyper focuses on something and he wants to get it and find a challenge, he homes in on how to get a project completed. Arthur shares that he enjoys the social side of it and wants to benefit the people of Swindon. He said when he bought ‘Apsley House’ from the council he really made sure that he was the only option for the council. Arthur wanted Fiona’s support to help navigate the negative connotations that come with developers and people wanting change for the town.  Arthur and Fiona discuss the difference between embracing and inflicting change on a community. Some people can be very reluctant to this, but Arthur feels embracing change is really important.  Fiona asks Arthur what is going to be happening with Apsley house in 2026. Arthur says they’ve signed up commercial tenants for a bakery, a restaurant and a coworking tenant who is already signed. He says they are moving onto the construction phase where they’ll get people in to look at the cladding, the windows and ‘the fancy bits.’ He says his side of the development ends in July when the commercial tenants can come in and set things up. The tenants and the operators will probably be setting this up throughout September and October where they will then launch the project in time for Christmas.  Fiona then goes on to ask Arthur to share why he has chosen to live in a manor house which he bought. Arthur says he bought Burderop House because it was a house he saw daily on his route to school and that he never in a million years thought he’d be able to buy it, but with luck and determination he made the dream a reality.  Arthur says that he had a private opening for people to attend, in which he thought about thirty people would come and it was more around the 300 mark. Fiona goes on to ask about what work he’s done to the property. Arthur says the house is 27,000 sq. ft. Compared to a standard 1400 sq ft it is a real difference.  It was a stately home without buildings which he’s renting and renovating to make into a liveable space.  Arthur shares that for a long time he’s been an advocate that for a place to develop you must provide a very enriched cultural offering. He’s trying to encourage people to bid for the cultural capital of the UK for 2029, because it opens so much funding for the area and opportunity.    Arthur makes it clear that he feels his space really should be open and enjoyed by others. He wants it to be a place to experience new things and to be part of something positive for the town. Fiona asks Arthur how he manages conflict with others who don’t want the space to be enjoyed by others. Arthur says ‘naturally you have the worry and anxiety around what might happen. He reassures that he’s not doing this alone and he has professionals coming in to manage the events.’ He feels Burderop house could be like the likes of Glastonbury and Westonbirt and it is something we need in this town/area. Fiona then asks Arthur what his future plans are and he explains that he wants more renovations on his home including tennis courts etc. but that he also wants to pivot from property, and he wants to launch tech businesses and a medical business.  You can connect with Arthur via his Instagram page @william_arthur_property or via his website www.williamarthurproperty.com for more information. Listeners can tune in to hear all about Arthur’s story. To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

  8. Jul 7

    Morgan Thomas talks identity, visibility and finding her voice

    Hosted by Fiona Scott, today’s podcast welcomes Morgan Thomas, who Fiona met at Swindon Town Football club. Fiona approached Morgan and asked if she’d be comfortable enough to share her story on the PR not BS podcast.  Morgan Thomas shares her experience of being a thirty-year-old trans woman in modern society. She tells us that she works as a DJ, Event Organiser and works as part of the Swindon Culture Collective. Morgan joins Fiona to share with listeners the challenges of being a trans woman today.  Fiona starts her chat with Morgan by asking about her childhood. Morgan shares that she always knew she felt ‘different’ but only became aware of this confidently at around 26, 27 years old. She states it’s “not something you really think about because the only way to get support medically for being trans, is to begin by doing introspective reflection for the psych evaluation”, which ultimately talks about your childhood.  She states “upon introspection, it was always a thing going back as far as 11, early teens. There’s a period when you black it out, but it always resurfaces.” Fiona then goes on to ask if Morgan was fearful to face this truth as an adult. Morgan shares that it was ‘frightening because there’s different problems for trans men and trans women. With trans women are more publicly vilified whereas trans men are essentially erased and put to the side. Both for the same reason because some people believe it is not an ‘actual thing.’  She shares that although she’d never been introduced to the idea of being trans by family, friends or school, it still happened organically.  Fiona then goes on to ask Morgan if she feels happy, which receives an immediate laughing response. Morgan shares that the short answer is ‘no’ because it’s difficult right now because of the ‘current state of the country and the way things are legislated.’ She also shares how the question is interesting because you wouldn’t ask a cis woman if they’re happy because it’s based on the assumption that being trans is a choice and not something you can’t control.  Fiona asks Morgan if these are questions, she gets asked every day and Morgan says ‘yes, the different places you work can have different cultural environments. She shares that her current workplace is very good, but she’s worked in other places before where it’s not as easy. She goes on to say that she ‘feels lucky not to have experienced much explicit negative, targeted harassment but that it’s still there as an underlying thing, passively.’  Fiona then asks Morgan why she takes the risk to be out there ‘publicly’ and to share her story on social media. Morgan says it’s her ‘basic human right and the only other option is to stay in your house forever. It’s just human rights and it’s heavy talk... I honestly would rather go outside and one day have it end badly or have a bad experience but at least I’m me and not hiding in my house forever because that’s not living.  She goes on to highlight how insane a question that really is, but it demonstrates the way the topic is slanted. She thinks it’s a different topic to get around. The bottom line is to take a populist approach and appeal to common ground things like medication, gender affirming surgeries on the NHS, things that ‘any woman’ might need.The needs she has for HRT are the same as cis women who need HRT for menopause. We should live and let live. Do we all have the things we need? What is the government doing? Fiona then goes on to ask about different projects Morgan is involved in. North Star New Wave Sound Collective, which is a loose organisation of rappers, DJs, photographers, visual artists who launch and make free music events in a mean well space.  Fiona asks Morgan how this came about and she says it “came out of necessity.” After coming out of higher education, Morgan sought more opportunities to stretch her creative muscles and wanted to find somewhere to do performances when someone mentioned the Brunel Shopping Centre.  Morgan has received grants from the arts council to support her endeavours and continues to apply for further funding to support her creative aspirations in the local community. She discusses with Fiona her plans for growing in the music industry and for becoming more visible online.  You can connect with Morgan via her Instagram handle @denim_morgan or via  @northstarnewwavesc for more information. To get in touch with Fiona and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk. Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

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About

Fiona Scott is a straight talking PR professional, a former TV journalist who has run a successful PR company for 14 years. Fiona dispels the smoke and mirrors around the world of public relations and instead presents you with practical advice, hints, tips and inspiration.

Information

  • Creator
    Fiona Scott
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    138
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 PR Not BS
  • Show Website
    PR Not BS