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GC Liberal Arts Education Provides Alumni With Winning Entrepreneurial Skills

Published: April 13, 2021

The five skills most valued by employers in todays job market just happen to be skills that boost entrepreneurial ventures too. Take Pounds Media of St. Louis, for example, a start-up video production business in 2011 and now a thriving, award-winning, full service studio that counts the St. Louis Cardinals, Mashable and Land of Lincoln Tourism among its clients.

Owner Jered Schneider, his partner-wife Jordan and colleague TJ Gaylord, all Greenville College graduates (pictured below, left to right), attribute Pounds success in part to skills they honed in college skills todays employers rank as most desirable according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers 2014 Job Outlook. Heres a quick snapshot of how the lean entrepreneurial team of Pounds players translated these top five skills into small business success.

Winning Skill #5 Ability to obtain and process information Pounds Media began as a hobby for the Schneiders who videotaped weddings on weekends. Both held day jobs at Greenville College Jered as IT support director and Jordan as an admissions counselor. Filming videos might still be their weekend hobby were it not for the couples vision and ability to apply their skills to projects beyond the wedding chapel and reception hall.

GC Liberal Arts Education Provides Alumni With Winning Entrepreneurial Skills

We did a lot of self-teaching, recalls Jordan, who now manages Lovebird Studios, the wedding side of Pounds. We had the skills it took to learn quickly and the desire to work hard.

Advertising and promotion now comprise Pounds Medias primary work. The group also produces Feast TV on a local PBS station and is developing another St. Louis-based television series. In light of this broad scope of projects, Jered counts his liberal arts background and knowing how to learn as one of his most valuable assets.

Winning Skill #4 Ability to verbally communicate with persons inside and outside the organization Pounds Media functions as a one-stop shop for creative storytelling that begins with ideas in the clients imagination. Jered and crew are challenged to capture and relay that story to a broad audience. I oversee and approve all writing, storyboarding and ideation, he explains. Jered also directs the filming process. The team adds animation, graphics and music to wow their customers.

GC Liberal Arts Education Provides Alumni With Winning Entrepreneurial Skills

We deliver a great experience to our clients, Jered says. From the first meeting to delivery of the final video, we want them to be blown away with the leve

l of care we take to ensure that we exceed their goals. In turn, Pounds Media remains focused on its goal: developing life-long relationships with its clients.

Winning Skill #3 Ability to plan, organize and prioritize work Juggling may not find a place on TJ Gaylords job description, but it finds a place in his daily work as he mines for new customers and cultivates profitable relationships. TJ also juggles Pounds social media strategy, writes blog posts, conducts interviews and manages ads. His work echoes the hands-on experience he gained as a student at GC creating PR campaigns and marketing plans as a communication major, producing radio shows, building a network through Future Business Leaders of America and more. One of the benefits of going to a small school like GC is that I was able to be as involved as I wanted, he says. TJ also possesses a masters degree in management practice from Greenville College.

GC Liberal Arts Education Provides Alumni With Winning Entrepreneurial Skills

Winning Skill #2 Ability to make decisions and solve problems Jered, a self-described optimist, knew that if his team worked hard and created great experiences for clients, Pounds Media would succeed. That meant working through a steady stream of problems though, from growing a customer base to maintaining working relationships and branding, marketing, managing finances and bringing on the right people.

Some management experts say that critical thinking cannot be taught in the classroom, yet Jordans experiences proved otherwise. I think the greatest skills you can learn in college are communication skills, analytical skills and teamwork skills, she reflects. Greenville College does all of these things really well.

Winning Skill #1 Ability to work in a team structure Turn back the clock a few years and no one may have suspected that Jered huddling with his teammates on the football field, or TJ collaborating with student writers to produce The Papyrus, or Jordan engaging in group projects for her social work classes would soon engage in high-stakes teamwork by building business relationships with client companies and working with their teams.

We were very fortunate to have great people take a chance on us early on, reflects Jered. The doors that opened from those early opportunities have been amazing.

Click below to view the Pounds Media Demo Reelfrom&nnbsp;Pounds Media.

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