Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw

CEO and Communicator-in-Chief

First & Last PR

Why is CEW membership important to you?

I’ve been a member of CEW for over fifteen years and each year keeps getting better! I initially joined when I was a beauty editor and wanted to learn more about the industry. I’ve always enjoyed the events and discussions as great ways to learn from my peers and now see them as great ways to catch up with friends. Now, as a business owner, I appreciate the ability to give back through CEW through mentorship and as a Small Business Advisory Board Member. Altruism is a part of my DNA. Being able to use my years of industry experience and connections to help others takes my role within this industry beyond what’s in my immediate reach.

Do you have any tips for getting the most out of CEW membership?

Joining is the first step but being active is the most important step. Make sure that you visit cew.org to learn all about CEW as an organization, sign up for upcoming events, enter into the beauty awards and to get involved. Pair up with an industry mentor or offer to be a mentee – learning never stops.

What advice would you give someone who is inspired by your career and one day wants to be in a similar position?

Owning an award-winning public relations agency is very rewarding but is not for the faint of heart. You have to know a lot about business, management, sales, and team building, in addition to all of the public relations, social media, event management and design skills that fall within our world. Make sure that you have a great lawyer, accountant and business development director before you get started.

What do you feel is the most important quality for someone to possess in order to have a successful career?

It depends on how you define success but I would have to say appreciation. To me, success means growth and freedom. Getting to the point where you can let go and let your team lead and shine giving you the freedom to focus on other priorities – that is true success. Knowing that, I’d say that the most important quality that you have to have is appreciation. Appreciation for the work. Appreciation for the team that will help build with you. Appreciation for the referrals. Appreciation for the ability to do the work. Life moves very quickly but it’s super important to stop, look around and appreciate what and who you have. Be thankful and say thank you.

Have you discovered anything about yourself since the recent turn of events related to COVID-19?

In the midst of two global pandemics – the global coronavirus health crisis and racism in the United States of America – I have learned that nothing is going to stop me. My ancestors worked too hard to help me become the woman that I am now, so who am I to shut down because of this? We are put here to be powerful beyond measure and I am not going to let anything or anyone deter me from being my best and giving my best at work and at home. Since early March, I’ve been coming into my beautiful pink, white and gold office – the one that we expanded to in December only to pack up for safety three months later due to this crisis – alone or with my family once a week to keep my company going while my team works safely at home. I haven’t shared a lot of that on Instagram because I’ve been too busy getting stuff done. It’s been challenging on one hand and made me stronger on the other. I’ve also learned that I’m a pretty good teacher/principal thanks to home schooling and virtual learning. Not as good as the real ones but have noticed some similarities.