Excited for 2023?

Welcome to 2023!?

Firstly, this newsletter edition comes in two parts. The first part begins with a quick recap and appreciation for 2022. It’s been a tough year in many ways, and continues to be a tough year for many people, and businesses, but I’m grateful for so much in the midst of it all.?

Firstly, I’m appreciative of the team at Wonderful and the brilliant teamwork and culture that’s been developed this year. We’ve worked on a wide range of projects and won 15 new clients this year, and the team has been brilliant throughout. Adapting to a remote first environment has been a fantastic transition for the team, including some moving abroad. The journey of developing our clients digital & technology solutions has been brilliant, at times challenging, but seeing some of the digital products that our team have created and some of the campaigns executed has been epic. Lastly, winning the award for UX Agency of the Year at the UK Agency Awards was a real highlight. The UX process is so important in creating great digital experiences, and although we aren’t a specialist UX agency, we were so chuffed our case studies stood up against some of the best agencies in the UK.?

For a little more insight into what’s been happening at Wonderful in 2022, check out the LinkedIn post below:?

https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7011649481582465025

2023 will bring some global and personal challenges for us all, but here are three things coming up in 2023 that I’m excited about:?

1. Becoming a B Corp certified company. Measuring the impact of business on more than just profit is something we’ve always tried to do, but developing this as part of the B Corp framework is a hugely exciting evolution for the agency. Watch this space!
2. Turning our office into a creative coworking space. The shifting nature of our team being remote first means our fantastic space in the WonderHub is no longer being utilised. Community is key in our industry, so we are turning our studio into a coworking space for creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone else fun!?
3. Delivering some incredible projects that will change the shape of our clients. We are working on some fantastic projects right now, which will change the way our clients work internally and with their customers, and the team is already growing. We are looking forward to showcasing some of these projects throughout the year.?

I'm not sure if you're in the swing of 2023 yet, but do let me know in the comments what you're looking forward to this year.

The second part of this newsletter covers some of my musings from our latest podcast episode with Marc Lewis late last year. One of the things I love about the creative and marketing industry is that it's full of characters (not to mention Phil Jones!). People with incredible creativity, drive and energy. Marc Lewis is one of those characters. He has an incredible life story, combined with a passion to educate and inspire a new generation of creative talent.?

This is a cracking episode which takes a few unexpected twists and turns, but I know you’ll love it and as always please do share and leave us a review.?

What 3 words?

How would you describe yourself in 3 words? It sounds like a simple question, but when you think about it, there’s a lot to unpack! If I asked you that, would you describe your job, your skills, your passions or personality? Just three words - remember. Marc’s response was brilliant, as I think it described a combination of all the above. No spoilers here as to what he said, but it was a great reminder for me on the value of correctly identifying myself and my values. It’s easy to describe what I do (mostly!), but what about who I am or what I believe the world around me and the value I bring to others? That’s probably too big a thought to get into three words, but maybe it’s worth writing down.?

Find a problem and solve it?

I know in the startup world this is ‘101’. However, in my experience often startup founders can be blinded by what they think people want, or are solving a problem they think exists.? There is an incredibly high failure rate for startups, and often it’s because they don’t find genuine product market fit, and aren’t really solving a problem that will make customers change their current behaviours over a sustained period. There can often be a cognitive bias when launching a new venture, and one of our jobs as an agency is to help our clients with the research and insight to not live in their bubble, but know what the relevant stakeholders really think. This is such an important part of building a successful business, and not something that’s done just in a pitch deck, but is a constant process.??

“Find the things that keep people up at night and then attempt to solve that problem”?

I hope you enjoy listening to this episode and reading these musings, as always please subscribe to the podcast, share and leave a review.?

Website for all links: https://www.bewonderful.co.uk/podcast/marc-lewis?

Apple: https://bit.ly/3Hz0fi8?

Spotify: https://bit.ly/3VVEKML?

Have a great January

Dan x