Happy 2nd Business Birthday to me.
3rd July 2018. The day I pressed “publish” on greyfoxcomms.co.uk, and the day I released this LinkedIn post launching the business.
It had been brewing for a while.
Close friends and certain colleagues (both ex and at-the-time-current) were confided in.
Fears were faced. Plans were made. Coffee was consumed. Lists were drawn up.
But it was on 3rd July when it happened. The day when a decade of day-dreaming of business ownership and several months of agonising came to fruition.
Press publish. Tell the world. Do or Die.
The next day I had my first day of paid work (thanks Dan Slee), and two years later, we’re still going.
It’s been wild. A terrifying, exhilarating, fascinating thrill ride every day.
There have been the odd frustrations, sure. But overall, starting Grey Fox has been the best career decision I’ve ever made.
I’ve learned a lot along the way:
1. Be good, be nice, be visible
This is the mantra I live by. It’s important to be an expert in what you do, whilst being humble enough to understand that your craft will always evolve and that you can always get better at it. It’s equally important to be a nice person who people enjoy working with. The idea that you have to be an inhuman, ruthless piece of work to be successful, is, I can assure you, absolute hooey. And finally, it sounds obvious, but people need to know who you are, and that you’re out there.
This can be as simple as posting an image of your weekly task list and a cup of coffee every week.
Or it can mean occasionally blathering about something or other on the Best Comms Website in History.
2. Turn up on time, and don’t annoy anyone
Another mantra I live by, courtesy of my good friend and go-to video expert Bob Wass of Untold Media. When developing relationships that last a long time it’s the simple things that matter, like treating your colleagues and clients with courtesy, empathy and respect. These are things that can make all the difference.
Sometimes you can’t turn up on time. In that case, phone ahead…
3. Sometimes, other people are interested in what you have to say
I’ve been really delighted to be asked to contribute my thoughts in the form of blog posts, and by appearing on some ace podcasts in the last couple of years.
Some blog posts you might like:
When this is over… the comms community’s 10 hopes for the post covid-19 world (comms2.0)
“We have to make their life better” – the jurgen klopp doctrine (comms2.0)
Two of my favourite podcasts I’ve been on:
Talking Comms Podcast - 6th April 2020
Make it Real Podcast with Trisha Lewis - 12th September 2019
And I’m super excited to be running a training seminar for comms folk in the Students’ Union business this month too:
Creating a comms strategy the easy way - Comms by the Coast
4. It’s incredible what asking seven simple questions can uncover
I love everything I do obviously. However, my absolute favourite thing to do is develop comms strategies from scratch.
I know. I do sound like fun at parties.
I’ve been really privileged to develop comms strategies for some amazing people and organisations doing brilliant things to make our world better.
Comms strategies at their worst are long irrelevant pieces of theory that sit on a shared drive somewhere and never get opened.
At their best, they change the way we think about our organisations, and our audiences. They shine the light on what’s really important to us, and to them. And they inspire action.
Through Grey Fox, I’ve managed to create these types of strategies for local authorities, NHS organisations, clinical research organisations and university departments. It’s been brilliant.
But it’s also been simple. It’s all about asking and answering seven very simple questions:
Why? The “so what”, the thing that gets you out of bed in the morning.
How? The values, the approach and methods.
What? The central premise and offer.
Who? Our audiences, and their needs.
Think? The information we want to impart to our audience.
Feel? The emotional reaction we want to create.
Do? The action we want them to take.
They seem like daft questions. But they’re not. And asking them can be transformational.
5. Surviving contact with the real world
The thing that makes a great comms strategy something that is actually actioned, and works, is thinking about all the factors that can influence whether it stays buried on your Z Drive or whether it’s used as a real catalyst for change.
I’ve figured out that those influences can be categorised as either:
Structure: stuff like money, location, human resources and technology.
Culture: stuff like how people feel, organisational memory, levels of trust, how sign-off procedures work (or don’t).
All of these things have critical influence on any piece of work you’ll do with any client, let alone a full comms strategy; so I’ve learned (the hard way sometimes) that they need serious thought as well.
6. You can do a lot on Zoom
It’s forced our hand of course, but the coronavirus lockdown has shown that a “catch-up meeting” doesn’t necessarily need to necessitate an 1.5 hour car or train journey with all the resulting time and expense.
I have really missed getting out and about and visiting clients since March. I’ve missed plotting my route to clients’ offices via local artisan coffee outlets.
That’ll return I’m sure.
But since lockdown, I’ve started and completed an entire comms strategy process via Zoom, and a brand insight project for a large university department and NHS organisation – all from the comfort of the home office.
There’s no substitute for proper human contact some of the time. But a lot of the time, it is possible to work effectively as if we’re living in the 21st century.
I hope this continues, not just for me, but for the great people I work with in our public, third and education sectors.
7. You can also do a lot when you collaborate
I’ve said this before. You’re far more likely to collaborate with another freelancer or agency than you are to compete with them.
This was a surprising realisation when I first started.
I did spend just under four years working for a creative agency once upon a time; and this would’ve seemed like an anathema back then.
Everyone you met was either a potential client to be schmoozed, or a competitor to be vanquished. I’m not sure this is a healthy attitude in hindsight.
Some of the most interesting work I’ve done has come about as a result of working with other people, or being brought into projects.
I’ve worked with clients that I never had any contact with previously, and been involved in projects that I never would’ve dreamed I could have worked on.
If we’ve collaborated together, or you’ve included me as part of your project team in the past two years; from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
If I haven’t returned the favour yet: trust me, I will.
But even if we haven’t worked together commercially yet; I’ve made real friendships with some incredibly talented and lovely people. People that I never would’ve met had I not started out on my own; and have been a real source of insight and support over the past two years (including much more recently).
So, y’know. Thanks.
8. It’s (definitely) the hardest work, but (possibly) the least stressful job I’ve ever had
If you’re reading this thinking about starting your own freelance comms thing: firstly read the above point, and drop me a line. Hopefully we might be able to work together in the future.
But here’s “the tea” (as I hear young people say); there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s hard work.
It involves long hours, a lot of dedication, a lot of personal discipline and having your brain constantly “on”. It can, in normal times, involve a lot of travelling; and in less normal times, a lot of time shouting “YOU’RE ON MUTE”.
You have to be accountant, managing director, creative director, receptionist, lead practitioner and office manager all at the same time.
You’ll get up ridiculously early and go to bed ridiculously late. Oh, and you won’t sleep properly because you’ve spent all day staring at a computer screen. Sorry.
You’ll be constantly learning about getting better at your craft.
But that said…
You are a specialist. So all the above should come pretty naturally and should be fun. Doing something you love, even though it’s tiring, is a pleasure.
And you know what’s also a pleasure? Not doing the stuff you have to do in a normal job, that you hate, or are bad at.
When I think about the work-related stress I would feel, it would generally fall into a couple of categories:
- Having to do things I wasn’t confident doing, but were inherent part of the job descriptions. I don’t do any of that anymore.
- Arbitary rules. Having to be at this particular desk at this particular time every day. Sure, you have to be on time for stuff (see point 2) but that’s usually for a particular reason rather than “just because…”
- Office politics. I know my remit, and I know what I can’t influence. So I don’t try to. I can’t tell you how much of a relief that is.
So, yes, it’s hard graft. Anything worth doing is. But I’m much more at peace in my work than I’ve ever been.
It’s scary – especially at the moment – but working with clients that I really admire, collaborating with associates that are all shades of brilliant, and having the support of a community of lovely people who just happen to be great professionals makes it all worthwhile.
9. It’s important to remember what inspired you in the first place.
This is key. Especially for the times when it feels hard, and during the days and weeks that both flash in the blink of an eye and seem to never end, all at the same time.
For me, it has always been about helping organisations to do good, better.
I explained what I meant by this in that fateful LinkedIn post. And I still make sure I remember that every day, on every project and on every new proposal.
So here we are. 3rd July 2020. The midst of a global pandemic and a very uncertain future.
I wouldn’t want to be facing it in any other way.
Thank you, friends, clients, and collaborators. Let’s do more good things together.
