We Are All Messengers

We are all messengers. This is the Elevate Fulton podcast, and I'm your host, Chrissanne Long, back again with Nate, still the great Kendrick.

Hey, glad to be here, Chrissanne.

Excited to have you back, and I'm glad that you just stick around, you know, like, I guess you're having fun.

Absolutely. Good. Absolutely. I'm loving it. I'm loving it.

Good, good, good. Well, I am excited to talk about our conversation that we have planned today with a man who has many hats. So Erin would call him her husband, his 3 children would call him dad, the city knows him as Commissioner Chad McLeod. He was elected in 2019 and began his service to the city of Lakeland in 2020, just in time for COVID. Woo-hoo! And then his brother Joe knows him as a business partner in their public relations firm, McLeod Communications. Welcome to the show, Chad.

Thank you, Chrissanne and Nate. It's great to be here. You know, I followed Elevate Polk since you launched Last year? Is it last year?

A year and a half.

Yeah, a year and a half. So last year just kind of gets grouped into this, what seems like 5 years.

The year that wasn't.

Right.

Absolutely.

So it's good to be here and be a guest on the show.

Well, we're excited. I have had so many conversations with you on various topics. I want to really hit home first on kind of the work that you're doing as a business owner, because I feel like that's something that's probably not really accentuated as much anymore now that you're a commissioner. Everybody wants to talk city business. And what was exciting to me when you decided to run for commissioner was that you did have experience running a business, although it was kind of underground. Like, nobody really knew McLeod Communications except for the people that you had worked with and knew about you. So now let's like get some stories out there about the work that you guys do at McLeod.

Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that plug. And so when, when you run a PR firm and you hear somebody say that you're No one knows you or you're underground, you think, is that a good thing? Or because there are a lot of times that we do work in the background for clients. And so you, you kind of wanna stay in that position. But we have worked over the past few years, Joe McLeod, my brother and business partner. And if you listen to our podcast, I always say my fellow co-host of On Message, we've really worked to try and become the PR firm in Polk County. So when people in Polk County think of public relations and what is that, that they'll think of McLeod Communications. And we've worked with clients all over. And as you said, if clients had not, or people people who had not worked with us, they may not have known who we were. During the campaign, I had a chance to really talk about that, to talk about our business story, what we do, being an entrepreneur and small business owner, and now being on the commission. I think that's fun. It's a fun thing that I, you know, hopefully bring that perspective to the commission.

I was just going to say, you bring that perspective. It's evident as you process through the decisions that you're making. I can see it. I'm sure people who know you and have followed you since you started as a commissioner can share that as well. I know there's also a fine line too between the decisions being made that are going to impact the local economy from an entrepreneurial standpoint and then everything else. Like it's a huge, it's a huge big pie and there's only a sliver that's really focused in the areas that, you know, Nate and I are mostly focused and interested in. So it's fascinating to see. I think you adapted well as I watched, you know, I'm thinking, okay, brand new, he's green to commission, he's got to figure all this stuff out. And then COVID comes and boom, you know, so let's talk about about how that has impacted your business, and then we'll talk about the city when we get a little bit further down the road.

Yeah, so there's a lot there for sure. As you said, there, there's so much when you step into the role of an elected official and government and just getting your hands around what it is that needs to be done every day and, and that part of it. And then we had COVID hit, and so we had a lot of COVID-related discussions, as everybody remembers, and policies and things to figure out. At the same time, the the standard normal issues of running the city, all of that continued. And then on the business front, I mean, for us, I think we were in March and April, like many of you, just there was a lot of uncertainty. We didn't know what was the rest of the year going to look like. We were fortunate, and we would say blessed, that we kept the clients we had. A lot of the organizations we worked with went into 2020 in a very strong financial position, and so they were able to weather through the year and didn't have to make significant cuts. I know there are a lot of companies where that wasn't the case, but for the companies we were working with, they were able to keep us on. We kept them as clients, and so very thankful for that. And just, we kind of went month to month just seeing like, what does the next month look like, right? And still there's an element of that, I think. But we ended the year just very thankful for where we were, for the business that we had, the client relationships that we've worked for so many years to maintain and retain. And so, you know, hopefully that will continue on into 2021. And hopefully we're rounding the corner here with COVID and getting back to something that is more normal, you know, than what we've had the past year.

What is the time you've had in business? When did you start? Because I know you had some other things you did before.

Yeah.

What led you to starting McLeod Communications? Maybe take the audience on that little trip.

Sure. Yeah. We started— Joe and I started the company in name in 2012, and he and I were meeting for breakfast one day. At the time I lived in Tampa, so I'm I'm from Polk County, fourth generation Polk County. I was born in Bartow, grew up in Bartow and Highland City until right before high school. And then my dad was a police officer for Bartow Police Department. We moved to North Florida to a small town called Live Oak. I don't know if anybody out there knows where that is.

People who have to drive to Tallahassee know Live Oak. Yeah.

Yeah.

And so anyways, I went to University of Florida, go Gators, majored in public relations and had worked in several different positions and a lot in political communications, but I didn't, You know, I was— when I was in college, I didn't set out thinking one day I'll start my own PR firm. I'm not sure when that first entered my mind. I know Joe and I were— so I was in Tampa. He was here in Lakeland, and we were just catching up for breakfast one morning and talking about different jobs and potential opportunities in PR. He had the same essentially background as I did, had majored in mass communications as an undergrad. And he said, what do you think if we just started our own business one day? And so there was the idea, the seed was planted. And so I'm the type who takes something like that and just, you know, I'll think on it and think and run with it and different ideas. And so then the idea was born. We started the company in name in 2012, and then in 2013 really launched it and said, "All right, we're out, we're out in the marketplace. Let's see what we can do with this." And so, yeah, that's been what, 7+ years now?

Yeah. So how's it been working with your brother?

Yeah, there are a lot of people who say, "I could never do that. I could never work with my sibling." Joe's my older brother and we just work really well together. Do have some disagreements, as any business partner relationship would. I think for us it's been— it's fun to, you know, we work on the business at work, and then when we're doing family stuff, we have kids who are the same age, so our families are together a lot. We're family, we're together. We don't talk about business a ton when we're doing family things. Our wives, they, they're not in the PR world, so, you know, they— we talk about other things. And, um, but it's that those boundaries have been helpful to say, all right, this is work, this is what we do here. The office and then when we're family, we're family.

What's your process like when you're approaching new businesses and explaining to them the importance of PR?

Yeah, that's a great question, Nate. Sometimes it's hard because you see an opportunity as a public relations practitioner, sometimes we say, for an organization and you think they really need PR help, but that can be a tough conversation to have with somebody, to approach them and say, you need help. Here, it's always, it's easier when people come to us and they've already recognized that need.

Got it.

But there are times when we will proactively go to someone and say, here's how we can help. We talk about being in the message business. I love the title of that. We are all messengers. And so what our core of what we do is help organizations, leaders, brands develop a message that connects and that resonates with people. A lot of times we're in the space of issues management or crisis communication. So things that are, they're public issues, they can cause complications for the brand, turn into a crisis, or maybe they're in a crisis and figuring out the message. And in the middle of some very challenging at times circumstances.

Got it. You're helping them weather the storm.

Weather the storm. Yeah. Deal with the media, figure out that component as well and the messaging that goes into that.

Got it.

So who are the types of companies that you work with? I mean, is there a demographic? Is there a psychographic? Is there a size? What are the types of businesses that you guys generally do work with?

One of the things that I enjoy about our firm is that we've had the chance to work with a range of businesses and organizations from Fortune 500 brands at times to local nonprofits, smaller organizations. Usually the kind of the sweet spot is a midsize organization that needs that they may have some staff in-house for public relations, or maybe they don't, but they need extra capability, capacity to come in. There have been times where we've worked for corporate organizations that have a very robust corporate communications shop, and— but they need extra assistance and they're not ready to hire out for a full-time position. A lot of those have just come through relationships that we have with people in the PR community in Florida. In terms of industry, we've had the chance to, you know, everything from government, nonprofit, mid-sized businesses, corporate. And I enjoy that. I enjoy the different issues, really going in and learning the issues in the business and coming in with an outside perspective. We try, as you know, we're trying to sell what we do. So many times we'll say if someone coming in from the outside can ask questions such as, what does that mean? You know, we were just talking on our podcast at the end of the week about, Within an organization, a lot of times there's jargon, there's industry speak, and you think everybody outside knows what you're talking about. And a lot of times they don't. And so just to be able to come in and say, I have no idea what this means, so let's break it down and really get something that connects with people.

Yeah. How do you overcome the hurdle of the business owner? You kind of touched on it a little bit, but I want to dig in a little further on that. The business owner or the business itself not knowing that they need what you have.

Yeah.

But in the sense that they don't know, their heads are in the sand.

Yeah.

You know, and so it's, do you have a strategy? Because I would love to learn that from you as well.

I was going to ask you that. Do you have a strategy for that? Because we're working on something now that, and I think in the first episode you guys did, Nate, you were talking about just the challenge of being in the offering a service.

Yeah.

And so that, that's been great, but But there are limitations with that. And so we're getting ready. I don't want to reveal yet because Joe might not be on the same page if I just announce what we're going to— that wasn't part of the launch plan for me, but it's a product that pairs with our service and it goes, it's in the area of crisis communications. And we were just talking about yesterday, what do we need to do to get the attention of leaders of organizations that might not know they're not ready for a crisis? We do feel like there's been, there's an opportunity this past year that you don't have to look far. To find brands, organizations that are in the news, that are facing public criticism and scrutiny. So I think there is heightened awareness among many leaders to say, what happens if this is us? Are we ready for that? But there's still an element where they're not. And so we're trying to figure out how do we do that? I think for us, we may try to paint the picture for different organizations, and we're still trying to creatively figure that out. So I'll come back maybe once we found a solution.

OK, once you figure it out, you let us know. Because I think I admire those companies that have a proactive or organizations that have a proactive approach, that manage the message, that don't let the message manage them. So they're prepared. They know what they're going to do. They can take action if something doesn't go the way that it needs to go. And they've got people in place, you know, they've taken action to, okay, this is what you do. You pull this plug and you know, you gotta pull the parachute and start taking care of things.

And that's huge too. Cause if anything, if 2020 has taught us anything and 2021 is teaching us stuff now, it's really key to understand your message and people will crucify you if you don't.

Yeah.

Right. Well, and the title, We Are All Messengers, then things also become muddy 'cause people are starting to be messengers. And so the whole marketplace is very busy.

Yeah.

There's a lot of messages. There's a lot of mixed messages. There's a lot of things being misunderstood or misconstrued. So getting ahold of that and making sure, I always say you would be best served if you're able to be the first person person to announce or report something. Because if somebody else reports it for you, there's all of the chances that somebody's going to get the wrong information, the context or the tone of the interview is going to be misconstrued. If you own it, you control it, you're able to put that message out and put your best foot forward instead of counting on a reporter who might not truly understand the industry or the challenges that you're dealing with or how you're explaining them.

Yeah, that's great. I'm going to record that and take it with us when we're trying to convince people because sometimes there's reluctance. By organizations to share hard news or bad news. But you're dead on about when you release information, announce news yourself, you're in a much stronger position than when someone else does that for you. As hard as that may be, as uncomfortable as that may be, you're the source.

Yeah. Have you guys unlocked that reasoning of what that pushback is with those clients where they're just like, I don't know, I'm not ready to reveal?

Is it? Yeah.

Is it building rapport? Is it, is it the uncertainty of not knowing what to expect? Is it—

I think a lot of it is the uncertainty and it's almost guaranteed that there will be a reaction. There's some sort of, you know, there's going to be some sort of, at least in the short term, a negative response or people saying, why did this happen? Whereas there's sort of a game. If I, if I don't say anything, maybe no one will find out.

Right.

Got it.

But the flip side of that is What if they do? And they likely will. And then it becomes known that you knew and you've been holding this, and that's even worse than the initial position of just announce it, rip the band-aid off, right, and move forward.

Yeah, that's a fascinating thing. I feel like we as humans in general just unconsciously think about that. It's like, oh well, if I don't say anything, right, no one will know.

Yeah, right.

But it usually—

somebody will.

Somebody will.

And now we're all messengers and somebody's gonna go tweet something and it's Now it's out of control. I'm curious to know your thoughts on the political positioning of businesses who donate to campaigns and some of the backlash that has come or can come from that. Do you guide them in that decision-making? Do you say, maybe it's best that you don't donate to this candidate or that you do? Where do you guys land in that discussion?

That's a great question. And it's becoming a topic that I think is discussed more because in years past, companies would make donations and maybe it wasn't disclosed or people didn't find out. So now our advice to clients would be that it's not necessarily right or wrong to make political donations if you have a political action committee as part of your organization or just as a company you want to do that, but you have to know that there are risks that come along with it, that anyone you make a contribution to could end up in the news or take a policy position or something that's controversial, and that could be tied back to your brand and just being prepared for that scenario to know is the potential reward is what you want to do here. Is it worth the risk? And so just really knowing that before you go into that, that world and you're seeing, I think, more companies pull back from that or say we're not going to contribute or in a race, we want to be involved and we want to be part of the process. So we'll contribute to both candidates and both campaigns and try to be more— just have an approach that is not favoring one political party or the other. Right.

Right. What was the— what was the brand Was it Goya? Or there was a, during the Trump campaign.

Oh yeah.

Was it Goya?

Well, the CEO of Goya, yes. Yeah. Was supportive of President Trump and made public statements. And there were people who hashtag boycott Goya. And Joe and I on our podcast talk, it's like the hashtag, the boycott of the week, you know, who's being boycotted. But then there were those who said, we love Goya. So we're going to support even more. So there are just in this, day and age, there are pockets of people who will— anytime an organization takes a political stance of any type, whether it's a contribution or just saying we support the president, you'll have people who oppose that, and then you'll have others who applaud it. And so just knowing that's the world you're entering, right?

It's something to definitely consider. I watched that, and, you know, on the macro level, it's one thing. On the micro level, it's a little bit different too, because, you know, we're all friends, we're all in a relationship. You know, you became friends with who ran against you, Carol Phillips. And so running that race place was a little bit more personal as opposed to these detached, like, right, people not really knowing one another and really wanting to hurt the other, right?

At the local level, you see each other at the store, out and about at the community. So you're right, it's, it's different than maybe in this kind of grand national scene, whereas— and that's one of the things I love about local government, local politics, is that you really, you're closest to the people. And so you have the ability for good and bad, because you, you know, you'll be out and about and someone will say Hey, why did the city do this? Or can you change this? Or I don't like that. And I enjoy that part of the process. But I do get that feedback everywhere from the grocery store to church to Catapult, wherever I am. Yeah.

Yeah. How do you compartmentalize that?

Yeah, that's a good question. I enjoy those discussions. It is sometimes a little difficult if your mind isn't focused on it. We're not in a city commission meeting. You're just out and about in the community and someone brings up something and you're not expecting it. Sometimes then my thoughts are consumed maybe by that issue. So it's a little bit of a balance. Yeah, there for sure. But I do enjoy the feedback process and being able to visit with our residents, constituents, and just hear what are their concerns. For people who aren't hanging on to everything that happens at City Hall, they're just trying to live their lives and work and raise their families. And they see a city commissioner who— any 7 of us— and have the ability to say, here's what I think. I like this, or this needs to be changed. I think that's really something, a positive thing for our system of government.

How have you learned to balance the difference between the public sector that you're working in and the private sector?

That's one that if anybody has a solution to, I'll take that one. I'm still figuring that out, Nate, because there are times when, you know, in terms of the time element, it's been manageable. The city work comes in waves. And so we'll have pockets where it's very busy and we're doing a lot of meetings and workshops, and then you'll have a stretch where were not as much. And I have to really make sure that I lean into those times into my business and make sure that it's not being neglected. It's also forced me to branch out in terms of leaning on Joe more for things there. Maybe that in the past would have been something I would want to hang on to because, oh, this is my skill set or this is what I've done before, but I just can't now. And, you know, we operate— it is the two of us, but we have a network of subcontractors, of fellow PR people who are in that space who we can bring in for different projects. And we often do, depending on the need and the skill set. But it's forced me to be able to pull in those people for projects where in the past I might have just said, I'm going to do this myself.

Got it.

That's so good too. Let's talk a little bit about that.

Yeah.

Delegating and letting go of things.

Yeah.

You know, because I think as entrepreneurs we start out doing it all.

Yeah.

Most of us, you know, all of it, every single thing, all of the things. And then you start to realize You know, this growth can't take place if I'm keeping all of the cards or if I'm doing all of this stuff. So do you have any advice on how you've worked through the delegation process or at least the awareness of, hey, I'm probably not going to be able to do this as well as someone else could because they have the time. And right now I'm under the gun with some deadlines with the city or some other responsibilities and staying balanced with the family as well.

Right. I think the commission role has forced me into that more and This past year we had a project and it was a big project and it was rewarding for me. I just did not have the time to work on it. And so from the beginning, Joe and I decided he would be the project lead. We were working with another— there were other two PR professionals who were on the project as well. And I sat back and just watched them go to work and said, here's what we need to do. Here's— here are the deadlines, here's what we have to deliver. And seeing that project move and be highly successful and the client was happy and I had very little to do with it. And I thought, this is the— this is good. I needed to see this, that our business can succeed and do very well with me stepping back at times and not being as involved in that. It's a little counterintuitive because early on I thought if it's going to succeed, I have to be in every decision, every project. And that's not a recipe for growth, as we know. But it's hard. It's hard to step back. So I think the commission in some ways has forced me to do that.

That's good. Maybe I should run for commissioner. Guys, I'm not running for commissioner. Okay? That's a question that comes up a lot. And I'm just for the record, no. But I feel that intuit— like I've been saying that I need to get out of the way. Like my team is here, they know what to do. I don't need to be in every single solitary decision. So one of those growth lessons for myself, that's kind of the season that I'm in right now. So that's why I'm intrigued to figure it out. I'm like, I don't need a commission to help me make that decision, right? To start delegating better. I just need to delegate better. My team's going to hear this and they're going to be like, yay!

I agree, because it's It's fascinating, right? When you're— and even I was going to touch on this point too, but when you're first starting off, you do everything, even essentially the PR, if you're not even thinking about it, right? But as you grow and as you scale, you have to let things go because you're basically saying my business is growing up and I need a professional now to replace me.

Yes.

In order to get to that next level.

Yeah.

So in the same thing with PR, those— it's, it's that paradigm shift of my business has grown up. I'm touching 10 times as many, 10 times as many people. I need someone like a PR person and a marketing person and an accounting person to structure my business so that I can continue to grow and be successful.

Yeah. That's huge. Yeah.

It's a tough pill to swallow, right?

But it is.

Yes, for sure. And I think it's too, as you were talking, I'm just thinking about like that process doesn't happen without some outside help.

Mm-hmm.

You know, sometimes it, for you in your case, it kind of, you got forced into it. Yeah. But if you're not gonna get forced into it, if you're not gonna run for commission, right. Or, or have quadruplets or something, that's just gonna completely change the way that you you have time to do things, you're going to have to ease into that. And I, so I've, I've started having a coach, you know, helping me realize that if I, if I do it all, I'm never going to grow. And, and, and making that decision myself was kind of eating humble pie, you know, like I got this, I got this, that's the mindset. And then it's like, oh yeah, but do I really? And do I really want to be this busy for the rest of my life? Because this is the future. If I don't start to delegate now. So, well, I think I want to just wrap up on the topic of McLeod Communications because I want people who are listening to know, you know, hey, if I need a PR firm, if I'm considering needing that, you know, what's the process look like? How do they onboard? How do they get in touch with you? What, what does, you know, if I need you, how do I know I need you?

Yeah, that's a great question. And there are times when people recognize they need us when something has gone wrong or it's about to go wrong or there's a potential liability or something. We may have a public issue. Many times that's the case. Sometimes it's, hey, we have this news we want to announce. We really need and want media coverage, but we don't know where to start in that landscape. And so those two things oftentimes drive people to us and they will search PR in Lakeland, PR Polk County. Hopefully if we're doing our job right, we're popping up and I know somebody that can help with our SEO. Yes. Yeah, right. We may need you, Chrissanne Long. There are other times where it comes through referral. So someone will call and say, "Hey, do you know someone who does PR who can help in this?" And then that will come to us just based on our network and our relationships. And so it starts with whether that's a call, we get a call or some— many times we got a call from a potential client in Seattle and they had found us through— we stay involved in the Florida Public Relations Association and beyond in that world. And so someone had referred us and said, we think McLeod Communications could really help you here. So they called us and, you know, we do an initial meeting. Usually it's about 30 minutes of just kind of a discovery call to see what's the issue, what are you grappling with, and can we help? And then we'll go back and if we see that it's a potential fit and yes, we can help, put together a proposal and go from there.

So what makes McLeod Communications unique and how would somebody feel like this is different because you do this and maybe other PR firms don't? Or how do you handle things that would make you— what's What's your unique value proposition?

Yeah, we, as I mentioned, we're in the messaging business, and so we have a strength at crafting messages that resonate with people, taking the complex and turning it into something that is simple. And that's really, that's what we excel at. There are other PR firms who do great work, no doubt. Joe and I also, we feel like the relationship value, the personal touch that we bring to the client. So we've really tried to maintain that. How do we grow? But also people like to know that I'm working with you, I'm working with Joe, and we're not just getting the account and then now you've got other people who you don't really know working on it, that we're always maintaining that relationship and being the face of the business and interacting with the client.

I like that. That personal touch is huge.

Yeah, yeah, it's massive. It's massive because people need to— I feel like that happens a lot of times is they'll, they'll go to a PR agency or a marketing agency or whoever And you're just one of many as opposed to that personal touch.

Yeah.

Yeah. I feel like there's some alignment. We probably need to have some conversations.

I think so, Chrissanne Long. Yeah.

Like, strategic partnership, something's going to happen here because a lot of the stuff you're saying, you know, the clarity, clarity of the message is huge. And a lot of times people, like you said earlier, they have the jargon. They can't separate themselves from the product or the service that they provide. And they don't realize that they're confusing the audience, right? And how do you get that clarity without somebody who can professionally separate you from the message?

Right.

And honestly, I was, I was actually really excited to talk to you because I've been more and more fascinated about PR, about messaging, about getting your message out there before anybody else does because of what happened with COVID in 2020 and 2021 and cancel culture and all this stuff and how businesses— because I personally was sitting back and saying, What's this business doing? How are they maneuvering? And saying, oops, that was a mistake. They shouldn't have done that. Oops, that was a mistake. They shouldn't have done that. And then seeing the businesses that were able to slide by and saying, okay, what did they do? So it's a fascinating space.

It is fascinating and it's hard. The landscape now is difficult. And I think back to when I was going through the PR program at University of Florida and the College of Journalism and just the media world was different, so different than it is now. And so it is really challenging for brands and you're not always gonna get it right. And that's a conversation we have. Like, how do you strive for that? But if your definition of getting it right is that nobody will be upset, you may not be successful in the way that the world is right now. And so just being able to know what's your identity, what are your values as a company, what means the most to you and your audience and your customers and all of that into the equation is something that— those are conversations that having PR counsel at the table is very important.

How do you help a company or business organization maneuver through this monster we call social media? What platforms do you suggest to put their message out on?

Yeah, so we do caution about trying to do it all and think we need to be everywhere. And we advise organizations to look at where is your audience today? Like, what's the most value for the time that you have? Maybe where is your audience going? So if you have If it's a nonprofit that has maybe has a donor base that's of an older generation today, they may be on Facebook. Yeah, but tomorrow the donors of tomorrow, the followers of tomorrow may not be there. So maybe start investing some time in other platforms. But, but also know one of the things that— and we do a podcast On Message where we talk about companies, the best, we call it the best stories in PR and communications every week. So looking at brands that have done well or those that are struggling But it is very difficult to pivot. Somebody said pivot earlier, um, from social media content that is telling your brand story and it feels good and it's got good images to now you're in a crisis and you have all this scrutiny and people coming to your channels. And so trying to communicate that way, that's very difficult, especially if you're trying to find the parachute. You don't even know where it is. So that's where crisis communications planning and training and putting social media into that process puts you in a stronger position to when you do have to pivot. And now our message isn't just about how great the brand is and things that are seen as positive. We're trying to communicate in a different way. If we put some thought into that in preparation, you're stronger.

And when you lead, like going back to what I said, when you lead the conversation, people are going to comment on the thing that you led with.

Yeah.

They're not going to attack you with these zero review, zero-star reviews and all of these other things that they're going to do because there's a place for them to go to bash you. And they're gonna— they need that, or they, you know, I don't need that, but people who thrive on that like negative energy, if you— it's easy to go ahead and throw something out there on a social media channel where you've addressed the issue. Yeah, you said, this is— we are aware of the problem, we are working right now to take care of all these things. And then you're gonna get all that negativity right there, but it's a controllable— yes, there, as opposed to everywhere, right?

Because I like what you You've been saying, you've basically been saying it without saying it, it's inevitable. Like, especially for a company that's growing and an organization that, and social media is at scale, it's inevitable. So you're basically saying, why not have a plan in place already? So then when it does happen, you're prepared.

Right. Absolutely. Things go wrong. People make mistakes. You have employees, things happen. Someone will say, I don't like, why did you do this? I don't like it. And then that grows. And so being prepared for that.

And the answer isn't like deleting the Facebook page.

Right.

Running duck and cover.

Get outta here.

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Sure. Great question. And I haven't— I listened to your first episode when Nate came on, so I haven't caught the other ones. But define ecosystem. I think there are a lot of people out there who would say, what does that mean exactly?

See, you're so good. You're good at your job. So the ecosystem is just like in the jungle. You know, you've got all of the roots, the trees, the animals, everything. And there's, there's there's the, it's thriving, whether or not you're paying attention to it. Right. It's just, it's this thing over here. So you've got small businesses starting up. You've got businesses that have been in existence forever. You've got a, you know, a political organization. You've got your government. We're all existing and coexisting inside of this space. We call home, we call community. But there are maybe some areas that are healthier than others. And so maybe there are some trees that need some attention or some, some roots that are not necessarily healthy. And they're growing some poisonous fruits. So how do we address the factors that are here in our community and make entrepreneurial opportunity more accessible?

Sure.

So is entrepreneurial opportunity as accessible as it needs to be for anybody who decides they want to start a business? What is that path? Is it a clear path? So those are my thoughts on just the ecosystem definition.

Yeah, that's good. From my vantage point, both hats being a small business owner and a city commissioner, as you said, there's always room to improve, but I, I feel like Lakeland, Polk County has made significant strides in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as you've described it. And, and a lot of that has to do with the organizations like BridgeLocal and Catapult, the chamber. We have the Well that will be opening up soon. And so continuing to expand access and opportunities for current entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. And so seeing those organizations be able to grow and flourish is a huge part of the ecosystem. I actually feel like the city is a smaller part of that piece. Now, it can be a bigger part, but from my view, we want on, on the city government side to help create an environment where businesses can flourish. And if businesses, especially small businesses, have to interact with City Hall, as part of their business or to open, that we make that process as easy as possible. Or if you have businesses that may be bidding on city projects, that we have a strong local vendor preference, that we really make that part of the fabric of our purchasing process, that we're looking for Lakeland-based vendors to do business with the city, and that if we can't find them here locally, that's one thing, but that we really make every effort to hire locally when we can. So to answer your question, I think the ecosystem is strong. With some opportunities to improve, but I'm encouraged by— I feel like there are a lot of great conversations about entrepreneurship in Lakeland, and I don't know that 20 years ago you would say that. You might think, I'll go to a major, a bigger city, I'll go to Tampa, Orlando, or some other place that there are more opportunities. And, and I think we are continuing to climb and grow in that regard. I want people to think, especially future entrepreneurs, if you have people, high school students kids going off to college, if they have aspirations of starting a business, that they'll be able to do it here and that we'll become known as really a hub of entrepreneurship, creative talent. And I see that happening. I think we got to continue to run that race.

Yeah, absolutely.

I feel like there's— we're on the precipice. I said this in another episode. We're on the precipice of greatness. There's something coming. And I also am concerned in some ways that there isn't that clear path. Like if you Google start a business in Lakeland, start a business in Polk County, there isn't a lot of information or resources. But then going back to Nate, you know, when Nate kind of came on the show, he talked about that network.

Yes.

The people to go and drop an idea with and have trust and respect and mutual understanding of the ecosystem needs somebody who does what I do just as much as they need me. So the fear of competition, but also realizing that that network, the relationships, where do you go to vet an idea? Where do you go to see if there is some white space? We're going to talk about white space in an upcoming episode where this opportunity might fit or understand how to pare down your unique value proposition to explain why you're different than the competition. Some of that stuff, iron sharpens iron. And I feel sometimes like we're still creating silos where all of those things only happen in the corners that they exist. And then all of that space in between, I don't know how to— I don't know how to get those folks to feel the same way that we feel because we see the precipice of greatness, but we don't necessarily know how to connect to them. The messaging isn't solid and clear on what that path looks like.

And I think as you, as we grow as an entrepreneurship community, you start to see some of those gaps that, whereas before that may not even be on the radar because we just didn't have the support structures and networks that we do today. I do think that you all know entrepreneurs are a scrappy bunch, and so they will fill in gaps where they don't find any. But to what extent we can, can fill those to make this a stronger community that supports entrepreneurs, we certainly want to do that. And I'm always open to, is there some creative idea that the City of Lakeland can do that maybe we haven't done in the past? And so certainly try to keep my eyes and ears open for that. A lot of times I think there's a tendency just to stay in the lanes we've always stayed in, but that doesn't mean we can't branch out or look at something differently or try a different and create, you know, creative idea.

Yeah, definitely. I, I, uh, I appreciate what both of you guys said, because from your perspective, it makes a lot of sense, because, you know, even I would go as far back as only 10 years. Even 10 years ago, we didn't have an eco— like, like an ecosystem at least brewing.

Yeah.

So there was no even acknowledgement of like what gaps people were like that I'm not going to start a business here because I don't even see anything to even go to to start in the first place.

Right.

But now that we have somewhat of a system built in place, now we're starting as entrepreneurs to start to see, oh, okay, this could be fixed here. This could be fixed here.

That's a great point. And I think seeing success stories has been huge because now you, like you said, 10 years ago, maybe you didn't have as many of those stories that you knew about of Lakeland-born entrepreneurs, businesses that started here, but now seeing others who have been successful in that journey, I think encourages, inspires other people to say, I, I could do that too. I could start my own business here. And so we're seeing more of that for sure.

Sure.

Absolutely. Yeah. I definitely agree. I think the foundation, so I was watching softball with my brother and his youngest daughter this past weekend in Bartow. And, you know, I'm super sensitive to understanding that people from out of town come here and what do they experience? What is their immediate thought when they find out, hey, they're going to Bartow to play softball. And it's, you know, 2 days of softball. Are they gonna drive all the way back home or are they going to, you know, get a hotel? And I overheard a conversation, you know, and, and just just things that people had said. And it's just like, we could do better.

Right.

You know, we have some things from the outside perspective, like we know what is going on in our community, but nobody else really can see that. And we have to kind of look at it like you said, like the outside perspective. What does an outsider see who's used to a certain type of thing in their community and they come to ours? Could we do better in that regard and maybe investing in some research to start to build what, you know, what does that look like?

Yeah.

You know, having exit interviews or surveys or things at parks and things like that where people are playing sports and coming in from outta town. What are your thoughts? Are you staying in town? You know, figuring out what they, what would keep them here or what they, what would, what would have them stay here instead of driving right all the way back home? 'Cause it's more comfortable to them 'cause they don't necessarily know the Polk County.

Sure. That we know and love.

That we know and love. Yeah.

Sure.

I know we're running short on time, so I wanted to just— is there anything that you can talk to on the topic of being more inclusive in general? Like, what can either from a city's perspective, from an entrepreneurial community of like locking arms and being more like open to that new person that isn't the who's who or the known commodity. What are your thoughts on helping people kind of get their foot in the door?

It's a good question. It's a big question. About inclusiveness in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. But I, I think there are a couple of things. I think for those of us who are part of the network, part of the system, that it falls on us to look at how are we ourselves being inclusive to other people who it can be intimidating to. If you don't know anyone who at an event or who's part of an organization and you're the new member— I know, I think you talked about that, like what it's like to, to show up at an event. I was talking I talked a couple of weeks ago to Root Patel. I didn't know him and figured out the connection points and just his story and how it must be, you know, it is intimidating to come into an environment where you don't know anyone and trying to make connections and establish relationships. And so I think it falls on us and the organizations we're part of to look at how are we reaching other people or being inclusive to people who may not feel comfortable coming into our doors and being part of our organization. You know, on the city side, and I think we want to make sure that I talked about local vendors and giving businesses opportunities to bid and compete on city business, but also sometimes stepping back and realizing a lot of businesses may not know the process, or maybe they don't know anyone at City Hall, or they're just intimidated by that in general, or they think, because I don't know anyone, I don't have a relationship, there's no way I'm going to get this business. And to make sure that we're always that we have a fair process that, and that we're seeking to explain it to people. Here's how it works. Here's how if you want to do business with the city and just not assuming that people know because we've, we have businesses we've worked with forever and ever.

Managing that message.

I love what he just said, explaining the process because what sometimes happens is people don't know the process and they get upset and they're like, oh, well, it's because I'm this or because I'm that. But there's a process that it takes in order to even get in that room.

Yeah. I would love to see us as a city or as a county work toward that procurement process being more accessible in explanation than the government jargon versus the entrepreneur who's just kind of starting and figuring out, okay, well, I eventually want to start doing government jobs.

Yeah.

What do I need to do to get qualified? What are the bare minimum requirements for me to at least know that I'm going to work toward that and get there? But then if an RFP is not accepted or something like that, if there's a remediation process even that says, Hey, these were some things we noticed about your, you know, proposal that you might need to know are not going to be— if you do this again, you're still not going to get the job. It's not because the person was lower bid or whatever. It's something else.

Yeah, I could talk a long time about this because we as a firm, we have, we have submitted so many bids, especially in the early days for government projects when you had agencies that were hiring public relations firms and just the stories of of trying to figure out what it is, what do they want, the time, the hours that went into putting together the proposal. And so from that side of it, I definitely feel like an advocate for simplifying the process, making sure that people know about the opportunities and not always having to, I am getting into the weeds, but subscribe to an RFP finder or some service that flags it for you. But just if it's my home community and they need a service that I can provide, my business provides, I want to be able to know about that. So always challenging ourselves in that as a city, for sure. That's huge.

That's huge. I, let's explore that further.

Sure.

Because I think that those are some tangible actionable items that can start to become an answer to the accessibility and inclusion. You know, it's like, we want to make sure these people know these jobs are available, whoever you are, whatever part of the journey you're on.

Yeah.

We want you to know that we want to do work with you.

Yeah.

And if you're a qualified vendor, then, you know, apply for this position. And then I have shared with some, several of my friends at, at the city level, just would be great to have some workshops on procurement, you know, just some, maybe not the stuff we've always done.

Right.

But something that's a little bit different and more tailored toward those that may not be at the level that they need to be to become a pro, you know, a vendor for the community or for the, a vendor for the city, but will work toward that.

Right.

You know, that's the step. Like if let's, let's give them some steps to get to the point where we know that they need to be. We all understand when we're starting out that we're not where we want to be 5 years from now, but what are the steps to get me to where I want to go?

Sure.

Instead of just kind of, you know, figuring it out and, you know, failing without somebody to give me that direction.

Right.

So, all right, well, cool. Let's, let's go ahead and wrap up. Is there anything, how do you want the audience to remember Chad McLeod as a member or as a, as a guest on the Elevate Polk podcast? What is, what's the takeaway?

You know, I, I could, if I really wanted to focus on the PR component as, as the PR firm in Lakeland, I, I could go that route. I love what you said at the beginning about the multiple hats. You know, I, I am, you know, husband and father foremost, and then business owner, public relations firm owner, city commissioner. So all of those, you know, wherever that fits for you, I like having those different hats and different connection points into the community. And I want people to know you can find me, you can find our business at McLeodcommunications.com. That's our PR firm website. Our podcast is there. McLeod is M-C-L-E-O-D. So I always say that because sometimes people go off and spell it different ways. And then ChadMcLeod.com is my personal site, but I post my City Commission podcast there as well. So I do one called A View from City Hall, trying to increase the frequency on that one this year. That's a goal of mine. We'll see how that pans out just because there's so much going on. But really with that one, I'm trying to break down what we're talking about during the City Commission into layman's terms, and what are the decisions, what does it mean for people. And so you can find me there. I always love feedback and people to visit that site, and you can contact me through the site. And if you just have ideas for the city, things that you think would be great to see Lakeland do, I— we, we're coming off of a 2-day strategic planning session last week, and I'd love the visioning part of being a commissioner to dream what Lakeland could be. So, and a lot of that is just getting input and feedback from our residents.

Awesome. Well, I know that you're an accessible commissioner. All of the commissioners that I know are accessible. So if you have questions related to city issues or questions or ideas, definitely reach out to him. He will reply to your email. Uh-oh, now I put you on the spot.

Well, no, and you're referring to— so Grant Nadeau, who I was on his Spark Show last week, talked about during the COVID debate sending an email to all the commissioners, and I was the only one who wrote him back. And in defense my colleagues, I said there are probably other emails where they were the only one to respond and I did not. I picked a handful as we were getting hundreds and hundreds of emails. Grant caught my attention and I responded. So I know that the others do their best as well to respond. As you said, they're all very accessible.

Yeah, they are. Absolutely. So, all right. Well, thank you so much for being here, Chad.

Thanks for having me.

We need to do it again.

Yeah, I'd love to.

I think there's like 17 other things.

I could go another hour, but we won't for time's sake.

It was like it was a building. You're starting in deeper into conversation.

Yeah, absolutely.

I was getting to know you better and learn your story.

Likewise, Nate. Thank you, Chrissanne Long.

Thanks everyone for listening. And remember, we have a new episode each week, so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And remember to leave us a review. We promise to read every one. You can always find all of our episodes at elevatepolk.com. And if there is something you want to hear about on an upcoming episode, reach out to us on Facebook at Elevate Polk. Boom.