Influential Woman · Marketing and Creative Services

Kristin Burgess

Creative Director, The PRISM House

Sunapee, NH

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's degree in English and Art Degree University of New Hampshire Degree 2005 Degree Master's degree in Education Degree Antioch New England Degree 2007

Her Story

About Kristin

I've been working in this field for 18 years, starting in publishing and marketing in 2008 and event planning in 2010. I'm the Creative Director and co-owner at The Prism House, which I've been running for 7 years with my partner Terry Scott. She handles more of the business operations side while I'm really in the creative driver's seat. We work with clients to tell their story - getting to know their business and brand, and digging into their needs around making their story heard by their target demographic. Whether that's building a brand from the ground up with our graphic design partners, creating logos and brand packages, building websites with copywriting, or working with more established businesses that need to get their story out through photo and video production, we take a multifaceted approach to storytelling. We also do events and activations. I'm at the helm of that from a creative perspective. Before starting The Prism House, I spent 10 years working in publishing during the transition from print to digital. I was the person saying to the owner of the publishing house that we've got to be on social media, that our clients need to be there, and they were telling me social media was just a fad that would pass. I was like, Instagram's gonna be something, and they said no, it's just a place where people share their memories and their kids. That was a really interesting time to be in publishing as we watched it go digital. I also taught high school English for a year when I was young, and two of my best friends in the entire world are women who sat in my freshman English class - they were young and I was young, and they later wanted an internship and to work with me once they saw my business grow.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Kristin

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say a deep sense of knowing how to trust my gut. Whether that means from a creative perspective or from a business development side, really knowing who to trust and how to build a team that's gonna produce the work that will keep us in business - the right clients, the right partners, all of that. I've always really known how to trust my gut on that stuff, and that has gotten us here. I'm definitely a leap-and-the-net-will-appear type of business owner, but taking on my partner, who is very much not that way, has been invaluable because we really are kind of a yin and yang. We really balance each other out.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

I would say trusting your intuition and being bold, not being afraid to take chances. I'm definitely a leap-and-the-net-will-appear type of business owner, and that approach has really served me well. Taking on my partner, who is very much not that way, has been invaluable because we really balance each other out - we're kind of a yin and yang.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I would say be bold, be unapologetic, and don't be afraid to take big risks and tell stories that people may not understand at first. I think it's important to really make your mark. There's a lot of noise and a lot of people doing really, really creative things, so if you don't dig deep into your own heart and your own creative intuition, then you can't stand apart. Really trust in your creative vision and don't be afraid to do scary things and bold things in order to make your mark.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I would say one of our biggest challenges is getting people to understand exactly what we do and how a multifaceted approach to visuals - from graphic design to photo and video to events and product launch type activation work - how those three things really meet to be with one agency. I think people just oftentimes are like, well, I don't understand what you do. And that is really our biggest challenge, because I think people don't understand what a multifaceted approach they need to really, truly make their brand be seen.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I would say honesty and trust. Trusting in your client and being humble to your client in a way that if you can really listen to their needs and really trust that they know what they need, it's that you have to guide them there creatively. I think trusting in people has really gotten me a long way - trusting in their intuition and then building upon that. I've hired a lot of young creatives and I've put a lot of trust in them. I've put cameras in the hands of people that really don't have the experience to be there yet, but I feel like if I trust in people's deep creative intuition, I will draw the best out of them. So that's really a value for me - trusting in the people around me and building upon what they have to contribute creatively.

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