Ruth Drizen-Dohs Chief Executive Drizen-Dohs Corporate Communications Inc., Chatsworth Founded 1999 Ruth Drizen-Dohs earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from California State University – Northridge. She has 30 years of experience in public relations, marketing, branding, speechwriting and coaching. Her company provides editorial content, web services, graphic design and printing for clients in a range of industries, from health care and apparel to churches and synagogues. Why start a business? Companies and organizations had an urgent need for quality communications for their employees, customers, divisions or members. There was no other source of highly experienced writers, editors, designers, web creators or printers all under one roof. How did you build it? The nature of our business is a partnership with our clients, so when we provide amazing projects on time and at reasonable cost, we receive referrals. We are also referred to other departments inside one corporation. Providing high-end writing, design, printing and web creative from an experienced, talented team is extremely hard to find. And we have found that our clients value us just as much as we value them. We’re also always on the lookout for marketing/communications ideas that might help a client achieve excellence among employees and customers. When our clients can grow without having to add the overhead of an eight-person marketing/communications team, they come to depend on our team instead. Would you do it again? We were ahead of our time in our vertical integration of high-end services. Our core skill is determining the audience and delivering exactly what impacts them, versus a cookie-cutter approach. With the advent of mass communications via the internet, the need for our skill base is greater than ever before. So yes, I sure would do it again. How being a woman helped you: My sensibilities to create an internal culture that respects and lives all of the values we live and breathe with our customers—and in our day-to-day quality—is a trait that makes me proud. I am humbled by the fact that our customers choose us, and we are always trying to go above and beyond to continue to earn their loyalty and trust. Challenges of being a woman in business: I have been extremely fortunate that our business has always been based on relationships. And once those are forged, it’s all about intelligence, enthusiasm, execution and sincerity, not about being a man or a woman. Hardest day: My hardest day is when we need to make tough adjustments to our team. Our company provides financial well-being and job satisfaction for people’s lives and the lives of their families and these types of decisions weigh heavily on me. Our amazing team is no stronger than its weakest link and every once in a blue moon we have to make tough decisions to ensure our internal and external excellence remains intact. It may be a rough day, yet it ensures a successful and rewarding business life. Best day: When a client’s face lights up when we show our creative approaches to our assignment and we hit it out of the park. The client provides their thoughts and sensibilities, yet is so surprised when we create a project or overall approach that takes the assignment to a whole new level. Sometimes we fight hard to win annual reports or newsletters or branding projects. When we see on their faces how happy they are they chose DDCC, it’s an extremely rewarding moment. Best business advice you ever received: Always proceed from a position of strength, because when you do, the rewards will follow. Advice for aspiring female business owners: Focus on doing something she knows well, does well and enjoys – and remember that if she does those three things with passion, purpose and integrity, the financial rewards will come.
