Values

I always think they're tricky little things. I have to admit when I left the Bar and started my own business, I really didn't understand what they were. Probably because at that stage, I didn't have any! ??

And with my copywriter hat on, I see so many businesses decide what their values are based on a 5 minute brainstorm of what feels right and not too corny.

So it's been really interesting as Sussex Exclusive to get under the hood of this. It's a process that's taken over 2 years, as we collectively try to identify what feels like us, what feels genuine and what excites us.

At the outset, we knew what we wanted to achieve and how, but I'm not sure that we understood who we really were. That's taken time.

I have never thought of myself as philanthropic but I've come to realise that supporting other local businesses brings me great pleasure. It's such a strong value (which I didn't expect of myself) that I actually feel it viscerally. And yes, I get excited about it. And yes, it's genuine.

So what's the moral of this little ramble? I suppose, it's that these strange, intangible little critters that we call values make such a difference. Obviously, SE has other values, but once we realised what they were and how strongly we felt them, everything else just fell into place.

(Image is of me, looking for my values AKA the sea sculpture on Brighton beach).