We absolutely love working with exciting, creative entrepreneurs and Tim and Maurice are no exception. Each with an extensive background in advertising, the pair joined forces to launch dynamic new agency Make It Sticky.
After working ‘in’ their business for two years, Tim and Maurice realised they needed to spend more time working ‘on’ their business. That’s where we stepped in.
Our Swindon based business growth expert Yesim Nicholson really got to know the pair and gained an understanding of where their business is currently and where they would like it to be. By encouraging them to think of their business holistically, Yesim brought Tim and Maurice out of their day-to-day perspective and enabled them to see the bigger picture, a crucial strategy for any business looking to grow. Our programme of twelve hours free business support is still taking new registrations, so if you’re interested get in touch.
We already know how great they are, but let’s find out a little more about Make It Sticky!
So tell us, who are you?
We’re called Make It Sticky. We can be found online at makeitsticky.co.uk and on location at offices in South Wales and Wiltshire (Royal Wootton Bassett, to be precise).
We create content for advertising – making sure your message, your offer or your brand stands out and sticks in the mind of your target market. That means we work with companies on everything from their brand identity, tone of voice and website, to their customer communications, broadcast advertising and social media content.
When did you decide to start your own business?
Make It Sticky has just turned two (Happy Birthday to us)! We were set up by Tim Orr and Maurice Fullarton, two old friends and long-time creative collaborators. We both started out writing radio ads for the GWR and Capital radio groups, then went off on separate paths as creatives in various advertising agencies. Really it was the pull of working together again after 15 years apart that motivated us to start Make It Sticky. That and the fact that we could use our wide experience to help local companies produce great, effective advertising. We run a lean ship (keeping the cost down) with just a few key personnel complemented by a wide network of specialist creative contractors brought in to help deliver certain projects.
What makes you unique?
Our offering is as simple as it is limitless - if you can see it, watch it, read it or hear it, we make it! Whether that’s TV ads for car companies, radio commercials for retailers, social media content for charities, animation for websites… or even websites themselves.
The benefit of that for organisations is that not only do we come up with great ideas… we then bring them to life. And make sure they’re in the right format, in the right place at the right time, to make the most impact on those you want to target. It’s creative problem solving basically, and we get very excited about every brief that comes in!
Why Business West?
It’s the classic scenario, you’re working so hard in your business that you don’t work hard enough on your business.
We were very aware that after a busy first year we were growing and being successful, but we hadn’t really had the time to think about the grand plan or vision of where we wanted to get to. Or, in fact, how we were all going to get there.
Which was why the time with Yesim was so valuable. It gave us time away from the office and the actual work to discuss the bigger picture and the goals of the business. Yesim was brilliant at facilitating that discussion – asking, listening, leading the conversation, and then challenging us to focus our efforts and to find our niche. It was an incredibly useful exercise and a very worthwhile investment in our own business.
Let’s talk about the highs and lows of starting your own business…
The highs are exactly as advertised – not answering to anyone, having a better work-life balance, being able to shape the work or the business the way you want to and, of course, the pride in being able to build something successful.
But the lows come under the exact same titles. As the boss, the buck stops with you so the responsibility and pressure to provide and deliver is therefore greater. Normal working hours don’t always apply. And business failures hit you much harder – emotionally and financially.
It can be a very fine line. But the straight answer is that running your own business is simply so much more rewarding. Signing off a piece of work, getting a nice testimonial from a client, or seeing an invoice payment arrive in your account are all little triumphs that you enjoy all the more because they’re personal as well as professional.
Swindon and Wiltshire SME Growth Programme
Receive 12 hours of tailored support to ensure that you have the skills and knowledge to successfully grow and develop your business.