For the better part of 40 years I have worked for media outlets and communications firms across Michigan – but today is different. Today, I start a new professional journey. I’ve decided to launch my own company, Dye Communications, a public relations and strategic communications firm.
Why now? I want a new challenge. I want more personal and professional independence. Like most people, I want the freedom to work in a way that allows me to meet my business demands while spending more time with the people most important to me. From a business perspective, I want to speak with my own voice and act in a manner consistent with my own heart and mind. And I want to approach my business practices on my terms.
That last point is key to my business model. I enjoy working closely with my clients and providing them a high level of personal attention so that I can help them seize new opportunities or overcome an emerging issue. Yes, clear, compelling, and relevant messaging is a big part of that – but if you truly want to be a business partner to them you need to KNOW them and be committed to their collective needs. That only happens when you learn about their lives and aspirations, earning their trust and confidence as you would do with a close friend. The person who helped me transition from journalism to public relations in 2013, Kelly Rossman-McKinney, excels at this. The people in her network that I met over the years were more than clients and business colleagues. They spoke and acted like dear friends. She cared about them and they cared about her. And that genuine, personal relationship allowed her to be infinitely more to them in their hour of need than just a communications advisor.
My business approach will rely on similar traits. I will provide a high level of personal service to the people who need help with their internal or external communications. From the first contact to the finished product, my clients will work directly with or through me. The advice and services they receive will be based on my decades of media experience, audience research, product innovation, project management and corporate communications work. Those skills will be complemented by the talents of several strategic partners whom I have known or worked with for many years. Our collective approach will be more as a strategic partner to our clients, with the goal of helping them achieve their business and communication goals. And, in the end, a, genuine relationship will be established.
To those of you who are reading this or visiting my website in search of a communications partner, thank you for stopping by and feel free to send me an email at tim@dyecommunications.com to say “hi” and help me learn more about your needs.
