Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie Francis.

Hi Eddie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

If you had asked me, years ago, if I thought I would be running my own business, I would’ve asked you in what universe that would be happening. When I was in high school, I saw myself becoming a working actor. But my college internship was in radio and I loved it…until I went one too many years with that *ahem* wonderful radio paycheck and no confidence that it would get any better. So, I had to figure out what else was out there that would fill my spirit while putting more digits in my bank account.

I lived the dream as a full-time speaker for a few years, delivering presentations at high schools and colleges about educational and career success. OK, now we’re talking! I was making more money, performing, AND doing something in which I found a profound sense of purpose.

A friend of mine reached out about a unique opportunity, and I found leading public relations at Southern University at New Orleans at 37-years-old. Ironically, higher ed is where I found my voice. I was able to build the university’s brand and tell its great story in a way that was sorely needed in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. I eventually pivoted to talent acquisition for a few years, and found my way to Dillard University where I led marketing and communications. It was great. I led a brand refresh and oversaw the rebuild of the university’s website.

But all good things must come to an end. I left Dillard, unexpectedly, in 2023. My wife took that opportunity to encourage me to do what I really wanted. I wanted to run my own business, get back to radio, and get back into professional speaking. So, here I am, running a business, hosting my own radio show, “The Way Forward” on WBOK, and speaking to college students and professionals about personal leadership, personal branding, the leader-follower relationship, and a budding area of leadership studies called followership.

Here’s the part though. I didn’t just launch into this stuff blindly. I took myself through a personal rebrand to clarify my “why.” After a couple of weeks of note-taking and soul-searching, I realized that in everything that I do, there’s an undertone of ethical leadership. I reflected on my role as a higher ed marcomm leader, and I went back to radio and speaking with the intention of using the microphone for the betterment of the audience.

I’ve always seen myself as being meant for something bigger, but I never quite knew what “bigger” looked like. And what do ya know, my “why” is what bigger looks like.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

OK…here we go. No, it hasn’t been smooth. At times, it’s been downright frustrating to the nth degree. The biggest thing that I couldn’t figure out was why setbacks would upset me SO much. I began seeing a therapist to figure out why I was burned out and feeling bad about mistakes that I made through my career. At the tender age of 53, I was diagnosed with ADHD.

I learned that part of having ADHD is what’s called emotional dysregulation. That means struggling to manage and express emotions in a reasonable way. Through my career, I would get feedback that I didn’t like or have encounters with co-workers that disappointed me, and I would want to start flipping tables.

Now, to be clear and fair to myself, I’ve been in some pretty toxic environments with toxic bosses and in very stressful situations. Doing higher ed marcomm can be a 24/7 job. But managing my reactions to unfair situations was a problem. I know I’m not alone; 8.7 million adults have been diagnosed with ADHD (that’s according to a 2021 report in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy).

Things are so much better now. My wife jokingly calls me “Evolved Eddie.” LOL She told me that there’s a noticeable difference in how I deal with things. My business is only two years old, so she’s watching me go through the growing pains while handling the disappointments better than before.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

Edify is a marketing and communications consultancy. Since it’s still very young, I’ll tell you what my dream account looks like. A huge issue that I noticed in higher ed is that colleges and universities don’t pay attention to their reputations as employers. I always say that higher ed has a hiring problem, not being intentional about who they add to the faculty and staff and ignoring the importance of employee experience and retention.

For now, Edify is really fortunate to be able to work with a health care organization on their web copy, Edify is also training a new university marcomm team to get them up-and-running and supplying fractional chief communications officer services to another university.

My dream client is a small college that I can help transform into such a great employer that they save thousands of dollars per year through employee retention. And the cherry on top is creating a great student experience. You can’t go wrong with a higher ed marcomm pro who also has a background in job recruiting.

I’ve built quite the reputation for taking a smart, sensible (not sensational) approach to marcomm solutions. I’m also affordable and I customize my solutions according to the client’s identity and value. I don’t hit the ground running, I hit the ground listening.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

Oh, I’m a risk-taker, alright. LOL I believe that risk-taking is essential. One of the big problems that I have with higher education, as an industry, is that so many college and university administrators operate with a scarcity mindset, yet they want the kinds of results that risk-takers get. Want higher enrollment, donations, or alumni engagement? Adopt an attitude of abundance and welcome the risk. If it doesn’t work, dust yourselves off, sit back at the table, put those big doctorate brains to work, and give it another go.

Every advancement that I’ve experienced in my career came, because I took a risk. I’ve had a car repossessed over a career decision, and I’ve had hunches that didn’t work out at all. But I can also say that I’ve taken big swings, and I know what to do when I’m up to bat again. But you have to be thoughtful. The worst risks that I’ve taken didn’t have solid goals attached to them, so I went in with uncertain paths when I didn’t need to. Still, I believe that taking risks is essential,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://eddiefrancis.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddiefrancis06/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EddieFrancisUnscripted/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edifyventuresnola
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eddiefrancis06/videos

Image Credits

Image 3 – American Marketing Association
Image 4 – Enrollify