Our MD's story

How have you got to where you are?

I can identify four key aspects of my character which have led me to where I am today.

1. Work Ethic - A lot is said about work-life balance, especially in today's growing world of entrepreneurs. I am fortunate enough to be living out my childhood dream. I have worked some crazy hours to get this business to where it is today. It's pointless setting up a business if you aren't prepared to work hard. My godparents, Sue and Mike have been invaluable to me in my journey and I was determined that the business wouldn’t fail through my lack of work ethic. I used their belief in me to hold me accountable and make sure I didn’t let them down by not trying hard enough

2. I’m happy with nothing. It's a complete myth that success is achieved overnight. I realised very quickly that the business had a better chance of survival if I gave up everything which was basically non-essential. For years I survived on £5 pocket money a week. This meant keeping money in the business for the future as opposed to taking every penny and spending it on shiny shit. I actually viewed it as an investment as opposed to a hardship. I discovered that when you do what you love or are born to do - then going without doesn’t seem like too much of a sacrifice.

3. Kindness is a currency. In a world of people living their best life, kindness is still free. Being kind costs nothing, and can inspire people to be kind as well. A kind business is a business people want to work with and for.

4. Other people's opinions mean fuck all. Nobody really wants you to succeed or fail. In fact, most people are too busy to care. You have to take peoples opinions with a pinch of salt and manage toxic relationships to the point where their opinion has no influence on your decision making. You are in this for you and you alone, and the only opinion which really matters is the one you hold of yourself.

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!”

What is the biggest thing you have learnt?

You work for the company and the staff, they don’t work for you. This attitude allows you to create an atmosphere where people feel trusted and have an environment within which they can flourish. Your role as a leader is to lead and make decisions in times of crisis as well as growth. Nothing can be built alone, and recognising your role as a leader doesn't come naturally, but has to be developed over time.

What mistakes have you made along the way?

This is a blog and not a thesis. You can't be afraid of making mistakes, but should be afraid of repeating the same mistakes.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

No matter what's going off in your personal life, you are the leader and people need you to lead. Putting personal problems and emotions to one side can often be impossible, but you still have to find a way to lead.

The best part of your job?

Creating jobs for talented kind young creatives and then watching them flourish. No amount of money in the world can buy this.

Are you interested in a career at Gather Social? Click here to apply now.