I genuinely had no expectations of what starting my own social media consulting business would be like back in 2014. But suffice to say I would have been chuffed if you’d told me it would have gone the way it has. Remembering back to those first few months it was all very exciting, if a little stressful. Would anyone be interested!?
The number of people I’ve worked with over the last decade is far too many to list, but the variety has undoubtedly been the best bit. So many talented, fun and kind people from global multinational services to small independent retailers. And we’ve touched pretty much every sector going – from biscuits to books and football to fashion.
The one constant, of course, has been the subject matter – offering social media consulting support. And while that’s still what we “do” 10 years on, the landscape and way organisations approach social media is very different now. I think that’s been the reason it still feels fresh and fun today. The fundamentals of the work are the same – organise your business to use social media effectively – but the way it gets used in practice looks quite different. There’s always something new.
There are so many standout memories… but a handful include:
- The first piece of paid work we won – a tiny social media audit in TV
- The first big contract for a financial services company we secured, which gave us the confidence that starting out had been a good idea!
- Going on the Productionising Your Business course, as a way to challenge what I was doing and how I thought about what I do
- Supporting a couple of clients to take their very first steps in social media – starting with a blank sheet of paper is fun!
- Running a planning workshop the morning after Nottingham Forest won promotion back to the Premier League, with no voice left…
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us – be that clients, partner agencies, independent contractor, suppliers and many more.
Where will we be in another 10 years? … an impossible question to answer. But if it’s half as satisfying as the first, then happy days.