Happy birthday to us! Before Lisa and I indulge in some modest celebrations, I want to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come as a creative business and share some things we’ve learned along the way.
After deciding to go it alone and left my big-agency job, one late morning 10 years ago I stepped out into a draughty alley in the City of London after meeting with a firm of lawyers offering me advice on my first contract. It suddenly dawned on me that no one knew where I was. No one was expecting me, anywhere. And there were no appointments in the diary.
This was day 1 of Brand Ethos. And while I felt a tad anxious for sure, I also felt free and completely in control of my fate.
In the early days, I met lots of people who offered me advice. They lauded the freedom of an agency-owner’s life but played down the anxiety (not wanting to put me off, I guess). One confidante advised that the first three months would be quiet, and to enjoy the spare time. So, I started going to the cinema on Monday afternoons. I went twice. Turns out, three months was optimistic – I was very busy very quickly.
First lesson learned: take any advice with a pinch of salt.
Of course, soon I was no longer alone because 15 months after starting Brand Ethos the sensational Lisa Cromer joined me to lead our design and branding offer. And we haven’t looked back since. Well, until today.
10 things we’ve learned running our creative agency
But back to the point of my musings. For anyone starting up, scaling up, or moving on here are 10 things we’ve learned while running our creative business over the last decade.
If you want to take this as advice, please, please remember the pinch of salt. Instead, we’d prefer to call it our 10 work wisdoms (so far).
1. Love what you do
The reason you’re doing whatever you’re doing is because you want to get up in the morning and look forward to your day. So love your work, love the people you work with, and love the difference you can make. We come up with our best ideas working with wonderful clients on exciting briefs. Anything less is a compromise too far.
2. Be your partners’ greatest fans
Strong and long-lasting creative partnerships are worth investing time and effort in. We wouldn’t be able to do most of our work without our brilliant creative partners. We never haggle over their fees, we don’t do mark-ups, we always pay them on time. And we get the same in return. Partnership is not a one-way street.
3. Read contracts. Act on them
Everyone says it. And there’s a reason why. A supplier (let’s be clear, a supplier, not a partner) screwed us over because they stuck to the letter of their auto-renew contract. Ironically, I remember reading the contract and then forgot to cancel it. It cost us. Beware the (very) small print.
4. Join professional networks
We’re members of the Design Business Association. We’re part of the most influential design network in the UK, and very proud to be so. It keeps us relevant and up to date. It provides access to market intelligence, industry trends and networking opportunities. It gives us a professional code of conduct to abide by. It’s real value-add to our business.
5. Mentor others
There are mentoring schemes where mentors give their time to help designers and creative leaders move forward in their careers, or businesses. Mentoring is immensely satisfying, and you get at least as much out of it as your mentee is getting from you. Always try to give back where you can. You’ll always gain.
6. Never stop learning stuff
Keep reading, try stuff out, have epic fails. How we run Brand Ethos today hasn’t changed in terms of our ethos (sorry, I can’t help it) but it is so different from when we started. We’re office-less, paperless, cash-less and, even, employee-less. For us, less really is more. All because we kept learning and innovating.
7. Be generous
Behavioural supremo Ben Caspersz gave me a desk when I started up. (Thanks, Ben.) We loaned a desk to our fabulous consultant Margaret Cooney when she went freelance. Margaret then connected us to the Sheila McKechnie Foundation to review their brand. We now offer in in-kind sponsorship for their annual campaigner awards, which we adore. What goes around really does come around.
8. A four-day week probably won’t happen
Lisa and I talked about it. We sort of tried it. It didn’t work. We actually have to work about six days a week. Running a business takes a lot of time and energy. Doing work you are proud of is hard, so you’ve got to love it and look after yourself. Find imaginative ways to have work/life balance and make sure you prioritise some R&R.
9. Working in the business and on the business
Make sure you have enough time to do the admin, watch the bank balance, keep your marketing up to date, have a strategy awayday. Invest in your creative business to keep it healthy and fit, just as you would your work and professional relationships. Of course, this is so much easier said than done. We’ve always paid our bills on time (I am an ex-banker after all). As for the rest? Let’s call it work in progress.
10. Take advice with a pinch of salt
Like I said, this isn’t meant to be advice, this is just what we’ve learned. The journey is different for everyone and every business. We know this because we have mentored some amazing people, partnered with some of the coolest creatives and have enjoyed working with some truly incredible clients. All these people shape you and help you grow, so choose your advice and who you trust with care.
