Exploring Life & Business with Michele Stys of My parent company that supports all of my publishing activities is Best Version Media and I manage that workload under my company Creative Insights Marketing arketing LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Stys.

Hi Michele, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up in Lake Orion, I was one of the few highschool students fortunate enough to secure a highschool co-op position with General Motors. At the early age of 15 my career was launched. I gained necessary knowledge in finance and marketing, my primary fields of study, and graduated from Central Michigan. Go Chips!!
The next 29 ish years I was able to drive change and bring efficiencies in manufacturing finance and future international products finance, Though thriving in the automotive financial world for the first third of my career, I was missing the connection with my creative side and the people side of the business.
The next half of my career truly lead me to where I am today. I focused on sales and managing and supporting groups of automotive dealers in their marketing efforts. Returning from a field assignment I began my big brand marketing role with Buick. It all started with the first generation Enclave as I spent my time bouncing between advertising and product marketing going from product launch to the next launch. I have worked on the voice of the customer research, understanding their path to purchase, the vehicle key feature research for future products, and as well, managing brand advertising campaigns on both the digital and print sides of the business.
It was and still is the highlight of my career in the automotive industry.
In the last five of those years I married my husband who had established his career in Kalamazoo. I found the area to be so welcoming, full of arts and culture and a strong sense of community. Everyone helped their fellow neighbor and there was a huge support for local businesses. I’d always wanted to live on the West side of the state and so through the support of our families we choose a home in Texas Township just southwest of Kalamazoo. Four and a half years later I retired from General Motors and created my marketing consulting company, Creative Insights Marketing. I knew I wanted to be involved in the community and give back by lending my marketing expertise to small businesses. I consulted with a few retail start ups and manufacturing clients until COVID-19. As most companies reevaluated their means to marketing and being able to provide their products and services I found myself marketing wine!
Perfect timing right!!! Becoming a constant for Scout & Cellar was a ton of fun. It also allowed me to complete my Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level One Sommelier certification.
Once we made it through the crazy days of COVID-19, my initial passion to be more ingrained in the community was the stronger pull. At our home each month we had received The Heart of Texas Corners publication and both my husband and I read it from cover to cover. Learning not only about our neighbors but about the businesses and goings on in our community. It always helped us stay more connected with everything.
On a happenstance conversation with the publisher and Division Leader for Best Version Media, I shared my backstory of my days in marketing and advertising with General Motors and how I was once again feeling the need to reconnect with the community post COVID-19 and offered to throw my name in the hat if ever she needed help with the publishing aspects of the magazine!!
And at that moment I think the skies opened and another career was launched!
Since that time, three and a half years ago, I am now the publisher for not only my local community’s publication, The Heart of Texas Corners, but also our Portage Neighbors publication. I’m also the Southwest Michigan Market Leader, helping to mentor new publishers in new communities. In the last year I helped launch the Gun Lake Area Living and Van Buren + Sister Lakes Living publications. We strive to connect neighbors with neighbors and the local businesses that want to reach those markets. I love to connect the two and have been affectionately called the “community connector” by my local networking group, Great Expectations Networking! I not only am connected here but also in a women’s business owner group called IMPACT of Southwest Michigan. We support each other’s businesses and the community needs with impactful outreach giving. And for many in both networking groups, I am that marketing solution and support!
I get to help provide a marketing solution for our local small businesses, very much like the solutions I helped create for the big brands I worked on with General Motors. All of it to help each of them grow in their communities.
Whether it’s a service or product based business we have something for everyone to help them succeed.
It’s such a fulfilling role and I feel ever blessed to be supported by and amazing network of publishers, leaders and corporate staff not only for my benefit but for the overall success of our clients.
I love Kalamazoo and the surrounding areas, it’s people, businesses and the enrichment each brings to the community.
On a personal note I do still love my wine, travel and the great outdoors golfing with my husband and friends. I especially love the sugary sand of the Lake Michigan shores and those sunsets, you cannot beat!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I would have to say that most of the struggles were overcoming some of the common things that women business owners or women leaders struggle with, which is being heard and taken seriously. Being in the automotive world which is traditionally been lead by mostly men, and in my early days being the youngest female on the staff and only one of a handful, I had to find a way to stand out and be heard.
As I progressed through my career, I found mentors along the way that helped clear some paths for me that really gave me some of the greatest career experiences.
In many cases it’s who you know, along with what you know.
And when you’re really good at something and they want to keep you, sometimes that keeps you from your greatest achievements. So knowing yourself and knowing what your sights are set on can help maneuver you through being stuck with what my father would affectionately call the golden handcuffs.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Best Version Media has been around for almost 18 years, starting with six publications in 2007 and now in over 1,400 communities across the US and North America.
We are privately held media company offering a multi-channel marketing solution for small to medium size businesses.

I am currently the publisher of two local community publications and a market leader helping to grow and mentor more publishers in the surrounding communities of Southwest, Michigan.

Our brand presence in the marketing realm is one of reaching a target market of neighbors and connecting them with each other, as well as the local businesses that wish to serve them. Bringing community focused content and happenings right in their own backyard, as well as spotlights on various business owners and experts in their respective field or industry.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Start with Why
Atomic Habits
Fanatical Prospecting
The Art of Crucial Conversations
Grit
Let Them-Mel Robbins
The Five Second Rule

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bestversionmedia.com/magazines/theheartoftexascorners
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-stys?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app