Q. Tell us about your business

Dreaming Fish is a video production company that helps clients of all shapes and sizes connect with people through video and animation.
My wife and I initially set up the business in 2000 to produce Briton’s first ever surfing movie, which took us on the road for three months filming at various locations from John O’Groats to Land’s End. It seems like a lifetime ago and since then we’ve evolved from filming extreme sports through a period where we had largely public sector clients to now having a range of public and private clients from around the globe.
The last few years have been challenging, but thanks to our animation service, which we established in 2017, we were able to thrive during lockdown while our live video services inevitably stalled.
I’m hugely proud of our business and the fact that our team of 12 people work for an impressive list of global clients from what is basically a barn in Surrey!

Q. What’s the best part about running your own business?

There are so many great things it’s hard to pick just one.
I have a brilliant team and it’s such a privilege to work with them. During lockdown we started daily morning video calls and we’ve kept up the tradition – it’s great to see them every morning and it’s really kept me going over the last two years.
I also love the fact I can make things happen for the business and decide which direction to take, not just commercially. Our focus at the moment is encouraging women into our sector – to present them with opportunities and actively mentor them through work experience to a fully fledged career. We’re not doing it to drive revenue. We’re doing it because we believe it’s important.

Q. What do you find most challenging?

Our business runs on a calendar year so I always find the 2nd of January challenging. Even though we might have smashed our target for the previous year I know we need to reset and start again from zero. While some of the challenges ahead might be different, I know we’ve always got to focus on developing our team, supporting and growing our client base and learning new stuff. Fortunately I love what I do but the start of our financial year always seems daunting.
I also find people management challenging as it’s so important to get right. It’s almost a full time job and as my role in the business has changed over the years it has now become one of my main areas of responsibility. We have an amazing team and I want to do the very best for them, and while this can be challenging it can also be hugely rewarding.

Q. How do you keep motivated when the going gets tough?

Having the right team in the right place keeps me motivated, largely because they are usually so motivated. It’s really quite infectious and I always look for support from my team if I’m having a tough day.
It’s also important to have good routines, such as daily get-togethers, which set us up for the day ahead.
And for me, it’s all about continuous learning. I’m a huge fan of podcasts, which I tend to listen to when I’m running. I love Newscast.

Q. How has Jo supported you?

Jo has done so much for us since we first started working together over four years ago. We really didn’t want to take legal advice as we thought it would be too expensive, but it got to the point that it would be a liability trying to decipher contracts with huge businesses that could crush us if things didn’t go to plan. It was also taking up too much of our time. That’s when we got Jo on board and we haven’t looked back. She is always on hand to answer our questions – whether it’s about HR or contracts – and guide us in the right direction. Essentially she keeps us out of trouble and is really an extension of our team. She mitigates things up front rather than helping to pick up the pieces.

Q. What’s your biggest learning?

Do what you do best. Learn what you don’t know. Hire an expert for the rest.
It’s quite simple really but we didn’t know this when we started out!

Q. What do you know now that you wish you had known when you were setting up your business?

I wish I had known that it’s never really over. But I don’t mean this in a bad way as I wouldn’t have it any other way. What I mean is that business doesn’t switch off at 6pm. My wife and I often find ourselves talking shop in bed at 11pm simply because we’ve not had the chance to catch up during the day.

Q. Which businessperson would you most like to have dinner with?

I’d love to have dinner with James Dyson as he is still so hands on with Dyson despite its size. He still calls the shots and seems to run a global organisation like it’s still a small business so I’d love to understand how he does it. But just to make sure things don’t get too serious I’d also invite Ant and Dec and perhaps Adam Fleming from Newscast just to round things off. That would be a good night!

To find out more about Dreaming Fish click here