Best Startup Scotland
Where in Scotland are you located?
Inverurie
Tell us about yourself?
With over 15 year’s award winning expertise in the marketing industry, I started my first business in 2015.
I’ve since launched a second business in 2019, both of which support businesses with their marketing efforts. I’m a huge fan of content, personally I love video and all that it can do for businesses online.
I’ve lived in Scotland all my life, initially in the central belt, moving to Aberdeen for university and stayed here. I have 2 girls and we stay in the lush Aberdeenshire countryside.
What lessons has being an entrepreneur taught you?
To not take things personally. In my early days of business, everything hit deep.
The wins were big, but even the smallest bump and I was far too hard on myself. It’s a rollercoaster ride and you have to trust the process some times.
If you could go back in time to when you first started your business, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Don’t compare yourself to the competition. Everyone has different goals, dreams and agendas.
There’s no 1 way to run a business, so pick the one that makes you the happiest in life and keep the blinkers on.
A lot of entrepreneurs find it difficult to balance their work and personal lives. How have you found that?
Initially I did, but I’ve learned to put boundaries in place and having my own business gives me the flexibility that I never had working for someone else.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I set up AB Fiftyone to offer straight talking digital marketing support.
Having worked both agency side and client side, I knew that not everyone knows what support they need, or what would work best in a campaign.
I wanted to give businesses the right advice for them to enable growth. That way they get better performance, results and they have one point of contact, simplifying the whole process.
What do you think is your magic sauce? What sets you apart from the competitors?
We love the clients we work with and we integrate ourselves as part of the team. Whether you have a marketing team or not.
The fact as well that we are full end to end digital support, means that when we spot a growth opportunity for our clients, we can go after it. It’s doesn’t become their issue to solve and therefore become a hold up in their growth.
How have you found sales so far? Do you have any lessons you could pass on to other founders in the same market as you just starting out?
For any new starts, I’d always recommend starting with your existing network or friends, family, previous employers and colleagues. You’ll be amazed at what can come from that alone.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced so far in your business, and how did you overcome it?
I would have to of course say the pandemic. Losing your entire client role overnight was terrifying.
But given I’d rather badly broken my leg just 4 months prior and was bed ridden, I took the time to re-evaluate how we supported businesses.
I set up a sister company ‘Content Clarity’ which offers online training courses in online marketing techniques. Everything from Facebook ads to SEO.
Which allows us to reach and support more businesses and help them regardless of their size or marketing budget.
What do you consider are the main strengths of operating your business in Scotland?
Scotland is very supportive of it’s homegrown businesses and that’s why we’re very passionate about working with other Scottish based businesses.
Helping them reach their full potential online and target audiences they didn’t realise existed.
What if any are weaknesses of operating your business within Scotland?
As a service based businesses offering marketing support, I wouldn’t say we’ve come up against any. Pre-pandemic, I guess logistics were an issue.
However, people have come to accept the world of online meetings and so the world has become that bit more small and reachable as a result of that.
What influence does being part of the UK have on your business?
We work with clients around the globe and certainly being Scottish and part of the UK is something that people find fascinating.
What do you want to accomplish in the next 5 years with your business?
In the next 5 years I want to grow the business to have even more remote digital marketing employees onboard.
I’d love to give back and support Scottish founders and also young entrepreneurs with digital marketing (watch this space)
How has Brexit impacted your business (if at all)?
This hasn’t impacted our operations at all.
And finally, if people want to get involved and learn more about your business, how should they do that?
If anyone wants to reach out and chat about their business growth potential and how they can achieve that, they can contact me at [email protected]
Follow AB Fiftyone on Twitter or Linkedin.
