In 2000, we started a production framing company; we did a million dollars in labor alone in the first year. We were amazed, so I started asking people we did work for why they used our company. Almost everyone responded with “branding” (well they are in the construction industry so they probably said things like “it looks cool,” “seems professional,” and “consistent”). So we started thinking, “well how can we turn our success into money?” Seeing that we were both getting older and neither of us wanted to swing a hammer for the rest of our lives, we started up Dentity in 2003, with one of our first clients being Falcon Custom Homes.
I was doing all of the graphic design when I realized that I wasn’t “THE BEST.” I was good, but not the best. We wanted a company that consisted of the best. In 2005, we found Josh Ryther, an amazing artist; to call him a graphic designer would be to call a Wusthof a knife. This propelled us to a new level; one of our first projects we worked on was SHINE. We then started talking about needing someone to do client relations, seeing as we were starting to get extremely busy.
We found that Dentity didn’t really speak to the Informed & Passionate approach that we were using so we changed the name to DEKSIA, which in Greek means the “RIGHT DESIGN”. We found that a lot of industries would start their consulting session with, “tell us what you are looking for?” and basically design what the client was asking. We don’t do that; we find out what your customer wants to see. We really don’t care what you like or even really what I like. If you knew what the logo was supposed to look like, you’re either WRONG or in the wrong business. Why is it that people think they know what their image should look like? Do you tell your dentist that he is using the wrong tool to clean your teeth, or tell your mechanic that you don’t like the look of that spark plug?
In 2008, we brought on our first sales person; the problem here is we brought on a guy who was just good and not great, so it didn’t work out. In 2009, we woke up and brought on Will Swets, an amazing relational expert. If you can make Will mad, I’ll give you a 100 bucks! In early 2010, we added the next all-star – Michael Yoder – one of the top Social Media crusaders in Michigan. Michael’s passion for social media is such that if you were to ask him about social media, you better have two hours to listen to his answer! How do we get all of these amazing people? We give them a piece of the company; we know the American dream is to own your own business. Once you have achieved a certain level, you are offered partnership, much like what is done in law firms. All of these decisions continue to help us strive to be the best branding firm in West Michigan; if you or someone you know is the best, we’d love to get to know you.