Meet Caroline Rice | Strategy Director & Founder of R&Co. Branding

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caroline Rice and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caroline, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As an empath with an insatiable curiosity and a self-proclaimed puzzle queen, I am constantly observing, identifying areas of opportunity, daydreaming about solutions, and convinced there is a better way. I picked up many such observations and opportunities for better creative partnership in my decade working at traditional creative agencies. Myths like we have to be accessible to our clients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that working through the night on a creative deadline is good for team moral, that the only good ideas come from the top, that bigger is better, and that a higher price tag equates to higher quality work. I picked up a long list of icks, don’ts, and bad practices along the way and when, in 2021, I was asked to essentially put myself back in the closet for a client by my employer, I decided to use my observations and list of don’ts to try and build a better way. A better way to partner with clients, teammates, society, and myself while still doing what I love: branding.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I offer branding, which has come to mean a lot of things, but for me, it’s defining the strategy behind your why to authentically impact the perceptions and beliefs customers hold about you. It shows up with messaging, naming, logo and design, and overall marketing strategy. What makes my approach different is the belief system that shaped my business. Three of the tenets of the masculine economy that I work in opposition to constantly are scarcity, ego, and domination of people and nature. Acting instead with abundance, gratitude, and collaboration has been one of my biggest challenges, but has shaped my business in invaluable ways that I believe are what sets me apart from others. It can be so difficult to not act from a place of competition or fear, the patriarchy tells us there is only one seat at the table, capitalism tells us we have to constantly hustle, and consumerism tells us that we have to keep up with the Jones’. From the way I approach my working hours to the relationships I build with my clients, I try to offer a different way to partner that will prove valuable to all parties. That translates to pricing and scopes of work that are personalized to what each client needs, sharing leads, contacts, and wins with my fellow female entrepreneurs, and giving credit where credit is due.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t live in South Carolina anymore, so not sure how I should answer this questions

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
How to pick just one?! I am lucky to be in community with some passionate and impressive women. From my mother, Lori, I learned that being myself and speaking my truth was always the right approach, that if my authenticity made someone uncomfortable, I need not bother. While in college at New York University, I was working retail at a small, luxury children’s store in SoHo and landed an internship with the company’s founder, Ali Wing. That internship blossomed into a mentorship and long-standing friendship with her, her husband, and son. Ali was the first woman entrepreneur and mother I had met that was balancing and excelling at both. Her example is something I constantly come back to as a touchstone, a “What Would Ali Do” bracelet should be adorned on my wrist. She exemplifies a strong woman who knows and stands in her power, isn’t afraid to ask for and take what she needs and deserves, and continues to break boundaries and stereotypes as the CEO of Oobli. When I was starting my business, I met the two co-founders of BWB, Casey Carroll and Caitlin Fitzpatrick, taking on a freelance strategist position with them and quickly becoming obsessed with the way they do business, lead with their values, and challenge the patriarchy and capitalistic principles we are forced to exist within as business owners. What I have learned from them is immeasurable and invaluable, and I am thrilled to continue to partner with them as a freelancer and as a participant in their cohorts and creative retreats. I would also like to highlight the works of Jennifer Armbrust (Proposals of the Feminine Economy), Adrienne Maree Brown (Emergent Strategy), and Tricia Hersey (Rest is Resistance), as each of their books played a pivotal role in my journey to detangle myself from my cycle of socialization and unlearn my own unconscious biases. Each of these women, and many more, have helped to make me a better person, thinker, and member of society.

Website: https://www.randcobranding.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r_andcobranding/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-rice-59059132/