Business Q&A with PR Man David Baker

Carroll County resident David Baker said he started VoxPop Communications to both follow his own dreams and to help the "little guy" -- nonprofits and small businesses. 

Baker said VoxPop Communications started out as a one-man PR firm in Portland, Oregon in 2003. The company evolved and grew and was launched as VoxPop Communications, LLC in Maryland on March 1, 2012.

Baker said he and his partners -- Tracy Anadale and Chuck DeKett -- chose to open a business in Carroll County because they all reside in the county and because it's a fantastic location, among other things. 

Patch: Summarize what you/your business does.

David Baker: VoxPop Communications is a full-service marketing and public relations agency offering marketing, public relations, and copy services to small businesses, non-profit organizations, and community groups. Our core services include graphic design, copywriting and editing, public relations and media management, and marketing/PR planning.

Patch: Why did you choose Carroll County as a home for your business?

David Baker: So many reasons to choose Carroll County! We all three live here, so, you know, bloom where you're planted. But beyond that, Carroll is such a fantastic location: 30 minutes from downtown Frederick; 45 minutes from Baltimore; 90 minutes from DC. Great communities, great mix of urban experience with rural heritage. We love the farmer's market, the Main Street towns, the feeling of small town living, but with big city reach. We really do think of Carroll as “The Middle of Somewhere,” and that's why we chose to incorporate right at home.

Patch: What are the pros and cons of owning a business in Carroll County?

David Baker: The pros are many. We have a very strong Chamber of Commerce, and Mike McMullin is doing a great job of helping foster an environment where business can grow. We have a very business-friendly County Commission, all of whose members seem to understand the nexus between a strong local economy and long-term economic growth for the county. We're really lucky to have a strong and thriving agricultural community. We have a great business mix. And we are increasingly a diverse and growing county.

There aren't really any “cons” so much as some real opportunities. One thing that VoxPop sees as a huge opportunity for Carroll County is a re-focusing on the Main Street business communities. We have, I think, a great mix of businesses in Carroll—everything from micro galleries to Knorr Brake—but we run the risk of losing our Main Street, our economic engine, if we don't take some systematic, deliberate, and perhaps even radical steps to revive our County's Main Streets. 

Patch: What are challenges your business/industry is facing?

David Baker: The challenges are manifold. We're dealing with a down economy—nobody wants to spend money when their own paycheck is shrinking. So, in some cases, not all, it can be a challenge just to get a business owner to see the value in PR and marketing. The other big challenge is, frankly, saturation. In a lot of ways, technology has made the world very, very flat. There are a lot of people out there doing graphic design. Doing websites. Doing copywriting and editing. Some do it well, some do it less well, but there are just a lot more people doing it.  

Where VoxPop stands out is that we've been doing this for a very long time. Each of the three principals has over 20 years experience in graphic design, print production, fine art, copywriting and editing, and PR. We bring a holistic view to a fragmented—and fragmenting—media marketplace and we help amplify our client's voice. So, in that respect, the challenge is actually an opportunity for us.

Patch: What do you love about your job? 

David Baker: Before I started VoxPop, I worked in a cube farm at a financial services company. It was a great job as far as J-O-Bs go, but it wasn't my dream. I think my story is common among a lot of people; I think a lot of people do what's “sensible” and neglect to ever think about what's necessary--Right Now. I decided that I wouldn't put off my dream for the sake of an hourly wage or a benefits package. I took a chance. 

Now, I get to do VoxPop every day. I get to bring this crazy notion to the world that anybody can be a rockstar brand, as long as they have a good plan and a good partner. Every day is Bring Your Child to Work Day for me, and I now have the opportunity to stop what I'm doing an play a game of catch, Battleship, or Wii bowling with my sons. It's such a strange and scary and exhilarating thing to turn your back on a regular paycheck and follow a dream, but it's so very worth it. I think, at the end of the day, that's the greatest thrill for me: I did it, WE did it. Three visionary and creative people came together to form a world-class, local creative agency and I get to point to that and say, yeah. Yeah. That's just the best feeling in the world!

To learn more about David Baker and VoxPop Communications, visit vox-pop-communications.com.