BusinessWings.co.uk

How did you end up setting up your own PR agency?

Wendy: I went freelance in 2001 and never looked back. When I set up Yellow Bicycle it was a natural extension of what I was doing as a freelance – I was just making it into a company, rather than it just being about me.

You work from home at the moment. Did it make a big difference not having to cover the costs of leasing or buying premises?

Wendy: Yeah, and there aren’t that many overheads anyway, so I just used my savings from previous employment to finance the business.

What personnel does the company have apart from you?

Wendy: I draft people in depending on the workload and what clients need.

I don’t employ anybody directly. I’m due to have a baby so I’ve put my clients under the care of a fantastic person called Veronica, who has been working with me for the past three months, and I hope she will work with me in the future. She is exactly the type of person I tend to bring in on jobs – someone with a lot of experience.

Lots of really talented PR people do not want to work with agencies anymore. They want better lifestyle choices.

It is quite demanding working in an agency all the time, and people want flexibility – which is what freelancing can bring you. And that is why I did it: getting that long-desired work-life balance that everyone talks about.

It’s very common to find very good PR people who work for themselves, but still enjoy working together in a collaborative way. That is kind of how Yellow Bicycle works as well.

We often ask entrepreneurs whether a perceived gap in the market was the driving factor in starting a business. But it seems that you spotted a gap in the PR labour market – and attracting the best staff is especially important in your business…

Wendy: From a personal point of view, this is something I wanted to do, but I knew a lot of people out there also didn’t want the traditional set-up anymore.

The other thing is – although I don’t think this is particularly new – you get lots of specialist agencies in PR. And I guess I’m a specialist in the sense that I like to help grow businesses – those that have just started dabbling in PR or are just about to move to the next stage of their marketing; SMEs that are established for a few years and want to take the next step.

Getting those first few customers is often the hardest part of starting a business. Were you confident that after eight years in the industry you had the right contacts to set up on your own?

Wendy: The PR industry is a very sociable business, so I am very lucky to live in central London.

It’s no problem for me to go on my yellow bicycle to networking events, and I have established a good network as a freelancer over the last five years. Word of mouth has been the strongest way of getting business.

So a yellow bicycle does feature in this story?

Wendy: You can see a picture of me on my website holding page riding it! It really stands out so it’s quite a nice analogy for Public relations. Everywhere I go I get stopped and asked questions about it – from taxi drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians – so it evolved from that really.

It’s certainly memorable, showing that sometimes, simplicity is best…

Wendy: Clients really like it; they think it’s fun. And I do actually cycle around London, though obviously not at the moment!

Has it been a long-held dream to be your own boss?

Wendy: Yes – from my early 20s I fancied doing it. So it was a case of getting the experience – and the confidence, too – before taking the plunge.

It’s a dream come true.

So what are the best things about running your own business?

Wendy: It’s a complete blank piece of paper. And you can really do what you want.

For me one of the most motivating aspects was having the freedom to work with people that I wanted to work with; you don’t have to be stuck with a David Brent. You are also able to work with clients that you really want to work with.

What clients are you working with at the moment?

Wendy: Can Commmunicate, a boutique film production company, Haywards Ltd, a workplace consultancy, Café Origin, a coffee company, and Dynamis [the web publishing company behind BusinessInACan.com].

Most of my clients are business to business, and all of them are small to medium enterprises. But I have also worked with charities, ethical companies and other companies in a variety of sectors.

Which keeps it varied and interesting…

Wendy: Yeah – it’s great fun, very challenging.

I love the media; I find it fascinating. I have never forgotten my roots.

Going into PR is a natural progression for journalists and a lot of them make that transfer. You can predict how a story is going to go because you have that insight.

Are there any downsides to being your own boss?

Wendy: You can sometimes get too bogged down in the overwhelming aspects of it all. There are times when you should think a bit more clearly, and delegate or outsource things – things you’re not so good at, so you can concentrate better at the things you are good at.

That’s the one mistake a lot of small businesses make actually.

You’re going to have to delegate more in the coming months for obvious reasons…

Wendy: Certainly the plan is to grow the business and bring in more expertise according to the needs of clients.

You plan to expand soon then?

Wendy: Yeah, I’d like to grow the business more. I have really enjoyed the first year, and am looking forward to doing more.

I would also like to rent an office so my clients have somewhere to come and meet me.

Have you any advice you can offer to anyone thinking of starting their own business?

Wendy: Take the plunge. I don’t know anybody that has started off on their own and looked back and regretted it. You just have to grab the bull by the horns.

And if you are offering a professional service, as I do, there are such low barriers to entry that it really doesn’t take very much to get started.

Is it a competitive industry for that reason?

Wendy: It is very competitive – but you shouldn’t worry about that. If you think you can do a good job then go for it. You are always going to be competing against people – that’s the nature of the world!