For our first big announcement of 2021, we are delighted to reveal the new members of the Bristol Creative Industries board of directors.
Following the launch of our new brand and website towards the end of last year, our focus has been to bring on board a new team of directors who will help us deliver our plans to support members and Bristol’s creative industry in nurturing and attracting talent, connecting and growing their businesses.
The diversity of Bristol’s creative industries is something we are immensely proud of, but we also recognised the need for our board to better reflect that diversity. We need individuals who can bring different perspectives and experiences and help us widen our reach across the city. That will help us to future proof the organisation and better support our members.
We are extremely grateful to the stellar line-up of individuals who have joined our board. With their incredible expertise, they will help us build stronger connections with creative businesses, government organisations and individuals in all corners of the city.
Supporting our members
During the pandemic, members have relied on us for advice, counsel and connections. We will continue to do that as challenging times continue and our priority remains to provide a valuable service to our members.
The sector is a vital part of the region’s economy and we look forward to shaping many exciting new support initiatives, supported by our new board. Talent pipeline and business support are areas we know members want our help with and we’re looking forward to sharing more information about some exciting new initiatives in the coming weeks.
Despite the current economic conditions, there is much to celebrate. Bristol remains a brilliant place to run a creative business and we continue to see innovative companies making the city their home and joining our creative cluster.
Promoting diversity and inclusion
Bristol Creative Industries Chair Chris Thurling said:
“Despite very challenging times, our sector remains positive which fills us with confidence. Our role is to help future proof Bristol’s creative industries and our members by ensuring their businesses grow in a way that better promotes diversity and inclusion. The new Bristol Creative Industries board will help us to do that.”
The Bristol Creative Industries board
Joining Chris Thurling, Chair, Lis Anderson, who steps up to Vice Chair and Steven Coombe, Finance Director, we are delighted to welcome the following new board directors:
Julz Davis
Julz Davis has a 20+ year track record of delivering disruptive engagement solutions for complex campaigns across the community, civic and commercial sectors. He has worked for award-winning communication agencies, world food distributors, large-scale events, ethnic media and ethical banks. Julz is proud to have transformed, enriched and saved the lives of people from under-represented groups.
From Knowle West to Westminster, as an award-winning creativist, he is inspired to creatively use the tools of activism to co-create with organisations and other like-minded changemakers keen to advance adventures in diversity and social change, for good.
Marissa Lewis-Peart
Marissa Lewis-Peart is a designer from Bristol with a passion for how people interact with brands and how that experience is shaped through design. In 2019 Marissa won the Ben Martin Apprentice Award in collaboration with Bristol Creative Industries, Babbasa and The IPA. Through that, she attended SXSW in Texas to build her network and gain industry experience through a local internship program.
In addition, Marissa is a scholar on the Editorial Intelligence Social Capital Network programme funded by Google and a dancer in her spare time. She is passionate about helping other young people from underrepresented backgrounds into the creative industry.
Heather Wright
Heather Wright is a BAFTA-winning animation Executive Producer and Creative Industries Consultant. She is a collaborator and connector with a passion for creativity.
In 2020 Heather set up her own agency Springboard Creative. Prior to that she spent 22 years as Executive Producer, Senior Management Team and Board Director at Aardman Animations, where she was credited with being a major contributor to the cultural, commercial and creative success of the company.
She has many credits to her name but is most proud of her work as Executive Producer on BAFTA winning ‘Tate Movie Project’ actively engaging over 35,000 children across the UK, to co-create ‘Itch of the Golden Nit’. As Chair and Trustee of Creative Youth Network she supported the CEO and the Board during a time of transformation from being a local activity centre to being one of the South West’s most respected youth arts groups.
Heather is also an active member of the AHRC Creative Industries Advisory Group and supports South West based companies as an Innovation Expert for Business West.
She also has a lifelong interest in enriching the lives of children and young people everywhere, whatever their background, whatever their circumstances, by unlocking their creative potential.
Gail Caig
Gail Caig is a freelance consultant, working in strategy and policy development and specialising in the creative industries. She is currently working as an advisor to the Creative Industries Council. Gail has worked in national government for over a decade, primarily as Head of Creative Industries Policy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Working across the private, voluntary and not for profit sectors, she has successfully secured major funding bids, overseeing programme delivery and advocating with, and for, a range of interest groups including people with learning disabilities.
Gail was Head of Policy for Creative England. She worked with governments and agencies in countries including Columbia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Germany to share best practice.
Dr. Susan McMillan
Dr. Susan McMillan is an award-winning television producer and writer who has spent much of her career at the BBC. She has also worked on many international co-productions with Discovery Channel, National Geographic and film companies in Australia.
Susan now inspires the next generation of creative industries talent in the South West. She developed the BBC partnerships at the University of the West of England, the first of their kind in the UK.
Susan set up the new School of Creative Industries at Bath Spa, partnered with Pinewood Studios and IBM. She has also developed exciting new film and gaming degrees with Bristol’s Boomsatsuma to ensure diversity and inclusion.
In addition, Susan is Executive Producer of Bath Spa Productions, a commercial production company and film studio with clients including BBC4 and BMW. During lockdown, she launched Z.Ed, a platform for emerging talent in the South West. She has also worked with Vuni, an app showcasing creative content from young people in Bath and Bristol.
Networking. For many people, the word fills them with dread. For others, there’s an element of guilt as they know they should be devoting more time to making useful connections.
Perhaps you’re more extroverted and revel in the idea of being in a (virtual) room of new faces. Or you may feel ok about it but are unsure how to do it with the “stay at home, see no-one” Covid business environment.
There’s no doubt that networking is essential to the success of a business. But as it’s not urgent or immediately fee-paying it’s something that can easily end up at the bottom of the to-do list. Whether you love it or loathe it, Bristol Creative Industries (BCI) has just the ticket.
The BCI Virtual Lunch is an opportunity for a small group of members to connect virtually and exchange information about their business. The BCI team chair and host the one-hour session and invites are sent to contacts within the network.
We see businesses of all shapes and sizes during the session. From the managing director of an established 50+ person agency to founders of an innovative startup, each month we encourage a variety of members to attend. You’re more likely to meet potential partners or referrers than competitors.
Each guest has a three-minute slot or ‘elevator pitch’ to talk about their business. Some provide a general overview whereas others are more focused on the ‘who, what, how, why and for whom’. You don’t need to fill the three minutes, and you can add in a bit of informality and fun. It’s just three minutes and then you’re back on mute.
The members’ lunch is much more than just pitching; it’s a shared space for connecting with your peers to discuss challenges: Covid, managing remote teams, communicating over zoom, missing the office buzz, getting rid of office space, recruiting, new business pipeline and conversion, confidence, those on slowdown, those overstretched… the hour flies by. General themes are shared and collected by the Chair, who also is the rigorous timekeeper. It makes for a busy hour of listening and a feeling of community.
Does it sound terrifying? Well, maybe, but virtual lunches do have some advantages compared to traditional face-to-face networking, which can be unstructured and uncomfortable. You participate from the comfort of your own office/home, there’s no travelling, no small talk, only three minutes of talking for which you can prepare, and you hear from 11 other businesses – quite a high hit compared with an event. There’s no competing for airtime and you don’t have to ask for contact details as these are circulated after the event.
BCI’s Virtual Lunch is proving an effective way for members to widen their networks and it’s likely we’ll continue the format even when the pandemic has passed.
But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what Kate Sikora from Noble Performs had to say about her first BCI Virtual Lunch in November 2020:
“What a delight, mid-lockdown, to spend an hour seeing some familiar faces, meeting new contacts and discussing our current challenges in business. Thank you to Bristol Creative Industries for keeping us connected, as you have done so well for so many years.”
“We’d love to meet you and hear about your business,” said Chris Thurling, Chair, “and if you’ve been before, do come again. This region is known for its cluster of creative businesses and BCI is here to strengthen those connections. From one conversation, that links to others, that cross-refer to more contacts, to work contracts, to talented people. It’s a network that’s constantly growing, changing and on the move, offering opportunities.”
Feel you need to brush up on the art of developing your network? Chris recommends, “Taking the work out of networking – an introvert’s guide to making connections that count” by Karen Wickre.
If you’re a BCI member and would like to join us at a virtual lunch, contact our Membership Manager, Alli Nicholas.
If you’re not a BCI member, join today.
The Creative Economy Unit at UWE is researching the impact of Covid19 on the South West exploring resilience & adaptability in the sector.
They are reaching out to all sectors of the creative industries, from community arts to architecture, food to festivals, fashion to photographers, and everywhere in between.
The survey is anonymous and the research team aims to use the results to lobby policymakers & stakeholders with a more complete understanding of how the creative & cultural sector functions in order to support recovery.
Please share far and wide to support & ensure your needs are represented.
Could your business create a role to provide the start a young person needs in developing their career, whilst getting paid by the government to cover the costs? Find out more about the Kickstart Scheme for employers below.
The government has recently announced a new £2 billion Kickstart scheme to help create hundreds of meaningful jobs for young people aged 16-24 who are at risk of long-term unemployment. To apply directly, businesses need to be able to offer a minimum of 30 job placements.
We know this process will not work for many employers within the region’s creative industries. So we’re pleased to announce that Bristol Creative Industries is partnering with Business West and TechSPARK to enable small and medium sized business in our network to benefit from the scheme, opening up many more opportunities for young people across our region.
To make your initial enquiry please register via the Business West website.
Everyone who registers their interest will be invited to a one-hour Q&A session on Friday 9th October at 10am via Zoom.
Business West will talk through everything you need to know about the scheme, including details of the application process and FAQ’s.
Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network uniting Bristol, Bath and the South West’s creative sector. We are the largest creative network in the South West with over 500 members and a robust following across all the main social media channels. Industries include, advertising, marketing, design, digital, PR, graphic, film, TV, video, radio, photography, IT, software, createch, publishing, events and games.
Guess what? We are also open to students and graduates looking for work experience placements, short term contracts and full time jobs. It’s the place to join if you are looking to build a digital portfolio, make contacts and find employment. And, for students and recent graduates, it’s totally free to join.
Bristol Creative Industries brings together a community of like-minded individuals and creative businesses to promote opportunities and support sector growth. Each member gets an online profile in the membership directory which is a great place to get to know local employers. We also have a jobs board and host training and speaker events to inform and inspire our network.
As a Student / Graduate member you will get your own profile in the directory so employers can get to know you too. Also pick up discounts on training workshops and speaker events, and a host of other perks like money off your coffee fix!
All in all, it’s a great place to get noticed by employers, discover what’s going on in the creative sector and hear the latest industry thinking at our training and speaker events.
Sounds exciting? Sign up here.
Get involved, get connected and your career will start to take off.
Photo Credit: Access Creative College
Twitter @Access_Creative | Facebook @accesscreativecollege | Instagram @accesscreativecollege
After 15 years of supporting and promoting Bristol’s creative sector, Bristol Media has undergone a make-over. Designed to better reflect the breadth and depth of the city’s creative community, we’d like to introduce Bristol Creative Industries.
Since launching Bristol Media in 2005, the creative sector and city profile has changed significantly. Bristol today is home to one of the UK’s largest, most diverse and creative communities. From world-leading animation, film, TV, AR and VR to brilliantly creative advertising, PR, social and digital agencies and freelancers, event production and more, Bristol is a hotbed of innovative thinkers, creative dynamos and world-class talent. Given this breadth, our new name, look and feel is designed to embrace all our creative talents and ambitions.
Bristol Creative Industries will continue the good work of Bristol Media – supporting the creative sector to learn, grow and connect. A myriad of open-to-all and member-only learning and sharing events, workshops and training sessions will continue to enable Bristol’s creative community to develop valuable skills and make important new connections. Recent keynote events and workshops have seen the likes of Rory Sutherland, Ann Hiatt, Bruce Daisley and Margaret Heffernan all come to Bristol to share insights and inspire new thinking. Whether online and virtual or up close and personal, we’ll continue to bring the experts and innovators in creative thinking, business development and skills expansion to share their experience and inspire us all with their passion.
And of course, we’ll be supporting members as much as possible. Our new-look website offers members an enhanced, highly engaging platform to showcase work and share thought leadership. The Member Directory and Project Gallery offers the opportunity to promote specialist skills and offers, enabling the creative community to seek out talent and members to boost career opportunities, offer their services and build new business-generating connections and collaborations. Whether looking for a new role or seeking out new talent, members will continue to benefit from our acclaimed Jobs Board which enables roles to be posted at a fraction of the cost of other recruitment routes. With over 750 jobs posted in 2019 it’s an active and accessible route to talent recruitment for the creative sector.
Everyone involved in Bristol Creative Industries passionately believes in the brilliance of creative Bristol. Alongside our website providing a valuable introduction to the city’s talent for the many companies seeking out creative services, our Board of Directors will continue to act as ambassadors for the city and the sector, telling our collective story and working to attract further support for our initiatives and collective ambitions. With a hard–working Operations Team making everything happen, plus a voluntary Executive Board including BAFTA winners, tech trailblazers and creative pioneers providing support and guidance, we’re also expanding our Advisory Group to help build our offer and support the sector still further. We’re actively recruiting so take a look at the roles on offer if you’re interested in supporting us.
“Bristol may be known for Banksy, Gromit and Brunel, but in between the cider, boats and balloons we nurture a hugely diverse network of creative talent that is ever-expanding in scale of offer and of ambition”, says Chris Thurling, Chair of Bristol Creative Industries. “Since 2005 Bristol Media has done a great job supporting the sector, but the name simply didn’t reflect the offer. With an ambition to embrace and support the full breadth of the city’s creative talent, we wanted a name to match. Bristol Creative Industries does just that.
“The collaborative, connected nature of Bristol’s creative community is quite unique in the UK and a great, untapped strength. Individually all our creative businesses and individuals have great skill, and when we combine our talents we can do even greater things. By engaging with Bristol Creative Industries, whether attending an event, joining a training session, sharing thought leadership, creating a showcase or simply posting a new role, the opportunity to grow and prosper expands. And that, I have absolutely no doubt, is a very good thing for everyone.”
Lis Anderson, Director at Bristol Creative Industries, agrees: “Sharing our achievements inspires talented people to work here, attracts more customers and bolsters growth for all. With Bristol’s long-standing reputation for innovation, the enhanced digital platform created for Bristol Creative Industries gives Bristol’s creative community the voice it deserves. I would urge everyone in the creative community to get involved – the more noise we make, the more business we’ll attract, it really is that simple.”
If you would like to find out more about supporting Bristol Creative Industries or becoming a member, get in touch.
The iconic ‘Cheers Drive’ sign, one of nine light installations which featured in this year’s inaugural Bristol Light Festival has been permanently installed at the city’s bus station in Marlborough Street as a symbol of gratitude to the many thousands of frontline workers.
The neon sign was installed late last night and will be officially switched on by tomorrow Friday 21 August as a permanent feature for visitors and Bristol residents to enjoy.
As organisers focus on their plans to bring the Bristol Light Festival back to the city next February, they are asking Bristolians to nominate their preferred local phrase to be turned into a light display. The Overheard in Bristol installation which this year featured the ‘Cheers Drive’ saying will light up a new well-known Bristol phrase for 2021. With a wealth of ‘Brizzle’ phrases to choose from ‘gert lush’ and ‘alright me luvver’ to ‘where’s it to?’, people can nominate a phrase for next year by tweeting @bristol_light their ideas.
Supported by Bristol City Centre BID (Business Improvement District) alongside Bristol-based creative directors Katherine Jewkes and Vashti Waite, this year’s highly popular event was the first in a three-year series planned for the city.
Expressions of interest are also now open for artists keen to be involved in the 2021 event. The creative team are keen to hear from artists and makers of any discipline, interested in working with light as a creative medium in Bristol City Centre.
Vicky Lee, Bristol City Centre BID’s lead for the Festival added: “We’re excited to be giving Cheers Drive a permanent home in our city and it’s fitting that it is going to be displayed in a location which every day welcomes residents, workers and visitors alike into the heart of the Bristol.
“It’s great that so many people are already returning as we continue to work with local businesses and organisations to safely reopen the city following lockdown, as part of the Bristol Together initiative.”
James Freeman, Managing Director, First West of England commented:
“As we get the region moving safely again this new eye-catching addition to the city’s bus station from the Bristol Light Festival is right on cue. The ‘Cheers Drive’ sign gives us a highly visual, creative way to show our gratitude to the thousands of keyworkers – including our First staff – in true Bristol fashion now and for years to come.”
Katherine Jewkes, co-creative director for the Bristol Light Festival:
“The last few months have been difficult for everyone, but as always Bristol has come together with its own sense of community spirit and care, which we think is summed up in this artwork. We’re glad to see it reinstalled in the city centre as a gift to everyone who has kept the city going through such uncertain and turbulent times.
We are moving forward with plans to stage Bristol Light Festival again in 2021, bringing light and joy to the city centre at a traditionally dark time of year. We are currently open for expressions of interest from any kind of creative talent in the city who have an idea they would like to make happen, or an installation which has never been seen in Bristol before, we’d love to hear from you.”
In addition to the giant ‘Cheers Drive’ sign as part of the Overheard in Bristol installation which was originally located by Watershed, the 2020 event included eight other installations for the city to enjoy, such as the transformation of Castle Bridge by Tine Bech with Pink Enchantment, immersing those who walked across it in an ethereal pink light. While Queen Square hosted Wave-Field Variation Q, eight, giant illuminated see saws by Lateral Office and CS Design with Soundscape by Mitchell Akiyams, and Neighbours, which saw four Bristol-based Graffiti artists and illustrators to show us what they think the neighbours are up to next door to Banky’s famous Well-Hung Lover on Park Street. Neighbours is a celebration of Bristol’s residents and how we interact with each other as a diverse community.
The Bristol City Centre BID (Business Improvement District) has continued to deliver many initiatives throughout the pandemic to ensure the city and its businesses can safely reopen. These projects include additional overnight security, street cleansing and disinfecting high-contact locations in the city centre to help minimize the spread of Covid-19 and most recently the city-wide marketing campaign, Bristol Together to support local businesses as they safely reopen in partnership with Visit Bristol and Broadmead BID.
For more information about the Bristol Light Festival and Bristol City Centre BID please visit https://bristolcitycentrebid.co.uk/ and follow the Bristol City Centre BID on Twitter @BrisCentreBID #Bristollight.
Tuesday 8 September 2020, 11:00-12:00
The demand for greater choice, flexibility and meaning was challenging leaders to think differently about their approach to talent and the workplace even before the pandemic hit. Recent experiences have just deepened these desires and been a catalyst for broader change in how agencies work, behave and operate – as businesses, and communities of people.
What comes next for the world of work is not a ‘return’ to anything. It’s a transition to a new era and every business needs to raise their game when it comes to how they lead, the culture they create and how they support and leverage their best talent. Get the balance right and it will be a win-win for your business and the people you want to stay and draw.
Based on detailed research and hands-on experience in recent months, we will explain how agencies need to respond to these new expectations. We’ll share our knowledge and experience and explain how you can manage change in a way that sets your business up for success.
This event is for Bristol Media members only and aimed at all agency founders and leaders seeking valuable insights to help shape a positive and progressive working culture for their agency.
This is the third event in the Future Positive series. The next session on 7th October will cover how to create and manage business value. More details to follow on this.
Places are limited to allow for a more personal and productive discussion. To reserve your space, register here
Whilst this is a free event, we’d be grateful if members would consider making a donation.
Although some of our members have been unaffected by COVID-19, we recognise for others this is still challenging business climate so we want to do what we can to support. As many will know, Bristol Media operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company and revenue comes solely from membership fees and events. We receive no other funding or financial support. We’re hopeful that the donation approach will allow all members to continue accessing our events whatever their financial situation whilst also allowing us to replace some of the revenue we’ve lost over recent months. All our speakers give their time and expertise voluntarily. Thank you for your continued backing and we hope that you’ll be able to support this approach and look forward to being able to deliver a series of worthwhile events that our members enjoy and importantly find beneficial to their businesses.
We’re the business consultancy to add clarity, colour and confidence to your ambition.
We add our collective knowledge and specialist expertise to help you realise your full potential and value.
The Future Positive series will be run by the Tonic senior team, who will draw on their experience leading and guiding some of the best agencies through challenging times.
To find out more about Tonic, click here.
Bristol Creative Industries Chair, Chris Thurling represents BCI members on the West of England Combined Authority’s (WECA) Regional Recovery Taskforce. This is a forum where industry views can be heard regionally and nationally, to feed into plans for economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. Here is a short summary of discussions from the July meeting.
The Covid-19 business environment has shifted many into home working, bringing the additional challenges around remotely building new relationships with clients/customers, remote sales and recruiting new staff members. Businesses are finding working from home more than just shifting to video calls; for help take a look here.
Employees’ mental health and resilience is an ongoing concern, especially those with additional caring needs at home.
Longer working hours have been reported. Many businesses are tied into long term office rentals which are not being used, this has led to some considering more flexible options or even becoming virtual organisations. In co-working spaces there has been confusion over who is responsible for adapting workspaces. There is a growing demand for co-working spaces and work hubs in rural and suburban areas.
A clearer message from the government is needed on whether it is safe and advised to return to work.
Looking at demand and markets, a large number of companies in the sector have pivoted online where possible. Companies are looking at international markets that are further down the COVID recovery line. In television production there has been a move to the subscription models and away from the ad-funded models. With office-based working now not so important the South West is well placed to attract more talented people and new businesses.
It is important to keep remote working practices in place so companies are prepared in the event of a second lockdown. Companies are using the period of reopening to prioritise work that needs to be done face to face, and those employees not comfortable with homeworking given the option to return to the office. Digital Connectivity is an ongoing issue for people working from home, especially those in rural areas.
Publishing local R numbers would allow companies to make more informed decisions when making plans to return to work.
There is likely to be an influx of freelancers and new start-up companies as a result of redundancies in the sector. Provision of entrepreneurial skills training to help people create their own jobs was recommended. Other skills training highlighted was in the skills gap for software development and data science.
It’s crucial to be able to attract international talent so clarity is needed on visa requirements post-Brexit.
Programmes like Creative Workforce for the Future have been very well received and there is an appetite across the board for this programme to be extended or similar placement schemes to be introduced.
A flexible apprenticeships programme has been launched in the West Midlands and Manchester – is this something WECA can be involved in? There is also the need to work with the education sector on the provision of work-based training opportunities to students.
Any support packages should also address environmental sustainability and diversity. There are still huge challenges around gender, ethnicity, ableism and socio-economics in the sector.
The next WECA Regional Recovery Taskforce is in early August, we will update you on discussions and pass on your views. To have your say do contact Chris with your thoughts or concerns on business recovery, reference “WECA recovery”.
In the early days of lockdown Bristol Media set up “Pay it Forward”, a collection of offers of free help from our community for those in the region’s creative industries reeling from the economic impact of Covid-19.
With lockdown easing and the focus moving from survival to revival, “Pay it Forward” is now winding down. However, before it closes Bristol Media would like to say a huge thank you to all those businesses that volunteered to help others; those that gave their time and expertise to listen and advise. We had volunteers providing mentoring and business support, HR and legal support, business development and marketing advice to financial tools, all free.
What do you do when most activities stop? The answers are not simple and have involved conversations and many actions to reduce overheads and claim government support, for those eligible. We contacted some of the people involved in the initiative to find out how it went from their side of things:
Simon Barbato, CEO at Mr B & Friends had a huge response from his LinkedIn post, “I was expecting maybe two or three people would respond to my offer of help around positioning and marketing, but I was overwhelmed when I received 19 requests for appointments. I decided to meet with them all, and the conversations ranged from a friendly peer to peer chat to some real advice sought on positioning businesses to survive the crisis. One thing I was particularly pleased with was making introductions from one person to the next and business opportunities maturing from that. I also really got something from each discussion and felt it was a fantastic use of my time”.
Jack Thompson, who specialises in helping agencies with business development, volunteered for Pay it Forward. “In the early stages it was all about coping with the immediate effects of lockdown in relation to business development. There was a broad range of impacts from ‘I’ve lost everything’, through to, ‘we’re doing OK’. I advised talking to current and recent clients, reviewing pipelines and reforecasting for the year, and then looking at what people could do to start some new conversations too.”
“All businesses will have gone through the initial shocks, and they will know where they stand with regard to all the moving parts of their business, so most are now planning for ‘what next?’. Of course easier for some, more than others, depending on how hard they have been hit, but there is definitely a sense that we’re over the worst, so it’s time to think about growth again.
Sandeep Roy, director of Innovate2grow.com, a strategic digital advisory firm reported that “For most companies, lockdown caused a switch to a shorter-term focus; preserve cash and ‘keep the lights on’. Strategic visions went on hold. There was an accelerated focus on digital innovations and a move to virtual models in order to reach, acquire and serve customers online.
As the lock-down relaxes, employers are concerned about liability if employees fall ill after returning to work, and are exploring having teams in low physical contact scenarios. Covid-19 has definitely triggered a rethinking on the future of business and the workplace.”
“I have worked with clients on repositioning their services,” said Susie McFarland, business strategist and mentor, “a lot of businesses have had to move quickly with refocused service offerings, revised financial plans and restructured operating models. I’ve been so impressed by their resolve and determination, not losing sight of why they started in the first place, but keeping true to their core and working from there. No mean feat in challenging times.”
Amy Wilkinson, Disruptive Thinking, another Pay it Forward company said, ”The conversations started as a discussion on how to pivot your sales and marketing strategy in the context of coronavirus, and we ended up discussing topics such as how to build your sales pipeline, how to implement a business development strategy, and how to get started and winning your first clients. We ended up having really honest, open discussions about how we’re all doing at the moment. Everyone was very upfront about what challenges they are experiencing during COVID – it was refreshing.”
James Lucas, Creative Plantation commented on Pay it Forward, “I was blown away with the openness and willingness to chat. I contacted a few on the list around mentoring and coaching for input on my new business proposition. The feedback and inspiration I got back from the discussions was great and gave me hope that after lockdown, the enthusiasm and interest to continue to connect with peers will continue. Thanks to Bristol Media and everyone I spoke to!”
Thank you once again for all the free support via Pay it Forward; in tough times it’s good to know the community support is here. Bristol Media is continuing with our mission to keep the creative community connected. We are offering a series of new events to help businesses move forward. These are in the new online format, book direct via our Events page. We are also supporting networking and business development with online Virtual Lunches, if you wish to join in please contact a[email protected]. We do hope you will join us in the coming months.
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