Business, conversations and lessons

I love having conversations with go getters, alphas and doers in society. Picking their brains and hearing out their dreams, ambitions and thoughts for a better future, in their corner of the world always fascinates me. In one recent conversation, we tore down what it was that kept people out of doing something that mattered to them.

Was it money, fear or the relaxed atmosphere that a comfort zone offers? Was it that as a society we feared ‘failure’ and discouraged it so much that we ended up stifling the necessary experimental and curious nature that innovation and solution finding calls for. Or was it also, that we, who had enjoyed some measure of success were not honest enough in giving our ‘rise to x..’ story, and insisted on the glamourous rags to riches format instead? Which rarely provides anyone with the relevant know how in achieving the same level of ‘success’.

I guess there are many reasons to the why, however, in today’s post I will share some of the lessons I have learnt in running, owning and ensuring my company survives and stays relevant to my staff and clients (the most important people in that order).

When I started Deviate I was passionate about providing better marketing services and platforms for small but dynamically growing Kenyan businesses. Brands like Tile and Carpet, Tropical Heat and Mercantile Insurance had fascinated me when I worked at Creative Edge. What I however, found was that despite their having a few million shillings to spare for marketing, they were not receiving the best service tailored specifically for them. Media (billboards, radio, TV and Print) and agencies usually priced themselves and built their models in a way that would work really well for a big brand eg Colgate but not as well for a brand like Whitedent.

So I started Deviate, a company who’s sole aim is to provide better service, delivery and set standards for SME and agency relations. It’s a company that picks brands that it can grow with as opposed to just a brand that can grow the profit margins of the company. The company is entirely built around two groups of people, the staff and the clients.

I believe this is one element that has helped us grow to where we are, currently the company represents over 20 regional brands. And we’re a year old.

However, our business model is not all that matters. One of the biggest selling points Deviate has is the relationships with clients. This really is not marketing lingo. My clients inspire me as people, and they happen to be some of the most interesting and forward thinking people I have met. A huge problem in agency is the idea that ‘client is confused/stupid/complicated’. In many instances they are able to provide an outside-in view that can truly guarantee marketing ROI. A notoriously difficult thing to achieve. So we value our clients and their input, as well as enjoy creating something with them. After all, we work with SME’s, one of the most creative and dynamic groups there are. Do I go out of the way for them in many areas, yes, is it worth it? Yes, all jobs and retainer clients have come from WOM of current/past clients. Not to mention the repeat business opportunities that can be explored.

Now to the dirty bit of it all, the top was all flowers. Lack of money and fear of failure. When I started out, Deviate was going to be all about carvertising-selling ads on taxi bodies. Long story short it didn’t work out yet I had spent all my savings on it. I was flat out broke. I don’t know whether I should thank Zeus, Bacchus or Thor, but someone who I had worked with at Creative Edge approched me to pitch for an online brand management job. I did and I got it. However, it took about three months for this and the cheque on it to clear. I lived on Uchumi points and for one month my electricity was cut. During the three months, I got three job offers, not interviews, offers, one of whom wanted to pay me 120 000 ksh net. I emailed my thank you but regretted to inform them that I had started my own company. My family and friends listed me off as insane, and in all honesty at that point I kind of was. There was the constant nagging of inner voice me that kept r eminding me that I had already failed in the carvetising, plus, the online brand management client might not want to go with me. I guess the lesson in this is that I was determined, possibly half starved to a near insane at this point and I really had a good feeling about what I wanted to do and I believed my solutions could make a difference. Money and comfort were just not going to cut it.

That client ended up being my first major win in many ways. They were a very recognizable brand, and over the year that I worked with them, we not only receive fantastic online PR but this translated to offline as the brand is referred to as one of the few active and engaging corporate brands online. Plus we got nominated for best corporate account at BAKE.

Do I still have issues with money, yes, can I still fail yes. In fact failure at this stage would mean ruining the lives of my employees and clients. Will I give up, or am I tempted? No. Never ever. I plan on building a company that will be over 100 years old and still counting. How many of those do we have in Kenya/East Africa that are truly ours?