Public relations pro finds coworking environment is perfect for her growing business

Melissa Wyllie fits right in at CoLab Nashville: She’s smart, personable and has her mind and heart set on owning a successful small business. She owns Found Feather Communications, a public relations firm that helps clients tell their brand stories. We’re happy to have Melissa join us on the third floor.

Tell us about yourself and your company.
Our company, Found Feather Communications, started last year. We do integrated communications, including marketing, PR, social media and strategic consulting. Our clients have stories to tell, and we tell them that if they don’t take charge of their story, it’ll just exist anyway, but you just won’t have the reins.

I come from a background in journalism. I went to the University of Alabama and was the editor of the Crimson White newspaper. I was a devoted journalist. Right out of college, I moved to Dallas for a job in public relations. I moved to Nashville in 2005 for another job.

What made you want to start your own business?
I think our economy is going to be less supportive of full-time employees. When it came to me making my next full-time move, I wanted to think a little bigger. I particularly think people working in creative services, like the kind of work I do, will find it more and more difficult for them to find a fulfilling job in a traditional corporate space.

What’s your favorite part about your job?
The clients. We have a great group of people. We interact in a very organic way, so I think that helps to bring more value to the relationship. We’re really lucky to work with people who are open to that.

Tell us something interesting about yourself that many people don’t know.
I write a food blog. It’s called, “Two Soups and Cold Beans.” Growing up, my sister and I would go to my grandparents’ house in Alabama every summer.

We’d spend the day at a daycare, and my sister thought she was being treated really shabbily. Every day, grandpa would ask, “What’d you have for lunch?” She’d bow her head and say, “They just gave us two soups and cold beans.” She was, like, four or five at the time. I don’t know where she came up with that name, but it stuck, and I named my blog after that.

How long have you been at CoLab?
About four or five weeks.

Where were you before working at CoLab?
I worked from home.

How did you hear about CoLab?
One of our clients is here. We came to meet with him one day and I thought, “Wow, this is awesome.”

What made you want to use a coworking space?
Coworking gives you the benefit of being in a corporate environment while doing your own thing. Interacting with people is good for you and your business, so it’s great to be working in a place where that can happen.

What’s your favorite part about working downtown?
The old buildings. I take a break and look at the architecture like a complete nerd.

What are your thoughts on the CoLab community so far?
Everyone is so nice and smart, and it’s great to work in the same space with them. It’s the kind of interaction you can only get while coworking that I enjoy so much.