All right, welcome to good news York sponsored
by ads on the go get ads on the go calm I am
Mike Brindisi Again, I'm flying solo Matt. I
can't make fun of him today. He actually had
an emergency meeting For his other side of the
business growth mode technologies, so I'm flying
solo with a very special guest. I'm very excited
ladies and gentlemen She is the founder of the
Pivot Place podcast as well as QCulture Media
Group, the one and only Victoria Coit. Victoria,
thank you for coming. Thanks for having me. You
are so welcome. Thank you. Bonus points. As soon
as I met you, you had a Yankees hat on. I'm a
gigantic Yankees fan, so obviously you're a good
person. Perfect. I'm in alignment. That's me,
exactly. I apologize you're stuck with only me
today, but... We're going to have some fun because
you've done some amazing things and I'll be honest,
Matt put me on your radar. Ironically, he's not
here, but he said, I would love to get Victoria
on the show. She was part of Profound. And I
looked you up and you are doing some amazing
things. I don't even know where to start, but
I think let's talk about the Cuse Culture Media
Group. Tell me when you started, how it came
about and what you guys are doing. Yeah, thank
you, thank you. So welcome. So Q's Culture Media
Group, it actually started off as a publication
back in about 2016. Okay. Roughly. We started
off as a publication called SOTE Magazine, and
that stood for South of the Earth Magazine, and
it was a magazine highlighting women of color
and all of the different amazing things that
they do and issues that they do go through as
well, specifically in Syracuse, New York and
the surrounding areas. I ended up, you know,
life was lifing. I ended up having a daughter,
an amazing daughter. and really thought I was
going to sit it down for a while, but anybody
knows when you have a passion and a vision, it
just keeps knocking at your door. we pivoted
and we actually said, you know, we should do,
I pivoted and thought maybe doing a magazine
for everybody, you know, highlighting everything
specifically in the communities of color and
professionals and creatives and all of that in
Central New York would be the move. And so that's
how Q's culture was birthed. That's amazing.
And so you're showcasing different people in
different industries. And is this a digital publication
or was it a print publication? Yeah, so it evolved
for about a year. It was a publication and it
quickly evolved to a public relations firm. So
events are sort of the thing that I do easily
and it gives me joy. It pumps me up to bring
people together. And so when we would have the
magazine, we would also have events, networking
events at the time. I had just moved back from
DC, and I always love to go to networking events
because you never know who you would run into.
And so we started doing networking events, and
that rolled into... I started asking questions
like, why aren't there any people of color in
the C -suite? Why does the entry level look so
much different than the top? And the answer I
would get a lot of times would be because folks
weren't applying or... I'm trying to be nice.
You don't have to be. Yes. A lot of fun. No,
this is good news, right? That's OK. So moral
of the story, I said, hey, I have a place where
a lot of different, a diverse group of people
come. They're professionals. They're educated.
And they would love to hear about the opportunities
that you have. And so from there, they would
sponsor events and get in the room. I would share
a lot of positions through my network and my
mailing list. began to get hired. And that amongst
so many other things, I started doing a lot of
public relations from that. And that's how we
turned into a boutique PR firm. That's amazing.
And so some of your clients, give me a little
taste of like, what does your clientele look
like? What does it look like? Is it a certain
industry? Is it all types of different industries?
all types of different industries. It's just
different industries that are looking to connect
in a different way. What they're doing is not
working at that time, at the time. And they're
looking to get their product, service, whatever
it is, in front of a different group of people.
And so that's where I come in. I think that outreach
and marketing and branding, all these buzzwords,
it doesn't have to be also boring and stuffy
and corporate. And you don't always have to take
the same approach, which is maybe a billboard
or this or that. And I love using events as a
mode of communication and building your tribe
and things of that nature. That's wonderful.
So, I mean, in addition to being a PR firm, is
it fair to say, I mean, you're also connecting
employers with employees as well? I was, I definitely
was. So, how Q's culture looks, looked before
COVID to how it looks now is, I wouldn't say
totally different, but I would say different.
Yeah. It looks different. I would say also that,
yeah, I would just say that it looks different.
You were talking about events. um in these networking
events you mentioned you have a festival uh coming
up let's talk about that what what is it and
where is it when is it and what are the details
yeah absolutely so as in the same vein as pivoting
after covid you know um instead of quarterly
events or monthly events i thought it would be
better for me to do two to three very large events
a year that brought people together. And one
of them is the Reunion Fest. So before it started,
before COVID, and that was our first year, actually
2019, right in front of City Hall when we had
our festival. And then when we came back from
COVID, I was like, you know what? I don't want
to call it Q's Culture Festival anymore. I want
to call it the Reunion. And that's what it is.
It's the Reunion Fest. We're going on our fifth
year. It was named that because as a child, I
have a 10 -year -old named Celeste Rose, and
when I was around her age, I could just remember
my family putting me to work. You know, whether
it was the family vacation, whether it was our
annual family reunion, which moved around a lot
of us from the South, and we were one of the
only families in the North. So every three to
five years, we would have it in Syracuse, at
the Syracuse Hotel, and I would be like, of that
organizing team. with my grandmother. So putting
that together, a weekend of events at such a
young age, I didn't even realize that it made
an impact with me, but what made it impact was
having that moment and intentional time to connect
with family, to connect with folks that you haven't
seen in so long. So I just patterned that after
this festival. There are individuals that specifically
come to town to come to it, that used to grow
up, that grew up in Syracuse. They know they
can see their friends. and family or classmates.
And then also, you know, we're all so busy. So
do we really get to see folks that we grew up
with like that? You know, this is the time to
do so, to be intentional. I think that is so
awesome for many reasons. The obviously being,
you know, I think with social media and post
pandemic, we're less social as a society. So
I think it's great that you're kind of trying
to kickstart that again. But what I also think
is, you know, I noticed years ago, you know,
I would get emails all the time, you know, our
high school reunion, you know, 10 year, 15 year,
and then it kind of died out right around COVID.
And someone made a point to me that... With the
rise of social media everybody's kind of still
in touch. You can see people on social media
You can talk you can see what everybody's up
to so not as many people are getting together
So the fact that you're kind of creating a reunion
for all is just awesome And I think it's such
a great thing. And where is this happening? It
happens in Perseverance Park, which is for folks
that grew up in Syracuse on the corner of Salina
and Fayette where the old central bus hub used
to be. A lot of people say I didn't know that
was a park and I didn't know it had an A. You
know, but it's called Perseverance Park. It's
in front of the Chase building right in the center
of downtown on the corner of South Salina and
West Fayette Street. That's amazing. And what's
the dates on that? August 2nd, which is this
Saturday, from 3 p .m. to 10 p .m. So this is
our first time moving. Actually, we started on
a Saturday, but then after we were on Fridays,
after work from 5 to 11, now we're moving it
back to a Saturday, and we'll be there from 3
to 10. That's amazing. In addition to... The
the Cuse culture media group you do have a podcast
called the pivot place I do that is awesome and
a beautiful website by the way. I went and checked
it out Thank you. Tell me about how the pivot
place started. What's it about? When does it
air and where? Yeah, so the pivot place is another
beautiful thing that came out of pulpit You know
the the brand the pivot place You know I was
Thinking that I wanted to move out of Syracuse
at the time It was such a transitional time for
me and I just like, you know, I'm a very spiritual
person So just in meditation and prayer like
what do you want me to do? And I came up with
this thing called the pivot place. It's It wasn't
a podcast. It actually was an opportunity to
Connect entrepreneurs from Syracuse with entrepreneurs
more so from Central New York with entrepreneurs
in Western Africa so Ghana Nigeria, and I thought
that we it would be a good opportunity You know
remember you had a pen pal back in the day. Yeah,
you know I was excited. Yeah as an opportunity
just to cross cultures and to cross -pollinate
when it comes to business, whether it be trade
or services, whatever the case may be. And that's
what I wanted the pivot place to be for folks
to pivot their business and mindset to a whole
different continent and likewise from the other
continent. That happened like that. That's still
in the cards a lot and being constructed. But
I had the logo. I did the whole entire brand
identity and all that because I'm just like,
that's how my mind works. And, you know, it was
placed on my heart to do a podcast. And when
I was like, what am I going to name it? And I'm
like, you know, I had this logo and all this.
So it's going to be called the Piffit Place.
And I want to interview folks that from the state
of being of saying, no matter what you are and
who you are in life, there are these moments
in life that are very pivotal. And whether you
realize it or not, they change the trajectory
of your life. And so in retrospect, what were
those moments? What was it when you're... parent
or somebody significant in your life past? Was
it when your birth of your child? Was it when
you were fired? You know these things that you
think are negative But you look back and say
it was good that that happened that that shifted
my understanding You know and pulled me back
to where I was supposed to be so that I could
remember Who I was and who I'm supposed to be
I mean it gave me power actually and so I just
wanted to have those conversations because I
know every single human being on this planet
has a moment like that, if not a multitude of
moments, right? And so one thing that came to
me when I was doing networking events is that
I started out doing it for minority millennials.
That was my target audience. I know a lot of
different people in a lot of different spaces,
not all the same age range. And what I've found
the jewel inside of that, the gem, was that perhaps
more seasoned entrepreneurs were in the room.
Younger ones were like, oh, I've been wanting
to get in touch with this person. I've been emailing
this person. But they're so busy that you don't
have time to always connect. And so being able
to connect with somebody that you feel like is
unattainable. and understanding that they have
a story that they were once where you were. And
that story, you know, evolves. Like, there is
another side, right? There's another side of
life. And so that's what The Pivot Place is about.
It's about the other side and it's about seeing
both sides, you know, simultaneously. So I've
just been blessed to speak to some amazing people.
about what their pivot is. I would love to hear
what your pivot, you know, because you look like
you're thinking. I'm thinking. I'm just listening
to you and thinking about what an amazing concept
to come up with a podcast with that reason, because
you're so right. There's you know, there's the
obvious moments that that are pivotal in our
lives. Right. Like you have kids. I have kids
like those are life changing. Those are very
obvious to see. But it's funny you mention this
because. Not long ago, I kind of was reflecting,
and I realized personally, I went, you know,
I was in a cover band in, like, the early 2000s,
and I was playing at some bar, and a woman came
up to me, said, you would be great if you guys
played in Ithaca, New York, and I'd never been
there. Long story short, fast forward, not only
did we play in Ithaca, New York, I became best
friends with the owner of that club, ended up
moving out to Ithaca and staying with him till
I got on my feet. Fast forward, I've got two
kids, a wife, and an entire life and career that
was created. And I just think sometimes, what
if I hadn't played that gig and I didn't meet
that woman? Would I have ever made it to Ithaca?
I mean, it was a tiny moment. Just a tiny, like
we got done. People were coming up to me. She
comes up to me. We introduce ourselves. And it's
just amazing, like the butterfly effect of like
that one moment changed the trajectory of my
life. Not in that moment, but eventually. So
I think not only is that a fantastic idea for
a podcast and whatever else form it takes, but
it's also just an incredible gesture on your
part to make people reflect on that and to talk
about that and to find gratitude because you
said you're spiritual. And one thing I've learned
through therapy and working on myself is gratitude
does so much for somebody. And I just what I
found, too, is that between. the Q's Culture
Media Group and the Pivot Place podcast, there's
one overall theme. And that is, it seems like
you are out to help people, connect people, and
help people grow. Where does that come from?
And what drives you to, I mean, it's an amazing
thing. And what drives you to do that? Let me
answer your first question. It wasn't a question,
but it can. Probably a hundred things at ya.
Yeah, so I have an amazing mentor that I speak
to on a daily basis, right? And one thing he
stresses is being in the moment. And it sounds
like you and that buyer were in the moment, but
you also, I'll add onto that, like not rushing.
Right? Because you can miss something that can
shift your life inside the moment. And I even
like this morning, full transparency, I was late.
I have been out late and I wanted to be like,
but because I had other things going on, I said,
you know, just slow down, relax. You know, you
and I are having this conversation like we're
supposed to, right? And that's just what it is.
So what brings me to this point of my own self
-awareness is pain. Pain births purpose, right?
It gives clarity. and it takes you to where you
need to be. A lot of times, I saw this documentary
and I'm so irritated that I cannot remember the
name of it because it was a random, here we go
talk about the moment again, a random DVD that
somebody gave me showing my age a long time ago,
just a documentary about Syracuse, right? And
under the 81 bridge, they asked a homeless man,
just holding a sign, they asked him, what is
your biggest regret? And you would think that
it would be all types of different things. And
he was just like, deal with your shit, right?
I was like, yeah. Hell yeah. Yeah, deal with
it. Take control. You know, deal with it. Because
we see so many folks that are stuck in the past
because they never dealt with whatever that thing
was, right? And so it could be like somebody
still saying, Well, it was because of my mother
and my father, whatever. They're just back there.
They just cannot be present. They cannot move
forward. The anger and everything inside of them
screams 1989. 100%. From their appearance to
their approach to everything is just like fixated
on something that they never dealt with fully.
That is so well said. So many people I've met
and so many people I know are stuck. And when
I first started going to therapy, the one thing
I figured out, the overall arching theme of my
pain and my struggle was I was... regretting
things in the past and constantly worrying about
things in the future. Shout out to your therapist.
Yeah, well, God, thank God for my therapist.
I wore the wrong shirt today. I have a shirt
that says I've got God in a therapist. God bless
you. That is awesome. Because we think we only
need one sometimes. Prayer without works is dead.
Absolutely. And, you know, I'm a big advocate
for mental health awareness and because of my
own struggles. And, you know, that was eye -opening
for me. It was along the same lines where it
was like... If you're constantly looking, you
know, regretting the past and worrying about
the future, you're not in the moment. And so
it is such an important thing for us to be mindful,
to stay in the moment and be in the moment. Like
you said, you being late, an example of me, I'm
always late, by the way, so don't worry. One
thing I heard before and it's along those same
lines was, and I don't want to get morbid, but
it was like, if you're ever late, right, or you
get stuck in traffic, someone told me, That might
be the difference between you, God forbid, getting
in a car accident. Like maybe you would have
been at the intersection where something happened.
You don't know. And maybe it's bullshit, too.
But the point is, it helps you in that moment
go, you know what? I don't need to be mad about
this. I don't need to be worried about this.
There's a reason I'm late. And, you know, I'm
still going to get there and I'm still going
to get to this interview. Absolutely. You have
such a healthy mindset. And before we go, I just
I got to ask. So tell me what what is what is
What is it like daily working for your PR firm,
Cuse Culture Media Group? Tell me a day in the
life. What are some of the things that you guys
tackle and deal with? Great question. I am coming
out of corporate. It's funny that I started The
Pivot Place when I was ready to do my own pivot.
So I'm 30 days in right now. I'm 31 days in.
But my last day at my official full -time job,
because I was a hybrid entrepreneur, was the
last day in June. So right now what it looks
like is this festival this weekend is new contracts,
new exciting contracts with some great entities
that I've been blessed to sign. It looks like...
just be in alignment with my purpose and taking
it day by day, you know, reasoning in every single
step that I take and making sure that it's where
I need to be because I'm responsible for myself
and I'm responsible for my daughter. And so it
looks like... And being cute. Yes, you are very
cute. Oh, thank you. Man, Victoria Coy, you are
amazing. Before we go, obviously, give us the
plugs, the festival websites, anything you want
to plug, but also. Anything else you want us
to know or to talk about that you want to get
out there? Absolutely. So I said that I do a
couple of large events every year. One is the
festival, the Reunion Fest, which is the first
weekend of August every year. And then also I'm
the co -founder of the Central New York Legacy
40 Over 40 Awards. Oh, yeah. And that's honoring
40 nominated. professionals, changemakers, purpose
-driven people that live in central New York
and are making an impact. And that is always
the first weekend in April. So nominations for
that opens up on November the 1st and they close
on December 31st. And outside of that, I just
would like to tell your audience to follow me
on Facebook. Victoria Coy everywhere. the pivot
place on Instagram, QCulture on Instagram, Facebook.
You could also subscribe to our mailing list
on QCulture .com and stay in the know of what
we have going on and how can you can, you know.
That's perfect. We will make sure that all that
info is up in the captions on the screen. Thank
you. And I can't thank you enough for coming.
And I mean this sincerely you you are a very
impressive person and an impressive woman and
I really respect you and what you do not only
for for people of color, but just people in general
in in Central New York and beyond and Keep doing
what you're doing and please come back anytime.
Thank you Victoria Coyte the pivot place podcast
Q's culture Media group. She does it all she
connects it all We love her. Thank you so much.
Thank you. And with that, another episode of
Good News York, we will be back next week. Matt
and I will be here. Lots of guests, lots to talk
about. It is Good News York sponsored by ads
on the go. Get ads on the go dot com. Victoria
Coit. She's amazing. Check her out.