We were lucky to catch up with Rebecca Barnes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Rebecca , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Almost every entrepreneur we know has considered donating a portion of their sales to an organization or cause – how did you make the decision of whether to donate? We’d love to hear the backstory if you’re open to sharing the details.
Giving back isn’t just something I do on the side—it’s part of how I run my businesses every day. From Brides & Weddings to Prince William Living to Imagine, I’ve built a model where a portion of revenue is set aside to support the community, small businesses, and non-profits.
When we launched Prince William Living (www.princewilliamliving.com), it wasn’t just to publish a magazine; it was to create a platform that celebrates the people, businesses, and non-profits that make our community thrive. Over the years, it has grown into a trusted source of inspiration and information, as well as a vehicle for connection.
That mission of community-building led us to create Give Back Prince William (www.givebackpw.org), a non-profit that allows us to take all of the subscription revenue, a part of sales, and all of event sponsorships and reinvest them in scholarships, small business grants, and support for local organizations doing meaningful work.
From there, we expanded into the wedding industry with Brides & Weddings (www.bridesandweddings.com), a publication and platform designed to connect engaged couples with wedding professionals who are passionate about their craft. Every purchase made with Brides & Weddings helps fund marketing grants for small, often women-owned wedding businesses that need visibility to grow.
Through our tourism marketing agency, Imagine (www.imaginedc.net), we help organizations tell their stories and elevate their brands. Additionally, we set aside a portion of the Agency’s revenue for the Imagine Better Project (www.imaginebetterproject), which provides pro bono and reduced-cost marketing services to non-profits and small businesses with enormous potential. Whenever we complete a destination project, we seek a non-profit organization to support in that municipality. At the heart of everything I do is a simple philosophy: business should be a tool for building stronger communities.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m Rebecca Barnes, and I’ve been a storyteller, connector, and community builder for over 30 years. My journey into publishing and marketing started when I was just a teenager, working on newsletters and finding ways to amplify the voices of others. In my 20s, I ran a column for AOL (yes, I am that old) called Ask Miss Frugal, an advice column about living on less and helping others stretch their resources. Over time, that passion turned into a career and a calling.
Today, I wear a few hats: I’m the founder and publisher of Prince William Living magazine, the publisher of Brides & Weddings, and the CEO of Imagine, a full-service marketing and destination branding agency. Each of these businesses may seem different on the surface, but they’re all rooted in the same mission: Destination marketing that helps people and organizations be seen, heard, and valued.
At Prince William Living (www.princewilliamliving.com), we focus on positive news that celebrates the people, nonprofits, and businesses in our Northern Virginia community. Good stories deserve to be told, and local media should lift people up, not tear them down. Brides & Weddings (www.bridesandweddings.com) is a trusted resource for engaged couples and a high-impact visibility platform for wedding professionals. It’s a place where inspiration meets opportunity, and where the business side of love gets a boost.
At Imagine (www.imaginedc.net), we partner with businesses, nonprofits, tourism boards, and municipalities to help them grow through strategic marketing, branding, and communications. Whether it’s developing a destination brand, launching a website, creating a campaign, or telling a story that resonates, we help our clients cut through the noise and connect with the right audience.
What sets me apart is that I’ve always combined creativity with purpose. I don’t just help businesses grow—I also help communities thrive. That’s why I launched Give Back Prince William (www.givebackpw.org), a nonprofit that receives subscription sales, sponsorship dollars, and donations. Through this initiative, we provide scholarships, grants, pro bono marketing, and other resources to small businesses and nonprofits. I also formalized Imagine’s Imagine Better Project to ensure a portion of agency revenue is reinvested into community-focused work, including support for nonprofits in every destination where we do business.
As a breast cancer survivor, I’ve also made it a personal mission to advocate for women’s health and wellness. I’ve organized and led initiatives encouraging hundreds of women to get mammograms, many for the first time, and some have even caught cancer early as a result. Through workshops, speaking engagements, and awareness campaigns, I use my platform to emphasize prevention, empowerment, and resilience.
I’m most proud of the impact I’ve made—not just in business growth, but in the lives of people. From helping a nonprofit secure its first round of funding to witnessing a local entrepreneur thrive after receiving a boost from one of our programs, those are the moments that matter most.
If you’re a potential client, collaborator, or supporter, I want you to know that I care deeply about helping others succeed. I believe in relationships over transactions. And I believe that marketing, media, and storytelling, when done right, can be transformative. I bring experience, heart, and a strategic mindset to everything I do. Whether you’re looking to grow your business, expand your visibility, or make a difference in your community, I’m here to help make that happen.
You can learn more about my speaking, workshops, and keynotes at rebeccabarnes.media
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
ne moment that stands out was when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. As a business owner, community leader, and mother, my life was full—and suddenly, everything changed. I didn’t have the luxury of stepping away from my responsibilities, so I leaned into what I knew best: communication, connection, and purpose.
Instead of hiding my diagnosis, I shared it publicly. I used my platform to encourage other women to get mammograms, and that decision sparked something powerful. Over 300 women got screened—many for the first time in years—and four of them caught their cancer early, just like I did. That experience taught me that resilience isn’t just about surviving hard things; it’s about using them to help others.
Continuing to lead my businesses, publish magazines, and show up for my community while going through treatment wasn’t easy, but it was meaningful. It reminded me why I do what I do: to be a voice, a light, and a source of strength, even when life gets hard.
Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?
One of the most challenging and most defining moments in my career came in 2023, when I suddenly lost my life partner, Patrick. He wasn’t just my partner in life—he was the founder and visionary behind Imagine, the marketing and branding agency we built together.
Patrick’s passing was completely unexpected. At the time, Imagine was very much his domain in terms of operations, client relationships, and creative direction. While I ran the communications and content part of Imagine, I was focused on my businesses—Prince William Living and Brides & Weddings. Overnight, I had to take over an agency that was midstream on projects, with employees depending on us and clients expecting results. And I had to do it while navigating unimaginable grief.
There were moments I honestly didn’t know if we’d make payroll or keep the doors open. There was no handbook for how to recover from losing your partner in every sense of the word. But I did what I’ve always done: I showed up. I asked for help. I focused on the mission. I leaned on the team, reassured our clients, and slowly began rebuilding, honoring Patrick’s legacy while bringing my own voice and vision to the company.
Imagine didn’t just survive, it grew. And that experience taught me that resilience isn’t about never falling apart. It’s about putting one foot in front of the other when everything in you wants to stop—and finding the strength to lead through heartbreak.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://imaginedc.net
- Instagram: @wefightugly
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/wefightugly
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/wefightugly
