VBT 097: Interview with Marla Rose of Vegan Street Media creative agency

In this episode I interview Marla Rose, an award-nominated journalist, columnist and author from creative agency Vegan Street Media in Chicago. Since 1995, Marla has dedicated her life to building vegan culture and community. In addition to writing most of the content and managing social media for the Vegan Street website, including a variety of creative and informative memes, she is the co-founder of the annual free vegan festival Chicago VeganMania, which is now in its 10th year. For the past several years, she has been writing feature stories for magazines, including VegNews, and her popular blog Vegan Feminist Agitator. In 2015, Marla and her husband John Beske, a graphic designer, created Vegan Street Media, a creative agency dedicated to bringing the most effective, professional and unforgettable communications to vegan businesses, services, product lines and non-profits. The agency helps clients with logos, packaging, campaigns, promotions, branding, social media, web development and consulting. Marla is also the author of several books, including the new cookbook and guidebook, Fun, Festive and Fabulous: Vegan Holidays for Everyone. In this episode Marla talks about: • How she and her husband turned their skills and passions into a successful business • One of the key mistakes vegan businesses make in regards to treating their customers • The quote from the Grateful Dead that informs her strong personal brand, and the importance of finding your voice • How the power of being part of a community has resulted in regular business for Vegan Street Media • The importance of using your personal profile and presence on social media to complement content you share as a brand • Why she no longer uses any images in her content that are not created by her agency • And much more Visit the Vegan Street Media website Check out the Vegan Street website Find out more about Chicago VeganMania Festival Read Marla Rose’s blog Vegan Feminist Agitator Buy Marla Rose's latest book Fun, Festive & Fabulous: Vegan Holidays for Everyone Brands mentioned in vegan business news roundup: Harmless Harvest Blue Heron Creamery RESOURCES: My Online PR Course for Vegan Business Owners & Entrepreneurs: Vegans in the Limelight My book Vegan Ventures: Start and Grow an Ethical Business Follow Vegan Business Media on: Facebook   Twitter  Instagram  Connect with me personally at: Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn