Meet Allison Schroeder

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Allison Schroeder a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Allison, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Confidence is something that I believe takes practice and is built by navigating uncomfortable situations.

Before I started my own business, I was (at times) comfortable with allowing others take the lead in meetings, or not speaking up and voicing my professional opinion if I wasn’t asked. In retrospect, I was taking the easy way out. There would often be a voice in the back of my head telling me that someone else knew better or had a better perspective.

But a funny thing happens when you start your own business. Being an entrepreneur forces you to step out of the shadows of others. My clients trust me to guide them and in order to succeed I have to be confident in my abilities- both to sell and to execute on my ideas. This kind of growth was uncomfortable, but necessary if I wanted to build the agency I had envisioned. And now, with much more experience, it’s easier to not only pitch ideas and opportunities but to build connections through storytelling. I’m proud of our team and the work we’ve done for our clients and look forward to opportunities to share those moments.

Now in a leadership position, both in my own business and the boards on which I serve, it’s important for me to empower my teams and provide them with the opportunity to shine and share their voice to encourage confidence-building.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Pomme was founded in 2014, and at the time I was still working for a Fortune 500 company and moonlighting with my business during the spare moments of my day. At the time, it was a lot of ghostwriting and traditional media relations. As our client roster and team grew, we have been able to expand our service offerings to include marketing activations and event management. Our work with clients in food, beverage and hospitality as well as the health and wellness sector have allowed us to flex our creative muscles in new ways.

I have recently spent quite a bit of time reflecting on what I enjoy most about what we do and marveling at the experiences we have shared with our client partners. We have the unique opportunity to celebrate alongside our clients as they announce major milestones and meaningful moments. The excitement is always palpable and our team gets to break that news and bring people together through a shared experience. That is pretty awesome!

Whether we’re unveiling new branding, celebrating anniversaries, new locations, heck – even announcing new seasonal menus – we get a front seat for all of it.

As for what’s in the works, Pomme will soon be rolling a new crisis communication program, as well as an apparel line with slogans that people working in communications and media will appreciate!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Resiliency is key both as an entrepreneur and in the field of public relations. Pitching new business and pitching story ideas — things we do daily — carry the risk of rejection. It’s important to understand that this is an inherent part of the business and not something to take personally. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but it becomes easier with practice. One of my mentors once told me that every rejection makes room for a better opportunity. In the moment, that doesn’t feel reassuring, but I can speak from experience – it’s true!

Adaptability – Especially when planning events or activations, there are a multitude of things that can go wrong. And trust me, expect that something will not go according to plan. Having contingencies help give me piece of mind in the event that things do not go as expected. And know that even if you have to change your strategy, it does not make your initiative a failure. It’s important to frame change as an opportunity to flex your creative problem-solving!

Understanding news cycles is also very important to what we do. There are multiple reasons for this- the first of which is to uncover opportunities for our clients to share relevant expertise or experience. This is also critical for understanding how news is presented and what is considered newsworthy. This knowledge helps us better advise our clients and help them tell their story in a meaningful way.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
We are always looking to partner with brands and community leaders to collaborate with on various projects. Feel free to give us a follow @pommePR and send us a message!

Additionally, we are on the hunt for experienced PR practitioners who might be looking to pick up some contract work as part of one of our new programs.

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