Spotlight Magazine Jul-Aug Issue 5 Vol 5

JUN/JULY 2020 ISSUE 6 VOL 4

M a Ce ke ri it -J C an ou e nt H ac ! Sa kl y in s g

ve C i TLlus xc E

How to Ignite

customers

How toengagewith your magined audience.Yes! Imagined Social Media audience

A formal Introduction #WiredWomen a podcast trend-setting women challenging the status quo.

Unconcious bias An intimate Op-Ed in response to recent #blacklivematter phenomena

by Dineo Mabena

Wield Your Superpowers to stay ahead of the game in 2020, says Nicky Regazzoni

SURVIVAL

Audra Lamoon shares 5 tips on customer service and survive: The re-emergence of service post Covid-19

Ad industry Scoop

B O Z

S A I N T

J O H N

America's C-Suite Exec. to watch!

Meet the under 50 Bold, Beautiful Boz lady.

Carl Jones shares his insights on the advertising industry during the coronavirus crisis

The magazine illuminating a Spotlight on the Thought Leader in you!

TABLE OF

contents 2 Editor's letter 8 Serve and Survive by Audra 10 Boz Saint John 13 Twitter research 14 Ceri-Jane on Thought Leadership 15 Can Good come out of bad? Asks Carl 20 Virtual working tips by Nicky 22 Dineo's #BlackLivesMatter Op-Ed 32 #WiredWomen intro 34 Thrive some more...

REGULARS + FEATURES Introduction Exclusive Features Discover Cover Story The Scoop The Spotlight View Explore TLC Profiles PR Trends The Protege Thrive Careers Advertisements Contact Page

PAGE 2-6

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Jennifer Nash introduces the content in this Spotlight issue. Starting with acknowledgements of our fabulous team to whet your appetite. Using a drop of ink to make a million think, has been Jen's motto since she learned how to write professionally.

PAGE 7-12

EXPLORE: EXCLUSIVE FEATURES Our beginners guide to Thought Leadership provides ethical survival toolkit of techniques that SME business owners can adopt to sustain and scale up in any type of business environment. By Ceri- Jane Hackling, Founder and Director of Cerub Public Relations agency

PAGE 13-20

DISCOVER Our Discover section is a movement to take our readers to relatively distant geographical locations that they wouldn't normally dream of. We find spaces and places that help business to thrive.

PAGE 34

THRIVE This is where you'll find your takeaway self-care or work-life balance productivity and doodle hacks for small business owners to live a healthy and sane life!

The magazine illuminating a Spotlight on the Thought Leader in you!

Acknowledgement: In the Spotlight Welcome to our second edition of Spotlight magazine (issue 6 Volume 1).

Apologies for the error last issue was supposed to read Issue 5 not 4.

EXPLORE DISCOVER

THRIVE

Please note: Although technically we have only publicized 2 issues on ISSUU; we have previously published the magazine as Direct To Subscriber version which went to subscribers via our email subscription. The June issue was the first one to be hosted on a publicly accessed platform.

Welcome back into the Spotlight. Our gratitude as always goes out to all our clients and small but mighty army of contributing editors for their continued support by supplying us with valuable content. A special and BIG thank you and welcome to our additional Spotlight team who have joined us in the last few months.

Together we are happy to be navigating these uncharted waters of the first ever Thought Leadership magazine owned by a startup for the Startup audience which includes but is not limited to SMEs, Artisans, Freelancers and every type of small business that perhaps doesn't fit into the categories we have named above.

It is with great pride and joy that you this global phenomenon with content for you to Explore what to be a Thought Leader in this and cluttered digital space where is a prosumer.

we bring exclusive it means complex everyone

We hope you can Discover tools and insights that will help you to sustain and scale up your business, but much more so, amplify your voice as an expert in your industry.

Again, massive thanks go to our fabulous contributing editors: Audra Lamoon, CeriJane Hackling, Dineo Mabena, Jennifer, Tim Nash and Benno Spencer for 'your faith' by being our first adopters.

As Nelson Mandela once said; "It is always impossible until it's done".

More than anything else, we want to grow with you all our readers as we share and interrogate what it means to be a Thought Leader. Our expert articles and advice will do just that. So take the front row seat enjoy the view and Thrive.

Together we illuminate a spotlight on what matters to us and thrive

Our articles may contain affiliate or brand partner links.

Read our full disclosure

 SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

A NOTE FROM

THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hello, Ciao,

你好, здороваться, Bwanji, Jambo everyone!

What a difference 2 months can make in life. Since our last issue, Covid-19 has claimed over 400k lives worldwide. Since then, we have had a series of unfortunate global incidents such as Ebola in Congo DRC and police brutality in the USA. To this end, please allow me to take a moment to remember the families that have lost their loved ones or have been affected by any of it - in one way or another.

On the upside, a lot of good has happened in our midst. Lots of love has poured out around the globe, uniting foes and friends with so much compassion and solidarity! So let’s Explore some of these ups and downs together.

Audra Lamoon has 5 top tips how-to to serve and survive (re-emerge).

Discover our regular contributor, Ceri-Jane’s Thought Leaders Aren’t Built in a Day as she continues to serve the Small to Medium Enterprises, be it start-ups, sole proprietors and artisans with useful tips on. We welcome Nicky Regazzoni with 5 tips on adapting to WFH. While this issue’s The Spotlight View, we have ‘spotted’ two authentic advocacy stories, featuring Boz Saint John and the story behind Furlounteer a community interest website Furlonteer.com.

We round up The Scoop: with this issue’s Op-Eds, this time Dineo Mabena explores the #BlackLivesMatter phenomena the global issues defying borders. We also bring you a twitter top-tips research paper discovered by our Spotlight team. In The Protégé section, we present Mina Vucic, an up and coming professional in her area of interest; While Carl Jones asks of the ad industry Can good come out of bad? Checkout KuzyaHub Careers section for current job and volunteer listings. Having gone back to 'normal' work recently, do remember to kick-off your shoes, rub your tired feet and enjoy our Thrive section we introduce BusyBeingJennifer (Salter ) with her Everyday Boss tips for cottage industry entrepreneurs. Grab some facial tissue for an intimate story of Mixed Blessings by yours truly - as I tell-all how I chose Love over a potential career in the Silicon Valley... while at it, screen shot our scrumptious recipes for later.

Finally but not least, we feature small businesses banner ads offering specials or re / launching new products or services and are looking to test / inform the market. The Black book list can be found in our Contact Page. It has clickable links to everyone in the current issue as well as helpful FAQ contacts for Non-profits, Clubs and Societies and free service providers to help our readers navigate content on and off-line. Not forgetting you - our keen readers in Q&A you have an opportunity to 'Ask the Editor' any question on current, previous or future topics.

I truly hope you will enjoy our fresh and improved look and feel layout of our business and pleasure content to help you navigate life with ease after what has been such polarizing last couple of months. Whatever you do, we hope you continue to a brighter future and thrive.

Jennifer Nash

EDITORS| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

PRESENTED BY ARK & BROOK

Join the conversation at

ARKandBROOK.Com

re tu ea Ex

cl

us

iv

eF

CONTRIBUTOR PROFILE

E X P L

R E

SERVE AND SURVIVE: THE RE-EMERGENCE OF SERVICE!

by Audra Lamoon

Let’s look at retail, but it applies to many sectors where there are people, property and a service focus. Service differed globally because of cultural expectations… now it's a whole new ball game!

COVID-19 pushed away the personal touch and brought the use of technology forward…where there was resistance in some areas, there is now a welcome (me included) from the uses you cannot see; such as thermal imaging and sanitisation equipment at the front of stores; to steaming clothes in a closet after a customer has tried on an item.

The ‘magic mirror’ will now show you the same item on your body in different sizes or colours so you don't physically have to change. So, while this was all novel only a few months ago, maybe it’s going to be mandatory going forward.

But nothing transcends personal customer service…and companies need to develop, prepare and equip their teams with the necessary protocols and behaviours that welcome, engage and protect their customers. Focusing on your people to serve the people is critical. (Here at Livewire we had to learn again, become the student and convert our live learning sessions to online chunks that are still fun, engaging and memorable…that was a long 7 weeks!). But companies are forgiving and want to help those trialling new ways to deliver the same service, so go with it, ask customers and clients to go on the journey with you! We did and we found out so much about what customers and clients need from their suppliers and partners.

As our regular contributing editor, Audra will be be offering readers with customer service tips in her area of expertise.

When asking questions, make sure you mention Spotlight so that she can add your response in the next issue! Feel free to drop her a line here.

This post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure

Audra Lamoon Chief Happiness Officer Livewire Performance

So be brave, be bold and work from a place of opportunity… get busy trialling and report back!

Here are 5 steps that will help you to ‘Serve and Survive’, whatever you sector: 1. Keep your people well informed, especially customer facing teams. Keep them ‘on message’. Your brand is in their hands, so transparency is your friend.

2. Scale your service for success – how else can you deliver what you do? How is your online system set up to connect with your team and the customer? Develop this for the next crisis…yes, there will be one!

3. Partner up with others and embrace technology that enables a rapid cultural change when needed, and a service delivery that limits disruption in your business.

4. Collect customer intelligence and analyse it - find out NOW what they want in the future, then work towards it. Is it a change of space, service, experience, product, access or delivery style?

5. Set yourself goals to achieve, ask, what are your ‘3 Must Win Battles’?

At the crux of this is the need to feel connected to people, whether they are employees, customers, investors or strangers. Human beings need human interaction and finding ways of staying in touch is key; and if you are fulfilling their needs then loyalty grows, yes, even in a pandemic. Customers will not forget who supported them, who looked after them, contacted them and asked them daily; “What do you need from me, us, the team? How can I help you?”

PAGE 8| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

ADVERT

AMPLIFYING YOUR VOICE

WEIV

SPOTLIGHTING INNOVATION OF GLOBAL EMERGING THOUGHT LEADERS

Spotlight magazine is a disruptive magazine here to expose hidden talent and showcase undiscovered innovation. As we all know it’s a cluttered world out there, getting listed in Forbes or FT takes some doing, and there is a GAP in the market for middle – C-suite level innovative people like us to get our voice heard. Spotlight’s mission is to illuminate the light on that innovative gem in you and the work you do.

In each issue (6 times a year or bi-monthly), the magazine will interview profile these people and tell their stories from an authentic narrative. Featuring a unique, specific and exclusive article to help our Spotlight readers of adults 18 – 99 - who are also SMEs, Artisans,Freelancers and young professionals looking for inspiration within their industry. Our distribution is circa 30k globally via an integrated marketing SaaS platform which helps drive traffic to your owned platforms and captures insights in real time that your CRM and sales team can covert into social or hard currency.

To recommend someone or to be featured in the next issue, simply click here and arrange your interview before 5th of every month.

Why The Spotlight View?

It's a play-on title. The meaning is derived from The Interview, or our editor being given a view into the subject's narrative or our readers developing a point-of-view from what they read

JN

Thought Leader's Quotable quotes:

Thought Leaders are informed opinion leaders and the go-to experts in their field of expertise. They are trusted sources who move and inspire people to innovate ideas into reality and know and show how to replicate their success.

DENISE BROSSEAU

THE

SPOTLIGHT

We take the road less traveled too as we are especially looking to partner with successful female professionals. (of course men are welcome too) Therefore, our primary focus for the magazine is promoting women (Pros, Start-ups, SMEs, Freelancers and Artisans) to support them as emerging Thought Leaders. This is not to reinvent the wheel, but to push the envelope to ensure women’s voices are heard as authorities and experts in their area of expertise and ultimately Spotlight acts as your lobbyist too.

Spotlight magazine is supported by other publicity events. Thus the magazine’s year end is celebrated in style by hosting #IgniteAwards to push the Spotlight mission into the media, through Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned (PESO) channels. That way it can become recognised as a Thought Leadership magazine in its own right. Over 15 Award categories will be given in each department, so that all our content contributors can stand a higher chance to be recognised earning them a prestigious IGNITE accolade while benefiting from our PR publicity and much more. We also 'Spot' Socially Responsible Individuals and organisations making a difference.

| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

TT

ED

Bozoma

O

Saint John

WEIV

Americas C-Suite Exec to watch! Meet the under 50 Bold Beautiful Boz lady.

In the last couple of months we discovered and spotted Boz an under 50 C-suite executive and most influential corporate America diversity activist. Boz is not just a bad-ass-boss , She identifies herself as a revolutionary - with a social justice agenda. A major turnkey for her life was her family being received in America for political asylum. That is why we picked her for our inaugural Spotted-influencer article

Saint John was born to Rev. Dr. Appianda Arthur and Aba Arthur (née Enim) in the United States but moved to Ghana at 6 months old. The family returned to the United States and settled in Colorado Springs, Colorado when she was 12. Her father was a clarinet player and member of the Ghana Army before emigrating to the United States to attend graduate school. Saint John cites her father as her biggest inspiration.[8] In 1999, she graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in English. Her father received a PhD in ethnomusicology in 1977 also from Wesleyan. Boz was married to Peter St John until his passing in 2013.

After college, Saint John worked at the advertising agencies Arnold Worldwide and Spike Lee's Spike DDB, as well as the fashion brand Ashley Stewart, where she was Vice President of Marketing. Saint John led PepsiCo's foray into music festival-based marketing as head of the Music and Entertainment Marketing. She remained with the company for almost a decade before joining Beats Music in 2014; when Jimmy Lovine of Beats personally recruited Saint John based on her experience in music marketing,

Buzzfeed wrote that she was the "coolest" person to ever take the stage at an Apple keynote. Magazines recognized Saint John's work in superlative lists including Billboard Magazine's list of the top women in music,Fast most Company's 100 most creative people and AdWeek's exciting personalities in advertising. On June 6, 2017, Saint John became Chief Brand Officer at Uber. She was given the task of turning Uber into a brand that people love as much as Apple.

@BADASSBOZ In June 2018 Saint John left Uber to join William Morris Endeavor as Chief Marketing Officer. Her reason being “When I got to Uber I was honest in my desire to go and change essentially what I thought was a challenging environment, especially for women and for people of colour...What I discovered was a lot of people who had a desire to do better, honestly, but couldn’t get out of their own way...At some point it became too overwhelming for me...It became a good lesson for all of us: You don’t need to be the saviour, you can save yourself too!

"It’s time to fight the virus of inequality. Don’t talk to me about saving the world, when your own house isn’t clean" - Boz Saint John

at ch

Saint John moved from New York to Los Angeles to lead marketing for the company. Beats was purchased shortly thereafter by Apple and Saint John became the head of global consumer marketing for iTunes and Apple Music, commuting between Los Angeles and Apple's Cupertino headquarters several times a week.

Journalists described Saint John's presentation of the redesigned Apple Music onstage during the 2016 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as her breakthrough moment, With a captivating "passion" and persona that captivated both local and online audiences. Biz Carson of Business Insider said that her appearance helped to emphasize Apple's complete rebuild of its Apple Music software. For instance, she attempted to have the audience sing along with onscreen lyrics, a feature in the redesigned app.

W

THE

SPOTLIGHT

According to Wiki; Bozoma "Boz" Saint John is an American businesswoman and marketing executive who is the current chief marketing officer at William Morris Endeavor. Previously, she served as chief brand officer at Uber until June 2018

Boz has since been headlining in the media and insta-stories speaking out on inequity in board rooms and on the streets

PAGE 10| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

Disclaimer: Wiki is an unverified source!) However, to the best of our abilities, we verified as much of this story from her own words in an interview with Microsoft.This article was never endorsed by Boz Saint John

SP

INFLUENCER

ED

WEIV

SP

O

TT

NGO

Furlonteer.com: the new non-profit project connecting furloughed employees with the people who need it most

With seven in ten UK firms having furloughed staff and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme recently extended to the end of June, Furlonteer.com is rapidly gaining traction.

The initiative received over 1,000 sign-ups in the first 48 hours and over 50 charities have been matched with ‘furlonteers’ over the past week.

Matching the diverse skills and expertise that millions of furloughed people have with thousands of charities that need resources more than ever, Furlonteer.com allows people to spend their time making a positive difference while maintaining a sense of purpose, routine and focus during their extended period away from work.

‘Furlonteers’ are matched with volunteer roles for charities based on criteria such as their skills, experience and amount of time they have available, which can range from a few hours a month to several hours a day, the majority based from their homes.

With major events such as the London Marathon postponed, charities are being negatively impacted by COVID-19 and many have been forced to use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme themselves in order to secure their long-term future plans.

Furlonteer.com allows charities to find volunteers who can fill vital and diverse roles during this time; it could be anything from digital marketing, fundraising and IT to bookkeeping, HR and business development.

In addition, Furlonteer.com has partnered with Champion Health to support well-being in offering free online mental health training to those who register. Charities signed up so far include UN Women, Duty to Care, Nourish Britain, Meals for the NHS, The Big Give and UK Community Network, helping elderly and vulnerable people who are self-isolating.

The initiative was conceptualised over a lockdown takeaway curry on Zoom between Hamish Shephard, co-founder of Hello Fresh and founder of Bridebook, Rosie Shephard, founder of the Luxury Communications Council and Sam Tasker-Grindley, Director at accounting firm RSM UK.

The novelty of being furloughed has worn off for many, and we’ve had an incredible response so far with a huge number of skilled and talented people willing to volunteer, either in charities or to help create the Furlonteer.com team.

Using digital platforms like Zoom, it’s amazing to see a group of strangers in lockdown with a common passion coming together, combining their expertise to create a movement like Furlonteer.com within days. We’re growing and excited to see what the future holds, both for Furlonteer.com and for the charities we’re able to help”

Visit furlonteer.com for more information or to register to be a furlonteer or as a charity or cause.

Alternatively, follow @furlonteer on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

SIGN UP HERE Sam says, “Furlonteer.com was born from a simple idea: we realised that so many causes need help, while at this time so many people want to help them, and have time to do so. We decided to bring them together.

THE

SPOTLIGHT

Furlonteer.com is a brand new, organicallygrown community initiative aiming to connect people on furlough with remote volunteer opportunities for charities and good causes.

PAGE 11| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

D I S C

V E R

YOUR MILK & HONEY SCOOP Of great content & useful tips shared by our awesome team of

contributing editors Audra Lamoon Carl W Jones Ceri-Jane Hacking Dineo Mabena Nandi Cher Nicky Regazzoni, Tim Nash THANK

YOU!

re tu ea eF iv us

V E R

Ex

cl

D I S C

THOUGHT LEADERS AREN’T BUILT IN A DAY SO MAKE IT COUNT! WRITTEN BY CERI-JANE HACKLING

As I mentioned in my previous article, for many people and companies, thought leadership can be a valuable way to raise their profile and increase their credibility among their audiences including potential or current clients.

Establishing your public profile as a thought leader isn’t something that happens overnight though. One article in a magazine or one interview on the radio isn’t going to be enough, so once you’ve decided to embark on a PR campaign to raise your profile, it needs to be consistent and properly thought through.

To stand out from the competition as a business leader you need to raise your profile and shape your reputation to become known as thought leader in your field which means authoring articles, offering tips, commenting on current industry trends and sharing their voice through a number of platforms.

The first challenge is to realise how much you already know. If you want to reap the benefits of standing out in a crowded marketplace and generating a connection with your brand as your customers come to recognise you as an authoritative individual or company, put aside your misgivings on how under-qualified as a ‘thought leader’ you think you are and consider the following: The difference isn’t expertise, it’s delivery It’s very easy to assume that the industry ‘expert’ used in the article you just read or interviewed on the radio programme you just heard has views that are more important than yours, and that’s exactly what your customers will think as well – assuming that the ‘expert’ in the media is the one who will sell the best product or offer the best service. The truth is that all that separates you and that ‘expert’ is the fact that they have found a way for their voice to be heard and you haven’t. You’re both professionals in the same industry – the difference is that you just haven’t built a platform for spreading your message yet. Journalists call on experts who have made themselves known to them, or publish articles from experts who have bothered to pitch an interesting idea. There’s no mysterious, magical equation that gives them more right to be in the spotlight than you.

The difference is that they offered and you can too.

Ceri–Jane Hackling is Managing Director of award-winning PR agency, Cerub PR. CeriJane has worked in PR for over 20 years working with global brands and started Cerub PR in 2003.

This post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure

Know your audience: If you’re embarking on your own PR and running your business, time is probably limited so it’s important that you focus on media that will reach your target audience and that you can use through your own social media platforms to reach people who are already interested in you or your topic. PR is about reaching your audience so make sure it’s the right audience. Find out which media your clients engage with, what do they read, watch or listen to? For example, it’s great to be on This Morning, but if your target audiences are HR professionals, they’re unlikely to be watching daytime television. There’s nothing wrong with targeting a wide range of media – you never know who’s paying attention - but if time is tight, focus on the key media for your industry.

Know the media: Once you’ve ascertained which media your target audience is interested in, you can start to build a media list of contacts that you might like to approach. Research each title properly. What sort of things do they write about, are they a journal which only accept research papers or do they accept press releases? Do they run commissioned articles? Is there a particular section you might fit into? See where you might fit and what topics you can talk about which could appeal to their audience. If you become seen as a reliable, interesting and useful source of information and comment, it’s possible you can get picked up as a regular contributor or columnist.

Use your publicity: If you do appear on This Morning and your target audience is unlikely to be watching, make sure you talk about it so that your regular audience becomes aware of your media coverage.

There’s no point in being on once and not letting anyone know, so make sure that you tweet about it in advance and once the programme has been aired. Make sure you get a screenshot to put on LinkedIn, let your connections know so that they can tune in or watch on catch up and talk about your experience on the show. If you send out a newsletter to your database, make sure you mention your appearance. At the very least it will get people’s attention.

Enter awards: A great way of raising your profile as a thought leader is to win awards. If you’re researching a supplier or a partner yourself, the one who’s won an award will always look more impressive, so look at awards which might be suitable for you. If you do enter, make sure you stick strictly to the guidelines in terms of word count and answer the questions clearly and concisely.

PAGE 12| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

D I S C

V E R

How to Ignite

Spotlight Research team found this very useful must-read-article

Creator: 232120000165 Copyright: © James Robinson Information extracted from IPTC Photo Metadata.

I TWEET HONESTLY, I TWEET PASSIONATELY: TWITTER USERS, CONTEXT COLLAPSE, AND THE IMAGINED AUDIENCE Abstract

By Alice E. Marwick and Danah Boyd

Social media technologies collapse multiple audiences into single contexts, making it difficult for people to use the same techniques online that they do to handle multiplicity in face-to-face conversation. This article investigates how content producers navigate ‘imagined audiences’ on Twitter. We talked with participants who have different types of followings to understand their techniques, including targeting different audiences, concealing subjects, and maintaining authenticity. Some techniques of audience management resemble the practices of ‘micro-celebrity’ and personal branding, both strategic self-commodification. Our model of the networked audience assumes a many tomany communication through which individuals conceptualize an imagined audience evoked through their tweets

Intro excerpt: We present ourselves differently based on who we are talking to and where the conversation takes place – social contexts like a job interview, trivia night at a bar, or dinner with a partner differ in their norms and expectations. The same goes for socializing online. Participants have a sense of audience in every mediated conversation, whether on instant messenger or through blog comments.

THIS AUDIENCE IS OFTEN IMAGINED AND CONSTRUCTED BY AN INDIVIDUAL IN ORDER TO PRESENT THEMSELVES APPROPRIATELY, BASED ON TECHNOLOGICAL AFFORDANCES AND IMMEDIATE SOCIAL CONTEXT The full online version of this article can be found at Sage Publications PAGE 14| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

R E V

CAN GOOD CAN COME OUT OF BAD?

THE UK ADVERTISING INDUSTRY DURING THE CRISIS.

C S I D

By Carl W. Jones

In the wake of coronavirus, a lot of advertising have popped up in the media. Some controversial some inspirational. Whatever the shape and form, we felt there was need to pick-apart the anatomy of these ads and determine the authentic stories behind them if possible. To achieve this, the Spotlight team reached out to Award winning International Creative Director & mentor of all that's great about advertising Carl Jones to share his insights on the advertising industry (output) during the coronavirus crisis. Here is what he had to say:

Say Cheese Advertising messages are usually created by the agency finding elements of popular culture and putting them together to create a message, that is then broadcast to a specified audience. Two recent global events: Covid and the George Floyd killing have caused some brands not to advertise, while other brands take advantage of the situation to promote themselves...CONTD pg 16

The UK advertising and media leaders open letter asks for equality and suggests that agencies take action by hiring more BAME people.

This post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure

Advertising messages are usually created by the agency finding elements of popular culture and putting them together to create a message, that is then broadcast to a specified audience.

Two recent global events: Covid and the George Floyd killing have caused some brands not to advertise, while other brands take advantage of the situation to promote themselves.

This has caused various issues. One bad one is when a brand stops advertising the public forgets them, as happened to brands that didn’t advertise during the world wars. Also advertising agencies and their employees don’t get paid, and companies that sell media space on TV or print media, don’t make money as no one is ‘advertising’. In the UK ITV's advertising revenue was down 42% in April, contrasting with a large increase in viewership.

Another problem is that during a lockdown how do you film a commercial?

Tesco was able to do it over-night using real staff members only 5 days after lock-down was announced by

Boris Johnson on March 23.

Another bad issue that occurred was brands associating themselves with current events such as #BlackLivesMatter.

Consumers can react negatively because it appears that the brand message is not part of the brand’s core values.

This reminds me of the 2018 Pepsi ad with Kyle Jenner that was taken down the same day as it was released due to the consumer backlash of a brand trying to force an association with an activist movement. In contrast Nike has just released their reaction to the George Floyd killings on social media that played with their memorable tagline of “Just Do It” by asking consumers: “For once, Don’t Do It.” This ad is a good example of a brand that is calling attention to the issue of #BlackLivesMatter.

However, this too has been controversial, because even though the brand has supported black athletes over the years, the company has been questioned

over its lack of black representation with only 10% of its 353 vice presidents as of 2017 being black. Basically, brands associating themselves with racial equality need to “Back words with actions, and commit long term” .

How have UK advertising agencies reacted to George Floyd killing? On June 3 over 200 UK advertising and media leaders did something good by issuing an open letter pointing out that just 4.7% of C-suite executives were from a BAME (Black, Asian, Middle Eastern) background on 1 September 2019, down from 5.5% in 2018. The letter asks for equality and suggests that agencies take action by hiring more BAME people.

Can good come out of bad? When the world emerges from these two huge events the UK advertising industry will be very different from what it was before. I predict that it will be leaner, more agile, and most importantly more diverse.

PAGE 16| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

THE SCOOP

GATHER AROUND OUR WATER COOLER

The Scoop: Our top tips on gaining publicity and how-to productivity hacks kindly shared by our contributing editors who themselves have 20 years' plus industry experience in their fields of expertise.

s k up! r ea We gathered some useful nuggets from around the world. e p s This is PR: handle it! heers that Clead to

By Issuu CEO

THE SCOOP

Redefining Normal—Valuing Lives A Message from Joe Hyrkin, CEO of Issuu Like so many Americans, I’ve spent this week at a loss for how I can play a meaningful part in helping to move our country and culture forward.

I am disturbed to my core by the murder of George Floyd and I applaud the peaceful protesters across the counrty who are shining a brilliant light on our need to acknowledge and finally deal with the decades of racism and inequality that is woven into the fabric of our culture.

We’ll continue to share the great content on Issuu that celebrates diversity, challenges our thinking and offers insights into ways to support this movement and create real change. I know this is only a step, but it’s a step in the right direction. I’m not sure how to really make the difference I want to make, but I’m committed to learn more and share what I’m learning along the way.

It’s time, America. Dignity calls.

Joe Hyrkin CEO, Issuu

Federation of Advertisers, told The Drum. Action on hiring is one area where companies can drive Black inclusion, with members sharing their thoughts on how brands can contribute to change through diverse recruitment, listening to and promoting Black talent, and investment in community outreach.

With the current movement of ‘black lives matter’ it seems to be translated differently in media platform across the world. Some states within the USA are focusing on the negative aspects of the looting and turning what seems to be a peaceful protest to look like an uproar. Whereas news channels in Australia are remaining neutral and reporting specifically the numbers and emphasis on ‘peaceful.’ Within the U.K. it seems to be watered down and unspoken of. By the British media ignoring the protests they are loudly stating their disapproval and no intent of caring for the black community. It was only recently yesterday that they spoke on the negative aspects of the “thuggery” violence in London by racist groups. Choosing to focus on the negative and not the positive throughout last week. The media has the power to control the story and narrate this movement to be something positive however it is worrying when some are choosing to switch off. Nandi Cher

Your Thought Leadership Quote here: Spotlight’s vision is to illuminate the light on your innovative work.

PAGE 18| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

THE SCOOP

O

N

#B

LA

CK

LI

VE

SM

A

TT

ER

#YOURVOICEMATTERS Spotlight magazine has opened up sentiment measurement poll to hear public opinion on how you feel the traditional media handled the #BlackLivesMatter phenomena globally.

Poll is still open. See It. Say Something Now. Stay Relevant.

THE SCOOP

How to stay ahead of the game in 2020 - top tips for virtual working

By Nicky Regazzoni, co-founder, The PR Network

PROFILE

Here are 5 top tips for successful virtual working adapted for the pandemic

Create the culture The business may be virtual for now, but it must be based on real values. Work out what you mean to your customers but most importantly to those who work with or for you. Our business has thrived because of the seven people who make PRN what it is. We’re like a family.

Have an open dialogue Communicate your values. Have a two-way conversation about when you will all be working and available, based on your other responsibilities. Build a framework that works for you all during this unusual time.

Build a best-in-class network Covid-19 has created a world in which it doesn’t matter where people are located. Temporarily, everyone is stuck where they landed. The talent pool is now infinite, and you can now (also post-pandemic) choose the best people for your business. We believe we are successful because we allowed our team to work flexibly from day one which meant we weren’t limited to the best people in London.

Embrace technology There is technology to support every area of business operation.

We use Google Meet, Lifesize (our client) or Zoom for video calls, Slack to collaborate with our virtual teams, Dropbox and Google for doc sharing. We also use software for e-contract signing, Receipt Bank for documenting receipts and Xero for accounts. Technology can propel your business forward.

Respect your time Just because you’re not going back and forth to an office doesn’t mean you should spend all your time ‘at work’. Be protective of your time, say no to unnecessary virtual meetings and establish a workday that suits your natural rhythm and work ethic. Don’t burn yourself out.

About the author I’ve run a business for 15 years and I’ve never worked in the same place as my colleagues for more than a day! We all WFH or from co-working spaces, meeting regularly in London.

In between, we’re catching up on video calls to discuss agency business and plan campaigns. In 2005 my business partner Georgina Blizzard and I came up with the idea of a new model of PR agency which would be resourced not by the people we could afford to hire - which would stunt growth but on expert freelancers who we would bring in to support each client brief. We wouldn’t need an office, because the freelance network we were already building would stretch way beyond London.

Instead, we’d invest in solid tech platforms to support campaigns and underpin business operations. 15 years ago this was a radical idea and we faced plenty of scepticism.

We were lucky to kick off our business life by supporting Sony with the launch of its Bravia TV range. Later, we built a regional network of PR experts to launch the Apple stores around the UK. More recently, we’ve helped Vodadone with its 5G launch and launched EVs (electric cars) for Zipcar.

In 2019 we ran projects in over 40 countries and turned over £3.2m.We are now no longer an outlier but a forerunner of an accepted mode of working.

JN

This post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure

Thought Leader's Quotable quotes: Respect your time Just because you’re not going back and forth to an office doesn’t mean you should spend all your time ‘at work’. Be protective of your time, say no to unnecessary virtual meetings and establish a workday that suits your natural rhythm and work ethic. Don’t burn yourself out.

PAGE 20| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

TAKE THE FRONT ROW SEAT EXPLORE. DISCOVER. BECOME.

OR STAY THE SAME

YOUR TICKET TO OUR INAUGURAL #2020VISION AWARDS EVENT TO IGNITE THE STAR IN YOU IS HERE

PRESENTED BY ARK & BROOK

O pEd

CONTRIBUTOR PROFILE

OPINION EDITORIAL WRITTEN BY DINEO MABENA

I don’t have a racist bone in my body We’ve all heard that one, haven’t we? It usually comes accompanied with an earnest look, wild gesticulation and a clenched fist. The weird thing is, the person saying it usually believes it. Companies with black staff can’t be structurally racist surely? The presence of Abisola or Jermaine on the payroll negates that surely?

Well, no. According to the TUC, 70% of black employees have experienced racial harassment in the British workplace in the last five years.

Racism in the British workplace is sophisticated. Subtle. founded on presumption and assumption. 400 years in the making.

Companies with black staff can’t be structurally racist surely?

It’s the…

“Have you always spoken so well?”

“Are you the first of your family to graduate?”

The assumption you grew up fatherless on a council estate, a recipient of free school meals.

And annoyingly, the expectation that you would like to assume the role of chief translator and educator of black issues in the workplace.

It’s the failure to acknowledge that equity must precede equality. Hiring ‘the best candidate’ isn’t as fair of a process as you insist. Where exactly are you recruiting? Which attributes constitute brilliance? Which markers are on your rubric? CONTD on page 23

According to the TUC, 70% of black employees have experienced racial harassment in the British workplace in the last five years. Racism in the British workplace is sophisticated PAGE 22| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

A GLOBAL ISSUE BEYOND BORDERS AND #BLACKOUTTUESDAY

So last week, my 5-year-old son and I marched.

Armed with litres of hand sanitizer (75% alcohol don’t worry) - face masks and badly hand-drawn signs, we made our way to Parliament Square.

The killing of George Floyd had triggered in me an anger, enough was enough. Not just for the American policemen who viciously murdered Mr Floyd, but for the insidious, silent racism we suffer on these British Isles, racism that is rarely acknowledged unless a black man is killed Stateside and just as quickly forgotten when ‘traitor’ Meghan Markle brazenly chooses to close her own car door. A gaslighting racism that is near on impossible to call out.

I marched for my son not to be told in 15 years’ time that he wasn’t a ‘good fit’ in job interviews. I marched for the mothers forced to give their black children ‘the talk’ when puberty hits

I marched for my son not to be told in 15 years’ time that he wasn’t a ‘good fit’ in job interviews. I marched for the mothers forced to give their black children ‘the talk’ when puberty hits (“you’ll have to work twice as hard”), in that moment, prematurely stripping their children of the innocence of youth. I marched for my son’s future and his future pay cheque, hopefully equal to that of his white colleagues and not 5-10% less weighty as ONS reported in 2019. I marched for ‘solidarity’ to mean more than a solitary black box posted on socials and a spattering of hashtags on web interfaces. I marched for black pain to mean more than a newsjacking opportunity and sticky content. I marched so my son won’t have to. I kneel so he can stand.

O pEd

Program review by Tim Nash Any documentary about sexual abuse of minors treads a precarious line between genuine informative journalism and voyeuristic sensationalism. Such heavy source material will provoke a reaction one way or another and so needs to be treated with the utmost respect towards the survivors. Â To the greater extent, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich does just that. The rise rule and ultimate demise of this one time hedge fund manager takes us back to his beginnings where even then on Wall St. his ability to have a Svengali effect over those he came into contact which indicates a narcissistic character that was already disturbing.

With Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein used his power, wealth and influence to recruit, molest and abuse hundreds of vulnerable young girls.Theirs was a world of sexual deviance and depravity where Epstein controlled, paid off or threatened the police FBI or anyone who would dare speak out against what was truly going on. Â This is a real modern day American horror story but reaches much further as evidence implicates celebrities, even Presidents and British Royalty in an abusive network worldwide.

PAGE 24| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

It's not an easy watch, and neither should it be.

What happened not just in the abuse of these innocent girls but in the way justice was paid off and shut down so many times is shocking and abhorrent but to watch the courage of some of these survivors as they stood up and placed their lives on the line is quite frankly inspirational.

Ultimately, despite the title, this is their story, not his. It's a testament to their resilience courage and belief that justice, true justice may take time but will always prevail.

Questions still nag at the end of this documentary. What really happened to Epstein, did he commit suicide or were there greater powers silencing him? Why does it seem his accomplice, Maxwell has not been bought to justice? This film, directed by Lisa Bryant began production even before his incarceration, so nobody could have foreseen what would ultimately be a rather abrupt ending, but still and again the strength of the survivors is what will last in the mind.

About the author: Tim Nash - is an experienced editor in the film industry. During his tenure at New Media Group, he worked on various television programs and films. Today, outside of his 9 -5 , Tim continues to review productions as a hobby when he is not creating magic at Chestnut Grove

T H R I V E IN YOUR WORK-LIFE BALANCE

d e ix gs M sin s e l B

0 .

2

Loosely based on the original narrative called Mixed Blessings Of The Inter-Racial Couples published in 2007.

The subject title must surely bring a lot of nostalgia to the Zambian community, especially for the fact that back then, we were not treated to a bouquet of television stations; except for our one and only good old ZNBC. Then a program entitled “Mixed Blessings” delivered on its title derogatory or otherwise… Fourteen years ago I shared in Je t’aime Bridal magazine how when I watched the mixed blessing TV series on my local ZNBC channel as a child with no idea that one day I would ever fall into that category or at the very least even have interest to write about the subject.

What is it like being married while black & white? A Recap from the original story: My hyphenated existence, here and now, we are referred to as an inter-racial couple! I promise you it has not always been easy. This life has its blessings as much as challenges. For instance, when my husband and I walked into a predominantly white suburbia restaurant at Stanford Mall in California - the waiters there were completely oblivious of my presence as I stood next to my husband. It was like, they greeted and smiled at him, and their bodies automatically half turned away from me, as they showed him- not us - where to sit!

On the flip side of things, back in Africa - we were crossing the border post at Namanga in Kenya, and the crowds there cheered and shouted at us saying “Ebony and Ivory- nice couple, God bless you”!!

On the contrary, mixed couples are victims of both reversed and racial discrimination, and a classic example of this, is that of the cab drivers, especially in Lusaka, who still have a tendency of inflating the cab fare as soon as they see a muzungu. On the other hand, the street kids in Tanzania put on their sorriest faces when they beg from a white person, as they expect more sympathy or dough by virtue of skin colour... There we go, you win some, you lose some and somewhere in between it’s a winwin situation.

PAGE 26| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

CONTD on next page

CONT'D

The preamble above was written in 2007, only a year after I had met and married my English beau Tim Nash. Fast forward, 170 months later, in a completely different country, and so many happy memories later, I revisit the topic (thanks in part to Audra Lamoon my contributing editor) and in one part jolted by the #BlackLivesMatter saga that engulfed the world soon after the infamous and merciless killing of George Floyd that led to the declaration of #BlackOutTuesday on June 2nd of this year. It was, never is my intention to ‘gaslight’ on such a sad and unfortunate event, however, it is my indelible duty as an editor of a public magazine to speak out about injustice. As many of you know by now, I am an unabashed, unapologetic outspoken social justice activist.

Therefore, it would be remiss of me not to use my power-tools to at least bring some ray of sunshine, by writing about my own authentic story, that is a complete opposite to that of Floyd’s (his story should have never happened period)!

After watching a webinar presented my Mindvalley in Lisa Nichols' Masterclass, I knew I just had to come out with it… yes, practicing what I preach. I have spent the last 14 years hiding behind a keyboard engaged in one-sided conversations, talking at my audience or anyone who would listen, encouraging and rooting for you to tell your authentic stories. Until last month (May 2020), Audra, asked me, ‘what about you, when are you going to tell your story?”

Yes, it’s about love… Mixed Blessings 2.0 is my authentic true-life story about How I Chose Love Over A Career in the Silicon Valley.

So here it is – The Intimate Portrait Re-imagined 2020…

How we met was not the shopping-carts-bumping into each other kind of a thing, nonetheless it was in a God designed way! It started on a Christian Mingle dating site in early 2006. After a love-hate relationship working in retail for the likes of David’s Bridal and UPS, I threw in the towel in preference to a desk job. That led to my relocating from POSTMODERN PAINTING. Stella Ohio to California’s Silicon Valley in 2004, in search of alternately paints in oil and View, watercolor greener pastures. Having temped in Mountain San Jose and Milpitas - my recruitment agent (Addeco I think it was) - finally placed me with Chamberlin Associates for a 6week vacation cover as Property Assistant Manager which led to permanent employment. By now I had moved to Pleasanton, CA, where I was only a 5-minute walk to the office. I was just getting used to juggling my life between a new career path in Property Management... The desk job was a whole new space for me as I had never worked in Take a peek into a day corporate America before now.

in the life of budding I t b e c a m e a p p a r e n t artist t h aStella t m yYoung, accented and how she improves Zambian- British English twang was an issue w i t h m o s t A m e r i c a n c l i e nher t s craft who found it

difficult to understand me because I did not emaciate words the North American way.

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP QUOTE

You are the designer of your destiny; You are the author of your story.

Lisa Nichols ACCESS LISA'S MASTERCLASS EXCLUSIVE TO TLC MEMBERS HERE

So, in spring 2006, my manager tactfully signed me up for an (North American) English as a Second Language class at Las Positas College. It was during the long arduous nights of tackling CIS Keyboard (numbers and symbols), Advanced ESL Reading and Comprehension and Advanced Copy writing & Editing assignments led to late night chats with my girlfriend *Tamika (the name has been anonymized to protect her identity). Tamika was at the time doing her PhD, so naturally our conversations ping-ponged between school, family and men.

CONT'D

Yes! The latter was not as flattering as it sounds. It was mostly girls’ talk about putting the world of men to rights.

This led to this moment of truth… Tamika convinced me to upload my first ever public digital profile! Besides my protest, she insisted I ‘accompany her’ on her virgin voyage to the digital dating world as she had just spotted her ex’s profile on the same platform. Back in the day, there was no social media trolls or open social networking sites except MySpace, which was mostly used by teens – so the only people who would technically see my profile where those looking for love. (Tinder watch this space). This was a point of no-return. I have been hooked to the digital landscape since (lol).

Meanwhile, my work-school-life balance was ticking along quite smoothly. Towards the end of my semester at college, we got a visit from The University of California, Berkeley.

The team comprised of their admissions and marketing team that had come to our community college (no doubt) to prospect high-performing students to apply for a chance of a fully funded scholarship to attend their school. My tutor recommended I apply as she was very impressed with the grades and English skills (even wondered why in the world I had been enrolled for the ESL class) – but that’s providence and a story in a chapter of my memoirs – coming soon!…

Back to Christian Mingle, my profile was getting all sorts of hits from losers and pervs alike. Almost coming to the end of my 30-day Free trial, I was about to give up, when my now husband’s profile peeked through in the ‘recommended for you’ folder.

That’s when I saw him - I never thought twice about my husband’s colour when I sent him a short email entitled “I will take my chances”.

The title was provoked by the fact that my husband had inadvertently (at least so he claimed) omitted to select black from the racial preferences lists on his profile -which by default had Caucasian and Spanish already check marked - M'mm implicit bias maybe? Ironically, when he saw my email and subsequently viewed my photos on my profile – thank goodness for his not so 20-20 vision (just kidding), he still did not pick up on the fact that I was black.

After long distance dating for over 3 months, two jet-setting trips across the pond from London to San Francisco later, my husband decided to pop-the-question. It was then that I found myself in a dichotomy of choosing between the looming potential of going to U.C Berkeley to pursue studies in Anthropology (yup) you would have never seen that one coming. I was going to study humans in their biological and physical forms. Hardly the natural career trajectory from retail to Property Management…but I guess in retrospect, it makes sense I ended up pursuing a Public Relations career in the end.

POSTMODERN Due to the immigration quandary our transatlantic relationship PAINTING. Stella alternately in posed, him being British me being Zambian on a paints resident oil and watercolor permit, meant we had to decide what our permanent domicile would be as living in America was not an option at the time.

Thus, when I said yes to being Mrs. Nash, I inadvertently said no to pursuing a sparkly new school of thought and potentially a career in HR at Google and a six-figure salary that comes with working in the Silicon Valley. In the end; I chose to move back to my native country to start a new life with my betrothed.

So there you have it - my authentic story part one-in the Spotlight!

Admittedly, the what ifs’ shoulda, woulda, coulda do come creeping in occasionally and I do wonder what happened to those two Stanford Uni freshman boys who came to collect my ‘free sofas giveaway I posted on Craigslist – was one of them Mark Zuckerberg and some other big short owning a tech company in Silicon Valley today? What are the odds of that? I guess I will never know.... what I do know – is I have had a beautiful life THOUGHT LEADERSHIP QUOTE

ASK JEN

Living a hyphenated existence… I had had a fair share of that as I lived in the U.S.A, being called an 'African-American' (I mused at that though I was always tempted to correct the stereo type title and scream – 'I am Native African period!'

Jennifer is our Editor in Chief believes in the superpower of authetnic storytelling. It is her area of expertise.

When asking questions, make sure you mention Spotlight so that she can add your response in the next issue! Feel free to drop her a line here.

Look out for Jen's Tell All in August issue of PAGE 28| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

AUG/SEP 2020 ISSUE 7 VOL 4

A SNEAK PEEK OF NEXT ISSUE

New Career . New You A Guide to discovering the best career choices for 2021.

Start planning early to stay ahead!

Ignite Awards What your non-verbals say about you: Mastering the Art of Perception

KUZYAHUB

NUGGETS FROM

Delivering a sustainable volunteer engagement eco-system

#WiredWomen We share the scoop from our intimate interviews of trend-setting women.

Your Authentic Self 4 Secrets to Powerful Communication" Masterclass

by Lisa Nichols To Be Extraordinary

e! v i us l c Ex

DISCOVER Our Editor-in-chief 'Tells All'!

PR COMMS The authentic Relations Public

with

and

matter

of

graduates from her PR degree and reveals the inside scoop to her student life & why Spotlight magazine!

The magazine illuminating a Spotlight on the Thought Leader in you!

the

not spin

a

Imagine if they stopped designing shoes at the kitten heel? Doesn’t bear thinking about.

-Dineo Mabena

PAGE 30| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

THE P R O T ÉGÉ

PROTEGE PROFILE

Mina Vucic a Class of 2020 Public Rellations & Advertising graduate

Mina Vucic is one of the 2020 Public Relations and Advertising graduates. She has a passion for traveling, learning languages, and creativity!

She shares her Scoop:

“Ever since I was a teen, I knew working in media and publicity was for me. With my international background and fiery personality, I think I have picked the perfect course and a successful field of work for the future.”

For her final year project concept board, Mina presented the Mommy Let me Breathe integrated campaign. With this idea, she wanted to tackle an extensive issue, which Serbia has been facing for decades now- pregnancy smoking.

Click Image to View Mina's Campaign

Our Emerging Thougtht Leader's Quote: I am hoping to raise awareness and change the way women think, making them understand the consequences of their bad habits.

#WiredWomen

A formal Introduction to set the pace for our Spotlight NetTv, our weekly virtual sit down virtuous circle with women that have successfully started and run their own business, we want to introduce you to one of our first trend-setting women challenging the status quo. Jennifer Salter is Texas, USA based woman who runs an innovative business right out of her home. She shares her everyday boss tips below

Weary of the 9 to 5 grind? Maybe it's time to consider setting up your own business! Read on for tips to help you make your business ideas a reality! Increasing numbers of people are starting to set up their own businesses. This isn’t all too surprising. We’re growing weary of working the Read more PAGE 32| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

Meet our new Thrive contributing editor from Texas Jennifer Salter's every day boss tips will keep you informed, inspired and motivated to tackle any projects in and around the home. These have been collected with the stay-at-home mothers in mind. However, busy professionals can take up on these tips and turn them into weekend fun and relaxing to-do-lists. Whatever you do - we hope you will Thrive!

RECIPES

DIY PROJECTS

CRAFTS

ESSENTIAL OILS

EVERYDAY BOSS TIPS Catch up with Jennifer Salter @BusyBeingJenn

This post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure

SPOTLIGHT THRIVE presents

FOOD TO FEED YOUR TRIBE ON THE NEXT FEW PAGES Jennifer Salter shares her recipes

I woke the other morning needing a more decadent breakfast–a dessert for breakfast. And this recipe for Cherry Chocolate Muffins made all my dessert-breakfast dreams come true! I mean, there’s a time for biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs or any other savory breakfast. There’s even a place for cereal.

But then, there’s an extra special, put a cherry on top, amazing time for Cherry Chocolate Muffins for breakfast. I mean, look at that chocolate covered cherry topped muffin.

It’s a breakfast-lover’s dream

What You Need to Make Cherry Chocolate Muffins 1 1/2 cups fresh pitted cherries, chopped, divided 2 cups all purpose flour plus 1 Tablespoon 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 large eggs 3 Tablespoons butter – melted 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/2 cups sour cream (full fat) 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips plus 2 Tablespoons 12 whole fresh cherries, stemmed 1 Tablespoon coarse sugar

Directions Instructions Checklist Step 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.

Step 2 In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Step 3 Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Partner Tip Reynolds® Aluminum foil can be used to keep food moist, cook it evenly, and make clean-up easier.

Quick, Easy, and Tasty Meal Ideas for Busy WeeknightsThis post may contain affiliate or brand partner links. Read our full disclosure here. As a busy, self-employed, running-4businesses, empire building, wife and dog mom – quick and easy are 2 of my favorite words! Put them in a sentance like Quick, Easy, and Tasty Meal Ideas for Busy Weeknights, and I’m a very happy woman!

Now that the husband is home full time, helping build our businesses and empire, I cook a LOT more (he does his fair share too), but there’s no more eating leftovers for 3 days or surviving on coffee and peanut butter toast. Not that I miss those “forgetting to eatâ€? days, actual food is kinda nice, other than all the dishes đ&#x;˜‰ This collection of Quick, Easy, and Tasty Meal Ideas comes in handy for meal planning and busy nights!

Get Recipes CLICK

PAGE 36| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

TO

VIEW

Lifestyle

DIY PROJECT CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO LEARN MORE

UPCYCLED SHIRT FLOWER POTS

I HAD A CONUNDRUM--I WANTED TO UPDATE MY PORCH WITH SOME PLANTS, BUT DIDN'T WANT BORING OLD TERRACOTTA POTS. SO I MADE SOME FUN UP-CYCLED SHIRT FLOWER POTS. THEY'RE BRIGHT AND SILLY, AND THEY BRING SO MUCH MORE TO MY PORCH THAN JUST AN ORANGERY BLAH. PLUS, MAKING THESE UPCYCLED SHIRT FLOWER POTS...MORE BY

JENNIFER

SALTER

CRAFTS

RETLAS REFINNEJ YB

ESSENTIAL OILS

BY

JENNIFER

SALTER

PAGE 38| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

Sign up now

ED

Back in town

SP

O

TT

rite u o s fav ost r p u O am r g ta ins

5 Station Rd, Gerrards Cross (UK) SL9 8ES Phone: +44 01753 883943

Ad

C A R E E R S CURRENT VACANCIES Advertisers email to jennifer@arkandbrook.com

Post and find current job and volunteer listings. This includes workexperience, Internship, Volunteer and many other non-paid job opportunities supporting candidates build up their employability skills by enhancing their CVs / Resumes, All while offering your business the manpower you need to scale up or fulfill your workoverflows.

coming in the next issue

PAGE 42| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

t is eL Th

C O N T A C T S

THE BLACK BOOK OF CREATIVES USEFUL CREATIVE AND MEDIA CONTACTS; CLICK LINK TO ACCESS Advertisers email to jennifer@arkandbrook.com Ark and Brook Bubble Public Relations (UK, USA, Dubai) DML Marketing City Media (Zambia) Cerub PR

Cuban Eight (Bicester) Livewire Performance

Manifest (London)

Manic Creatives (Zambia)

MetOne Riding High Styles (New York, USA) Redline Public Relations (Oxford)

CLICK LINKS TO VIEW BIOS OF OUR SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

contributing editor's gallery

Audra Lamoon Chief Happiness Officer Livewire

Nandi Cher Fashion .Beauty. Traveler Micro-influencer

Jennifer Nash Editor-in-Chief Spotlight Magazine

Cer-Jane Hackling Managing Director Cerub PR

Tim Nash Illustrator Chestnut Grove

Jennifer Salter BusyBeingJenn Spotlight Thrive / Blogger

Dineo Mabena Spotlight Editor-AtLarge

Nicky Regazzoni, co-founder, The PR Network

Carl W Jones Award winning International Creative Director

EDITORIAL TEAM|SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 6 VOL 4

Q&A your questions answered in real time & also published in our knowledge bank...

YOUR BUSINESS IS OUR BUSINESS! HELPING YOU REACH YOUR POTENTIAL

so ask away PAGE 45| SPOTLIGHT | ISSUE 4 VOL 1

E S C A P E ...UOY SPLEH ENIZ THGILTOPS

Next Issue Out Aug 2020 SIGN UP HERE TO BE NOTIFIED AS SOON AS IT POPS OFF THE PRESS! JOIN THE CONVERSATION NOW. or RFP to jennifer@arkandbrook.com

TI MORF TON YNITSED RUOY OT...

Y O U R