Welcome!

Front Porch Marketing is proud to support Ursuline Academy of Dallas for six years. Ursuline seeks to provide opportunity and a welcoming environment for students of widely varied ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Front Porch Marketing meets the mission of Ursuline by providing opportunities for students to grow in a mentoring environment and experience first-hand what marketing looks like in a professional setting. From start to finish, interns are able to learn how to conduct research studies, create content, prepare branding documents, meet clients face-to-face, and more.

This summer, we have the opportunity to work alongside Ann Kurian and Sofia Arce, two rising seniors at Ursuline. We are excited to be mentoring the next generation of businesswomen and extend a warm welcome to our newest interns for the 2021 summer.

Ann Kurian

Ann is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy and currently plays the flute for the Jesuit Ursuline Ranger band. She has plans to be a marketing major and promote products for companies that she believes in. She is excited to meet clients and learn about the world of marketing. Additionally, her interests include creating or supporting products that are environmentally friendly and making the world a better place for others.

To start prompting her inquisitive mindset, we asked her some questions to which she brought a fresh take on. Some examples being:

Welcome to the FPM team Ann!

Sofia Arce

Sofia Arce is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy. With hopes of going into business in the future, she looks forward to expanding her knowledge of marketing by using her organization skills, attention to detail, and diligence. Sofia is very involved in and outside of school with activities such as playing on the basketball team, being an Ursuline Academy ambassador, participating in Global Advisory Council, and much more. Moreover, she has a passion for creativity and enjoys mentoring others.

To gain some fresh insight, we also asked Sofia what her thoughts were about the marketing field in today’s society and life advice. Some examples being:

1. What does good marketing look like?

Good marketing accurately reflects the business and caters to the client’s target audience in a way that is effective and engaging. Marketing also uses strategies that draw people in, in order to spike curiosity in a business and in services/products.

2. How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

FPM is made up of people with such diverse backgrounds and experiences. This makes for many points of view and approaches to a situation. The team at FPM is driven to helping a business succeed. It’s evident that they have a culmination of knowledge about marketing, communications, branding, digital media etc. It is important to have a tight-knit team and Front Porch Marketing definitely possesses one. It is clear that they value their clients and will help them market their business in creative and helpful ways.

3. What is the best piece of life advice you have ever received?

The best piece of life advice I have ever received is that there is always going to be somebody better than me. Granted, it might sound harsh, but it has helped me realize that comparing myself to others is a waste of time. This is due in part because burning myself out to meet unrealistic expectations is useless. I should instead focus on being the best person I can be by using my talents and strengthening them to be unique.

4. What are your goals for FPM?

My goals for FPM are to take my interest in marketing and learn everything I can about how to execute it successfully. Without a doubt, I am looking forward to learning more about the professional world and broadening my horizons. 

Welcome to the team Sofia!

In Conclusion

These two bright ladies are going to be great additions to the Front Porch Marketing team. We cannot wait to continue mentoring the next generation and empowering the women in our lives. Here is to year six of supporting Ursuline Academy of Dallas and to the brilliant minds of women everywhere!

Fayetteville, AR, can sometimes feel like a bubble. The craziness of the COVID-19 pandemic still doesn’t seem real here!

I wanted to give you an insider’s look from Fayetteville in relation to the other states.

The Stats

There are 4,012 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus and 91 deaths as of May 10th. A shelter-in-place was never issued in Fayetteville.

Restaurants were allowed to reopen dining rooms starting Monday, May 11. Non-urgent dental services also opened Monday. Pools, water parks and beaches are set to open May 22, with restrictions.

Bars are still closed under Phase 1, which I think is a smart decision. Arkansas has 3 casinos, all of which will be open on May 18. Some stores in Fayetteville opened back up Monday, including thrift stores which I was able to visit.

Phase 1 of Fayetteville Perspective

Phase 1 of this new implementation allows restaurants to be at one third capacity, with seating six feet apart. Employees must wear a mask and gloves, and patrons should wear a mask. If patrons are not wearing masks the restaurant has the right to turn them away. Phase 1 also includes daily health screenings of employees, and groups cannot be larger than ten.

My Perspective from Fayetteville

I am located in an apartment complex near Dickson Street, the central hub for restaurants and bars for students at the U of A. While Dickson street has been mostly shut down, some restaurants offer curbside pickup.

From my perspective in Fayetteville, roughly 50% of people I have observed in the grocery store are wearing masks. It is possible to keep 6 feet apart but difficult, especially if the store is crowded.

Fast food restaurants are all open, and some dining rooms are available with limited seating. The Northwest Arkansas Mall remained open, but most of the stores inside were closed. I have stayed in Fayetteville thus far during the pandemic because I feel it is safer than Dallas, however I will be moving home soon.

What I’ve Learned Through My Perspective From Fayetteville

1. Be respectful. Wear a mask if you feel that is right for you. You are shielding both yourself and others from potential exposure.
2. Supporting local and small businesses is very important during this difficult time. Whether it be patronizing favorite local coffee shops with curbside pickup or stopping in to a new store, I have made efforts to express my appreciation.
3. Just because Fayetteville feels safe, does not necessarily mean it is. Since a shelter-in-place was never issued, people are still going about their days as if everything is normal here. In my perspective from Fayetteville, it is just as important that we preserve our health here as it is anywhere else.

The Before and Now:

E-learning has affected students today in both good ways and bad. Before e-learning I was up at a set time each morning, took the bus to and from class, and had my whole day carved out. There was a distinct accountability system, where I was obligated to show up to class to get notes and participation points.

Now, classes are set up via recorded lectures or live video conferences. I can ask questions in the chats during live lectures and email if I am confused on the recorded lectures. It has shortened the length of most of my classes because we are not directly interfacing. Test schedules remain the same; exams are proctored and timed, using Lockdown browsers. I have less of a schedule, making things harder to time-manage.

What I like/miss about e-learning today? Benefits vs. how it could be improved?

What I like about e-learning is that I save time not traveling to and from class and I have more “free time.” I also don’t have to be up at a given time, I can watch prerecorded lectures at my convenience, and tests are open book.

What I miss about in-person classes is seeing my friends during my classes, walking the campus, interfacing with professors, getting off topic with entertaining teachers, and having a set schedule.

Benefits of e-learning include time spent going to class can be used elsewhere, certain tests are easier, and I can take time to do things I wouldn’t normally do (ex: go to a park, walk a trail, explore Mt. Sequoyah).

Areas of improvement for e-learning today include live lectures to help with questions that need to be addressed. It would be beneficial if classes with recorded lectures could go live once weekly. This also may help with understanding material if one is directly interfacing with the professor. Also, I would appreciate potentially adjusting the test material such that it is not significantly more difficult than any in-class test would be.

Lessons that are applicable to business and working from home:

Lesson 1: Just because you technically have more free time, it may not feel like it. With E-learning today, you must become a time-management expert! It is so easy to procrastinate if one is not physically going to class or work. We are more productive when our work is public rather than private!

Lesson 2: Nail down a routine- whether it be waking up at a specified time each day, setting working hours, or scheduling breaks in between work. Routines keep you on-track, motivated, and they deliver results.

Lesson 3: Keep your videoconferencing as close to “normal” as possible. Test the software before you schedule a call so that if it needs finetuning you are not wasting other people’s time. Be professional and minimize distractions! If you know your dog will bark when the mailman comes, either put yourself at the opposite end of the house or put the dog up while you videoconference.

Whether we realize it or not, E-learning affects students today. Awareness of these small changes can lead to improvements in productivity. Taking advantage of the benefits may change your working or learning style for the better.

Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

– John Dewey

School Days

I was always a very academic kid growing up. Once I got to high school, that drive turned up to eleven. I was a combination of Rory Gilmore and Paris Geller.

I guess you could say I was tightly wound.

Luckily, I relaxed significantly once I graduated from high school, and even more so once I graduated from college. At the time, I knew my formal education was ending. I also knew that I would never stop learning. But I did think that learning would take place in a more formal setting.  However, that was not the case.

While I do like learning in a classroom setting, a lot of the learning I’ve done in service of my career, has been done quite informally. Yes, I have attended many conferences and workshops. I have also Googled, YouTubed, and DIY’d my way through a good chunk of my professional development.  Learning by doing has been the best way for me to develop my skills.

This DIY, hands-on approach is also a reflection of where education is trending as a whole.  A few of our rockin’ clients reflect these trends.

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Learning By Doing

Faith Family Academy emphasizes a MASTER program – Math, Art, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research. They understand that there are different approaches to learning and that no one subject has cornered the market on how to solve problems  This holistic approach is needed if today’s students are to be tomorrow’s leaders and workers.

Another client of ours, Girl Scouts of Texas Oklahoma Plains, also emphasizes learning by doing. They understand that the best way to learn leadership skills is through hands-on trial and error. Girls are expected to work their way through real-life problems that you can’t study your way out of.

What do you do when the volunteers you scheduled to help with a service project don’t show up? What if you disagree with your troop on how to spend troop Cookie funds? And speaking of Cookies, how do you keep your eyes on the prize when you are selling at a Cookie booth and its 20 degrees outside?

I recently attended a workshop hosted by another rockin’ client, Sandler Training of Fort Worth. The facilitator guided us through different scenarios in an interactive, small group setting. Attendees came away with real actionable next-steps they can take to land a new client.

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We live in interesting times. Most information is at your fingertips. Which essentially means, information is cheap. What you do with it, that’s the key.