The Vanguard Council is a small, member voted strategic council for short term rental founders who want their professional reputation to create measurable business advantages.
For six months, we build the permanent positioning infrastructure behind your personal brand through my proprietary Brand Edge Framework, proven brand assets and systems while you actively pursue the stages, partnerships, relationships, media opportunities and visibility that can move your business forward.
STR founder brands
As you build, you learn from and leverage the Council’s collective experience, trusted relationships and resources, with support from founders who understand the decisions, pressure and opportunities that come with leading at your level. Then we use what the market tells us to keep refining where you show up, how you position yourself and which opportunities deserve your attention.
is this you?
DISCOVER MORE
- You lead a short term rental company, and you know your reputation can create leverage
- You want visibility that creates business ROI, not just popularity.
- The conference stages, podcasts, partnerships and industry opportunities are starting to come, or they are not coming as frequently as you would like,
- You want honest feedback from operators who understand the stakes, pressure and isolation of leadership.
- You want a strategic system that helps you decide which opportunities deserve your time instead of chasing every new platform or tactic.
- You can protect every Third Thursday from 12 to 2 ET.
YOUR REPUTATION IS ALREADY DOING BUSINESS. WHO'S DIRECTING IT?
Every decision you make affects more than revenue. It affects reputation. Every stage, post, partnership, introduction and conversation sends a message to your team, your peers and your market about who you are as a leader.
You are carrying decisions, juggling competing priorities and trying to stay visible at the same time. So personal branding becomes something you do when you have a spare minute, while people in conversations you are not in shape your reputation for you.
You do not need more information or worse -- misinformation from AI. But you do need sharper personal brand positioning, stronger strategy, a trusted circle and a coach that pushes you higher.
At your level, effort alone stops moving the needle. What moves it is strategy built around your business goals, your natural wiring, your personal values, talents and experience, plus trusted peers who understand the pressure you carry and will never let you play small ball.
Onboarding built around who you are, how you operate, what you want the business to accomplish and what you can realistically execute. You leave with your starting strategy inside the Brand Edge Framework.
01 | Executive Immersion.
A SIX-MONTH BUILD.
A COUNCIL THAT COMPOUNDS IT.
Permanent positioning infrastructure, brand assets and systems built while you actively pursue real opportunities in the market. Once your infrastructure is in place, we continue to meet to refine, work through challenges, strategize, pivot and measure results.
02 | The Six Month Build.
Monthly strategic advisory with an Energy Check, wins and challenges, hot seats, peer feedback and an Anchor Commitment that turns discussion into a decision and a next step.
03 | Vanguard Third Thursdays.
Review your KPIs, market feedback, current business goals and the priorities that deserve your attention next.
04 | monthly 1:1 Strategy Sessions.
Send a message or voice note when a decision cannot wait for the next meeting.
05 | Real-Time Access to Amber.
You get the systems, tools and trusted resources I use. I sit on your bench.
06 | Frameworks, AI Tools, Templates and Expert Network.
Separate emotion, urgency and outside noise from the move that best serves the business.
Sharper decisions.
Third Thursday is where the Council turns individual experience into collective intelligence. Members bring the decision, opportunity or obstacle that matters now, then leave with perspective they could not generate alone and a commitment they can act on.
Hear the truth from founders who understand the stakes and care enough to challenge the first answer.
Constructive candor.
Draw from expertise in technology, product, hospitality, partnerships, marketing, operations, sales and advocacy.
Cross-functional intelligence.
Convert an ambitious idea into the next step, a clear owner and an Anchor Commitment.
Useful accountability.
Create introductions, collaborations, speaking opportunities and shared visibility across adjacent parts of the industry.
Compounding relationships.
Bring the pressure, uncertainty and personal realities that affect executive decision-making without having to perform.
Support for the whole leader.
Vanguard Third Thursdays
Hey there! I'm Amber, a brand & reputation strategist, professional keynote speaker and founder of The Authority Suite.
I bring more than 20 years of visibility and branding experience across businesses of all sizes, mergers and acquisitions, politics, government, fundraising, media tours, entertainment and celebrity branding. But first, I had to figure it all out on my own after becoming a teen mom. I quickly saw that when I put my best self in front of the right people in the right places, my circumstances improved exponentially.
meet YOUR STRATEGIST
amber hurdle
Today, I've consulted for billion-dollar brands, spoken on the same bill as Brené Brown, made Nashville Business Journal's 40 Under 40, won the Nashville Chamber's NELA Service Provider Award, had my book on retail shelves, had a successful podcast, and have personally produced brand activations for names like Jessica Simpson and Alan Jackson. Clearly, I understand extreme pressure, power structures and how to win. So I'll stand on the business of you, even when you doubt yourself.
I will get to know you, your values, and your priorities. I know the families and even the pets of most of my clients because we can't compartmentalize our success. So if you say you want it, I'll lovingly, yet relentlessly, drive you toward it with solid data and a little woo. My job inside Vanguard is simple: hold the brand accountable to the business.
member quotes
Members are turning clearer positioning and sustained visibility into meaningful business movement. Here is what they have to say:
-Gil Chan,
Founder & CEO, CraftedStays
How Membership Works
Membership is by application, and current members vote on every new seat.