‘Cause When You’re 15
The public relations take on “if a tree falls in the forest and there was no one there to hear it” is “if someone does something, and a press release wasn’t sent to announce it, did it actually happen?” (For the financial well-being of those of us in the PR industry, let’s go with “no.”)
On March 23, 2009, 15 years ago this week, I sent a press release announcing the start of Resch Strategies. The tree fell, and I was standing right there hitting “send.”
Funny enough, I always have a hard time remembering the actual birthday of this company that creatively carries my name. I’ve been wrong about it many times, and have often had to go searching through Dropbox files and Gmail archives to find the actual date.
It probably shouldn’t surprise me, this lack of clarity around our founding date. I was recently asked on our company podcast, Cold Oatmeal, to name a peak and a pit of the past 15 years in business. My memories extended back about eight full days. The rest has been a bit of blur. An almost entirely good and challenging and rewarding blur.
I know the date now, March 23, 2009. I have it saved in my iPhone calendar marked with a “repeats annually” tag (no pressure). But it was the search for the date that uncovered something much better than confirmation of the actual day.
I could never find the actual press release mentioned above with its trusty “For Immediate Release” and a date at the top. But I did find an email string deep in the bowels of my Gmail inbox where I shared my career news with about 75 friends, family, and colleagues. The email was sent at 10:11 p.m. on Sunday, March 22, 2009, and gave those on this list a sneak peek at the news I was planning to break the next morning.
It was a curious list, as I look back at it now. There were many people on the list who would find themselves on the exact same email were I to send it today. And then there were many others who I have barely corresponded with since. A snapshot of relationships with people who at the time were the ones I felt needed to hear this life news directly from me and hear it before anyone else.
And the response was exactly what a new business owner with exactly zero days of experience needed to hear.
“Good luck. Fortune favors the bold. I don't see any reason why this won't be a successful effort,” wrote one former legislative colleague.
A big “CONGRATS RESCHY!!!!!!!!!!!” followed, along with many wishes of good luck.
The first response I got from a reporter came not surprisingly in the form of a probing question, “Why the switch?”
And then Timmy Skubick, the always grammatically on point Senior Capital Correspondent, shot me a “break a leg matt...you'll do fine..keep me posted...cheers..tim.”
One friend shared, “this makes me proud.”
A mentor looked at the new website and messaging, and extended a “nice work. that's really well framed.”
And a college buddy simply said, “Go get ‘em, Bro!”
On that podcast episode I referenced above, Anna mentioned that I “started this company in middle of the Great Recession with two little kids at home.” (I actually only had one at the time. An almost two-year old Owen was still more than a year from welcoming his little brother.) She was essentially correct, and more than a few people pointed out to me that recessions weren’t an awesome time to be launching new businesses. Others observed and helpfully shared that Michigan’s public affairs stage already had too many actors. “Lansing can’t support another firm,” one told me.
The responses to the email I sent that Sunday night in 2009 told me something different, though. They told me I was right to give it a go, and that there would be people out there both rooting for our success and ready to help make it happen.
And that, when I think about it, is really the peak point of the last 15 years that Carly asked me about on that podcast. The people. The people are the peak. The people I’ve been fortunate enough to work with and call coworkers. The people who have sought us out looking for help. The people who have put in a good word and made a timely recommendation or suggestion. The people who have sent us business and referred us to others. The people who have come on our podcast. And, the people who have listened.
The list is as curious, diverse, and well-meaning as the list I first assembled 15 years ago, but the list is longer now. Much, much longer.
As I wrote in my original email announcing Resch Strategies back in 2009, “very good friends have offered help and advice along the way.” Indeed! Colleagues, clients, partners, reporters, friends, and family not only made Resch Strategies originally possible, they have made it consistently prosperous.
For that, I will always be grateful and blessed whether or not I still have that original press release that made the Resch Strategies founding a PR reality.