Laurie Rowe
Senior Vice President, Public Relations
Some people are born entrepreneurs. Others, like me, are made. In my case, it took hard work, a little luck, a supportive peer network, and yes… pumpkins.
Nearly twenty years ago, I founded Laurie Rowe Communications (LRC) after an unexpected opportunity forced a career pivot. Entrepreneurship was never part of my grand plan. Yet almost overnight, I found myself responsible not just for strategy and storytelling, but for payroll, growth, and long-term sustainability.
My background in destination marketing gave me a front-row seat to the value of earned media and a deep understanding of the pressures faced by both destination teams and journalists.
When done well, public relations remains one of the most cost-effective ways to build awareness and drive visitation. But building a PR firm that could scale sustainably? That required more than passion. It required pruning.
The Power of Peer Support and Strategic Focus
For more than 12 years, I’ve been a member of The Alternative Board, a national business advisory organization with peer boards across the country. Meeting monthly with fellow entrepreneurs reinforced a powerful truth: industry differences don’t matter nearly as much as leadership challenges do. That peer accountability helped me think more intentionally about growth – and the right kind of expansion.
One of the most transformative resources for our company was The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz. Inspired by farmers who grow giant prize-winning pumpkins, the book outlines a deceptively simple idea: If you want extraordinary growth, you nurture the strongest pumpkin and remove what’s draining its energy.
Pumpkin science applies remarkably well to travel marketing and to any industry.
Discovering Our Areas of Innovation
At LRC, we took the book seriously. My team read it together. We held facilitated retreats and video sessions. Every voice was heard. We identified our Areas of Innovation (AOI) — the unique attributes that truly set us apart. For us, that meant:
- Specializing in destinations with strong experiences but limited budgets
- Building deep relationships with travel journalists
- Creating scalable systems that made earned media accessible to overlooked markets
Instead of chasing every opportunity, we began asking better questions:
- How to ensure the client is aligned with our AOI?
- Can we deliver measurable impact here?
- Does this relationship energize or drain the team?
And when the answer was no, we pruned. It wasn’t always easy. But it was transformative.
Systemizing for Scalable Growth
The result was a scalable model now serving nearly 30 destinations. Every program is guided by:
- A defined creative process
- Clear timelines
- Measurable deliverables
- A centralized Travel Media Pressroom with story ideas, editorial releases, and media assets available 24/7
This structure allows us to extend reach, serve multiple destinations efficiently, and provide consistent value to both clients and journalists. Growth became intentional, rather than accidental. And as LRC evolves into Paradise Public Relations, we’re doubling down on our AOI, refining our niche, and expanding strategically rather than broadly.
No matter how large we grow, we intend to think like small farmers aiming to grow one colossal, prize-winning pumpkin at a time.
Pumpkin Plan Tips for Destination Leaders & Marketing Firms
If you run a destination, attraction, or marketing firm, here are practical lessons inspired by The Pumpkin Plan:
1. Define Your Ideal Client and Evaluate Current Ones — Then Obsess Over Them
Your best clients share patterns: mindset, budget expectations, communication style, growth orientation. Document these traits. Build your marketing around attracting more of them. Poor-fit clients consume disproportionate time and energy. Protect your team’s bandwidth.
2. Double Down on Your Unique Strength
What do you do exceptionally well that competitors struggle to replicate? Niche into it. Own it. Become known for it.
3. Systemize Everything Repeatable
Consistency fuels scale. Prize pumpkin farmers follow precise systems. So should you.
- Standardize onboarding
- Template deliverables
- Clarify timelines
- Track metrics
4. Build a Referral Flywheel
Your best clients likely know others like them. Create intentional referral conversations.
5. Protect the Soil (Your Team)
The healthiest pumpkin grows in healthy soil. Invest in training, collaboration, retreats, strategy reviews and honest feedback. A burned-out team cannot produce prize-winning work.
Never Leave Growth to Chance
The most important lesson? Never leave the development of your business to chance. Coaching, peer advisory boards, strategic planning sessions, and shared reading initiatives weren’t luxuries. As we became part of Paradise PR, I was delighted to discover that among owners and team leaders, we all share the same foundational values that will allow us to focus on high-value clients and ensure scalability.
Entrepreneurship may begin with opportunity. But visionary growth requires intention. And sometimes, a little pumpkin wisdom.
