Branding

A client recently referred to me as “Jim” by mistake, and apologized profusely because we’ve known each other a long time and have worked together for years. When he caught his error and said, “Chris, I don’t know why I called you Jim,” I assured him “no worries” and that it’s a common oversight because of the name of the company on my business card and letterhead.

Jim Wood & Associates (JWA) is the company I proudly own and operate under its original name as my father, Jim Wood, founded it in 1982. I’ve often counseled clients about name changes, noting the importance of brand equity and how long it takes to build a good reputation in business under a certain moniker. In short, don’t take the decision on name changes lightly.

And I didn’t. Those few instances where new friends, acquaintances and business contacts are confused by “Chris Wood” running a company named after “Jim Wood” pale in comparison to the countless benefits of being related to – and learning business from – a man who created a successful newspaper publishing company and public relations consultancy from scratch, through decades of hard work and doing things the right way. An associate of Jim Wood is a great thing, indeed.

When taking the reins of this consultancy, there was no way I was going to change the name of our PR firm just to stroke my own ego or save myself a few awkward moments when having to explain the current ownership and management structure. Who cares about that anyway?

What clients care about is that you deliver proven professional services with great value, and that you can be counted on to help them solve their problems through better communications practice. Believe me, no one knows how to do that better than Jim Wood.

So for Jim Wood and this associate, we welcome you to JWA.