Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Capes Terry.
Hi Laura Capes, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I grew up on a farm outside Chicago, and I was painfully shy. If you had told that young girl she would someday teach marketing, lead a local media company, and host podcasts, she wouldn’t have believed you. I imagined a career quietly working behind a computer. But I also felt God nudging me to use my voice. I knew I had more to give. I just didn’t know how to get past the fear.
One of my earliest turning points came at a Tony Robbins event in Dallas. I found myself being asked to walk across hot coals, something I had absolutely no intention of doing. An older woman I had partnered with took my hand and told me, “If I can do it, you can do it.” And I did. That experience changed how I saw myself. It also introduced me to an idea that has stayed with me for decades: small changes, made consistently, can take your life somewhere completely different.
Professionally, I earned my degree in marketing and later my MBA. I went to work in marketing right out of college and began earning recognition early in my career. Over the next three decades, I built brands, bought media, developed strategies, and helped businesses grow. Eventually, I stepped out of corporate America and into entrepreneurship through Grayson Media & Marketing.
Local media brought together so many things I loved: marketing, storytelling, relationships, and community. For five and a half years, I published Avery Ranch Living in North Austin. We told neighbors’ stories, featured local businesses and charities, and hosted events that brought people together. I found tremendous joy in helping neighbors become friends.
My family’s move to Georgetown opened another chapter. My parents had moved here from Florida to be near our son, Grayson. Through visits with them, we fell in love with Georgetown’s open spaces, beautiful Square, and small-town feel. Eventually, we moved here, too.
Then COVID disrupted the way we lived and worked. My businesses and relationships were still largely rooted in North Austin and Cedar Park, and I realized I needed to build a life in the community I now called home. I joined the Georgetown Chamber, participated in Leadership Georgetown, and started finding ways to serve.
During Leadership Georgetown, I heard city leaders talk about the opportunities and challenges of rapid growth. I was already publishing BeLocal Cedar Park & Leander, a resource that helped new residents find their way. I saw an opportunity to bring that same welcome and connection to Georgetown.
I still remember approaching Mayor Josh Schroeder with a copy of BeLocal, nervous enough to be shaking, and asking whether Georgetown should have something like it. That conversation led to introductions and collaboration with city staff. BeLocal Georgetown became my Leadership Georgetown class project and grew into the award-winning local media company I publish today.
Our purpose is to help newcomers feel at home and connect them with the businesses, people, and resources that make Georgetown special. Through our guide, digital content, social media, and community partnerships—including our work with the Downtown Georgetown Association—we help beloved local businesses be seen, trusted, and chosen.
Along the way, I also had to become clearer about my own identity. Advertising supports our work, but my contribution begins well before someone buys an ad. I bring decades of marketing experience and a desire to help business owners figure out their best next step. Sometimes that means BeLocal. Sometimes it means clarifying their message or building the foundations of their brand first.
That understanding led me to develop my personal brand, teach more, share resources through lauracapesterry.com, and eventually step behind a microphone. I co-created The Unbridled Creative to share stories of faith and entrepreneurship. I also launched Be Locally Loved, where I spotlight beloved businesses, charities, community leaders, and creative connectors who help communities thrive.
Today, my work brings together marketing education, local media, storytelling, and community service. I get to help business owners grow while helping people feel more connected to where they live.
For years, I struggled to find my own voice. Now, one of my greatest joys is using it to help other people share theirs.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Some of the hardest parts have been internal—learning to trust my voice, navigating change, and finding the courage to build a business that reflects who I am.
I grew up painfully shy. Speaking up, introducing myself, or putting an idea into the world could feel overwhelming. I worried about being judged. That didn’t disappear when I became an entrepreneur. I had to keep choosing to raise my hand, start the conversation, and take the next step while I was still afraid. Sometimes people see where you are today without realizing how much work it took to get comfortable being seen.
Moving to Georgetown brought another challenge. In Avery Ranch, I had built a community around my work. I knew people. I hosted events. I had a sense of belonging and purpose. After moving, and then going through COVID, I felt disconnected. My businesses were rooted elsewhere, and I was starting over personally and professionally. I remember describing myself as a wilted flower that needed soil, water, and sunshine. Getting involved in Georgetown helped me find those things again, but I had to take the initiative before I felt connected.
One of my deepest struggles was feeling that people saw only a small part of what I could offer. Because advertising funds a local media company, people often knew me as the person who sold ads. Meanwhile, I had decades of experience in marketing strategy, media buying, branding, and teaching. I wanted to help owners understand their challenges and make better decisions. Being seen primarily through the transaction was painful because the relationships and the work meant so much more to me.
A coach helped me confront that by asking me to spend an hour in a cemetery. It sounds unusual, but it was a turning point. Looking at lives of every length reminded me that none of us knows how much time we have. My brother died at 18, when I was 19, so that truth was already deeply personal.
I left knowing I needed to stop postponing the work I felt called to do. I wanted to teach, create, share what I had learned, and help people. I was afraid that changing how I showed up might hurt my business. But I also knew I couldn’t keep building a business that left so much of me unexpressed.
That decision led me to develop my personal brand and eventually launch podcasts. Even then, it took me a couple of years to get past the fear and figure out how to make podcasting happen.
I’m still growing. The difference now is that I have more trust in what I bring and more willingness to act before I feel completely ready. My faith, coaches, and community have helped me keep going. So has remembering why I started: I care about people, and I want the work I do to help them thrive.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
BeLocal Georgetown is an award-winning local media company that helps newcomers feel at home and helps beloved local businesses be seen, trusted, and chosen. Through print, digital, mobile, and social media, we connect people with the places, businesses, and resources that make Georgetown special.
We specialize in helping local businesses build awareness and trust with new residents at a particularly important moment: when they are actively deciding where to go, what to do, and which businesses to use. Our sponsors have a consistent strategy and system for reaching those newcomers, introducing themselves, and building relationships over time.
For someone moving to Georgetown, BeLocal is like a best friend helping them find their way.
When you move, you leave behind more than a house. You leave familiar routines, favorite places, and trusted relationships. Your doctor, dentist, hair stylist, and home service providers may all be somewhere else. You need to find those resources again, often without a local network to ask for recommendations. You also want to know where to take your kids, how to get involved, and where you belong.
Our research shows that new movers establish an average of 72 new business relationships during their first year. That’s a lot of decisions to make while settling into a new community. We help make that experience easier, more welcoming, and more personal. We want people to go from feeling like outsiders to feeling like insiders in their new hometown.
For local businesses, that creates both an opportunity and a challenge.
You may have spent decades earning an excellent reputation in Georgetown. You may have served on charity boards, supported schools, sponsored events, and taken exceptional care of your customers. But a family that arrived last week doesn’t know that history yet.
As the community grows, businesses need a way to keep introducing themselves. Without one, even a well-established brand can become less familiar to a growing share of the people who live here. Its reputation has value, but that value needs to be communicated to each new wave of residents.
BeLocal gives businesses an ongoing way to make those introductions. Through advertising partnerships, business features, video, and social storytelling, we help sponsors share who they are, whom they serve, and why people trust them. They gain a system for becoming known, liked, and trusted by people who are looking for the relationships they offer.
Our different channels work together to support that process. Our printed newcomer guide reaches thousands of new homeowners each year, introducing them to Georgetown through local recommendations, community stories, helpful resources, and trusted businesses. It’s something they can keep and return to as their needs arise.
Our digital edition and mobile access put those same resources at the fingertips of the general public, making BeLocal useful to newcomers, longtime residents, and visitors alike. Our social media keeps people engaged with what’s happening across the community—from local businesses, events, charities, and schools to local favorites and discoveries in real time.
Someone might discover a business in the printed guide, get to know its owner through a video, and save a social post for their next visit. Those encounters build familiarity and give people more confidence about whom to call or where to go.
What sets us apart is the marketing experience and community involvement behind that work. I bring more than 30 years in marketing, branding, strategy, and media buying to BeLocal Georgetown. That experience helps me look beyond an advertising placement to understand a business’s audience, message, goals, and readiness to reach new customers.
I’m also an entrepreneur. I understand how much owners put into their businesses and how carefully they have to make marketing decisions. We start by learning about their business and determining whether our audience is the right fit. We talk about expectations, consistency, and the time it takes to build trust. We want partnerships that serve our sponsors well for years.
Our community relationships are just as important. We collaborate with the City of Georgetown, the Downtown Georgetown Association, the Williamson Museum, and other local organizations to help people discover and participate in Georgetown life.
Our work with the Downtown Georgetown Association includes dining and shopping resources that introduce people to the merchants who give our historic downtown its character. We share local history, highlight events, and tell the stories behind the people and places around us. Charities gain visibility for their missions. Community partners have another way to share useful information. Residents find opportunities to explore, volunteer, and connect.
That’s one of the things I’m proudest of brand-wise: we’ve built a platform that can serve many people through the same work. Welcoming a newcomer can also support a business, introduce a volunteer to a charity, and bring another family downtown.
Receiving the Texas Downtown Association President’s Award for Best Downtown Partner was especially meaningful because it recognized that spirit of collaboration. We’ve also won Georgetown’s Best three years in a row. Being recognized both beyond Georgetown and here at home is something our team takes tremendous pride in.
But the everyday connections matter just as much. A newcomer finds a resource they needed. A resident discovers a local business they hadn’t visited. A business owner feels that someone understands their story and is helping them reach the people they can serve.
Our philosophy is simple: serve before you sell. That guides the content we create, the partnerships we build, and the way we show up in the community.
What I want readers to know is that BeLocal Georgetown offers businesses a purposeful way to reach new residents while giving those residents something genuinely useful. We help great businesses become familiar to their future customers, and we help people build a life in a place they’re proud to call home.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I would say a willingness to grow, even when it’s uncomfortable.
I grew up painfully shy, so many of the things I do today—teaching, speaking, hosting podcasts, and introducing myself to community leaders—once felt overwhelming. But I felt God calling me to contribute more, and I knew that would require me to stretch.
One lesson that has stayed with me for decades is that small changes can take your life somewhere completely different over time. I think of them as two-millimeter adjustments. I didn’t become confident overnight. I kept learning, seeking guidance, and taking small steps toward the person I wanted to become.
That willingness to grow has also meant being honest when something wasn’t working. There was a point when I realized my business wasn’t expressing everything I had to offer. I loved serving my community through BeLocal, but I also wanted to teach marketing, share my experience, and help business owners make better decisions. Giving myself permission to do that required another uncomfortable step. I had to trust that showing up more fully as myself could strengthen the work I was already doing.
It also affects how I serve clients. I want to understand what they need and help them find the best next step, even when that means recommending something outside my own offering. That requires listening, staying curious, and being willing to rethink your assumptions.
When I look at my life today, I see the result of decades of those small decisions. I’m still learning and stretching. I’ve just become more willing to take the next step while I’m still afraid, especially when I believe it will allow me to serve someone well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.belocalgeorgetown.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belocalgeorgetown/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/belocalgeorgetown
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauracapesterry/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs1Xyijl_dXr8EHZIi-qkxQ
- Other: https://www.belocalpub.com/locations/belocal-georgetown-16dc/
