Category: Uncategorized

Imagine playing a board game (old school I know!), where the design of the board keeps changing every few minutes. Imagine that the other players in the game are looking to you to explain the new board rules and help them navigate their way through the game. Yet…you’re in the same position as them, barely able to understand the ever-changing landscape. That’s what running a business can feel like a lot of the time. Poor mental health in leadership has been normalised for too long, CEOs are expected to put work challenges before their own self-care. It can often feel like fighting an uphill battle. Crisis situations create huge amounts of stress and pressure. In the last three years we’ve been through a global health crisis and are now facing a global economic crisis. Running a small business can create a rollercoaster of emotions. The highs are intoxicating, the lows… During times of crisis, navigating professional integrity, health and well-being [...]

Does this sound like you? Once I get the promotion, I will feel like my career is on track After this busy period, I won’t have to work so much and can spend time doing things I enjoy When I make just a bit more money, I will feel financially secure enough to move across the country / start a family / travel / write a book. In our goal-oriented society, setting goals can often be powerful motivators that drive professional and personal success. But what happens when you achieve that goal? Is life different? Are you working harder than before? Are you confused that instead of feeling happy, you are perhaps haunted by anxiety? A little over a year ago, I was struggling to feel happy. Happy in my own skin. Happy with success. Happy with life. To everyone who reached out, supported and helped me along the way, I want to say thank you. I think some of [...]

I don’t think that kindness is a weakness. And I have a problem with business owners who don’t show compassion where it’s needed. Be kind is one of our values. It matters to me that we are kind to each other, our clients, and our partners or even competitors.  That said, we are an extremely competitive team. But we don’t feel it is appropriate to step on others to get to success. In fact, in our business experience, quite the opposite has been true. During tough early years, we also noticed and remembered the businesses that were kind to us. John Quinton-Barber and Ruth Shearn are two highly successful, (and importantly also kind) business owners that I find incredibly inspiring. I have noticed with delight that there is a shift in the corporate landscape. Perhaps this is because, pre-pandemic, we did not get to notice what a client’s cat looked like or whether they have their children’s favourite school projects [...]

And the best days are beach days. We’re all enjoying some much-needed holiday time this month at Gingerhead, before preparing for a busy Autumn. While we’ve had a good year and are really enjoying work. Summer pre-pandemic was about jetting off to exciting places or spending the weekend enjoying new music, fascinating people, and getting good and muddy at a favourite festival. We are all learning to enjoy simple pleasures more. I always find myself more hopeful in the summer. On those perfect sunny days, it feels like anything is possible. I have a tip to share for anyone who needs a bit more magic in their world. Go and spend a day at the beach. If you have kids, take them, if you don’t, get back to being one for a moment. We’ve been enjoying beach days a little closer to home this year as we’re busy with summer campaigns including our destination campaign for Visit Southport. I’ve always [...]

This week we turned 6. We’re closing this year as our most successful yet and I feel incredibly grateful to be where we are right now. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone we’ve worked with, and all who have supported us over the last 6 years. There are many moments that I will never forget, from hiring employees, to the first big contract win, or the times we see our work in real life. Even the first time we had a client complaint sticks in my mind. So many moments define a successful business and I have learned that how you respond to failure is just as important as how you respond to success. For anyone thinking of starting their own business, you will work hard, you will make a lot of mistakes, and you will feel higher rewards than at any other point in your career when the success comes. In my experience, it is completely [...]

Many businesses face a slump during the summer months. In our first couple of years at Gingerhead, we experienced the same. This year has been our busiest yet and we’re both grateful, and wanting to share some of the things that helped us during quieter years: Hold a social media contest – when we started ‘Spot the Gingerhead’ we did not expect it to go as big as it did. It was a simple social media campaign encouraging others to get our brand seen. We used tote bags and water bottles as the main ways to ‘spot the Gingerhead’. We reached 14 countries, traveling over 50,000 miles that summer. It was such fun seeing our favourite people engaging with the brand and we still look back on that campaign with a smile.Don’t cut prices, add value – when you’re a service-based business, discounting just de-values your services. Instead, better to talk with your clients / prospects and offer added-value items, [...]

I am typically a high functioning, motivated, and positive person. When anxiety hits it is usually by surprise. I take on too many things, ignore the signs to rest, burn myself out, and suddenly the self-doubt, sleepless nights, and fuzzy brain kicks in. Hello there old friend, I didn’t miss you. I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. Some days, I find it easier to fake a smile, to make another self-deprecating joke, to bury my head in work and to keep pretending everything is fine. Except that it has not been fine. It is times like these that I could not be more grateful to be a Gingerhead. It is not for nothing that one of our values is to Be Kind. We look after each other and show patience and understanding when life happens (that part inspired by another agency friend – I always love that one JQB). We’re having an incredibly successful year and it is easy [...]

After more than a week of staying in my pyjamas until lunch, eating all kinds of food, and going for lovely long walks with my favourite people, suddenly it’s time to go back to work! I count myself among the lucky. I love the people I work with, and I love my job. It doesn’t seem to make it any easier to bounce back into the office in January. If you’re feeling like this, you are not alone. Here’s what helps me beat those January blues… Get organised The night before, eating a healthy dinner, getting everything ready for the morning and getting up early for a cup of tea (while the house is quiet) and a quick walk around the block makes such a difference to my motivation for a busy day. I also love tidying up my desk and starting with a new notebook at the beginning of every new year. Clear that inbox I know some very [...]

This month we reached a significant milestone, our 5th birthday. I have been reflecting on the last five years and how lucky I feel to be where we are now. So how did we get started… Well…throughout a successful career in brand and marketing, I repeatedly saw talented female friends and colleagues side-lined in some way once they’d had children, or just not taken as seriously in their career ambitions as perhaps their male colleagues. These were people I rated. I decided that I wanted to do something different. I set up Gingerhead in 2016, with a dream of running a successful creative business, led by women. Our name was inspired by the person who changed my life, my elder daughter Lottie. Becoming a mother helped me gain the confidence to want to be better and to create a lovely life for myself, my family and anyone I work with. It also made me better at my job. I am [...]

Having just returned from my first holiday since before COVID-19, I am feeling at my most hopeful. We all need moments away to reflect, recuperate and rejoice in the simple things. I found this sign during one of my morning walks in the beautiful seaside town of Whitstable. It feels like a metaphor for business owners. For all the budding entrepreneurs out there, hope is one of the most important skills you need to develop. It is more than an emotion. In business, hope is the skill you need to help you figure out how you get from A to B. How to keep going when you feel like giving up.  The beliefs that keep me hopeful: You always have the ability to change your life and it is never too late to do so.There are good things in the future, you just need to make them happen.There are many ways to achieve personal and professional goals.There will be challenges [...]