Starting

Co-founding an agency seemed a decent idea, certainly after a few after-work (of the employment with Feral Interactive, but before finishing there) drinks and meals at various places to talk possibilities, endeavours and ambitions that could be made with going into business together and turning it into some kind of success.

These kinds of things, especially setting up shop from scratch, always involve some risk, predominately financial, so we each convinced the other that we were relatively solvent. Both of us were also keen (and realistic we hoped) to keep it small to start with and not just spend, or gamble, what we didn’t have on the assumption we might be better off at a later point.

A good discovery was a local – well, officially the next town, but walkable – business village that had been setup in an old building that was once part factory part offices, I think. It had plenty of varied-in-size offices to help attract and support somewhat local businesses and sole traders.

Questioning

After plenty of umm-ing and aah-ing about the many factors of starting up, we knew that really, given what we’d talked about and what we’d seen, read and learned we could about these things, it did just pretty much come down to this: are we going to give it a go, or not?

We did.

Proceeding

In amongst all the probably minor things of getting going we arranged a visit to the business village in Wandsworth we had learned of, taken the tour offered, saw a suitable office to go for, primarily for its rate and decided, after a day or so, to go for it and roll the Substance Design dice to get things moving.

A great help to the location of the business village was its general low-key feel outside and inside. But, when you walked its floors, corridors and sometimes offices (well, those that were sometimes empty and in the midst of a handover so you could sneak a look) it mostly felt quietly alive with activity and the productive workings of people and their business, making and supporting their livelihoods.

Developing

Over time we settled into our roles and the reality of trying to steadily grow our skills, abilities and the business.

Within our little office, despite the few fractious and quietly despairing moments, days off and a few misunderstandings about clients, each other and talk of ’What the hell are we doing?’ and all that, I was able to get some good guidance and a bit more detail from my co-founder on web front- and back-end development.

My skills and understanding of the code and user-experience in web design grew beyond just the mostly long-running interest and enthusiasm (and sort of capability) I had for it and it became an even more handy and logical partner to my existing graphic design skills and marketing awareness.

Apart from those developments, firstly we had to get payable work to grow the company reputation and its coffers. Secondly, find our talents for this new lark so that each of us could (and did, over time) at certain points fill in and help where necessary to ease a teammate’s difficulties with and around workloads.

Sharing

Our little office was one of about eight, similarly sized, along a small hallway that itself was at the opposite end (and a floor and a half, if not two, up) from the business village’s reception! Still, it was fortuitous that in amongst the little offices near this hallway’s end, opposite ours, was an accountant running his business. After introductions, finding out about each other’s business and general goings on and a bit of striking up new business between each other, we started using his skills to guide us a little with company numbers and money.

The finding, chatting, sharing and understanding with the many people in the village, running all kinds of business, gradually led us to learning of and even working directly for some of them and using one, a print company, to help get the odd piece actually produced, too.

From initially helping on a small project with one winter holiday company, under the (sort of unspoken) proviso of us being tested for ability and quality, we gradually took on a bit more work with them and then got work from a similar, but separate winter holiday company, also based in the business village.

From those forays came more recognition and more projects from others and their contacts that knew other contacts in other businesses.

Chipping away

Roots of Substance were being formed slowly but surely and all the projects we completed (even the ones that ended up being awkward and difficult) helped build confidence and a few business relationships and the company’s reputation; one project was helpful to our esteem (and bottom line!) and was for an old employer of mine, The Design Corporation, and proving that old connections and legacies can matter and the efforts – producing a new website for them – helped both sides plot their respective new paths.

Trust was steadily being built, helping power and establish Substance further. Doing good, even if it’s not directly ‘the thing’ you want your business to do or could even be seen as a payable effort, can lead to opportunities you didn’t think initially existed or were even possible. It’s a great way to bolster what you’re trying to lead for and achieve. There’s nothing better than word of mouth from happy clients and their own referrals to assist business growth.

A small advert with Creative Review (CR) in its classified section was a good start, if only, as we pitched it to ourselves, to see what would happen and go from there.

As the months passed by through 2005/6, we steadily made inroads to gaining face-to-face meetings with larger businesses and organisations so as to show our skills, abilities and attitude to ultimately bolster our working-with-them chances . . .

• We were lucky enough to get some time at Seymour Powell, with their tech team, as they were looking at exploring and starting their own digital file management facility across the business. My co-founder led a few conversations with them after our first meeting, supported by some of my visuals to help guide and explore its potential. However, it didn’t lead to us working with them but was a helpful learning experience nonetheless.
• We made some headway with the BBC, pitching for a few projects and also completing two websites for two of their programmes: Imagine and Comedy Shuffle.
• Our initial CR ad had been seen as contact with us was made and we then visited and got commissioned, by marcusevans, a global media and corporate marketing company, to produce content to assist them in their wider company aims.
• We were slightly surprised at the reach we were gaining as we got, somewhat unexpectedly, invited by Cancer Research to pitch for a virtual gifts and eCards project that was intended to sit on their main website. Despite not being picked for the project, the process was relatively smooth, aside from our own natural hesitations and worries, at the time, about pitching.
• An established law firm, from a contact of mine, was initially looking at some tech updates and we were given the opportunity to talk with some of them to gauge impressions and possibilities, but unfortunately it didn’t lead to any work.
• We also got invited to put together a pitch – which we did and which my co-founder ultimately delivered – for the company Caroline Castigliano who were looking at new website options. Again, a good pitch was made by us but was not successful for us.
• We even gave secure hosting a go (buying an Xserve and getting it placed at a good and secure data centre) and offered its abilities to a few clients and potential new ones as part of the websites and data we aimed to and were building and managing.
• In amongst all those happenings we also worked with, during Substance’s 2005–2008 lifetime, at various points with these winter holiday companies: All America, Alpine Answers, Inspired to Ski, Mountain Tracks and also Premiere Neige.

Getting on

Given those reasonable successes it slowly started to feel like we were doing all right and, quite importantly, company bills were being paid without using our own money to do it. Plus, a bit of luck came our way when my co-founder happened to be walking to get somewhere, found out that a bigger office space was now available, had chatted to its neighbour, found it was pretty decent, mentioned all that to me and then it didn’t take long for us to mull it over, decide to flag our interest and get moving on moving office.

With that space came a little relief and feelings of mild success as well as a slightly better view through larger windows and more space around our desks and from each other and, even to have a sort of relaxed and non-office seating area at its sort of non-working-end that was near a radiator and potted plant!

With those forward steps came some more work and expectations (even pressure somewhat) and within that a particular project that started well, sort of ticked along okay for a bit and then didn’t, but not because of our fault.

Perspective

Running and building a business wasn’t easy and it did have its tough moments but looking at it all, we didn’t do too badly with it, even if one might always feel they could have made more effort in some areas to help things along.

However, we did take up supporting an educative opportunity that helped students in the local borough (and, or even maybe the south-west region) that was being run in partnership between the council, schools and colleges.

It allowed young students (on particular courses, like computer science) to experience, learn and help out on a project at a working business in the area.

We took on a talented and clued-up student for about two weeks and she was part of helping us explore, work on and develop, what was slowly becoming a key part of Substance Design’s offer: a content management system and version two of it! She worked well with us and was appreciative of witnessing some of what goes on at and with business alongside the day-to-day development work.

When it came to students of the programme presenting at its final event, she delivered a good and effective talk (with clear and informative slides) about her involvement and learnings from the experience and out of the students, despite our business and project not being as high-flying compared to some, she was one of the best.

Moving on

All good things come to an end apparently, but it was about another year before Substance finished.

Our final year, although it didn’t feel final at the time, involved having to move office as the business village was being closed. We made a few visits to workspace locations in a few places around London and eventually decided, mostly guided by the shutting-up-shop timeline of our existing place as well as our budget, to go with a small office (slightly smaller than our first and with fewer windows!) within a place that the London Metropolitan University ran for new and young businesses.

It was a good setup and offered help in and around the running of a business but was also hands-off to a point to let you get on with it. Although, as part of the offer, certain expectations were sort of expected and somewhat monitored and guided as part of being there.

We still had a few opportunities, projects and associations from our business village days and still some enthusiasm and ambition for Substance but, realistically, as we mostly knew and had chatted about now and then while there and about our own personal ambitions and opportunities in the future, that it was, probably sensible to consider ending it.

It was felt the opportunities weren’t particularly great for fledgling and sort-of established businesses like ours. The place lacked the energy of our old business village setup, despite us sort of feeling it may have be all right for a while.

The timing wasn’t great and may well have assisted from certain points of view, but given the worldwide financial difficulties that were kicking off and that if you didn't have deep pockets, strong contacts and contracts and the kind of spirit that can survive those kind of conundrums, it’s likely game over.

Some of Substance’s clients were really feeling the pinch and then, unfortunately, some had to actually close.

Given those happenings and each of our own thoughts, feelings and ambitions for forward movement in our own careers and rather than just prolong the somewhat inevitable, we decided to wind down the business and cut our losses and bills by ending having an office. Each of us eventually moved out of town and went our own way. Over the next few months we gradually filled out the necessary forms and tick the necessary boxes to end the company.

Ending

Over about two and a bit years at the Wandsworth business village we had steadily built Substance’s reputation with good work and good attitudes to and for our clients, even gaining for ourselves a little more gumption and attitude to proving we could run a business, grow it and learn a few things.

Another year or so in a different office attached (not quite literally) to a university that also had a decent and well-priced refectory available that served good meals for lunch, was helpful but not enough to stop the ending of Substance and in early 2008 it did cease working for us and us for it.

Still, it was a great experience and some of the things learned were complemented by a few cups of tea, coffee and water at various points.

Achievements in this role included...

• Learning, developing and refining people skills and abilities toward clients and their intentions.
• Understanding the realities and issues that can and do face start-ups, whatever their business and not necessarily appreciating it all but trying to.
• Handling pretty much monthly, after a bit of guidance, the odd spreadsheet and government process (or form to be filled) to get Substance numbers checked and balanced.
• Enjoying the flexibility and freedom to define and control the ins and outs of the business and exploring potential and possibilities, despite that also involving a reality check, or two!
• Finding and recognising better ways to capitalise and focus our own talents and effectiveness on things, at the relevant time, to aid the business and each co-founder’s strengths and talents effectively.
• Having a go at the opportunity and maybe even proving something.