Episode 5: Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw (First and Last PR) – The Best of New Jersey Podcast

Amanda Morrison: Welcome to the Best of New Jersey podcast, presented by bestofNJ.com. The podcast that celebrates New Jersey’s most influential figures and the communities that shape them. Big names, real talk, real Jersey. I’m your host, Amanda Morrison, the influencer behind Don’t Sit Home.

I would like to welcome today’s guest, Stephanie Scott Bradshaw, CEO of First and Last PR. Welcome to the show.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Thank you for having me, Amanda. I’m super excited.

Amanda Morrison: So, you know, before we talk about your company, let’s talk about your personal professional path. You know, what made you want to go into public relations?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: So, it was definitely not a straight path by any means. It was definitely more trial, you know, and figuring out what worked and what was needed within the industry. So, the shortest story I can tell is after I graduated from Spelman College, I went to work for Tommy Hilfiger and then Kenneth Cole in merchandising. And, I had done an internship before for *Essence* Magazine, so I understood what publishing was like, but I thought I was going to be a beauty editor. And so, when I graduated, I expected that the place that I interned would have a job just waiting for me. They just knew it was, you know, time to roll the red carpet, and that didn’t happen. But I wound up working in fashion and really enjoyed it. But when an opening did open up at *Essence* Magazine, I decided to leave fashion, go into beauty, and I spent many years there as a beauty editor, kind of learning the process and what worked. But the interesting thing was that while I was interviewing people and I was writing stories and working on photo shoots, I had a lot of PR companies pitching me, and I mentally was making a note of what I liked, what I didn’t like, and what worked and what was the best way to do it. And I made a list of things that also didn’t do so well, things that annoyed me as an editor. And I had the chance to work in-house for a luxury skincare company called Three Lab. They were based in Englewood, New Jersey, at the time that I was working with them. And so one year I decided to leave beauty completely, and I went over to Three Lab to head up all their global marketing and communications. So, I spent a lot of time there. I managed everything for them domestically, regionally, internationally. Also, we helped to open up different stores, including Nordstrom and Selfridges, and I would actually do the training manuals. I would go to the stores and do the store trainings, and then I would do editor meetings in the afternoon. You just wear a lot of hats when you work for an entrepreneurial company. And after about maybe three and a half, four years of expanding, a friend of mine said I should take a coffee. That coffee led to me working with Usher for his OMG tour. And when the tour was done, I decided to open up my own company because at that point, I just knew I could do anything. If you ever worked on a tour, when it’s over, you’ve managed so many different things, you’re just like, “Okay, what’s next?”. And so, I launched First and Last PR a little over 13 years ago, it’ll be 14 in 2026, and we’ve been having a lot of fun ever since.

Amanda Morrison: So, you just gave me a whole lot of information and very exciting things from, you know, different working as a beauty editor to working with Usher. I mean, kind of, what was your major in college?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Sociology, of course.

Amanda Morrison: Okay. So, how do you, how does a sociology major then go to working with Usher?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I was always interested in how we function as a society, and so I did sociology with a concentration in media studies. So, I definitely looked at, my thesis was actually on magazines and how women show up in magazines, and it was a whole amazing empowering thing. So, I’ve always really been interested in it. I’ve always done really well on set. I’ve been really great with asking questions and writing. And so, kind of melding all of those things together, I think is what it is. And it’s interesting because when I think about that and PR, a lot of my editor friends are like, “You’re not really a publicist”. Like, we don’t do things in the typical way, I suppose. We really do think about everything on the opposite side of things first. So, what do the editors want, what do the producers want, what do the podcast hosts want? We understand the editorial deadlines and how important it is to meet them. And then we think about things from the brand side, from budgets to timeline to production. And then we think about it from the agency side and like what do we as a team need to do to pull it all together? So, definitely wasn’t the traditional way of doing things, but I think it’s the best way for me.

Amanda Morrison: Oh, it sounds so interesting. So even the fact that you already had kind of a full life before this current life of being an entrepreneur and business owner yourself. Was there any specific people that either inspired you to go down this path or open some doors for you for certain opportunities? Because even, you know, even today just trying to get an internship alone, let alone get their first job or interesting jobs or even jobs, a lot of people take a lot of different jobs just to get their foot in their door, but it has nothing to do with what they want their end, their end goals to be. So, do you have anyone you even growing up that inspired you even just to keep working hard towards your goals or that opened up the opportunities for specific jobs that you wanted?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I have several people that have helped to open doors for me. And that’s why I’m a firm believer in a, like, maintaining your contacts, and b, be willing to do anything just to learn more about what it is you want to go into. Because you may think you have an idea of what a job is like, and then when you start working in it or interning in it, you’re like, “Oh, this is nothing like what I thought it was going to be”. So, one person that comes to mind, two people come to mind immediately. One is Julia Chance, who was an editor at *Essence* years ago. And my most embarrassing story is that my mom met Julia at a pool party in South Brunswick at one of my cousin’s houses. And I was in my junior year, and my mom basically said, “My daughter Stephanie is down at Spelman College. She doesn’t know what she wants to do when she graduates. I know that you’re an editor. Can she call you and like ask about the job or just about the industry in general?”. And Julia was generous enough to say yes. And when I came home that summer, I was able to go into the city, and I was able to meet with her and ask all types of questions. And at the end of my kind of lunch and learn with her, I asked her, I got enough courage, and I asked her if there were any internships available. And she said, “No, everybody else applied in December through ASME, which is the American Society of Magazine Editors”. She said, “But I’ll ask if there’s anything available”. So, I wound up not being a part of the formal program, but I took an unpaid internship. I negotiated enough travel to take the New Jersey suburban bus into the city out of East Brunswick. And then I would take the bus every morning. I would walk over. I had enough money for like lunch and for transportation, and I would intern. And then I worked at Nordstrom Menlo Park Mall the other day, so I had enough actual money to spend when I got back to school. So, Julia was really impactful, and I think just being open to meeting other people, listen to your mama, listen to your mother when she says you to do things and then not being too scared to take opportunities. And the second person I would say is Lloyd Boston, who’s been a huge mentor of mine. He was head of all of the design at Tommy Hilfiger when I was there, and I was able to work with him on several of his book projects, early morning shows like the *Today Show*, assisting him. So, I’m never a person who thinks that I’m too big to do a job. I want to learn. I want to be out there. And I just believe that the more you put in, the more that you’ll get out. And so, Lori and Julia were really helpful with that.

Amanda Morrison: That’s great. So, you kind of also, I mean, you gave me a lot of information in a short amount of time, but even you touched on the fact of why you wanted, what inspired you to start your own company. But also starting your own company is not the easiest thing in general, but there’s also a lot of PR agencies out there. I mean, I work as an influencer. I work with, I work as with PR companies all the time. What made you want to start your own company and not work for another PR agency because, you know, it’s such a competitive field in general, and being an entrepreneur is hard? So, what made you think that not only did you want to do something different from your current career path, because you were saying you didn’t fit the typical mold of the positions you were holding? What, what made you go, “You know what, I’m just going to start my own company and do what I want”?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I come from a long line of entrepreneurs in my family. My grandfather owned his own exterminating business, and I grew up watching him have his own company and the flexibility and following up on payments, and I kind of grew up in that. Grew up seeing him, you know, grow his garden and helping out in that way. My uncle Lawrence also is an amazing architect. He’s done so much work here in New Jersey, and I’ve just kind of grown up in a space of hardworking people. I do believe entrepreneurship is not for everyone. I grew up working also in my mom and dad’s offices. So, they both worked for, you know, Fortune 100 companies, and on Saturdays I would go in and help file papers. I would staple things. Whatever it was that I could learn about working in an office or just helping out, I would do that. So, I think a lot of that, it’s just in my spirit to kind of roll up your sleeves and get things done. And when it came to starting my own company, I just knew I had a very unique perspective on what needed to be done to help grow brands differently. I didn’t want to do the typical things. I didn’t want to do the things that I saw the other agencies doing that quite frankly were annoying to me as an editor. I just knew that there was another way of doing things, and I wanted to be the one to explore and expand that out.

Amanda Morrison: There’s many different PR companies that provide different services, and some people don’t understand even what falls under public relations. So what makes your, what actually, just in general, what services does your company provide?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: We do everything 360. Anything that it takes for more visibility for a brand, we handle it. So, we start off first with strategy. For me, that’s like the most important thing. We’ve worked with companies that have been established. Maybe they’ve had PR before, but the messaging wasn’t quite right. And so, maybe they worked with an agency for six months or a year, and they didn’t get any press, or maybe they didn’t get the press they wanted, the story wasn’t being told. So, the first thing is we have to really like deep dive into who’s your target market, what is your message, how is your product different, how is your brand different, and just like build out how we’re going to connect with the audience. So, we handle everything from media strategy, media kit creation, so writing the press releases. We do pitches out to the editors as well, so kind of doing those introductions. We also focus a lot on editor meetings, whether that be a launch event, whether that just be like a private one-on-one meeting where we can really kind of talk about the brand and understand what the editors are looking for. We also manage like influencer programs. So, if a client says we want to have X number of influencers trying out our products and doing reviews, we will find the exact influencers they’re looking for, and we’ll work with them on that. So, a lot of product seating. We also interact a lot with people in the industry. So, different hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers. We try and like build our relationship with the creative community a lot so that we can bring more value back to our clients and also help the creative community as well through introductions to new things. So, that’s a small snapshot of what we do, but it’s basically brand building from a relations point where consumers can understand what your company message is and what you’re all about.

Amanda Morrison: So, you had touched on the fact that you said you’re not, you’re never too big for taking on or even just exploring like maybe a partnership with a certain client or business. Yeah. But even just in general, you have that mindset now because you’re so successful. How did you land your first clients or your first few clients? You know, everyone can say they want to start a business doing basically anything, but actually taking that leap forward and making it successful, that’s a different story.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah. So, referrals, honestly, have been the thing that’s like grown my company out. I was living in Englewood. I had a one-bedroom apartment, and before working from home was cool, I was working from home trying to figure out what did I want to do. And I kept getting calls and referrals asking about PR and my services. And by I think like the third person, I said I need to get an office space because this is growing and I’m going to need some help. And so, we’ve been growing a lot from referral. People like our work, and they talk about how great, you know, our work is and my team is. And usually a lot of what the work that we get is through word of mouth and through referrals. One client telling another client. So, we’ve been very fortunate about that.

Amanda Morrison: How big is your team?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Oh, we’re 15 in total, total company. But that’s also back office and, you know, our PR and our social team. So, we’re boutique, but we also give a lot of good results from it. So, yeah.

Amanda Morrison: Yeah. You talked about you started working, you started your business from your home, but now you’re based in Jersey City. Yes. What made you choose Jersey City?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Oh, I hope he’s not listening. My husband. For a long time, I wouldn’t admit it, but I was, I was dating a really nice guy who lived in Jersey City. And I was living in Englewood at the time, and I was looking to move. So, I, I will say that, and I was between a couple different counties and I wasn’t really sure. And when the realtor showed me this one property, I was like, “Okay, maybe we’ll do this”. And I said, “You know what? Maybe it’ll work out”. And so, here, here we are.

Amanda Morrison: So, you’re living in Jersey City as well?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yes. With my husband and two boys. So, it worked out.

Amanda Morrison: So, personally and professionally, it is your home. So, do you have any, how long have you actually lived there?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: We’ve been there, what year is this? Almost, almost 10 years. Almost 10 years. Yeah.

Amanda Morrison: And Jersey City has changed so much. So, I’ve even lived in Hoboken since 2008. And just seeing the growth between Hoboken and Jersey City has been amazing. And there’s been a lot of great businesses that have come into both cities. Do you have any favorite spots around Jersey City, Hudson County in general, or things that you even just like to do? Maybe specific parks or, you know, there’s, there’s so much going on.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I’m definitely a walker. So, it depends. There’s, there’s three parks that I, four parks that I tend to like, I guess. Liberty State Park I love, just because who doesn’t want to walk along the water and look at the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline and the boats coming by. So, that’s a fun one like on Saturdays. There’s also a park in Bayonne. I always forget the name of it, but it’s really pretty also on the water, and we like it because there’s so many different things for us to do. The boys can either go to basketball. They can go to the soccer field. I’m just like walking the whole entire time, but there’s enough for everyone to find something that they like happening. And so, that one’s really fun. We also like Hamilton Park, which is nice. I like it because there’s a really cool ice cream spot near there. And so I can always leave them there and then go get ice cream and come back.

Amanda Morrison: Which spot?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: It’s called, I’m going to mess up the name. It’s like something like Love Lane or Love Ice Cream or I don’t, I forget, but it’s like all organic ingredients or like high-quality ingredients. And they’re really, really yummy, and they have ice cream cakes also. So.

Amanda Morrison: So, you made your home Jersey City. What is the range of your clients, though? So, do you work, I mean, you were saying that you work with small and larger clients. But are a lot of them local? Are they all over the place? What kind of range of, you know, geographically where are your clients located?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: We want more New Jersey clients. We have an amazing Jersey-based client. It’s called Zenesthetics, which is owned by Dr. Joanie Jefferson, and it’s an amazing med spa. She’s so talented and fantastic. So, we’re working with that client based in Jersey now. But a lot of our other clients are not based here. Part of that’s from the pandemic. People are still kind of hybrid and not working here, but we also have a lot of clients that are out of state. So, Jersey clients, come our way. We’re here. We’re local. We’re great.

Amanda Morrison: So, you made your home in Jersey City. And you said that you met your husband. But where were you, where were you originally from?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison:Oh, you were.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw:I’m a Jersey girl. I was born in central New Jersey and lived in central New Jersey, various parts throughout my entire life. And then I went away to school. And when I came back, I wound up moving to Englewood. So, I was there. I was working at, funny enough, at Bauer Publishing. And so, that was, I’ve always like slimmed my commute down after working in the city for a couple of years. I was like, I’m not doing the 2-hour commute into Manhattan every day. So, I wound up working at Bauer Publishing, and then I moved to Englewood. And yeah, then Jersey City after that. So, Jersey, Jersey, Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: You know, starting a business is not easy. And also when you talk about the pandemic, too, a lot of businesses, whether it was either your business or your client’s businesses, faced so many challenges that we never even could have predicted, you know, the pandemic. I mean, this could be your answer, but was there a specific time where you felt that you had the hardest challenges that you were facing, or is there just even just starting a business in general? Do you have one specific obstacle that you overcame that you’re proud of?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: I want to say the pandemic. I’ll think if there’s another answer, but honestly, I can’t think of anything that was harder than that. Funny enough, we had just signed the lease on the space we’re in now, which was like the largest office that I’ve had, which also means it’s the most expensive office that we’ve ever had. And we signed that in December of 2019. And then I remember one day being in the office and we heard, you know, you’ve got to go home. And so I said, okay, well, pack up your laptops. You know, we’ll be back in a week, and then we like just never came back. So, that part was hard. You know, also receiving notices from our clients that they could no longer maintain PR because the stores were closed. So, my agency specifically deals with beauty and lifestyle CPG brands or like luxury brands. So, if you can walk into a Nordstrom or a Target or a CVS or whatever retail store, you’ll find one of our clients on the shelves there. And so, when those closed or the retailers were saying, “Your invoices are going to be paid indefinitely, like we don’t know when we’re going to pay you”. PR and other service-based businesses were the ones to go. So, being able to kind of pivot, I mean, from a technology standpoint, we had a lot of things in place already, which I’m proud of. But it was definitely interesting to figure out how to navigate that and navigate, you know, home at the same time. So, I think that’s probably the hardest. I mean, nothing’s going to beat the pandemic as far as what the hardest thing ever was. But I think some of the things that helped me like get over that and just stay focused, definitely joining different organizations. So, we just joined the Hudson Chamber of Commerce last week. But we also joined WBENC, which is the largest organization to certify a woman-owned business. It’s W B E N C. And so being able to get certified and do ongoing education and ongoing programming, those are some things that really have helped, not only as a business owner in terms of like knowledge that I’m getting, but also just to be able to build a community of other women entrepreneurs as well and build resources from there. So, that’s been really, really helpful.

Amanda Morrison: You’re saying you had certain things in place that helped you get through that hard time. A lot of people didn’t have anything in place, and it was, you know, we, most of us had the rug pulled out from underneath us. Do you, hopefully we never see a time like that again, but I think that a lot of people, it kind of, it, it woke a lot of people up that they need to be prepared for anything. Do you have a piece of advice for, you know, I mean it could not be to that extreme, but do you have one piece of advice that could help people be prepared for something, that catastrophe?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Stay ready. That’s something that I learned, you know, that I learned from Usher. But like just stay ready and always have a plan. I always say a plan B through like Z. You’re always going to have to pivot. Nothing is ever going to be guaranteed until it’s actually over. And that’s something that from a PR standpoint, we know like until the story goes live, until this happens, you don’t know what’s going to happen. So, I think just always have multiple options that you can, you can turn to and that you can go with. And definitely get your communities together. Find out what resources you have, what people need, and lead with kindness. Like, it’s going to sound really simple and really basic, but when people are in need, there’s either a tendency to hoard and kind of get scared, or there’s a need to like build. There’s a tendency to build community, and I think building the community is just the best way to go. It’s the only way to go. Find out what people need, how you can help them, and what you can do. And you’ll find greater appreciation. You won’t focus on the negative things that are happening at the moment, but instead you’ll be in that boat with other people, and you can find your way to paddle out.

Amanda Morrison: Being proud of your work very much shines through the way you’re speaking about your business. What is, do you have any highlights of your career so far as a business owner? Maybe it’s a proud entrepreneur moment. You know, you’re a woman, woman-owned business. So, anything that’s maybe a personal, personal, professional for your actual business that you’re really proud of, like a highlight, or also for maybe one of your clients too that you were able to, you know, a successful campaign that you’re super proud of?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah. I’m, I’m proud of a lot, to be honest, and I’m really proud of my team. We have an amazing team, and everyone just kind of chips in together to make things happen. So, I think that’s something that I definitely cherish. We have case studies on our website, firstandlastpr.com. You can go and see all the things we’ve done for our clients and the awards. I think one thing that I’m really proud of happened this year. So, Women Rising is an amazing nonprofit that’s based in Jersey City. They help women and families that are in transition. And we were surprised to receive the corporate partner award from them about two months ago. And it was something where sometimes in life you have these goals, and you’re like, “Oh, I really want to do this”. It wasn’t on our radar to do it. We had been kind of volunteering with them over the years. And it wasn’t for a reason other than it’s the right thing to do is to help somebody else that might need help. And we received a phone call, and they said they wanted to honor us. And I was so surprised. And to be honest, I was like waiting for the catch, like, you know, what do they want out of it? And it was nothing really. It was really just to honor us and the work that we’ve been doing, which was so sweet. So, I think that’s one thing that I’m super proud of because we’re going to do well with our clients. We’re going to, you know, win the awards, do all these things. But when you make a difference in people’s lives, it just hits a little bit differently. So, that’s something I’m really, really proud of.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have any campaigns that you’re proud of for any of your clients that you want to share?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: I mean, we have tons. We’re wrapping up an influencer campaign right now with one of our makeup clients, and it was something that came about very quickly, but we were able to like move very quickly. The influencers range from like a news personality to an eyewear, an eyewear glass, eyeglasses owner. So, it’s a really interesting campaign, but no one lives near each other. We were able to kind of strategize and figure out and bring editors together digitally and ask questions and get them done. And so, we’ve seen so many presses that have come about from that and just seen such a great drastic improvement what’s going on with them. So, that’s one that we’re really proud of. I mean, when I start talking about our client wins, I kind of feel like a proud mom because it’s like I remember this thing didn’t happen or we were nervous about the timing for this one, but it all worked out really well. But that one we’re kind of in the middle of, and we’re wrapping up with, and it’s just done really well, especially with holiday time. So, it’s nice to see kind of different minds all come together and be able to promote something that’s really amazing. So, yeah.

Amanda Morrison: So, speaking of being a mom, you said you have two boys?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: I do.

Amanda Morrison: And you are a business owner.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw:Yes, I am.

Amanda Morrison:So, do you have any keys to your success of being able to have that work family life balance?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: I think, you know, when you’re a working mom, whether you own a company or you’re working for corporate, it’s really just about making priorities for yourself personally first, and then letting other things happen. So, my kids know that like homework is going to come first if this is going to happen. I think for me, it’s been important that they actually see me working. I don’t try to pretend if I’m having a long week or I’m in the middle of something, or even during the pandemic when I was the only one who could go into the office and help ship out packages, they would come in and either help me or just like keep me company. So, I think not really shielding them from some of life’s struggles, but instead letting them see what things really are and like what that means. And I think that’s like one of the most important things, but also letting them know that like they come first. So, when it comes to report card night this year, this September, CW was having their annual like beauty event, and it’s like you go in, you test the products, and you vote, and it’s a big thing, and everyone’s networking. It’s wonderful. I wasn’t there. I was at one of my son’s high schools, and I was meeting with the teachers. And I was making sure that we got the year started off right because for me that’s a priority. And everything else will always be there. But when it comes to my family, they’re going to take precedence, and it’s important that my kids know that also. So, I think just making sure that you’re kind of focused on what really matters to you, and then everything else will work itself out. It’ll all be okay.

Amanda Morrison: Well, you talked about even, I mean, pivoting of having to, you know, ship out packages by yourself or we’re talking about how different ways that different companies had to, you know, pivot during the pandemic. There’s also keeping up with different trends. So, social media and marketing changed so much. It’s so hard to keep up with different platforms, your audience. I mean, I work as an influencer with Don’t Sit Home and trying to keep up with even what my audience wants, let alone with brands, because I also work with different brands, too. And a lot of people have different directions or different visions of how they want to be able to work with you. What kind of trends do you think have been changing rapidly? And what do you, what do you predict that’s coming up for 2026?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Obviously, it’s AI. I mean, you talk to one AI expert, and they’re like, “AI has been around for years, like it’s not new”. When you talk to some people, and it’s like I think it’s how we’re using it and how we’re adapting to it and kind of what we’re seeing. I think the idea and the fact that 40% of consumers shopped through LLMs like ChatGPT or any of the other LLMs that are out there over holiday, 40% of people went there first to buy products rather than going to a traditional site. So, I think that’s really interesting. And then that’ll lead us into what’s kind of shifting and shaping, and also why PR is like so important now because you have to think about it. How are these language models finding out about your brand? It’s through PR. That’s exactly what’s happening. They’re scouring the web, and they’re trying to find out. And so, the more of the visibility that your client, that your company has, the better it’s going to be for the shifts that we’re seeing. So, I think, one, we’re going to continue to see more shifts within AI. And then number two, we’re going to see more shifts within communities of entrepreneurs and creatives where we’re just kind of banding together. I’ve been seeing a lot of people that are forming these kind of like unofficial collectives where you have an entrepreneur who’s great with this and another one with that, and so they can kind of offer services in that manner. They’re kind of forming their own little like mini companies in a way, but unofficially still with an agreement, but very differently. But I think we’ll see communities banding together more to help out, and I think we’ll also see more in the case of AI. So, yeah.

Amanda Morrison: What do you think are going to be some of the struggles with balancing out following with the trends with AI?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Making sure that people understand how to use it and what it is and separating the fact from fiction. I mean, there’s so many things that can go wrong with AI. You have to look at it as a tool, a tool to help you with what you’re doing, but it certainly isn’t something that is meant to like do every single thing for you. You have to be able to like fact check the work and make sure. So, we’re finding success with AI in terms of streamlining our workflows. So, can we up, you know, the processes that we’re using? Is there a way to do that? If I have a report that’s due, we have a very cool, I’m slightly obsessed with it, project management software that can actually spit out a report for me at the end of every single week and email it to me and tell me how certain projects are flowing. So, that’s not replacing anything, but it certainly is making things more streamlined for us, and it’s helping in that sense. So, I think just making sure you’re using AI properly, for sure. That includes security, that, that includes all information as well. And just finding out, I like to use it a lot, or my team likes to use it also, for graphic design. So, if we’re working on proposals, and we don’t have the images from the clients yet, it’s really fun to go into AI and say, “Hey, can you create this image for me of what I want?”. By the time that the proposal is approved or the event is approved, you find the right sourcing for it, obviously. But when you’re in that kind of creative strategy building time, it’s really fun to be able to illustrate what you need through some of those tools. So.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have any examples of mistakes brands and businesses are maybe making with AI already? Because a lot of people are just kind of they want to be on trend and they think that just because they’re using AI that they’re following the trend. But is there any key mistakes or kind of advice for maybe some businesses and brands to stick, stay away from?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I mean, I think A, not identifying when something is AI created. Like, if you have a model, I’ve seen a lot of that either on social media or in, they try to do it in print but in some ads as well, and consumers don’t like the idea of being tricked or fooled in any type of way, obviously. So, I think if you’re going to generate something and it’s going public-facing, just making sure that you’re saying this is AI generated because you want consumers to trust you. You want people to trust you, and so if they feel like you’re somehow creating something and passing it off as something else, you break that trust that’s there. So, I think, you know, being transparent about how you’re using it is really going to be important.

Amanda Morrison: So, kind of piggybacking off of that, do you have any advice in general just for businesses, whether it’s a small business or even a big brand, too, of being able to follow the trends, not just with AI?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw:Yeah, I mean reading. Like, I’m also very old school. Like, yes, we have all these digital systems and all these things, but I also think reading a magazine, reading the news, finding out, putting things together, having conversations with people and like real life and kind of building off of that, reading books as well, listening to different podcasts, it’s so important. So, I think the more that you can focus in and like dedicate some time to that, I always say like stay the student, but I also think just reading and being able to pick it up and then also enjoy yourself. Like, go to museums and find out about the art history and why is this popular now? Well, it’s because maybe it happened a century or two ago. So, maybe this fashion style is coming about, but guess what? It was out, you know, previously. I’m looking at the wallpaper here. It’s Baroque wallpaper, but that’s not from 2025 or 2026. There’s history within that. So, I think the more that we can educate ourselves, and there’s so many great places in New Jersey for that. So many wonderful museums. The Zimmerman Gallery is amazing. The New York Museum of Art down in Princeton. So, kind of soak up what we have, utilize all these resources, and make the most out of it.

Amanda Morrison: Is there one piece of advice you could give a new business for maybe even just kicking off their marketing or social media strategy?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I mean, I would say two things. One, figure out your why and make sure that it aligns. And the second thing is call us. We recently launched a new program called the Indie Brand Collective. And so, what it is is we’re basically taking all the years of experience that we have. We understand the processes, the strategies that are necessary, and we’ve scaled them into a brand offering that works for emerging brands. So, not brands that are like we have an idea and a concept and we’re not sure, but a brand that’s a little bit more established. Probably in retail or could be retail ready, we like to say, and definitely wants to reach out to more people in that way. And so, that’s something that we’ve launched recently. It’s a collective idea, and that way we can focus on what your strategy is. We can reach out to the PR for you and make sure that your messaging is getting out there in a really solid way.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have any advice for any future PR professionals?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Do the work. With the on-site of like AI and everything just seems so easy. It can be, but you have to know the base of everything. You have to know the why behind it. You got to do the work. You have to be able to carry the garment bag or make sure the messenger gets there on time. Like, some of the things that you have to do initially to understand why something works is as important as how it works and like what you do from there. Building those relationships also is really key and from a genuine place. So, I think definitely do the work, put in the effort, do the work.

Amanda Morrison: Do you think that having different profession, different professional experiences is the right way to go for anyone? Or do you think that if someone knows they want to go into PR, they could maybe just start that from the start?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah. If, listen, if you’re lucky enough to know what you want to do when you’re in college or right after graduation, go for it. There are many people that have traditional routes. I mean, doctors, etc. And I’m sure there are some PR people that knew, too. That just wasn’t my path in life. I didn’t know PR was a career. I didn’t know that it like existed. I knew things adjacent to it, but I had no idea that this was an industry or field growing up. The moment that I found out, I kind of fell in love with it. So, I think the good thing is that I, what I’ve been able to do is take all of my experiences to meld them into this unique formula that we have where we do think about things from the opposite side first and then we make our lasting impressions. But if you know what you want to do, by all means, please start early. Have fun.

Amanda Morrison: Do you, you said your team is 15, 15 right now, right?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yes.

Amanda Morrison: Do you see yourself expanding or do you think that this is a good number that you’re able to handle the, um, the amount of clients that you want to take on?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: It’s always an idea. I mean, at some point, we’d like to, maybe we’ll have an office in another state or someplace else depending on what the client needs are. But I do like the boutique feel. So, whether we grow to 100 or a thousand at some point, I still want to keep the same *je ne sais quoi* that the team has, as they say. I want people to feel happy at work. I don’t want them to feel intimidated. I want people to be able to share. In my office, if Camille has a contact and Helen needs it, they just share it. If Brooke needs something and Mara has it, they just share it. We’re not a company that’s very like clipboard and you can’t have. No, it’s just what’s going to make things better. Let’s just do the better thing. Let’s not make things difficult. Let’s just see how we can get there better, faster, with smiles on our faces, and that’s what we’re going to do. So, the size for me doesn’t really matter. It’s that we maintain that feeling, that caring feeling.

Amanda Morrison: So, you mentioned that you’re, you know, you potentially could go, you know, move, have a new office in a different state or a different city. But do you think that New Jersey will always stay your home base for your company?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yes, I love New Jersey. There’s so much to offer here. We’ve got city, we’ve got beach, we’ve got gardens, we’ve got mountains. I mean, yeah, I love New Jersey.

Amanda Morrison: So, when did you meet your husband?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: We met in 20, oh, geez. I don’t remember. Uh, 20. You’re going to get me in trouble. 2013. 2015. We met before the pandemic. We met in 2013. 201, no, 2015. I don’t know when we met.

Amanda Morrison: Well, whenever you met. Do you have any favorite New Jersey date spots from when you met and specifically now in Jersey City because that’s your home?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah. So, my husband and I met, our first date was at a place that closed. It was called The Iron Monkey. It was downtown. It was just like a little dive bar, and it was really cute. But now we recently had a date at a pottery shop in Jersey City, and that was really fun. He was not a pottery connoisseur. I was. I like grew up going to camp in Jersey. I did pottery, and I did the wheel all throughout camp and also in high school. And Marlon sat down in true Marlin fashion. He sat down with his first plop of clay, and he made the most beautiful masterpiece within five minutes. It was like, okay, what’s next? I’m done. So, I was like, great. You’re, you’re better at this also. Did I just say that on air? He’s good at this. I’m sure he’s really good at pottery at, at a first glance. So, we like honestly just going out and eating at a lot of places, which is probably not like what I should be saying all the time. But there’s so many wonderful restaurants in Jersey City. And so, we like to kind of find those and explore those. Also, walking at the park over the weekends, that’s really fun. And just kind of hanging out there, whether it’s like Lincoln Park or whether it’s Liberty State Park, just being able to be outside. Jersey City also has a lot of great in the summertime outdoor activities. So, downtown there’s always a festival happening, and you can finally probably find us like on the dance floor outside.

Amanda Morrison: I love that.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: With one of the DJs and kind of enjoying and meeting all the local vendors and seeing what’s happening. So, yeah.

Amanda Morrison: Do you have any favorite, like, favorite family-friendly spots?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Um, the park is one. That way we can drop the boys, and they can do what they need to do, and then we can walk around and kind of watch from different angles and see what’s happening. There’s also movies in the park in Jersey City a lot, and so in the summertime that’s really fun. And I love to like pack up a little picnic basket, and then go and explore and like watch the latest movies or an old movie. I don’t really care what it is, but just being outside under the stars is really, really fun. We also did Dîner en Blanc. They did that in Jersey City a couple years ago, and that was so fun. Kind of not knowing where you’re going, like the mystery of it. Everyone’s in all-white, and then just being able to be outside after hours with the DJ and good food and like meeting people in these long tables and just kind of celebrating. So, yeah, that was really, really fun.

Amanda Morrison: I used to actually host the media lounge for Don’t Sit Home because Art House Productions is the one who actually partnered with Dîner en Blanc. So, I hosted the media lounge for three years in a row. So, you know, I used to do that dinner for years in New York City. It’s one of my favorite events. So, the fact that they brought it to New Jersey and with the best views of New York City, it was such a stunning event.

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Yeah, I agree.

Amanda Morrison: So, I just want to thank you so much for being here. How can people learn more about your company?

Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw: Oh, check us out online. On Instagram, we’re @firstandlastpr. On TikTok, we’re @firstandlastpr. On LinkedIn, @firstandlastpr. And our website is all the w’s firstandlastpr.com. F I R S T A N D L A S T P R dot com.

Amanda Morrison: Thank you for listening. Make sure you check us out wherever you listen to your favorite podcast and follow us at Don’t Sit Home and the Best of NJ podcast on social media.