1.Biggest mistake?

I think by far the biggest mistake we made as a business last year was getting complacent with the work we’d been doing and the expectations on our pipeline.

In the run-up to Christmas 2016, we were feeling pretty good about things. We’d had a great end to the year with some new client wins, and had a huge project lined up for January. We were so happy with where we were, we decided a bumper Christmas bonus was in order because you know…we deserved it!

What we hadn’t considered, though, was that things don’t always go to plan (yes, looking back, that was stupid) and that big project we were so confident would dominate the first half of the year, of course, fell through. Having dedicated the majority of our resources to one win meant losing it really hurt us. It put a sizeable gap in both our cash flow and studio time.

Being dropped into that position, though, turned out to be a valuable lesson. It gave us a big wake up call and focused our attention on new business development in a way that we hadn’t really done before. We knew we could deliver great work and had case studies to back that up, we just weren’t very good at telling our story.

So we set about three key things:

1. Improving our company profile
2. Becoming more accessible to prospective clients
3. Nailing our pitches

Twelve months on, we’ve grown the agency. We also have a better pipeline than we’ve ever had before. This Christmas however, as directors, we decided not to take the big bonus, instead opting to direct profits into staff pay raises and new hires. A much more responsible and ultimately rewarding decision.

2. A lightbulb moment

I can’t take credit for the idea, but a great piece of advice received last year has really been beneficial to us.

General business activities have always been shared by my fellow director and me. So, responding to enquiries, attending meetings, project planning, recruiting, etc., has always been managed by committee rather than each of us taking responsibility for specific areas of business. This, in retrospect, has been a waste of resources.

In order to grow, the advice we were given was to split roles. One of us should concentrate on business development whilst the other handles managing the studio. This approach seems obvious in hindsight, but at the time, it was definitely a penny drop moment. Having clear roles defined for these important areas of business has really helped us move forward in a positive way.

3. Tip for tomorrow

Get out more!

I’ve really embraced networking over the past year and have met some great contacts in the process whilst generating real business opportunities. Public speaking is also a great way to raise your profile. Have the confidence to stand up and tell your story, or at the very least walk into a room and introduce yourself.