Well you’d be surprised at how many people forget this as their business takes off and grows. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but by sticking to your vision, you’re more likely to succeed.
In 2008, we started out in an attic room above a shop in London’s Carnaby Street with 14 people. With a Brazilian coffee shop across the road serving as our meeting room, and a cable slung out of a window for Internet connection, we were quickly dubbed “The Attic 14”.
My vision for Hogarth was to bring savings to national and global brands through new ways of producing global advertising campaigns. Back then, we had the ambition to build a £2.5m company, but since then we’ve exceeded £100m. So how did we do it?
It was simple – we never lost sight of the vision for the company. It’s so easy to get distracted by day-to-day activities. You need to focus on the bigger picture. Our vision was to bring savings to national and global brands through new ways of producing advertising campaigns.
We opened our doors with a centralised translation model for delivering international campaigns and have regularly invented new ways of saving money ever since. Over the last eight years we’ve learnt that whenever we stick close to that vision, that’s when we succeed most, and whenever we wander off into other apparent opportunities, we tend to lose our way.
Something else to consider is how to hire the best talent – a team that is onboard with your vision will strive to help you to achieve and stick to it. Remember, people don’t buy from businesses, they buy from people. That’s why hiring and retaining the top talent should always be a priority. That top talent is attracted by the vision of the company as much as the day-to-day job and salary.
They need to feel that they’re working in a business with a positive and clear view of where it’s going.
Finding and convincing early adopters to get on board is key for entrepreneurs. When you’re challenging traditional ways of doing business you need to be able to attract customers who are prepared to work in this new way. This requires your vision to not only be attractive but also tangible.
Many bosses have a vision but when asked to prove they can make a difference, they fall flat. Pioneer new ways of working and reaching potential customers.
Make sure your core vision never changes! If you set out clearly what you want to achieve and how you plan to do it, then persist with that vision. It will drive your company forward and help you attract and keep the best people.
Barry Jones is CEO and co-founder of Hogarth Worldwide.
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