WEBVTT - Beyond Horizons: Sheila Eldridge's Media Evolution

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks to MasterCard for sponsoring this episode. Head to MasterCard

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<v Speaker 1>dot com backslash small Bids to learn how they're amplifying

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<v Speaker 1>and supporting black women entrepreneurs.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's a.

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<v Speaker 3>Good lesson in that you have to put yourself in

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<v Speaker 3>environments that are outside of your sphere of business. So

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<v Speaker 3>I started going to more conferences in corporate you know,

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<v Speaker 3>advertising and marketing conferences, more diversity conferences. I started going

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<v Speaker 3>to Chicago where the black ad agencies were, so I

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<v Speaker 3>kind of brought my scope because I knew I wanted to,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, broaden our services as a business. So we

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<v Speaker 3>really that was and then the industry was growing the Internet.

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<v Speaker 2>It just really took off for us in that area.

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<v Speaker 4>Hey money Movers, welcome back.

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<v Speaker 1>Today we continue our conversation with the driving force behind

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<v Speaker 1>Miles Ahead Entertainment and Broadcasting, Sheila Eldred.

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<v Speaker 4>Okay, let's talk about this. Is this where Orchid Communications

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<v Speaker 4>was born?

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<v Speaker 3>Oh no, Orchid Communications was the first my first business.

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<v Speaker 3>That was a PR business. Okay, that was my first business.

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<v Speaker 2>Wow, where'd you find that?

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<v Speaker 3>Okay?

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<v Speaker 4>Are we find everythin? We go deep into the crates?

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<v Speaker 2>That was deep in the crate.

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<v Speaker 3>All of us started Orchid Communications when I had just

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<v Speaker 3>moved to California straight out of Howard and I was

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<v Speaker 3>doing PR and you know, I just thought I want it.

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<v Speaker 2>Meant I wanted people to know it was owned by

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<v Speaker 2>a woman. So what man is going to name their

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<v Speaker 2>company orchid?

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<v Speaker 4>Right?

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<v Speaker 3>And so uh, that's how it got the name, but

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<v Speaker 3>it really did stick. And then as the business changed.

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<v Speaker 3>And then, mind you, when I started my business, there

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<v Speaker 3>was no internet, So you talk about OG.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh, yeah, that's right. I lived through that time. I

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<v Speaker 4>was right there on the cusp of it.

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<v Speaker 3>But yeah, wow, So you had to have offices in

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<v Speaker 3>LA in Chicago and New York, in Atlanta, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>in DC you had to have these brick and mortar

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<v Speaker 3>offices and so so the technology was changing and people

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<v Speaker 3>had associated the business very much with just PR and

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<v Speaker 3>I knew I wanted to expand I could do, we

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<v Speaker 3>could do more than that. And I was slowly moving

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<v Speaker 3>into broadcast and marketing as the industry.

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<v Speaker 2>And the markets were growing.

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<v Speaker 3>And so that's how Orchid Communications morphed into Miles Ahead

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<v Speaker 3>Entertainment and Broadcast. I am a huge Miles Davis fan,

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<v Speaker 3>so I said, Miles Ahead. Yeah, we're on the cusp

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<v Speaker 3>of new technology and the Internet.

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<v Speaker 4>It just came.

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<v Speaker 3>So I used that as a theme for the business

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<v Speaker 3>and services that we could all wow, And that's really

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<v Speaker 3>how Miles Ahead became Orchid became Miles Ahead Entertainment and Broadcasting.

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<v Speaker 5>Oh I love this, but an interesting trajectory and actually

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<v Speaker 5>just that incredible time period of like seeing the Internet

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<v Speaker 5>being ushered in and you know, money morrors out there

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<v Speaker 5>don't remember this. I exactly remember dial up going from

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<v Speaker 5>encyclopedias in the library to how the Internet changed. How

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<v Speaker 5>I mean, I'm right there with you, and I think

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<v Speaker 5>it's interesting times right now. We see new technologies from

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<v Speaker 5>AI to you know, blockchain coming in. So pay attention

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<v Speaker 5>for the opportunity here. So you had this vision, You've

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<v Speaker 5>gone from PR now and you are trying to harness

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<v Speaker 5>media entertainment. What came next because we got a teaser

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<v Speaker 5>there where's you were able to buy five radio stations

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<v Speaker 5>and sort of fulfill that part of your dream.

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<v Speaker 2>But what was in the in between.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, what was in between when we morphed into miles

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<v Speaker 3>hit entertainment before broadcasting came about. My goal there and

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<v Speaker 3>focus was, Okay, you come from the entertainment industry, you

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<v Speaker 3>know radio, you've been you know, people in the entertainment side,

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<v Speaker 3>and a lot of corporate America at that time was

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<v Speaker 3>just beginning.

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<v Speaker 2>To use music artists and celebrities.

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<v Speaker 3>In their campaigns and that was kind of the beginning

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<v Speaker 3>stages of hip hop. So I said, well, what if

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<v Speaker 3>we become the go to agency that can align your

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<v Speaker 3>brand with artists, speakers, or personalities that speak to in

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<v Speaker 3>the same audience. And no one was kind of in

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<v Speaker 3>that space because a lot of people hadn't come out of.

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<v Speaker 2>The entertainment industry.

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<v Speaker 3>My background was in the entertainment industry and radio and

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<v Speaker 3>you know, in the music industry. And so my first

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<v Speaker 3>client was Coca Cola and we did a campaign for Sprite.

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<v Speaker 2>With Curtis Blow.

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<v Speaker 3>Oh god, I remember that one and just it was

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<v Speaker 3>Curtis Blow, I think, Dougie Fresh and a couple of

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<v Speaker 3>other artists when Sprite was beginning to play around in

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<v Speaker 3>the hip.

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<v Speaker 2>Hop and that was one of my first projects.

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<v Speaker 3>And then we did some work for Ford, so you know,

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<v Speaker 3>then we did McDonald's. McDonald's was in getting to move

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<v Speaker 3>into the faith based and gospel market and so you know,

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<v Speaker 3>those execs, they didn't know the industry. So if we

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<v Speaker 3>were there, then you know, we became the go to

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<v Speaker 3>agency for that. And that's a good lesson in that

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<v Speaker 3>you have to put yourself in environments that are outside

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<v Speaker 3>of your sphere of business. So I started going to

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<v Speaker 3>more conferences in corporate you know, advertising and marketing conferences,

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<v Speaker 3>more diversity conferences. I started going to Chicago where the

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<v Speaker 3>black ad agencies were, so I kind of brought my

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<v Speaker 3>scope because I knew I wanted to you know, broaden

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<v Speaker 3>out services as a business. So we really that was

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<v Speaker 3>and then the industry was growing the Internet. It just

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<v Speaker 3>really took off for us in that area. But I

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<v Speaker 3>knew in my heart hearts that broadcast is where I

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<v Speaker 3>wanted to be. So that's when, like I said, I

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<v Speaker 3>went through, went to Kathy, told Ms Hughes and told

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<v Speaker 3>her what I wanted to do. Did the program for

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<v Speaker 3>a year, came to d C every month, we had

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<v Speaker 3>to come every month for this intensive you know program,

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<v Speaker 3>and then came out. So I moved to Augusta, Georgia

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<v Speaker 3>when I bought the stations.

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<v Speaker 5>Okay, I want to talk about buying stations because this

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<v Speaker 5>is a mix of you know, building a network, fundraising,

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<v Speaker 5>trying to figure out where to buy a station, and

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<v Speaker 5>radio was popping at this time. So how did you know, like,

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<v Speaker 5>how did you narrow down to Augusta? How did you

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<v Speaker 5>know what markets to go into?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, first of all, you have to two things, find

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<v Speaker 3>a deal and she and her son gave me a

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<v Speaker 3>great deal.

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<v Speaker 2>That was first and foremost.

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<v Speaker 3>And second of all, you've got to look at a

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<v Speaker 3>market where the business at that time, the stations were underperforming,

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<v Speaker 3>and they were underperforming because they owned stations in Atlanta,

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<v Speaker 3>in Charlotte, in Washington, d C.

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<v Speaker 2>In big markets. So for them, Augusta was.

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<v Speaker 3>Too small for them to keep their eye on, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>And for me, it was big and it was perfect

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<v Speaker 3>because it was underperforming, but it had the potential. And

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<v Speaker 3>so when I got there, they had like thirty employees.

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<v Speaker 2>I cut that down to nineteen, you know.

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<v Speaker 3>Because I knew we could do it for less because

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<v Speaker 3>I had an eye on it and I was in

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<v Speaker 3>the market.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the other thing.

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<v Speaker 3>You can't purchase something that you are not there in

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<v Speaker 3>the market to really dissect what your product is and

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<v Speaker 3>figure out what's the best way to market it and

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<v Speaker 3>to go to the market. So that's really how we

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<v Speaker 3>began to grow. But I made a big mistake.

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<v Speaker 5>Oh I love the big mistakes. Oh I hate that

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<v Speaker 5>they happened, but we learned from them. That's not what

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<v Speaker 5>a mistake is.

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<v Speaker 3>For I guess it was always say, maybe a mistake

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<v Speaker 3>is just a next step to where you want to go.

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<v Speaker 3>I thought that Augusta was just like a small version

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<v Speaker 3>of Atlanta. The mindset and the people and the progressiveness.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it is not, it is not, it is not,

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<v Speaker 2>it is not.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, there's some places that are open to the new,

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<v Speaker 3>then the other places that are kind of rooted in

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<v Speaker 3>what he is and don't necessarily embrace a new technology

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<v Speaker 3>or embrace new and so Augusta was you know, the

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<v Speaker 3>biggest thing that happens in Augusta, I say.

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<v Speaker 2>Is are the masters? Okay, I mean, yeah, that's about it.

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<v Speaker 5>Let's let's be frank. It is the South. Yeah, you know,

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<v Speaker 5>Atlanta was is still is a mecand we saw this

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<v Speaker 5>with our elections politics and Georgia. Augusta is a different place.

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<v Speaker 5>So and what year was this.

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<v Speaker 3>That you were Oh that was fifteen, that was fifteen,

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<v Speaker 3>twenty fifteen.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah, so that's definitely not the same. So knowing your

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<v Speaker 5>market is certainly.

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<v Speaker 2>Knowing your market.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, I did my due diligence, but there are

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<v Speaker 3>just some things that you you don't know, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>you just don't know. I was fortunate in that I

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<v Speaker 3>was a good money manager. I learned that your biggest

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<v Speaker 3>asset is always in business. The people that work with you,

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<v Speaker 3>your team. I made sure that I had a team

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<v Speaker 3>around me and in my business. Now that there, I say,

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<v Speaker 3>these young people are smarter than I am. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>you have to have a great team. And so we

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<v Speaker 3>got through it and I ended up selling those stations

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<v Speaker 3>ten years later and you know, profiting. But what it

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<v Speaker 3>taught me was content is king. Yes, so I said,

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<v Speaker 3>I need to get in the syndication business.

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<v Speaker 2>I need to.

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<v Speaker 3>Create content where my landscape can be the world, not

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<v Speaker 3>just one market.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh fascinating.

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<v Speaker 3>And had I not gone to Augusta, I never would

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<v Speaker 3>have moved into the syndication business. And so that is so,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, it was a tough I'm not going to

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<v Speaker 3>see it was a mistake. It was a learning experience.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's put it there.

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<v Speaker 4>I'd like to say exactly.

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<v Speaker 5>It was a learning experience and on the outside, you

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<v Speaker 5>you know, were able to make a sale out of it.

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<v Speaker 4>And move on to the next day. And this is

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<v Speaker 4>I think something is so interesting about your journey. You

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<v Speaker 4>continue to pivot and evolve.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to today's episode. If we helped you

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