Notes from Visit:
> Shared office - with other design firm.
> 4 Main Staff - all come from Park Avenue, large corporate design consultancy.
> The rest are freelancers, means they look to find the right staff and then need to balance the staff with the amount of jobs/projects on. They give bonuses depending on good work! Try to always celebrate b-days, anniversaries within the company, few drinks down the pub or Christmas lunch etc!
> "F**k the credit crunch" when asked how its was affecting them, they said they were the "Busiest we've ever been!"
> They aim to keep overheads as small as possible!
> As they are small they can be attractive to potential employers as they are "adaptive" as well as stating that they can be competitive against other firms that maybe larger and not give as good rates! However this does limit the amount of work they can handle! Both Catherine and Guy don't get much time off!
> The company is quite dependent on both Guy T and Catherine.........if something were to happen to either of them e.g. birth or death etc, then this would be a massive threat to the company!!
> Some big companies over-look flourish, due to their size. Also many big companies have their own branding environment designers or already have a partnership with another company!
> All money earned for the project gets put into the project and the overall money earned is again put back into the company!
> They charge day-rate to the client and every job they take they aim to have a profit between the margin of 25-75%.
> The work they do is a balance between Consultancy vs Production. Consultancy (they make a higher profit from this type of work) is mainly producing visuals, concepts or graphical work for a client whereas the production is when they do an event or hire a venue, this is a much larger budget but has to include costs such as: venue, building sets, printing, building, hiring, personnel etc.
> So what makes them different?? They have a strong record, they make things happen! Everyone in the company is from a creative background, they have large individual experience within the company!
> "Our end goal is delivering the initial idea"
> Its key to put the audience first! and to create brand experience.
> They also work with much larger design agencies.
> Strongly believe people buy into flourish: Nearly all there work is from "word of mouth"
> Its is there aim to be approachable and welcoming as......
> Reasons to setup own company: within there previous company other departments were failing and they saw an opportunity!
> They believe a key part of their success is there complimentary skill sets!
> When they started they had 1 client (T-mobile), after 1st yr 95% of their turnover was from that client!
> They have a silent partner who provided the initial setup costs (Business Angel) and believe without this persons capital they wouldn't have been able to grow so fast. Started the company from Guy T's Spare room! This help with buying computers, software, hiring designers, renting office space etc.
> Now they have 2-3 regular clients.
> The Future plan is to keep "Responsible Growth" and "to deliver both interesting and great work!"
> They don't like boring work! But at during this economic downturn all work must be considered! The economic downturn does remain a threat to them!
> They look most for brand focused work......jobs that involve communicating a brand.....however also do smaller jobs such as visuals, conferences, graphical presentations etc.
> Like to challenge a problem to solve
> weaknesses: not brilliant in animations and new media!!
> Current: 4 full time, 4 freelancers but have a pool of 10-15 freelancers that they use! Good thing about freelancers is that they have experiences from other companies and can have a more influential presence, new ideas and fresh thinking/input! However they are paid nearly double!
> means 8 people in the office. In 3rs they've gone from 2 - 8!
> This years projected turnover is predicted to be 3x that of their 1st yr!
> They believe in keeping steady workload and that slow growth is key during the economic crisis!
> Future projects:they have a traveling project being done at the moment, this will travel the UK, the next world cup and also creating a beach in Birmingham for an airline company.
> They have the World Cup 2012 to look forward to.....they done projects at the previous 2, so are hopeful they will be doing projects at the next one!
> They are always looking for new ways to be innovative!! both themselves and there projects......they research new technologies, designs, materials, the market, blogs etc. "Always checking whats out there!"
> Some of there work is "white labeled" (a product or service produced by one company (the producer) that other companies (the marketers) rebrand to make it appear as if they made it.)
> Going to bigger companies and doing work for them gives instant cash flow!! However can't use the flourish name!
> Target audience: they approach the brand or creative director of a company.
> They are Rooster approved - for t-mob, castrole and BP. by getting on that list helps get them jobs.
> They keep up to date with new technology: projections, multi-touch screens etc as well as new software, just updated to the new apple imac and adobe CS4!
> Backgrounds:
Guy T - Product design degree, Park Avenue where his worked his way up to creative director.
Catherine - Interior Design Degree, worked at interior firms then at Park Avenue.
Guy C - Graphic Design degree, work at a number of consultancies before becoming Studio head at Park Avenue.
Trina - Photography degree, worked at Park Avenue and freelanced.
> Etos: Guy: "dont really have one but i would say, to work hard, have fun and enjoy it!"
> They have branded themsleves: Officially called Flourish Creative LTD
Why called flourish?? Because the word itself symbolises them! been told to look at the dictionary definition!
1. To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive: The crops flourished in the rich soil.
2. To do or fare well; prosper: "No village on the railroad failed to flourish" John Kenneth Galbraith.
3. To be in a period of highest productivity, excellence, or influence: a poet who flourished in the tenth century.
4. To make bold, sweeping movements: The banner flourished in the wind.
> They prefer longer projects but actually make more money on smaller projects - so try to link a balance between the two, to give stability within the company!
> They already have a varied range of projects within the company history, however they would like to do some more permanent projects like the Bentley development lab. They are current looking for these!
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