My education is in design, I studied graphic design at university, before falling into a stint in television production. Bright lights, long hours and the kind of outrageous anecdotes that you couldn’t begin to make up. It’s an experience I look back on very fondly. From there I side-stepped into communications agencies and then specifically into campaign work for major consumer goods brands, including Co-op Food and Cadburys, split between Manchester and London. I worked on campaigns that genuinely impacted the habitual shopper journey, increased market share and sales along with brand loyalty. 

After I became a mum, I made a decision that changed everything. I walked away from the corporate world and opened a coffee shop in a small Cheshire market town. I discovered very quickly that running your own business is the most unvarnished, unglamorous, brilliant education you can ever give yourself. The early mornings. The team dynamics. The endless juggling. The constant feeling that you’re the only person who can see everything that needs doing.

But the marketing? The marketing felt easy because it was always my thing. Looking around at the other brilliant, hardworking business owners in my community, I noticed that for most of them, it was the hardest part. The bit that kept getting pushed down the list. The bit that was quietly costing them.

Shortly after I began my journey building up my experience and my marketing studio. SquarePeg is everything I wish I’d had when I was trying to grow my own business: big-brand strategic thinking, beautiful design but without the heavy price tag.