Liz Long Transcript

Episode Release 8/7/24

AI Transcript:

Here's a transcript with the host and guest speakers separated:

Host (Elizabeth Walker):

Welcome to Dear business coach the podcast my name's Elizabeth coming to you from the Walker Consulting work Studio find one thing to move your business forward today with conversations spotlights interviews articles and free resources listen follow And subscribe on social media dear business coach pages and groups dear business coach podcasts on Facebook LinkedIn Instagram YouTube and don't forget Spotify Apple iHeart radio and anywhere you listen to podcasts all it takes sometimes is one little thing to move your business forward

Today okay yeah so and Liz long thank you so much for coming to the dear business coach podcast today this is a part of the limited summer series exposing EX Excellence with Rono Valley leaders and so today you're being featured as the ronuk Valley Leader how are you today

[Later in conversation]

Well right exactly and so those are there's some storylines there that I will be asking you about too as far as you know why Rono Valley leaders are so you know important to talk about because Rono you say you know we Rono City it's it's a Charming City but we have a huge we have a huge spider web if you will of professionals who want to be here and but we're also kind of a quiet City and so it's kind of like a secret gem it feels like and I feel that you understand that and that you are as you said you know we we're involved in very bigo very big National stories and a lot of leaders around the country love this area um so we're still kind of a hidden little gem aren't we

[Later]

Yes well and it's evident by uh also just the the people that are highlighted I mean it's you know we're on we're talking on exposing Excellence with Rog Valley leaders and what does leadership mean right well leadership is exposing the Excellence of your team and when I look at the folks that you've chosen for highlighting it um just really quickly perusing through the um through the website through the Roker website there are professionals who are staff members at grocery stores there are professionals who are volunteers and so there's not the word executive in their title um like what you just said they are being highlighted because they are commun Community leaders through their involvement and their passion and you are specifically um writing a bio or the Roker magazines bio for them on the website isn't uh well I went to Harvard and then I moved to Rona it's it is uh every Saturday afternoon you can find me in the produce section at my job talking to customers you know and so that is very uh compelling

[Later]

Okay so if I want to suggest a story if I want to contact you if I want to find out if there are lunches or groups that I can participate in then I can reach out to you lizong at the ron.com is that right

[At end]

Okay well that's fantastic I that that makes a lot of sense and I I I could only imagine being in class or in the lunchroom with you that would I um Lee hunsaker called me um a lovely aggressive force and I feel that's the biggest compliment that she could have given me because it's pretty accurate a lovely aggressive Force right on my resume and hope that people understand what that means

Well fantastic I I hope that we get to talk again very soon and is there anything I've forgotten that we should make sure we remind listeners of

So we'll be talking again real soon Liz thank you so much for being on the dear good business coach podcast today

Thank you thank you so much for joining me today my name's Elizabeth coming to you from the Walker Consulting work studio in Floyd Virginia this has been an episode of dear business coach

Guest (Liz Long):

I'm well and thank you for having me on your show today it's um quite an honor and a privilege to be considered uh one of the one of the leaders in the area so thank you so much for considering me for this piece at all

Yes correct uh so Leisure media 360 in Rono Virginia your backyard um we produced the Roker magazine celebrating 50 years this year in addition to other Publications that others might not be aware about for example Blue Ridge Country uh travel across the seven states the Blue Ridge Mountains and so we cover things like that uh great things to do see pies on the window seals type of thing I'm also the editor of the Virginia travel guide which is the Statewide travel guide so that when people want to visit Virginia they have to read that editorial and learn all about the amazing things in our state so I'm really proud as a native Virginia to bring people to our area and show all the wonderful things that are not just in Rona but the state as a whole and then there are other Publications spirited Virginia for an ABC client uh we've got bride book our wedding publication and then of course just several other things such as vbr life or Venton for our chamber Partners so it's a really true privilege to be able to uh you know share all these Amazing Stories in our region just for one little piece of what I do during the day

Sure so I am always available you can always find me at the roka.com my name's everywhere um but you know people are always welcome to email I want story ideas I want you know things to think about it's really good to get out of my bubble and hear from other people in the community about other people and businesses and restaurants and stories that are out there so I always encourage people to find me again at the Ron oer.it punes and all that where we sort of lift the uh editorial from the issues and are really able to sort of round that out with really great even more details that you don't necessarily read and print because there are only so many words that you can fit onto a page so it's a really wonderful opportunity to meet even more great people

[Later in conversation]

That's a great question and there's really no easy answer like you said there are so many stories I assign things a year in advance so when Writers come to me in you know let's say February because they want to write a piece on soand so I I almost always have the rest of the year booked and there's no more space so they'll have to wait a year in advance and you know most writers are pretty understanding about that uh in terms of priority I mean that's really tough right it's not just about gender or race it's also about Age and and life style you know there are so many ways to include diversity so even if it's not necessarily for example we have a department called the do you know and it's a column it's in every issue and we're picking one specific person to highlight an interview and so that's done by several different writers so that I'm able to we're not just sticking to one writer in one neighborhood or whatever we have a big variety of that um but for example if that doesn't work or you know there's only six issues a year so that's only six highlights a year but for example if if there is a woman who is over 50 maybe she's a great candidate for our 20 over 50 inclusion if there is a person in our 40 under 40 maybe that's how we highlight them as opposed to later on in the year where it might not make sense or feel organic um you know talking about the businesses and things like that um that's it's very interesting to see you know how that kind of pans out because sometimes it's about timing right sometimes we think about a restaurant as a great example we want to feature a restaurant but they're not open yet they they still need a little more time before they open so we have to shift things around so sometimes we might flip a story that you know was coming in one issue versus the other simply because of the timing and so it just depends on um other people's schedules as well we do depend on you know other people making sure that they feel comfortable putting themselves out there in a story for readers to read that they feel as as ready as possible we're ready to open the doors instead of oh my gosh we're not open yet we can't have the story come out we're just not ready um and so that's been really that's something to always consider is that you know we want to tell the stories but we want to tell stories that people are comfortable sharing ing um and so it is a lifestyle publication that is the other thing to remember we are it it because it is so lifestyle we're focused on homes and restaurants um and really feel-good stories we do tell serious stories long term long form journalism that really Dives deep into a story whether it's homelessness or foster care or things like that um but we always want them to be uplifted I I we don't have to have necessarily an enthusiastic tone to every single story because they can be quite serious and very emotional but I I want readers to be able to feel that in the story but walk away feeling good about what they've read and and quite frankly I want them ready to learn and participate in whatever it is that they've just read about um and so finding those leaders in the community that do good things that go out in the community that that are actively involved in making a better world for our everyday Rowan oakr is really important to me and that might ultimately be the takeaway the highest priority is that no matter what you're going to read in the row and ochre it's for the better of our community and it's an education for our readers because they might not have known something before they read that story and now they think I'm hoping that they have sort of a different mindset that they've learned a little something and go I want to make a difference in the community too how do I do that you'll reach out to that Community leader we've talked about or the organization or the business and learn more about them and participate there are so many amazing organizations uh in this region who are doing good things that I don't want anyone to feel like they're alone in their Endeavor I might be passionate about something but don't have to go pick up trash on the side of the road alone if I don't want to I can go join the plers who are going from neighborhood to Neighborhood picking up everything off the off the sidewalks and taking care of our community there are so many groups that that I can participate in and that they're going to welcome me with open arms you you know plenty of row ochr we are not shy and we are ready to hug everybody into our group and welcome them um and that's one of the most wonderful things I can think about um I I'm from Danville but then after college I lived in Nashville so I've lived in the smaller City I've lived in a really big city it's sort of like Goldilocks ronuk is my perfect little middle space where it's just the right size for me um you know I can make an impact daily in this community if I feel so empowered to do so um but you know on the off days I'm introverted I can hide out too and just sort of you know figure out what I'm going to do the next week to to help somebody um and so sorry long story short the prioritization is is interesting and it's complex because you really have to think about the people in this community who are doing good things and that is always my goal ultimately the bottom line is I I want to showcase the good things about this community and that's really kind of where it starts and trickles down

[Later]

Well and I think it shows I the executives the CEOs the people who are in charge are doing amazing things like that's I want to feature them you know they're they're the the leaders in our Valley but as you just said everyday people can be leaders in their own right too they don't have to have a big heavy title or a large you know paycheck to be able to make a difference you know every every small little Ripple in the pond you know Fashions out into what other people can learn from and do and so I I love that you've pointed that out because that in itself is inclusion right that is that is a way it's not again just about age or race or gender it's also about lifestyle or occupation that why can't I make a difference just because I you know I I don't have this big title and I don't win Awards and I don't do this that doesn't mean I can't go out and find a group or find friends or just go out and do something that I am passionate about doing and finding my own sort of little you know niche in this area which is really exciting I think there's a place for everyone here they just sort of have to figure out what that is for them and find it and chances are there's already a group or or a welcoming you know open arm to to welcome you into that group

[Later]

I did um in 2016 I was um very privileged to be on the USA Today bestsellers list um I have released 21 books under my name and a pen name typically the young adult fantasy or um uh sweet romance and they're actually around town you can find them in book no further you can find them in the comic book store uh B andd Comics um and so you can actually find them also in your local high schools I've made sure to drop off copies at all the high schools around the area um a not only to provide a book for people to read provide a fun story but to show other writers of all ages but particularly younger writers that they can do this too um I self published I started in 2012 so I've been doing it for a while um and it's been amazing to see the growth of that industry as a whole and sort of the turnaround that self-publishing is no longer this thing where people go I don't know if that's a really good book and now they're are really amazing books that we're just sort of as the author we're taking charge of and putting on the shelves for readers because we just we believe in them and we don't want to wait around anymore we don't want to rate around any longer to put it on a shelf for people um and so that's been a really amazing privilege and highlight to be able to do that um I'm previous director of ronic author Invasion I was bringing in 70 authors from all over the country and readers from all over the country to visit and meet and greet and so we've talked about this again you know I'm able to meet writers from all over um I'm the director of the Regional writers conference and so that is bringing in people uh to Hollands every year and learning from other writers of all sorts of backgrounds and genres and so I think I told you this on the phone we were talking previously but my job essentially whether it's the writer's conference the author Invasion even my job as editor my job is to put good people in a room with other good people and it is such an incredible honor to be able to do that it is something that as I get older I only believe more strongly that that's what I'm here for um is to connect amazing people and to and to let people know that there are others out there who want to work together on a project or a thought or whatever it is um and so to be able to step back and see new writers and and experienced writers mingling and sharing and and all that it's such a it's such an honor to be able to do that um because it just means betterment for other people and bringing joy into people's lives and that's a really amazing um I feel very lucky to be able to be the conduit for that

[Later]

Yeah yeah so you can go to the ron.com and they've got an about page where you can find me on editorial or you can always email me at L long l l n at leisure media 360.com

[At end]

Uh no just to do good things um I'm also a board member on The Jefferson Center so if you love great jazz music for a really unique show at a premier venue go to The Jefferson Center we we really love having you there and it's really important as a historic building um and something that is part of the city for a long time so we're really proud to feature that again connecting good people with other good people

Thank you so much for having me I really appreciate it