Whitespace: A Year of Success

Celebrating your first anniversary is always special and for Brighton-based creative agency Whitespace it’s an opportunity to look back on a year of remarkable success.

The company, founded by three passionate creatives who have an interesting back-story, specialises in design, web and marketing – helping brands, businesses and individuals achieve their goals.

Already it is has marked itself out as one to watch in Sussex’s highly-prized creative market, working with some big-name clients to transform the look and feel of their websites and branding.

We asked founding directors Milly Stone, James Morrison and Steve Elford to share one case study from each of their four key sectors: education, publishing, professional services and recruitment.

The results are spectacular.

But the story behind the business, and the hurdles its founders have had to overcome, will resonate with many local entrepreneurs, too….

So, how did you all meet and what prompted you to start the business?

“We worked together as heads of department in the same company before forming Whitespace. Steve and James also previously worked for years on web and app projects, while Milly was James’ client collaborating on various successful designs and marketing projects.

“All of us share the same core values, creative approach and a love of good design. We each have our individual specialisms and strengths. We recognised we could build something together that we could be proud of and haven’t looked back!

“We were thrown together initially after cutbacks at our previous company, but we have always worked well together so it didn’t take much to make the decision to start this new venture.”

One year in, what’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about starting a new business and making it work?

“Learning to be disciplined with our working hours and establishing a work life balance which would be sustainable rather than lead to inevitable burn out. We plan to be around for a long time and so it’s important to understand the need to form a solid foundation for the future.

“Also, to be realistic in our pricing and our timescales. It’s very easy to agree to everything for fear of disappointing clients, but it’s worse to let them down or to work through the night to meet an unrealistic deadline for a low fee.”

What’s been the biggest high for you so far?

“Winning the OX Magazine contract. That project shifted us into another gear mentally and gave us the confidence we needed in our abilities and approach. Especially as we had won a pitch for a client in Oxford despite being up against an Oxford-based agency! It was a real compliment to be chosen for the quality of our work over the convenience of a local company.”

 Conversely, what has been the biggest low you have experienced?

“It was January 2018. We had just started out, so nerves were running high and each of us was working remotely on laptops. That meant co-ordination and planning were a much greater challenge. Our calendar was full of meetings, so we were constantly on the move whilst working, taking calls and replying to emails.

“Behind the scenes we were also setting up all the necessary procedures and infrastructure of our business – oh and trying to design and launch our own website too!

“Going two months without pay at the start of the year isn’t easy, either. We hit the ground running with existing clients but had zero capital to start up.  We’re still paying off credit cards and family for that!”

Having survived 2018 and done so well, what is your goal for 2019?

“First of all we want to take on another developer. But, also, to continue to improve our service and build on the success of our first year.

“Things have gone well but you always want to exceed expectations with your design work and strive for the best creative result possible.

“The plan is to enter some industry awards, too, and to launch version 2 of our CMS.  This has been a pet project for years. We have 30 or 40 sites running on it now but it’s a bit ugly. So, the bulk of the underlying code is being re-written and we’re and giving it a major facelift.”

 What’s the best bit of advice you could give to a new business start-up?

“Understand the value of your offering and don’t undersell yourself, that’s a lesson we certainly learned quickly.

“Good communication with colleagues and clients is key. Have a plan. Have your business mechanics in place before you start if possible.

“Understand, too, that decisions and processes put in place in the early stages will form the foundations of your business so it’s important to set things up carefully and make sure they are sustainable going forward.

“On top of that, stay positive and beware of imposter syndrome.  It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re not up to scratch – you are!”

What would you say most surprised you in the first year of operation?

“How difficult the three of us working remotely from each other would be. And then, just how busy we got!  Our main fear was not earning enough to pay ourselves, but the biggest challenge turned out to be getting through all the work!”

What was the best decision the business has made so far?

“Sitting in the Jolly Butchers pub for a pint and making the decision to move into Foundry Street office. We could have easily worked from home, but it soon became evident that we needed to spend more time in under the same roof. It has set us up well for 2019 and helps us work seamlessly with friends and collaborators.”

 To learn more, visit Whitespace.