Soaring Worldwide’s founder and creative director Adam Baggs looks back on the last ten years and grieves for his disappearing hairline.
A member of the local press was kind enough today to run a story about the 10th anniversary of Soaring Worldwide. What upset me though was digging out the image taken when we first launched. The business might have gone from strength to strength but my hairline certainly hasn’t.
After ten years of running the business you might think I would have seen most of what the commercial world has to throw at me but I still have good days and bad days, there is still the odd stressful moment but most of all there is a huge amount of satisfaction and pleasure in seeing what we have built and who we have worked with over the years.
People often ask what the greatest challenges are and have been. Whilst there have been the odd momentary panics, it is the emotional turmoil you can experience over very short periods of time that still surprises me. There is an intense personal relationship between the director of a small business and the company itself. A new business win creates elation and positive feeling far greater than anything I ever experienced working for others, but so does the disappointment of a lost pitch or missed opportunity for a client.
Ultimately the biggest lesson I have learnt but still sometimes forget is to celebrate and revel in all the good stuff, because the moments can be fleeting, and there are often other pressures that mean a moment of success is overlooked. Whether it is simply congratulating the team or going a bit further and opening a bottle of fizz or heading to the pub for lunch, it is vital that we all come together regularly and slap each other on the back.
In addition to seeing our team grow and flourish my greatest satisfaction has come from seeing our clients stay with us for the long term. Both the Barbican and Magenta Security in particular have entrusted their reputation to us for many years and that has led to long term friendships and relationships. But it doesn’t stop there, the team here are frequently the hidden wordsmiths behind the comment and opinion published, tweeted and shared from our clients and I am delighted that they continue to let us write in their name and create campaigns that truly represent their businesses and brands.
Roll on the next 10 years… (though with a little less hair loss!)
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