Branding Photography Session with Anna Goldsmith, Executive Director, TEDxPortsmouth
With TEDxPortsmouth coming up in May, it is only fitting that I feature Anna Goldsmith. She is the Executive Director of the TEDxPortsmouth https://tedxportsmouth.com. When Anna joined in my photography event last summer of 2021 - The Extraordinary Female Entrepreneurs and Leaders in Portsmouth, it seemed only fitting that we do the photoshoot at The Music Hall. I love the Music Hall. Every time I am there, I can’t help but think of all the history in Portsmouth and all the people that sat in these seats many years ago. This photo of Anna is one of my absolute favorites!!
Here is Anna’s story,
by Anna Goldsmith
Anna left college with a degree in art and no marketable skills. Her career began unceremoniously with a humiliating stint working a frialator at Seattle SuperSonics basketball games.
She soon returned east to a slightly less humiliating job as the towel girl at a swanky health club.
Seeing some promise — or just seeing the opportunity to take advantage of a disillusioned 23-year-old — a member hired her away to write telemarketing scripts for Brain Gum. (As in “chew more, study less,” IQ-enhancing bubble gum.) While the experience caused her to wrestle with her moral compass, she had never had so much fun.
After a fateful meeting with another young copywriter who had also been laid off (ah, the dot com era) the two decided to start their own copywriting agency “until we get real jobs.”
Twenty years later ….
Anna and her business partner, Dan O’Sullivan, work with major brands around the world, helping them find the right words, the right voice and the right platform. Their agency now includes 15 senior-level writers and has won numerous awards.
Does Anna have words of advice for people who want to start their own companies, too? (Yes, and thank you for asking!) Here it is: You don’t have to do it alone. Find a business partner who you trust implicitly, you like immensely … and perhaps most importantly, can do the stuff you’re bad at.
You can learn more about their company at www.thehiredpens.com. (They are always looking for exciting new clients and great writers to add to their roster.)
Being “good in business” also means using your skills to do some good in your community.
Anna grew up in Portsmouth. So did her father, her grandfather, his father and a bunch of relatives before that. Her husband loves to make fun of how they all talk when they get together (e.g., “Remember Patchy from XYZ store before it because ZYX?”). And while she knows this is a pastime among many long-time residents — reminiscing about the “old Portsmouth” — Anna thinks the city has grown and changed in some pretty amazing ways.
Wanting to get more involved in the community after moving back to Portsmouth with her family in 2015, Anna joined the TEDxPortsmouth team, helping take the event from a 150-person gathering to a sold-out show at The Music Hall — and one of the biggest TEDx events in the country. Now as the executive director, she works with a great team of people who are also passionate about sharing bold new ideas from Seacoast voices. Visit www.TEDxPortsmouth.com to learn more — whether you want to sponsor, take the stage or work behind the scenes.
But wait! There’s (just a little bit) more!
During the pandemic, Anna got back into art, turning the family’s empty guestroom into a studio. She’s in there almost every day, often with a son or two painting beside her. She had her first show in early 2021 and a second this fall. You can see her mixed media collages at www.annagoldsmithart.com. As you might expect from a copywriter, her art work prominently features … words.
Anna holds an MA in non-fiction writing from the University of New Hampshire and a BA from Colby College.