December 12, 2024 • 18 mins
Ever wonder how a publication can not only inform but inspire and activate its readers? Arianna Cruz, the visionary founder of MORE Magazine, joins us to unravel that very magic. Arianna's journey from an idea sparked in a shelter in Indianapolis to building a dynamic media company is nothing short of inspiring. With her background in marketing and communications from the IU Kelley School of Business, Arianna didn't just create a magazine—she pioneered a platform that amplifies diverse voices and challenges perspectives through powerful personal essays. In this episode, Arianna opens up about the unexpected hurdles of entrepreneurship, including the strategic moves beyond the immediate tasks, and invites budding writers to contribute to this expanding narrative tapestry.
Connect with Arianna on LinkedIn | Instagram
MORE Magazine: www.moremagazine.org
MORE magazine's LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram
Thank you for listening! Please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe to the Media in Minutes podcast here or anywhere you get your podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/media-in-minutes/id1555710662
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Angela Tuell (00:05):
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Tuell.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything fromtheir favorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world from our studio here atCommunications Redefined.
This is Media in Minutes.
In today's episode, we aretalking with Arianna Cruz,
(00:33):
founder and owner of MoreMagazine.
She created the magazine withthe mission of making
opportunities reachable foreveryone by curating content to
educate, inspire and call peopleto action.
Hi, Arianna, how are you?
I'm doing well.
Angela, how are you?
I'm doing well.
Also, I'm looking forward totalking with you today.
(00:53):
I'd love to start by findingout a little bit more about your
background and your careerinspiration that led you to
where you are today as thefounder and owner of More
Magazine.
Could you tell us some more?
Yeah, of course.
Arianna Cruz (01:08):
Thank you, and thank you so much for having me
on.
I appreciate it.
So I went to IU Kelly School ofBusiness, indianapolis, and I
went towards business justbecause I really wanted to be in
a profession where I could workwith people, talk with people
and, at the end of the day,understand people.
So my background,education-wise, is in marketing
(01:32):
and communications, which leadsme to some cool PR opportunities
, storytelling opportunities,but also from the perspective of
B2C, which is where most of mycareer has been.
I was a creative strategist foran art gallery.
I was the director of marketingoutreach for Big Brothers, big
(01:52):
Sisters of Central Indiana, andnow I'm the director of market
development for Counterpart, acustomized software company out
of Fishers.
So I think for me it's alwayskind of been in a place of,
whatever my role is, maintainingsome connection to the people
that I'm serving and the peoplethat I'm getting to tell the
(02:12):
stories of, and that's kind ofwhat led me towards a
publication, specifically MoreMagazine.
Angela Tuell (02:20):
Awesome, so when did you start it Awesome?
Arianna Cruz (02:23):
So when did you start it?
It launched in 2020.
It had been a project as moreon its own, without the magazine
piece.
It had started at the BartonCenter, which is downtown and a
shelter in between emergencyplace for families seeking
shelter, especially withchildren, and so that's when
(02:43):
more the concept of makingopportunities reachable for
everyone really came to life.
As I was in college, I starteddoing some modeling, I started
doing more creative directing,and that's what led to the
magazine component of it.
I was getting into the space ofvisual storytelling and I
wanted to make sure thatpeople's voices were heard.
(03:04):
With the visuals that we werecreating and kind of bundled
itself into a magazine, that isawesome.
Angela Tuell (03:12):
So for those who are not familiar with it or
haven't read or saw it yet, tellus a little bit more about what
you cover and what you canexpect to see in the magazine,
for sure.
Arianna Cruz (03:23):
So more is for the people who want more for
themselves, more for thecommunities that they live in
and more for the people thatthey love, and so we say that we
curate content to educate,inspire and call you to action.
Your call to action might lookdifferent depending on where
you're at in your journey, andso the content that we curate is
meant to meet you where you are.
Most of our articles are in theform of personal essays, because
(03:47):
I think when you're exploring anarrative or perspective that
maybe you're not as familiarwith, it's easier to hear it
when it feels like it's comingfrom another person to you which
can be so crucial, especiallywith some of the topics that can
be maybe a little uncomfortableor harder to digest or harder
(04:09):
to understand, and so eachmagazine has a theme, with our
women's issue being in the fall,and so you try to take these
themes and look at them from avery, very high level and allow
people to bring differentperspectives to it.
And so, while we have a varietyof themes and topics that we
cover, they're really meant tostart a conversation or maybe
(04:34):
encourage you to get involved insome way, especially as we work
with so many nonprofits.
We want to create easy pathwaysto find your potential call to
action, and sometimes that meansgetting involved in
volunteering.
Angela Tuell (04:45):
Yeah, I love that.
What did you learn that youdidn't expect when starting a
magazine?
Arianna Cruz (04:50):
What did you learn that you didn't expect when
starting a magazine?
Well, I had never planned tostart a business and I think
that in itself, while I went tobusiness school, there's nothing
like learning on the job, right.
And I think in starting amagazine, it's really trying to
think of what am I doing todaythat impacts tomorrow, and what
(05:13):
am I doing tomorrow that likeimpacts next month, or like just
really expand thinking.
And I think in schoolespecially, and when you get
started in your career, mostentry level jobs are really
focused on tasks less soprojects right and less so down
the line thinking, and so thatwas a skill that I did not
(05:36):
realize I would need to grow andflex, so much until I started a
business entirely.
Angela Tuell (05:44):
Yeah, definitely.
How do you find your writersand what is the best way to get
you ideas?
Arianna Cruz (05:53):
Yeah, so our door is always open.
A lot of people will send uspitches to hello at
moremagazineorg, and we lovestarting conversations.
If the story doesn't work, thenwe normally have a podcast that
will be coming out that willalign with it.
We want to be a space and aplatform for as many voices and
(06:15):
stories as we can be, and sincelaunching in 2020, we've really
grown from a magazine thatpublishes twice a year to a
media company that includespodcast drops every week, as
well as sharing more storiesmore regularly on our social
media platforms.
That's fantastic, it's so funand it's really cool to feel
(06:37):
less restrained, if you will, bythe twice a year publication
launches, just because there'sso many voices out there and
there's so much to share and totell.
So our inbox is always open,and that is honestly my favorite
way, because I think, at theend of the day, we all want to
(06:58):
be heard and seen in some way,and I love being able to start
that dialogue with people.
Angela Tuell (07:04):
Yes, absolutely.
What are your hopes for themagazine in the future and for
you know, not just the magazine,like you said, but the podcast
or other ways that you shareinformation?
Arianna Cruz (07:13):
I needed social media support, and so, when I
was thinking about if we wouldcontract or how we would do that
, I wanted to open it up tointerns.
And then, as I was thinkingabout my past experiences and
how our internship model couldalso make opportunities
reachable for everyone, I wantedto focus on first-year students
(07:35):
, because your first internshipis the hardest one to get yes,
that's so true.
And so we have this internshipprogram now.
We have three cohorts a yearand we focus a lot on personal
and professional development,because I think when you're
living a full life, your workand personal life intertwine.
Yeah, that has been really,really cool.
(07:57):
So I mean, I'm hoping for ourcapacity to continue growing so
that we can support more interns, more people pursuing their
passions, because I think a lotof writers are getting started
with us and we get to be likeone of their first publications
where they can say they're apublished writer and different
things like that.
(08:17):
And so when I look to thefuture for more, it's really
just continuing to find morepathways and open doors for
people looking to get theirstart.
Angela Tuell (08:27):
I love that.
How big is your team or howmany have you worked with?
Arianna Cruz (08:32):
So we've had 25 young women pursuing business
come through our program so farand that has been super cool.
It's 2024 now, so starting thisin 2021,.
We've had our first round offreshmen graduate this past May,
which has been so cool to hearfrom them and get messages as to
(08:53):
where they're ending up andwhat they still remember from
the internship, which I think isso, so cool.
And we have our podcast host,chloe Price.
She is incredible.
My brother is also gettingready to graduate high school
and so he's actually joined asour podcast intern and he
supports Chloe with getting alot of our audio together and
(09:15):
edited.
As far as our writers andphotographers and models and all
of our really amazing partners,that's kind of a revolving door
of different people.
We have some people who want toshare a specific part of their
story with us for like the firsttime, but maybe not following
that, and so we have a lot ofdifferent people that we've
(09:37):
worked with.
We have had some repeat peoplethat we've gotten to work with,
like Hannah Jordan.
She's incredible and she hasbeen more in the fashion blog
space, but she's taken on avariety of topics, and so we
don't have a regular staff, ifyou will, but we do have, I
think, a really large communityof people who will also refer
(10:00):
and help, just share theopportunity with others.
Angela Tuell (10:03):
Yeah, that's great .
I know you mentioned this inthe beginning, but owning the
magazine is not your only roleprofessionally.
You also besides a I don't knowif we want to call it a day job
, but you also describe yourselfas a connector.
I'd love to learn more aboutthat.
Arianna Cruz (10:22):
Yeah, for sure.
I think doing life on your owncan feel really empowering.
I also think when you grow withpeople, you yourself grow more
than you would have if you hadonly been walking on your own.
And so for me, like I lovegetting to connect people I know
I'm better because of thepeople that I know and I have
(10:43):
the honor to be in their orbitsand I want everyone to feel like
they have something similar.
And you go to business schooland they say, like your network
is your net worth and all thoselittle phrases.
But there's something sospecial about like finding that
sense of belonging, whether it'sonline or in a city where you
(11:03):
don't know anyone, becausesomebody's able to make an
introduction for you.
And I love, as part of ourinternship, that over the summer
cohort especially, like theyhave to tell me people that they
want to connect with and sothen they get practice doing
informational interviews andputting themselves out there.
I think connecting with peopleis one of the most human
(11:25):
experiences possible, and to beable to start practicing and
being comfortable in meetingpeople and being vulnerable and
like opening that door todifferent relationships is so is
so key.
And so, yeah, I definitely sayI'm a connector because I know
for me, I thrive on connectingwith people, but I also want
other people to get the chanceto experience it, so I love
(11:47):
being that conduit thatintroduces amazing people to
other amazing people.
Angela Tuell (11:55):
Yeah, and I feel like in today's world and you
know our online world and ourwork from home world we don't
get to do that enough sometimes.
It has to be purposeful, youhave to make effort to do it you
know Agreed.
What is some of your favoritestories that you have published
in the magazine, or mostmeaningful, impactful, however
(12:16):
you'd like to choose.
Arianna Cruz (12:17):
Oh, come on, angela, that's like asking who
my favorite.
Angela Tuell (12:22):
I said some, so you can talk about a few if
you'd like.
Arianna Cruz (12:26):
Well, I can definitely talk about our most
recent issue.
We actually just rolled out ourinaugural recognition of women
setting the table, and that hasbeen really fun.
Last year we rolled out a Savethe Seat campaign.
We had a lot of people whowanted to support more, but at
that time we'd only had ways tosupport if you were a business.
(12:49):
Like I said, we've kind ofgrown to a media company, so we
have a lot of advertisingpackages and different media
placement options, but thatdoesn't make sense for my
neighbor to support or somethinglike that.
And so we started this Save aSeat campaign where we have
space for individuals tocontribute, like $10 a month,
and it supports our internshipprogram.
As we were kind of craftingthis campaign of ours, we were
(13:13):
thinking about all the ways thatwe see women in different
communities, not only saving aseat for people to join them at
the table, but also buildingtheir own tables when the spaces
that are being cultivated don'tfeel welcoming to people who
need to be in those rooms.
So we selected three womenMaria, the founder of In Kind
(13:36):
Boxes, Akilah from DardenConstruction Group and Lisa from
Women of Color Building Wealthand so we had these three women
come and share their story withus and all the ways that they
are setting the table for thoseto come after them and just
creating more equitableopportunities for people to be
(13:59):
supported and knowledgeable andeducated in different spaces.
Angela Tuell (14:03):
Are the stories online to read where we can link
to them?
Arianna Cruz (14:06):
Yes, for sure All of our content printed is
accessible digitally.
And then we do a limited printrun of 100 magazines each issue.
Angela Tuell (14:15):
Okay, so we will make sure in our show notes that
we link to some of thosestories.
Any others that you would liketo mention?
Arianna Cruz (14:23):
Yeah, One of my other favorites was one that we
just published as well.
It's equity through innovation,and so we talked about the way
that technology opens the doorto accessibility in so many
different ways.
We touched on the higher edspace and diverse suppliers and
what that can look like when youare partnering with companies
(14:44):
who can be aligned with you, andI think, especially as a
business owner, finding brandsand companies who I can partner
with to not only create productfor or give them some kind of
deliverable, but walk alongsidethem in creating equitable
spaces, has been really cool,and so to see that in an article
form, especially from twowomen-owned, women-founded
(15:07):
businesses, diversified andstudent-ready strategies in the
higher ed space was so, so coolyeah.
Angela Tuell (15:14):
The work you all are doing is so fabulous, thank
you.
I've got to ask what issomething that others would be
surprised to learn about you ifthey don't know you well.
Arianna Cruz (15:25):
Yeah, I saw that question.
I thought that was so fun.
I posted an Instagram reel overthe summer and it was a similar
thing.
It was like tell us, tell ussomething that people don't know
about you.
And I had mentioned that I havemy cosmetologist license and
that was very surprising topeople.
And so I think sometimes aboutwomen or whoever it is where you
(15:50):
read about, like all thesedifferent lives that they've
lived, and I'm kind of goingthrough it and I was thinking
about my pre-career careers.
And, yeah, I have mycosmetologist license.
I interned in a constructionand engineering department on an
Air Force base oh wow.
And I worked at, like, IUSchool of Medicine, which is
(16:11):
also something that, like, Idon't do anything with now.
So I think, just some of thethings that I've done before
really jumping into my careerpeople would find a little
surprising.
Angela Tuell (16:21):
Definitely led you to where you are, but was the
cosmetology before the college?
Arianna Cruz (16:26):
It was.
Yeah, I did a vocationalprogram and so I was doing hair
while I was in school, and Istill do a lot of my friend's
hair, which I just think issuper fun.
Angela Tuell (16:35):
It's pretty nice.
It's a hobby, then, right,instead of it's for fun.
Before we go, I'd also love toknow more about your
professional plans for thefuture, you know, and where you
see yourself in five to 10 years, or where you see the company
in five to 10 years.
Arianna Cruz (16:51):
Yeah, I mean I feel like whenever I heard this
question growing up, I wasalways trying to think of
metrics and very, very tangiblethings.
But honestly, five to 10 years,I want to see myself happy,
healthy and supporting othersand continuing to find ways to
make opportunities reachable foreveryone in a variety of ways.
(17:15):
So it is lofty and a littleopen-ended, but I think that's
the best way for me to look atit, just because, I mean, the
possibilities are endless thenyeah, that's such a great goal.
Angela Tuell (17:26):
That's where we should all be.
So how can our listenersconnect with you online?
Arianna Cruz (17:31):
I am pretty active on Instagram and LinkedIn, so
those are probably the bestplaces to reach me.
My Instagram is Arianna Cruz,with four N's between the two
A's, and LinkedIn is justArianna Cruz, and our magazine
is linked on both of my profiles, so very easy to share ideas
(17:53):
and different pitches andstories that you want to see.
Wonderful.
Angela Tuell (17:56):
And we will have all of those in the show notes,
along with how to connect withyou and learn more on the
podcast as well Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me.
That's all for this episode ofMedia in Minutes, a podcast by
Communications Redefined.
Please take a moment to rate,review and subscribe to our show
.
We'd love to hear what youthink.
You can find more atcommunicationsredefinedcom slash
(18:20):
podcast.
I'm your host, Angela Tuell.
Talk to you next time.
Welcome to Media in Minutes.
This is your host, Angela Tuell.
This podcast features in-depthinterviews with those who report
on the world around us.
They share everything fromtheir favorite stories to what
happened behind the lens andgive us a glimpse into their
world from our studio here atCommunications Redefined.
This is Media in Minutes.
In today's episode, we aretalking with Arianna Cruz,
(00:33):
founder and owner of MoreMagazine.
She created the magazine withthe mission of making
opportunities reachable foreveryone by curating content to
educate, inspire and call peopleto action.
Hi, Arianna, how are you?
I'm doing well.
Angela, how are you?
I'm doing well.
Also, I'm looking forward totalking with you today.
(00:53):
I'd love to start by findingout a little bit more about your
background and your careerinspiration that led you to
where you are today as thefounder and owner of More
Magazine.
Could you tell us some more?
Yeah, of course.
Arianna Cruz (01:08):
Thank you, and thank you so much for having me
on.
I appreciate it.
So I went to IU Kelly School ofBusiness, indianapolis, and I
went towards business justbecause I really wanted to be in
a profession where I could workwith people, talk with people
and, at the end of the day,understand people.
So my background,education-wise, is in marketing
(01:32):
and communications, which leadsme to some cool PR opportunities
, storytelling opportunities,but also from the perspective of
B2C, which is where most of mycareer has been.
I was a creative strategist foran art gallery.
I was the director of marketingoutreach for Big Brothers, big
(01:52):
Sisters of Central Indiana, andnow I'm the director of market
development for Counterpart, acustomized software company out
of Fishers.
So I think for me it's alwayskind of been in a place of,
whatever my role is, maintainingsome connection to the people
that I'm serving and the peoplethat I'm getting to tell the
(02:12):
stories of, and that's kind ofwhat led me towards a
publication, specifically MoreMagazine.
Angela Tuell (02:20):
Awesome, so when did you start it Awesome?
Arianna Cruz (02:23):
So when did you start it?
It launched in 2020.
It had been a project as moreon its own, without the magazine
piece.
It had started at the BartonCenter, which is downtown and a
shelter in between emergencyplace for families seeking
shelter, especially withchildren, and so that's when
(02:43):
more the concept of makingopportunities reachable for
everyone really came to life.
As I was in college, I starteddoing some modeling, I started
doing more creative directing,and that's what led to the
magazine component of it.
I was getting into the space ofvisual storytelling and I
wanted to make sure thatpeople's voices were heard.
(03:04):
With the visuals that we werecreating and kind of bundled
itself into a magazine, that isawesome.
Angela Tuell (03:12):
So for those who are not familiar with it or
haven't read or saw it yet, tellus a little bit more about what
you cover and what you canexpect to see in the magazine,
for sure.
Arianna Cruz (03:23):
So more is for the people who want more for
themselves, more for thecommunities that they live in
and more for the people thatthey love, and so we say that we
curate content to educate,inspire and call you to action.
Your call to action might lookdifferent depending on where
you're at in your journey, andso the content that we curate is
meant to meet you where you are.
Most of our articles are in theform of personal essays, because
(03:47):
I think when you're exploring anarrative or perspective that
maybe you're not as familiarwith, it's easier to hear it
when it feels like it's comingfrom another person to you which
can be so crucial, especiallywith some of the topics that can
be maybe a little uncomfortableor harder to digest or harder
(04:09):
to understand, and so eachmagazine has a theme, with our
women's issue being in the fall,and so you try to take these
themes and look at them from avery, very high level and allow
people to bring differentperspectives to it.
And so, while we have a varietyof themes and topics that we
cover, they're really meant tostart a conversation or maybe
(04:34):
encourage you to get involved insome way, especially as we work
with so many nonprofits.
We want to create easy pathwaysto find your potential call to
action, and sometimes that meansgetting involved in
volunteering.
Angela Tuell (04:45):
Yeah, I love that.
What did you learn that youdidn't expect when starting a
magazine?
Arianna Cruz (04:50):
What did you learn that you didn't expect when
starting a magazine?
Well, I had never planned tostart a business and I think
that in itself, while I went tobusiness school, there's nothing
like learning on the job, right.
And I think in starting amagazine, it's really trying to
think of what am I doing todaythat impacts tomorrow, and what
(05:13):
am I doing tomorrow that likeimpacts next month, or like just
really expand thinking.
And I think in schoolespecially, and when you get
started in your career, mostentry level jobs are really
focused on tasks less soprojects right and less so down
the line thinking, and so thatwas a skill that I did not
(05:36):
realize I would need to grow andflex, so much until I started a
business entirely.
Angela Tuell (05:44):
Yeah, definitely.
How do you find your writersand what is the best way to get
you ideas?
Arianna Cruz (05:53):
Yeah, so our door is always open.
A lot of people will send uspitches to hello at
moremagazineorg, and we lovestarting conversations.
If the story doesn't work, thenwe normally have a podcast that
will be coming out that willalign with it.
We want to be a space and aplatform for as many voices and
(06:15):
stories as we can be, and sincelaunching in 2020, we've really
grown from a magazine thatpublishes twice a year to a
media company that includespodcast drops every week, as
well as sharing more storiesmore regularly on our social
media platforms.
That's fantastic, it's so funand it's really cool to feel
(06:37):
less restrained, if you will, bythe twice a year publication
launches, just because there'sso many voices out there and
there's so much to share and totell.
So our inbox is always open,and that is honestly my favorite
way, because I think, at theend of the day, we all want to
(06:58):
be heard and seen in some way,and I love being able to start
that dialogue with people.
Angela Tuell (07:04):
Yes, absolutely.
What are your hopes for themagazine in the future and for
you know, not just the magazine,like you said, but the podcast
or other ways that you shareinformation?
Arianna Cruz (07:13):
I needed social media support, and so, when I
was thinking about if we wouldcontract or how we would do that
, I wanted to open it up tointerns.
And then, as I was thinkingabout my past experiences and
how our internship model couldalso make opportunities
reachable for everyone, I wantedto focus on first-year students
(07:35):
, because your first internshipis the hardest one to get yes,
that's so true.
And so we have this internshipprogram now.
We have three cohorts a yearand we focus a lot on personal
and professional development,because I think when you're
living a full life, your workand personal life intertwine.
Yeah, that has been really,really cool.
(07:57):
So I mean, I'm hoping for ourcapacity to continue growing so
that we can support more interns, more people pursuing their
passions, because I think a lotof writers are getting started
with us and we get to be likeone of their first publications
where they can say they're apublished writer and different
things like that.
(08:17):
And so when I look to thefuture for more, it's really
just continuing to find morepathways and open doors for
people looking to get theirstart.
Angela Tuell (08:27):
I love that.
How big is your team or howmany have you worked with?
Arianna Cruz (08:32):
So we've had 25 young women pursuing business
come through our program so farand that has been super cool.
It's 2024 now, so starting thisin 2021,.
We've had our first round offreshmen graduate this past May,
which has been so cool to hearfrom them and get messages as to
(08:53):
where they're ending up andwhat they still remember from
the internship, which I think isso, so cool.
And we have our podcast host,chloe Price.
She is incredible.
My brother is also gettingready to graduate high school
and so he's actually joined asour podcast intern and he
supports Chloe with getting alot of our audio together and
(09:15):
edited.
As far as our writers andphotographers and models and all
of our really amazing partners,that's kind of a revolving door
of different people.
We have some people who want toshare a specific part of their
story with us for like the firsttime, but maybe not following
that, and so we have a lot ofdifferent people that we've
(09:37):
worked with.
We have had some repeat peoplethat we've gotten to work with,
like Hannah Jordan.
She's incredible and she hasbeen more in the fashion blog
space, but she's taken on avariety of topics, and so we
don't have a regular staff, ifyou will, but we do have, I
think, a really large communityof people who will also refer
(10:00):
and help, just share theopportunity with others.
Angela Tuell (10:03):
Yeah, that's great .
I know you mentioned this inthe beginning, but owning the
magazine is not your only roleprofessionally.
You also besides a I don't knowif we want to call it a day job
, but you also describe yourselfas a connector.
I'd love to learn more aboutthat.
Arianna Cruz (10:22):
Yeah, for sure.
I think doing life on your owncan feel really empowering.
I also think when you grow withpeople, you yourself grow more
than you would have if you hadonly been walking on your own.
And so for me, like I lovegetting to connect people I know
I'm better because of thepeople that I know and I have
(10:43):
the honor to be in their orbitsand I want everyone to feel like
they have something similar.
And you go to business schooland they say, like your network
is your net worth and all thoselittle phrases.
But there's something sospecial about like finding that
sense of belonging, whether it'sonline or in a city where you
(11:03):
don't know anyone, becausesomebody's able to make an
introduction for you.
And I love, as part of ourinternship, that over the summer
cohort especially, like theyhave to tell me people that they
want to connect with and sothen they get practice doing
informational interviews andputting themselves out there.
I think connecting with peopleis one of the most human
(11:25):
experiences possible, and to beable to start practicing and
being comfortable in meetingpeople and being vulnerable and
like opening that door todifferent relationships is so is
so key.
And so, yeah, I definitely sayI'm a connector because I know
for me, I thrive on connectingwith people, but I also want
other people to get the chanceto experience it, so I love
(11:47):
being that conduit thatintroduces amazing people to
other amazing people.
Angela Tuell (11:55):
Yeah, and I feel like in today's world and you
know our online world and ourwork from home world we don't
get to do that enough sometimes.
It has to be purposeful, youhave to make effort to do it you
know Agreed.
What is some of your favoritestories that you have published
in the magazine, or mostmeaningful, impactful, however
(12:16):
you'd like to choose.
Arianna Cruz (12:17):
Oh, come on, angela, that's like asking who
my favorite.
Angela Tuell (12:22):
I said some, so you can talk about a few if
you'd like.
Arianna Cruz (12:26):
Well, I can definitely talk about our most
recent issue.
We actually just rolled out ourinaugural recognition of women
setting the table, and that hasbeen really fun.
Last year we rolled out a Savethe Seat campaign.
We had a lot of people whowanted to support more, but at
that time we'd only had ways tosupport if you were a business.
(12:49):
Like I said, we've kind ofgrown to a media company, so we
have a lot of advertisingpackages and different media
placement options, but thatdoesn't make sense for my
neighbor to support or somethinglike that.
And so we started this Save aSeat campaign where we have
space for individuals tocontribute, like $10 a month,
and it supports our internshipprogram.
As we were kind of craftingthis campaign of ours, we were
(13:13):
thinking about all the ways thatwe see women in different
communities, not only saving aseat for people to join them at
the table, but also buildingtheir own tables when the spaces
that are being cultivated don'tfeel welcoming to people who
need to be in those rooms.
So we selected three womenMaria, the founder of In Kind
(13:36):
Boxes, Akilah from DardenConstruction Group and Lisa from
Women of Color Building Wealthand so we had these three women
come and share their story withus and all the ways that they
are setting the table for thoseto come after them and just
creating more equitableopportunities for people to be
(13:59):
supported and knowledgeable andeducated in different spaces.
Angela Tuell (14:03):
Are the stories online to read where we can link
to them?
Arianna Cruz (14:06):
Yes, for sure All of our content printed is
accessible digitally.
And then we do a limited printrun of 100 magazines each issue.
Angela Tuell (14:15):
Okay, so we will make sure in our show notes that
we link to some of thosestories.
Any others that you would liketo mention?
Arianna Cruz (14:23):
Yeah, One of my other favorites was one that we
just published as well.
It's equity through innovation,and so we talked about the way
that technology opens the doorto accessibility in so many
different ways.
We touched on the higher edspace and diverse suppliers and
what that can look like when youare partnering with companies
(14:44):
who can be aligned with you, andI think, especially as a
business owner, finding brandsand companies who I can partner
with to not only create productfor or give them some kind of
deliverable, but walk alongsidethem in creating equitable
spaces, has been really cool,and so to see that in an article
form, especially from twowomen-owned, women-founded
(15:07):
businesses, diversified andstudent-ready strategies in the
higher ed space was so, so coolyeah.
Angela Tuell (15:14):
The work you all are doing is so fabulous, thank
you.
I've got to ask what issomething that others would be
surprised to learn about you ifthey don't know you well.
Arianna Cruz (15:25):
Yeah, I saw that question.
I thought that was so fun.
I posted an Instagram reel overthe summer and it was a similar
thing.
It was like tell us, tell ussomething that people don't know
about you.
And I had mentioned that I havemy cosmetologist license and
that was very surprising topeople.
And so I think sometimes aboutwomen or whoever it is where you
(15:50):
read about, like all thesedifferent lives that they've
lived, and I'm kind of goingthrough it and I was thinking
about my pre-career careers.
And, yeah, I have mycosmetologist license.
I interned in a constructionand engineering department on an
Air Force base oh wow.
And I worked at, like, IUSchool of Medicine, which is
(16:11):
also something that, like, Idon't do anything with now.
So I think, just some of thethings that I've done before
really jumping into my careerpeople would find a little
surprising.
Angela Tuell (16:21):
Definitely led you to where you are, but was the
cosmetology before the college?
Arianna Cruz (16:26):
It was.
Yeah, I did a vocationalprogram and so I was doing hair
while I was in school, and Istill do a lot of my friend's
hair, which I just think issuper fun.
Angela Tuell (16:35):
It's pretty nice.
It's a hobby, then, right,instead of it's for fun.
Before we go, I'd also love toknow more about your
professional plans for thefuture, you know, and where you
see yourself in five to 10 years, or where you see the company
in five to 10 years.
Arianna Cruz (16:51):
Yeah, I mean I feel like whenever I heard this
question growing up, I wasalways trying to think of
metrics and very, very tangiblethings.
But honestly, five to 10 years,I want to see myself happy,
healthy and supporting othersand continuing to find ways to
make opportunities reachable foreveryone in a variety of ways.
(17:15):
So it is lofty and a littleopen-ended, but I think that's
the best way for me to look atit, just because, I mean, the
possibilities are endless thenyeah, that's such a great goal.
Angela Tuell (17:26):
That's where we should all be.
So how can our listenersconnect with you online?
Arianna Cruz (17:31):
I am pretty active on Instagram and LinkedIn, so
those are probably the bestplaces to reach me.
My Instagram is Arianna Cruz,with four N's between the two
A's, and LinkedIn is justArianna Cruz, and our magazine
is linked on both of my profiles, so very easy to share ideas
(17:53):
and different pitches andstories that you want to see.
Wonderful.
Angela Tuell (17:56):
And we will have all of those in the show notes,
along with how to connect withyou and learn more on the
podcast as well Awesome.
Thank you so much for having me.
That's all for this episode ofMedia in Minutes, a podcast by
Communications Redefined.
Please take a moment to rate,review and subscribe to our show
.
We'd love to hear what youthink.
You can find more atcommunicationsredefinedcom slash
(18:20):
podcast.
I'm your host, Angela Tuell.
Talk to you next time.
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