Hey Stu, tell me about the man behind MANDATE.

I have worked in PR for over 20 years. I studied Business & Marketing at Brunel University. When I was a student I worked in John Lewis (so that I could have a discount in Waitrose!) and I thoroughly enjoyed working for The Partnership because the training was excellent and the democratic culture of the business was very inspiring at that age. Many of those JLP values I have taken forward in my career. I started off in B2B technology PR at a top five tech consultancy - where I learned the ropes. I moved into consumer PR after three years and joined one of the first digital specialist PR agencies in the country.

After working agency-side I then moved in-house at mobile giant Orange, where I managed PR for handsets and consumer entertainment sponsorship properties. These included The Edinburgh Film Festival, The Orange Prize For Fiction and The Hay Festival. I also lead the Brightening Up London campaign in 2003 which saw Buckingham Palace illuminated on Christmas Eve and achieved blanket national and broadcast coverage. After my two year stint in-house, I returned to the agency world at director level and I then consulted for several top ten agencies and was privileged to head up the UK PR team for Apple. I then became MD of Custard PR, part of the Loewy Group, at the age of 30. After a few years of working exceptionally hard and successfully growing that business I decided to launch my own.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

My grandmother had just passed away and she always used to say; “you are dead a very long time and nobody stands at your graveside wishing you had worked harder.” My end goal is simply to be happy and I am. I strive to maintain a team that delivers the very best and have employees who are proud to be a part of the business. I want us to be known for delivering 5* results that really helps clients’ businesses to flourish.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

One of the things that defines us – is our financial model. We don’t bill in increments of time as most agencies do and we don’t do timesheets. We scope out the remit of work and have fixed fees – which clients love as there are no nasty surprises on invoices. We were also one of the first PR firms to go paperless and embrace remote working practices. We have a four and a half day working week as part of our commitment to staff wellbeing. We have an ‘early bird’ ethos and by 8.00am all of our team are online, active and work has started - this means we have our finger on the pulse when it comes to the daily news agenda and we finish at 4.00pm guilt-free. This mentality helps us to foster a smarter and more efficacious working culture.  It also enables us to finish at midday on a Friday – having done a good productive week – which the team loves.

Keeping an eye on the numbers in any business is important. How do you ensure that you’re always up to date?

My husband and business partner Grant is not a PR person. He heralds from New Zealand, started his career in banking, then ran a successful seafood restaurant before moving to the UK and taking up a career in IT and logistics. He has a great skillset to support a creative business. He focusses solely on business administration and we have invested in robust financial systems and technology to ensure we keep our eye on the ball when it comes to this area. We also have watertight client contracts put together by top media industry lawyers. I think this is an important area for any business regardless of sector to invest in. Sadly, many small businesses overlook this area due to time and investment pressures - which poses a huge risk. Complacency here can leave a growing business overly exposed from bad debts and defaults. 

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?

I actually have two.

Firstly; ‘Hire slow, fire fast and communicate openly along the way’.

Investing time, energy and resource in the recruitment process means you will attract a better-quality pool of candidates. Do not be afraid to ask tough questions or give gruelling assessments. Wishy washy or rushed recruitment practices will lead to weak skills and poor cultural fit in the long run. The more time you invest in finding out about a potential hire the closer you will be to finding the ideal person. I’m a firm believer in ongoing open dialogue with all members of my team. If there are ever any issues we talk about them and address them quickly - so people always know where they stand with me. Everyone in the team has a clear career path and knows what they need to deliver in order to trigger pay-rises, promotions and other ad-hoc rewards. It is very evident if somebody is not enjoying their job or putting the necessary effort in. PR is not a career for everybody – it is not the ‘Ab Fab Champagne-fuelled’ lifestyle that lots of people naively think it is.  Any issues are best addressed, resolved and dealt with swiftly. There is no room in a cohesive small team for a Negative Nellie! 

The second lesson I have learnt is: ‘If you think it's expensive to hire a professional - wait until you hire an amateur.’ 

We have had several clients come to us - who have been badly burned by inexperienced freelancers or very large agencies that have left an account in the hands of a junior person. Clients buy expertise, ideas and consultancy service. I am by no means knocking freelancers or large agencies – I know many that do an exceptional job, but there are also freelancers who think they know everything and offer the moon on a stick. Likewise, there are large agencies with a ‘Pitch n Switch’ mentality. I think the sweet spot for clients is a mix of experience coupled with team resource - which is why we say to clients we offer big agency thinking delivered with boutique service.

What are your thoughts on failure?

We all learn by making mistakes. The better person is someone who can admit when things go wrong and take those learnings forward positively. Failure as a concept is quite easy to mitigate if you begin with a clear vision, strategy and have a plan on how you are going to execute and deliver against that. One of my life mottos is: ‘fail to plan, plan to fail.’ 

Do you have a morning routine or ritual to get your day started on the right foot?

As soon as I am awake I get up. I have a shower and then I drink a herbal tea and have breakfast – usually porridge, fruit and decaf coffee. I then plan my outfit for the day depending on where I am going - to the office, meetings or an event etc. I then sit down and I have a good half an hour to watch the news – BBC Breakfast all the way for me - so I am fully up to speed on what’s going on. I then check emails, team chats and my to-do list to make sure my day is well planned and I have a plan of attack. I am usually up by 6.00am latest, I leave my house at 7.30am and on most days I walk to the office – this gives me headspace and time to think. Our day starts promptly at 8.00am and we have a quick team huddle every day – so we are all on the same page and everyone has clear goals for that day.

If you could be in a room with four entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?

Hilary Devey from Dragons’ Den – Hilary started from nothing and built a profitable business turning over £100+ million from the ground up. I love her never give up attitude and the fact that she has overcome many personal hurdles along the way. I adore her grit, glamour and get things done approach.

James Dyson – James made vacuum cleaners sexy. Fact. He is a great example of a British entrepreneur, led by technological innovation and a desire to challenge the status quo. It is because of him we have gone bag-less and cut the cord. 

Richard Reed from Innocent drinks – Richard and team created the at-home smoothie market. The brand has bags of character and personality. Innocent launched over twenty years ago, despite now being 90%+ owned by The Coca-Cola Company, it maintains a strong pole position within its category.

Lynne Franks – Lynne has worked tirelessly for equality and acceptance for women in British businesses. Lynne was also instrumental in creating London Fashion Week and making it the world-renowned successful event that it has become.

What plans do you have for MANDATE over the next two years?

The current Covid19 crisis has impacted the business significantly. We have had clients go bust and others in sectors that have simply ground to a halt; for example travel, dating, mobile accessories, aesthetics, dentistry, restaurants and leisure venues. So, our strategy is to rebuild the business with a more robust client portfolio and to work with those businesses which are nimble and can quickly diversify themselves. Luckily our new business pipeline is always full as we do ongoing business development activities.We are also in the process of expanding our international offering – due to client demand in some sectors that are thriving in the online arena. Also, we are investing in upskilling our team and broadening our core service offerings – as traditional PR is dead. To not only survive, but to most importantly thrive, PR firms need to adapt how they work and also look more closely at who they work with. We have some very exciting service offerings in the pipeline and some business partnerships that we will be activating in the coming two years.

What do you think gives a brand longevity?

Personality, empathy and fluidity.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I didn’t have moments of doubt – I was an MD at 30yrs and had made millions of pounds for other PR consultancies! I really don’t mean to sound cocky - but I never doubted that I could run a PR business as I had run one that was highly successful and had been sold to a large marketing services company. I had led winning pitches throughout my career and secured business from global super brands. I didn’t have any doubts in my ability to do my job and to do it well. 

The thing that I wish I had been more aware of was the economic forecast at the time (2008/9) because little did I know that the UK was about to fall into one of its longest and deepest economic recessions and it might not have been the best time to launch a business. 

Today though, I am older and wiser, switched-on and better informed - which by default does now create moments of doubt. The way I push on in moments of ‘wobble’ is to give myself a firm reality check. I look back at all of the amazing clients that I have worked with in two decades and the positive impacts that we have achieved. I think about all the amazing coverage I have achieved – yes, I have copies and an archive!

I honestly do love and enjoy what I do. I think that is the driving force that keeps me going because there is always a client that we can help. PR is a dynamic discipline and I also strive to continue learning and stay at the forefront of developments and trends. I am slightly scared of falling behind and being overtaken – which I guess motivates me to do more and it also rallies my fighting spirit.