Hosted by Lauren Roberts, today’s podcast welcomes Anita Jaynes, founder of The Business Exchange magazines which distributes its two editions, Swindon and Wiltshire and Bath and Somerset.

Anita joins Lauren to catch up PR Not BS listeners on her business since her last appearance in 2021.

Five years on Anita shares how her businesses have developed over half a decade and kicks off this episode by sharing about the expansion of her online magazine, networking events and the introduction of The Business Exchange Awards.

Anita shares how the media landscape has changed in the last 5 years and how content marketing is king and stresses the importance of having your business move through the times to stay profitable and relevant. Anita exemplifies this with her introduction of The Business Exchange VIP membership and how the subscription changed the game for the magazine, enabling her to tell the stories which are integral to the business community.

Anita discusses her growth and journey of starting The Business Exchange Show and Magazines and her focus of supporting SMEs in the region. She talks about what it takes to create two quarterly magazines and how she juggles the world of everyday life with this mammoth job.

“I don’t think people realise how labour intensive a media business is,” said Anita. “You’re only as good as your last magazine.”

2026 marks 13 years of ‘The Business Exchange: Swindon and Wiltshire’ and 10 years of ‘The Business Exchange: Bath and Somerset’.

Anita dives into her relationship with the charity sector in the South West and shares South West has a vast wealth of charities and has heard how businesses are struggling to connect with the sector in an affordable way. Therefore, she created free and cheap events to do just that. What started off as listening, became a thriving annual event which draws over 700 people to the region.

She shares her tips for business leaders and how her successful media business lies with her attention to detail, by listening and looking after people and their stories, something Anita believes has somewhat been lost.

“We’re Bath, Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire’s only dedicated business to business magazine and online outlet,” she said. “It’s sad.”

Her goal is to bring eyes to these counties and bring them together. To bring sustainable business and collaboration within the South West, particularly with the vastness of Wiltshire and its many small businesses.

Anita discusses how the relationship with the media has changed through time and how the personal, not the artificial, wins out for businesses who want coverage.

In their third year, The Business Exchange Awards for Bath, Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire are launching on 13th April 2026. Ready for businesses across these regions to be in the running for this award which puts community and collaboration first.

Tune in now to get all the details of Anita’s professional media journey and see the reality of building a magazine company, not the BS!

To contact Anita Jaynes at The Business Exchange:

Email: anita@tbesw.co.uk

To get in touch with Lauren and the Scott Media team, visit www.scottmedia.uk

Join our free Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Fiona’s guest today is Tamsin Welton, the new homes sales manager McFarlane Sales and Lettings.

In this episode of ‘PR not BS’ podcast Tamsin dives into her journey to becoming an estate agent and how being a good estate agent is not about the numbers.

Fiona first met Tamsin when she joined a local networking group, Professional Connections of Wiltshire, a couple years ago.

After becoming a networking friend and colleague, Fiona invited Tamsin onto the podcast to discuss the ins and outs of being an estate agent and what it means to Tamsin. As well as the role PR and networking plays in her role and industry.

Tamsin started working in the estate agent sector over 30 years ago and started working for new home sites in Swindon, working with apartment blocks and new developments. Tamsin travelled to North Devon to Westward Ho, working at the county’s beautiful coastline. She then moved to South Africa and worked on selling homes in the region and was involved in the selling and designing of homes before travelling back to the UK and settling back in Swindon.

After moving back to Swindon Tamsin worked freelance for two years before becoming employed with an estate agency before landing her current position at McFarlane Sales and Lettings, Swindon’s local independent estate agents, where she is thriving.

Tamsin dives into the reasons she returned to being an employed estate agent and the hands-on and personal way McFarlane approaches their work. In her extensive experience of different estate agencies, this one is an outlier in how they treat their agents and clients.

“You are a person, not a number,” Tamsin says.

Tamsin shares her experiences of working at a poor estate agency in the past and gives insights into how some estate agencies work to create ‘productive’ environments at the expense of employees and clients.

Her work at McFarlane couldn’t be more different and it’s about spending time with clients and not being chastised for investing in them and guiding people through a complicated process of owning or renting a home. Tamsin shares a personal experience about how being a good estate agent and going the extra mile brings new returns.

Tamsin dives into the world of networking and it pays off in the long term. She shares how investing in long term relationships and processes is something estate agents are used to. One referral can pay for the whole year's networking. Estate agents and business professionals should and are in it for the long game.

Tamsin discusses McFarlane’s interaction with many aspects of PR, including their apprenticeship scheme and charity work with Race for Life and Macmillan Coffee Mornings.

“It seems like a company prepared to give back and prepared to talk about it and it inspires others to do the same,” said Fiona.

Tune in now to get all the details of Tamsin’s professional journey and get the reality of PR. With no BS!

To contact Tamsin at McFarlane.

Website: mcfarlaneproperty.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcfarlaneproperty

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mcfarlanes

If you would like to contact me, you can visit www.scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe

Lauren’s guest today is Dave Southby, the founder and managing director of Southby & Co Financial Planning.

Now in his fifth year of business having started in business alone, there are now a team of six. The team includes another financial advisor and an office manager, and having already moved offices to accommodate the team, they are now on the hunt for a larger home for the business as the team has grown yet again.

Since being joined by a team, Dave rebranded the business which reflects that it isn’t just him, so now the business is known as Southby & Co Financial Planning. He talks about how life has changed since the expansion.

Dave explains that the job of a financial advisor involves far more than most people imagine the role to include. He also dismisses the false belief that you have to be wealthy to work with a financial advisor.

Working and living in the area where he grew up, giving back to the community is something that is very important to Dave. The business has already won two business awards – the Positive Business Award at The Business Exchange Awards and the St James’s Place Responsible Business of Year Award. To be able to support local projects, and local charities is a huge passion of his.

Networking has always been something that Dave finds an important part of growing his business which is also part of his PR strategy. Now that he has a team around him, it means he has the luxury of sending other team members to events, so he can work on other things.

This year he aims to enter more awards, hopefully find a new office - the forever home for Southby & Co, and there are also new partnerships and ideas coming up – including something he’s keeping close to his chest for now!

To contact Dave:

Website: https://www.southbyfp.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southby.dave/

If you would like to contact me, you can visit www.Scottmedia.uk or join my free Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/prtribe