Twelve Months In Business – The Honest Version

Well, the rumours are true.

The first twelve months in business are a rollercoaster. Super fun. Super stressful. Super rewarding. Super exciting. Super nerve wracking.

Quite often, it’s all of those things at the same time.

When I started, I had this romantic idea of keeping a little diary. Capturing the lessons. Reflecting as I went. That lasted about three days before it got swallowed by calls, invoices, BD, delivery and trying to remember to eat lunch.

So this is the reflection instead, for anyone thinking about taking the leap, or anyone who’s always wondered what it’s actually like.

The first few months: small but fired up

The early days are strange. You feel insignificant… but absolutely buzzing. Anxious…but massively motivated. You’re suddenly back to zero. No brand. No safety net. No one introducing you in rooms. It’s just you and your name, and that’s where clarity becomes everything.

You have to know:

• What you actually want to do
• How you want to work
• Why are you doing it in the first place

Because that shapes your positioning. It shapes your conversations. It shapes who leans in and who doesn’t.

One thing I didn’t expect was the level of support. The messages. The coffees. The “good on you mate.” That encouragement made me even more determined to make it work.

You don’t want to let people down, especially yourself.

Building it your way (and shedding what wasn’t right)

One of the best bits? Building things how you think they should be done. The communication. The process. The tone. The client experience. The follow-up. The detail. All of it.

Then getting results from that… that hits differently. Because it’s yours. You designed it. You thought it would work, and you backed it.

Stepping away from my previous job was liberating. I didn’t realise how much a bad work environment had affected me until I was out of it. When you’re in it, you normalise it. You crack on. You tell yourself it’s fine, but it wasn't.

It's given me this quiet but powerful motivation: If I’m building something, it has to mean something. It has to treat people properly. It has to have a purpose beyond just revenue.

Culture is how people think and feel about working with you, not what you tell the public. It’s how you communicate and make decisions when no one’s watching.

Finding your feet

At some point, you stop feeling like, "Can I do this?" And start knowing you can do this. You’ve got runs on the board. Sales made. Clients returning. Referrals coming in. Quantifiable proof you can actually do this.

That’s when the focus shifts to refinement. Nailing down objectives. Tightening up the process. Acting on what’s working and cutting what’s not.

But at the same time, you’re still juggling a million and one things. Delivery. Sales. Marketing. Finance. Admin. Strategy. Firefighting. You’re CEO, CMO, CFO and tea boy in the same afternoon and it's hard to do all of them at once.

The biggest lesson? Brand and positioning are everything.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s this: Strong brand and clear positioning make everything easier. Your sales conversations. Your content. The clients you attract. The talent you attract. When you’re vague, you compete on price. When you’re clear, you compete on value.

There are always 47 things you want to get done. New ideas. New systems. New projects. But you can’t do all of them. For me, marketing has been the biggest challenge just due to capacity. High quality, consistent content takes serious time and headspace. It’s not just “post and hope.” It’s thinking, shaping, refining.

And when you’re busy delivering, that’s the first thing that slips.

Looking ahead

Now it’s about thinking bigger picture. What’s the next chapter? How do we refine the service even further? How do we make it unmistakably aligned with who we are?

Bringing Jane into the business has been a massive moment. Thirty years in advertising and creative changes the conversation. It sharpens judgment. It deepens our alignment advantage.

New hires. New capability. More impact.

The focus now is simple: Deliver the best possible service to the right clients, and build something that lasts.

Final thoughts

If you’re thinking about starting something, it will stretch you. You’ll doubt yourself. You’ll surprise yourself. You’ll work harder than you expected. You’ll feel prouder than you imagined.

Twelve months in, I’m grateful. Tired. Motivated. Clearer.

And we’re only just getting started.

Here’s to the next chapter.