Sharp Thinking

10/10 evening at the for the Summer Festival ☔️🎈

The rain may have had other ideas, but it certainly didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits.😊

There was laughter, singing, dancing, brilliant food from , lots of familiar faces and plenty of new ones too.🍔🥗

One of the things I love most about running my own business is being part of such a supportive local community. It’s easy to get caught up in work, so evenings like this are a great reminder of the value of stepping away from the desk and spending time with wonderful people.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in organising such a fantastic event. The effort, attention to detail and all the little touches didn’t go unnoticed.

We even raised some money for St George’s Childcare along the way.

Proof that a successful summer festival doesn’t necessarily need sunshine... just great people, good food and a car full of balloons. 🎈

One thing I hear regularly from business owners:

“I feel busy all the time, but I’m not sure what’s actually moving the business forward.”

That isn’t usually a sign of laziness. Or a lack of ambition. It’s often a sign of operational noise.

Sales.
Delivery.
Staffing.
Admin.
Client issues.
Marketing.

When everything feels urgent, it’s hard to find time to think strategically.⏰

And that’s often where businesses get stuck.

Growth doesn’t usually come from doing more. It comes from creating clarity around what matters, what drives revenue, what can wait and what should STOP.

Sometimes the biggest value a strategy brings isn’t a new idea. It’s simply reducing the noise.🎧

Today I turn 50.🎈

Which feels slightly surreal to write.

So many memories keep flashing before me, and it’s made me think a lot about my 30 years working in marketing and all the things that have changed along the way.

At university, I wrote a dissertation on branding called ‘Is it really more than a paint job?’. 30 years later, I’m still fascinated by what makes people choose, trust, remember and buy.

Since then, there’s been agency life (where I met my husband), corporate roles, start-ups, running my own business, brilliant people, hard lessons, reinventions, and a huge amount of change.

Marketing looked very different when I started. Fax machines, CD-ROMs, and long campaign lead times all felt completely normal and hold some of the most wonderful memories.

And if I’m honest, the last year has also reminded me how important perspective and resilience are.

50 feels less about age and more about perspective. And despite everything that’s changed over the years, I still genuinely love what I do and feel lucky to be doing it.☺️