A lot of people have asked me what Garnet PR means, where it came from and why I chose it.
And it’s a good question, with quite a story behind it!
Our business name is so important, right?
It’s the thing we hope people will remember and recall, it makes sense that a lot of entrepreneurs use their own name for their company. It’s certainly easier to make the connection between the business and the person.
But what if that doesn’t feel right for you?
Well, one thing’s for sure, your name needs to have meaning to you, it should make you want to tell your story, and should help people remember you.
So we’ll need to go back to the beginning for this one
I’ve been dreaming about my own business for several years, it took time, imagination and hard work to get to this point, it definitely didn’t happen overnight!
When I was in London I’d often chat with a friend about supporting independent, rural businesses that I loved. I longed to one day move out of the city and back to my country roots, working remotely and getting back the lost hours commuting into central London while doing something I truly cared about.
I changed jobs in early 2017, moving from ZSL London Zoo to Dogs Trust, taking a maternity cover role, stepping out of my comfort zone in order to grow, knowing that by the time the contract came to an end I’d be moving back to rural Lincolnshire. (The universe had other plans for me there, but more on that later!)
Out of Africa
It was shortly after this job move I was lucky enough to visit Tanzania on safari with my Dad - one of the most magical trips of my life. Honestly, if you get the chance to do it, go, it’s life-changing, for me in more ways than one.
I didn’t make it to the end of the maternity contract, a friend I’d known for years came back into my life and created a real-life fairytale. So all thoughts of Lincolnshire were swept under the carpet and I moved to Yorkshire for love. I’m pleased to say it’s still going strong, phew!
Again, another step out of my comfort zone but a strategic career move to a senior agency role meant that I could develop new skills like learning the business management behind the day-to-day delivery, setting me up to go solo.
It was during this time the planning went into overdrive, I spent hours learning, growing and planning my own business, absorbing everything I could.
But I still needed a name
I looked at everything I loved and was passionate about; the key themes were nature, the countryside, being outdoors.
Now I love England, but Africa was a turning point for me. It was where I really knew I wanted more, I didn’t want to do the corporate hamster wheel, losing days every year commuting to a job I had little control over.
I wanted to help rural businesses get their voices heard, connect people with nature, the countryside, animals and being outdoors.
Just add a little polish
As with most things, I started by writing down all my ideas into a list. I liked the idea of a name linked to the natural world and also PR, possibly easier said than done!
The idea of Diamond came up, now this was too cheesy for me, but I liked the concept of gemstones being a little bit like PR.
They start a little rough, needing some attention and polish to craft them into something extraordinary, that stands out from the crowd, and this is very much like a news story or idea.
I also wanted my brand colours to reflect the natural world, blues, golds, and greens. So tying the two together was vital.
In Tanzania and Kenya there is a very special gemstone, the Tsavorite, only found here. It is a member of the Garnet family and green in colour.
It felt like the universe was aligning; found in Tanzania, a place that holds such magic for me, green in colour, and an exact example of the gemstone concept.
A couple more stars aligned to confirm this was meant to be the name.
Garnet is the birthstone for January, a significant month for me as this is when I left the Zoo for Dogs Trust in 2017, decided I would go it alone in 2018, and officially launched the business in 2019.
And so it stuck and Garnet PR was born.
New year, new beginnings indeed!
Rx
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