James Thomas Sr.
a rough patch and started struggling. I was praying and asking God what am I going to do. I was losing advertisement and revenue. I had to do something to stay in business because I’m just not a 9-5 person. A friend of mine called and said James I have an idea. Why don’t you start a PR Firm and I’ll be your first client. She was a registered nurse and my first thought was you’ve got to be out of your mind. I’m not working for you! I own my own business. What are you talking about? Then you’re a nurse. How am I going to promote a nurse? What’s so special about being a nurse? She was so persistant with. I thought about it and I said maybe this is something I really need to look at and God gave me a message entitled “The Ability to Get Wealth.” In that message, I talked about how each of us has these gifts and talents that God has given to us that nobody else has. I made a list of the gifts and talents He gave to me. Some I didn’t even have to go to school for, just the gifts and talents He gave to me. The more I looked at it, it was pointing in that direction, public relations. I thought about it and I said, well, as a publisher and editor, I know what to look for to go into publications and because I’ve been a publisher and editor, I’ve dealt with a million publishers, so
Building Bridges, Closing Gaps By Making Positive Changes in The World
I know what they do. It just seemed like a natural fit and I would do it. I asked God if this is what I’m supposed to do, give me a creative name and almost immediately the name came to me, The Red Letter Agency because the words from Jesus in the bible are red. I then signed my friend as the first client and we came up with a campaign and she wrote a book and it just basically blew up and it grew from there. Then Cassandra Cooper of Matriarch Media Group from Paramount Pictures was my next client. Omar Gooding followed and it just continued to grow and blossom from there. Our slogan is “The world is our stage, we want to make it yours.”
Q: What type of relationships have you built with your clients?
A: It’s interesting, because a lot of times, especially with celebrities, as a publicist you really get close to your client; almost like family. I mentioned Omar Gooding; I’m close with his mother, his dad Cuba
Photo Credits: Carl McKnight
6 Fuzionz Magazine and TV