15 years of helping ‘technical’ companies bridge their communication gap
By stepping into both their shoes and their clients’ shoes, I’ve been able to make a strong connection. It’s been a pleasure hearing stories and discovering the ‘gold’ in many companies – and then presenting this to the world.
My marketing content is designed to ‘shine’ uniquely for each company – to attract the right attention and build their brand, just like stars radiate unique bands of colours – called “spectra”.
Here’s my background story…
The ‘technical’ side
In my childhood fascination with gadgets, I wasn’t content just playing with toys – I had to pull them apart to see what made them tick.
Classic engineer!
As I grew up, I progressed onto model trains and boats, woodwork, electronics, and engines.
Student holidays broadened my ‘hands-on’ experience working for a garage, foundry, electricity authority, and builder, before starting my career in telecommunications engineering.
I was a bit of a ‘freak’ amongst my colleagues because I actually enjoyed writing stuff. They just wanted to do the research and design then move on to the next job – never mind the documentation!
The ‘people’ side
Along with a ‘technical’ bent, my creative communication side showed up at school with story writing and paintings. I also discovered that I was a bit ‘outside-the-square’, finding unique ways of doing things.
Later experience in counseling taught me to tune into where people are at – with their pain, needs, and aspirations – in order to help them move in the right direction.
I’ve also learned “effective communication and human relations” skills through a Dale Carnegie course, plus interviewing, marketing, and writing skills from an ex-TV talk show host.
This has all been valuable learning – because I know at the end of the day people do business with people.
Outside interests
Variety is the spice of my life.
I love nature – see the view from my home office above. I get a lot of satisfaction from ‘hands-on’ DIY projects and landscaping around our semi-rural property. Outdoor recreation has also featured heavily over the years including skiing, trail biking, snorkelling, tramping, kayaking, and surfing.
Travel has broadened my perspective on life – around NZ, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and North America. Being a scenery junkie, I like to capture beauty on camera.
I’ve always had a soft spot for pets and animals right from childhood, but don’t have any of my own – just enjoy everyone else’s so I don’t have to look after them!
Voluntary work has also been an important part of my life – including kids/youth and pastoral/counselling ministry.
