BY MAUREEN WERTHER
Audra Herman humorously describes herself
as having a “long and storied life.”
Like most entrepreneurial types, her journey
has been neither straight and narrow nor routine.
Born and raised in Manhattan, Herman
now resides in Saratoga Springs, where she acts
as marketplace director for New York States of
Mind LLC (NYSOM), an innovative and artfully
produced digital magazine and online marketplace
devoted solely to New York state-based
makers of goods and services.
Initially acting as NYSOM’s strategic new
business consultant, Herman drew upon her
diverse background and experience, first in
fashion and retail, followed by careers in fundraising,
real estate project management, and
more recently as executive director of the New
York state Executive Mansion, where she was
in charge of the “greening” of the Governor’s
Mansion.
Herman credits her abilities to forecast
trends, analyze market data, and develop
“ground-up business planning, including operational
functions, best practices, and product
marketing” to skill sets she has developed,
honed, and added to throughout her career.
She sees entrepreneurship as a set of talents
and characteristics that enable a person to create
an idea, product, or service and nurture its
development as it grows, evolves, and responds
to the needs of the marketplace and the business
environment.
One key characteristic is fluidity. Herman
described this trait as a person’s ability to be
open to new business ideas.
“You can start out with one business plan
or idea and it doesn’t always come out the way
you’d originally imagined it,” she said. “As you
meet new people, they bring their own set of
ideas and concepts to the mix. Fluidity is the
ability to flow with those changes and welcome
new ideas that come along the way.”
She also sees fluidity as not being afraid to
change course or switch gears, as well as the
ability to transfer skill sets and utilize them
effectively across business platforms. She has
demonstrated these traits throughout her own
career, and cites her fashion and retail experience
as an example.
After opening her own retail store in
Manhattan while her children were growing
up, Herman later used the skills she learned
in merchandising, marketing, and advertising in her role as development officer at the
Children’s Museum. During her tenure there,
she increased the revenue from the museum’s
income streams and used her entrepreneurial
skill sets as an effective fundraiser.
Collaboration and partnership are two
other hallmarks of Herman’s entrepreneurial
endeavors. In her current role, she travels across
the state, identifying other entrepreneurs and
bringing them together with others who can
help promote and grow their businesses in
ways that they may not have been able to on
their own.
The NYSOM website, www.newyorkstatesofmind.com provides a “platform for makers
across the state to have a venue for their goods,”
said Herman. The digital magazine is one component
of that collaboration and, coupled with
the online marketplace, “New York Makers,”
puts makers’ goods and stories into cyberspace.
Two local examples of “makers” who are
benefiting from partnership with Herman and
NYSOM are Sundaes Best in Saratoga Springs,
makers of small-batch chocolate sauce and fritelli
& LOCKWOOD, makers of handwoven textiles
located in Saratoga’s historic Arts District.
Another key component of entrepreneurship
is “understanding how to incorporate
and involve the broader community and work
toward what works for both the business and
the community itself,” said Herman.
A good example of this is the upcoming
“Chef en Pointe,” a benefit for the National
Dance Museum’s School of the Arts, to be held
Nov. 6 at the museum. Herman has been instrumental
in putting it together. Drawing upon her
relationships with local and regional entrepreneurs,
the food and spirits will be provided by
Catskill Provisions and Finger Lakes Distilling.
Local chefs and bartenders will also be
on hand to offer small plates and cocktail
pairings. By merging the interests of the community
with the interests of local businesses
and entrepreneurs, everyone benefits from
the collaboration.