MEMBER PROFILES 7 YEARS OF GROWTH MEMBERPROFILE


FOR SQUARE MEDIA As Square Media enters their seventh year of being a business, Director Matthew Rigby-White (pictured) reflects on how the company has gone from one man in his bedroom to a booming outsourced marketing team. The first in a series of two articles, Matthew reflects on the early days of his business and how he became an entrepreneur.


WHY DID YOU START SQUARE MEDIA? I've always been passionate about business and marketing in particular. Even in sixth- form, I would often run music events and realised at even that young age I enjoyed the 'lead-up' to the big day way more than the day itself. The buzz, getting people to engage with my ideas and being a dab hand at 'turning a profit'; I loved every part of it. But, on the ground running a music festival with multiple stages and 40+ acts is not quite as glamorous and enjoyable as it may sound! Those experiences really


kickstarted my career into marketing. Having moved into roles within a wide range of organisations, I soon came to realise that the value I could bring to smaller businesses excited me. It's 2013; I was a marketing manager in a mid-sized business at the time.


I knew many smaller companies couldn't afford the luxury of a full-time marketing manager. So I thought to myself, what if I could be their marketing manager? What


if I could structure the service to provide support where they needed it most without the overheads of a full-time member of staff? And so Square Media was born. Initially we provided a marketing manager to those businesses that otherwise couldn't afford one, and today we offer a full outsourced marketing team – with experts in every area of the marketing mix.


WHEN DID YOU TAKE YOUR FIRST MEMBER OF STAFF AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE YOU COULDN'T GO SOLO ANYMORE?


I would love to say that from day one, the road has been smooth and


pain-free. But I'd be lying. In truth, I don't think there is an entrepreneur out there that hasn't made mistakes along the way; particularly in the early days. My journey with converting my business from a one-man-band to a


slightly-larger-band came about through making mistakes. I did so well at bringing onboard new clients I simply couldn't keep up. I found myself making mistakes, rushing things, and taking short-cuts. Back in 2017, I was in just this position. I'd grown my business slowly


over the previous years, taking on full-time contracts that kept me busy – but it wasn't quite what I originally had in mind when I set out in 2013 to go it alone. I realised that if this business was going to get anywhere, I need to take


a risk. I needed help. The right team member could help ensure our service was top notch and allow us to grow, take on more clients and work with more businesses. It was perhaps one of the hardest and most terrifying decisions of my


life. It was no longer about me, but somebody else now relied on the success of the company I started in my bedroom. Until you're in that position, the weight of responsibility does not hit you. Fortunately, we've gone onto continue growth and grow our team both


internally and throughout a network of trusted local freelancers, contractors and partners.


Visit: squaremedia.solutions 22 inbusiness AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020


NAME: Tony Spooner COMPANY: AJS Express JOB TITLE: Owner


WHAT DOES YOUR ORGANISATION DO? We transport items either same day or next day and can store items in our warehouse until despatch is required.


HOW DID IT ALL START? I started delivering amazon parcels in November 2018, grew the business with contracts and personal service offerings and went from there


WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR? Winning Young Entrepreneur of the Year”2019 at the SME Northants Business Awards.


WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT?


Coffee, coronavirus and how can we improve our offering to better serve our existing clients and win new ones.


WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST IN YOUR JOB?


the Northamptonshire business community, so supportive and friendly.


WHAT’S THE BIGGEST RISK YOU’VE EVER TAKEN – AND DID IT WORK OUT? Starting the business in 2018 after I left a job I hated, we are still here so yes!


WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT? Be confident in your idea and just go for it, don’t be afraid


WHICH BUSINESS PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE? Peter Jones.


WHAT EXCITING PROJECTS IS YOUR ORGANISATION WORKING ON? Amending our branding and marketing campaigns to try and win some new daily contracts.


WHAT MADE YOU JOIN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER AND HOW ARE YOU MAKING USE OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP? I joined because I wanted AJS to be part of a supportive network, we have used the magazine and Chamber website to share our information, give us a voice in among larger businesses who perhaps wouldn’t have known we existed.


T: 01933 588010 E: tony@ajsexpress.co.uk W: www.ajsexpress.co.uk


‘BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR IDEA AND JUST GO FOR IT, DON’T BE AFRAID’


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