7 Things I've Learned in 7 Years as a Founder

Seven years. Seven crazy, fun, stressful and rewarding years of running a production company. It flies by. Feels like yesterday that we were starting off in Josh's bedroom, drinking Monster and editing corporate videos 'til 3am. Now, it's 7 years since we started Storm & Shelter and things have come a long way. (Well, sorta.) We've done a lot of cool work and got to meet some amazing people along the way.

We're about to move into what is looking like our most transformative year, and it made me realise that it'd be a good time to take stock and share some thoughts on the things I've experienced thus far.

From talking to a lot of other founders, it sounds like running a video production company is very similar to most other kinds of businesses—we all face very similar problems and come up against the same issues that leave us lying in bed like a pencil at 2am wide-eyed and sweating profusely.

The following seven things are some of the most important points I've learned since starting Storm & Shelter. Hopefully this will either resonate with some of you, or set you up with some stuff to think about as you start your own journey into running a business.

Let's dive in!

1. Ups and Downs Are Normal

I guess one of the classic things that you hear a lot about running your own business is how much of a struggle it is. You kinda think "sure, of course, it's a struggle, but I'll work hard and it'll be fine!" A positive attitude is definitely important in overcoming a lot of it, but you're not invincible. I'm both blessed and cursed with a lot of self-confidence, which is great in terms of getting you out of a pinch that you can talk your way out of, but sometimes, when you hit a wall with something that you just can't overcome, that can be pretty crushing.

There have been times where I've tried to figure something out that I literally don't have the right skills to do, or taking something on that's way bigger than it started. Where I'd usually have some kind of ace in the hole, I'd reach into my brain and there'd be nothing there. It's a morale crusher. When you're the founder of a company, where it feels like all rests on you, I tend to have this Atlas-like vision of the fact I need to be able to carry everyone and set an example of getting shit sorted. When I can't achieve that, it's a bitch, and it pisses me off.

I've learned though, after doing this a couple of times, that it's normal. It's actually okay to realise where your boundaries are. You're maybe not the Liquid Terminator who can do so much cooler shit than the regular Terminator can do, but c'mon, which one of them won in T2: Judgement Day? Exactly. The one who had a team. You ultimately learn where you can start reaching out and delegating, bringing people into your conundrum to help you figure it out.

Being pissed off, stressed and somewhat sunk into a deep hole of seemingly-never-ending pain is part and parcel of doing this thing. But it has the upsides that mean that those moments are just reduced to a tiny blip in history that are just learning experiences.

2. It's About Work-Life Integration

Talking of stress, one of the most important things that I've come to understand and embrace is the idea of a work-life balance. I don't really see it in the traditional sense, like a see-saw, where you can have too much of one and too much of another. For me, I tend to understand it as an energy bar. You've only got so much energy to use over the day, and it's up to you to understand what uses up your energy and to what extent. Similarly, there are some activities that replenish your energy. If you spread everything too thin, you're using all your energy in only small fractions, rather than devoting substantial energy to certain things.

If you try and force spending energy somewhere, it'll get spent faster, and you're unlikely to yield any benefit from that waste of energy. For me, I find work something I really enjoy. I wouldn't say I'm a workaholic, although I genuinely enjoy what I do, so for me, I like spending my energy on Storm & Shelter. At the same time, I'm all about playing Destiny in my pants on the weekends with the other half and watching my fair share of trash TV. It's making sure you're replenishing energy when you need to and working on stuff that expends energy in the right ways.

3. Culture Is Foundational

We've had a pretty interesting few years on the team. A lot of learning has been done, and whilst we're still nowhere near perfect, we've definitely matured. From a bunch of early 20-something lads trying to scrape by and get things done whilst playing way too much FIFA, we're now a team of ten—diverse in gender and background—who respect each other's goals and ambitions.

Over the years, we've regrettably let people down in the past through not being experienced enough in management and leadership, found that some conversations should have happened sooner, and been guilty of having the blinders on sometimes—not recognising our team members as publicly as we should have.

We've learned tons here. I know people come and go, and that's totally cool. Our goal is to make sure that people leave here having made the most of the opportunity, grown as both a professional and an individual, and are moving onto bigger and (somehow even) better things.

Building a culture is obviously important, but more important is making sure that culture is inclusive, supportive and clear in its goals. We've recently reshaped our values to better represent us as a company today—with a focus on openness, teamwork and dedication.

Moving forward, we're making our values a core aspect of our operations; using them as a set of biblical commandments that help shape our decisions, influence our choices and guide our behaviour as a team.

4. Have Faith In Your Team

Something that I know that I'm not alone with is the struggle of having to wear many, many hats. From client services to operations to production to HR, there's a lot to deal with at once. It's hard to think strategically when you're so heads-down on the day-to-day work. That's what people refer to as working in the business rather than on the business.

If you're anything like me, you know a fair bit about a lot of things (mainly through necessity and having to be adaptable as a founder), and you find it relatively easy (and somewhat instinctual) to turn your hand to something and get it done. For me, there's a constant battle between my sense of worth coming initially from physical accomplishments (like editing a video) and newer responsibilities as I step further away from the frontline. Because I'm not actively contributing to production work any more, and my job increasingly involves sitting and thinking about stuff, it feels weird.

However, trusting in your team to be able to do their jobs well and hiring for positions that take some of those hats off you makes such a big difference. It's daunting, and requires a real shift in mindset, but it pays off massively once it's done.

Something that's been a constant source of support and surprise is just how ready the team is to step up, take up arms and get involved when things get busy. At the end of the day, these guys are here because their know their stuff and are passionate about it. I've learned to lean on them more and more.

Delegation does involve a lot of trust, and it's not easy when you start off. You're handing the looking after of your baby to someone else, and that takes a leap of faith. The more you can demonstrate the faith you have in your team, the more they're likely to go above and beyond to help you out when you need it most.

5. People Stuff Is Important Stuff

When you're growing a team, you'll start to notice something becoming very apparent. Not everyone is you. Sounds obvious, but when you start to realise that you just can't communicate the exact same way with everyone, that becomes quite apparent. Personalities, especially in the creative industries, are big. And when you doing things like 16 Personalities with your team, you realise just how varied these can be.

There'll obviously be some times where people won't see eye-to-eye on things. It's natural. Especially when you're dealing with creatives, for whom everything is subjective. Mix that in with some analytical types who deal in logic and reasoning, and throw in some more entertainer-type people who just want everyone to get along, and it's a cacophony of viewpoints and potential offence.

We've been very focused on making sure people can be open and honest with each other, giving straightforward and candid feedback with an emphasis on growth. We run regular 360 reviews with the whole team, weekly check-ins to make sure everything's going well, as well as monthly 1:1s to check in on a more personal level.

We've established a senior management team with those team members who've been here for a number of years now, so they've got input, visibility and a say in what happens here at Storm & Shelter. It goes back to having faith in the team around you to help build something bigger than you could by yourself—and it's really making a difference.

6. Be Yourself

Jesus, when we started, we had matching polo shirts. Looking back now, I see a group of kids who thought that you need smart clothes to be professional and to get client buy-in. If there's one thing that I make sure to tell students whenever I do a university talk, it's that you should always be yourself. That is, so long as being yourself isn't being a total tool.

Being friendly, personable, and passionate about what you do says much more about you and your company than an embroidered polo and a pair of Marks & Spencer chinos. Nowadays, I hardly wear trousers in client meetings. (For clarification: I like wearing shorts.)

It's no secret that people can smell bullshit a mile off. By all means, be ambitious and sell yourself well, but don't bother presenting yourself as something you're not. You'll get found out and that never goes well. Not exactly the best foundations for a long-standing client or supplier relationship. Be humble, straightforward and accommodating.

Considering we've not actually done any direct, purposeful marketing in any way (I know, don't start), and the vast majority of our work comes from referrals and recommendations, we're living proof that building good relationships is ultra-important to making things happen, and is key to where we are today.

TLDR; just don't be a dick.

7. Keep Learning

In this industry, if you get stale, you die. It's important to stay at the top of your game, keeping an eye out for what's going on around you but also making sure you ask yourself whether you're still learning new things. I've got a sponge-like ability to soak up information and learn new stuff that'll help me out (as well as random stuff I'll likely only ever need in a really obscure pub quiz), plus I really enjoy taking on new challenges.

I've always said that once I stop learning from this experience of running a company, I'll know it's time to move on. For now though, every day is an opportunity to turn my hand to something new or be useful in a different way. I want to enable others to do their best work, and I can only do that by being able to support the team in the seventeen million ways that could manifest itself.

There's tons of ways to overcome issues you're faced with. Thankfully, I've got co-founders and senior team members to depend on by now, but when you're backed into a corner, just remember: the Internet exists, and it is wonderful. There's likely people who've been in the same or similar situation and would love to help. Places like The Agency Collective or even setting up your own local support group for your agency's niche is an awesome way to open your eyes to the fact you're not the only one out there with no idea what do to sometimes. Soak it up, expand your knowledge and use it!

Here's to a Few More

So, 7 years in and plenty to go. Producing video and animation ain't the same as it was back in 2013, and it'll likely be different again in 2033. Fingers crossed, I'll be here looking back on a decade of Storm & Shelter through AR sunglasses sat at a swim-up bar on a remote island getaway, laughing about the days when this stuff was hard. Albeit very unlikely, I promise you one thing—I won't be wearing trousers either way.

If you're keen to find out a bit more about Storm & Shelter and the kind of video content we make, take a look-see here ??

Also, I'm always keen to chat and collab, so feel free to connect on LinkedIn or ping me an email at [email protected]!