Karen James Cody operates The Allyson Group, a content company that works with mission-driven for-profit and nonprofit organizations to help them build a magnetic story-brand that can attract customers, funders, and top talent—so they can grow and scale their impact.

ABOUT THE ALLYSON GROUP

I spent over 20 years in corporate communications as a writer, media relations manager, and communications director, responsible for communications to audiences that included media, employees, customers, shareholders, and legislators.

Although I had been doing business as The Allyson Group for years, in 2019 I recreated it as an LLC. We work with all kinds of small and mid-sized businesses, but particularly social enterprises and mission-driven brands. Our goal is always to develop highly effective digital content that separates them from the crowd by elevating their thought leadership and communicating their impact – because that’s their bottom line: impact. What difference are they able to make in the world? For their customers, their constituents, their employees, and their communities – that is what they measure. And that’s what we build stories around.

The Allyson Group existed as a side hustle for many years. In the beginning, we wrote and produced “word-processed” business communications; for example, company brochures, sales and marketing collateral, and press releases. We did a lot of work for companies that wanted to attract media attention: press kits, position papers and white papers (the “thought leadership” publications of the era), pitch documents. We followed the work of journalists on the beats our clients cared about and tried to feed them information that would help them frame and write their stories. The internet wasn't yet the primary mode of communication; there was much more face-to-face networking and interaction. We spent a lot of time on the telephone. Still, the primary product, the end product, was the written word.

Today, great writing is still at the core of what we do. We are a team of writers and communications strategists. We bring multicultural perspectives from an ethnically-, nationality-, and age-diverse team. We are seasoned, independent professionals from the fields of journalism and publishing, grant writing and nonprofit service delivery, IT, and project management. We are artists, graphic designers, and editors.

We are a WBENC-certified woman-owned, minority-owned small business enterprise based in Montgomery County and working with clients here in Maryland, in other states, and occasionally in other countries.

THE ALLYSON GROUP: OUR SERVICES

We serve social enterprises and other impact-focused businesses of all sizes. We help them conceive, plan, and develop original, branded digital content – so they maintain strategic focus, publish consistently, and optimize their content for search engines. Content strategy and planning is one of our core strengths.

We partner with other businesses to offer additional communications services like search engine optimization (SEO), photography, videography, graphic design, and more. These services are for established clients, who trust us to provide complete “done for you” solutions.

Also, we are always happy to meet entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses from sole proprietorships into value-laden organizations that employ other people and are positioning themselves for steady growth. It’s at that point we can help them with a robust digital content strategy – to communicate their value proposition and help establish a strong, public brand.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY RESOURCES WE LOVE

I am a member of the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce. They are incredibly active all over the state, constantly seeking opportunities and partnerships that benefit Maryland black and brown businesses. They now have chapters in multiple Maryland counties, and advisory boards that help direct the work in those counties. Advocacy, including trips to Annapolis to talk directly to legislators about the needs of small business, is a growing part of their mission. I also think that the Chamber’s educational resources are exceptional. They offer a ground-level Business Academy that is practically free for Chamber members, and for any startup business, it would be an excellent use of time.

The Montgomery County Black Collective has been extremely helpful to me and my business. I’m a graduate of their AMBER program and benefitted from expert one-on-one coaching as I started trying to scale up from operating like a freelancer into an enterprise. 

Also, I have been a longtime client of the Maryland Women’s Business Center in Rockville (and, occasionally, the Bowie Center). I found them to be a priceless resource as I was heading into full-time entrepreneurship. I learned from them to put together an effective business plan (an 8-week course). They assigned me a coach (my first), and I’ve always felt they are a resource I can reach back out to at any time. Years later, I still have friends over there. 

I think MoCo is an excellent place to start a business because there are tons of resources to help you find your way. This Black Business Database is just one of them. See you out there! And good luck.