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Verbatim text
Lee:
Welcome to the Agency Trailblazer podcast. This is an Agency Life episode coming to you every Wednesday and Friday, where we interview an agency owner from around the world asking them the same questions. Because we’re all different, but we’re all the same. So let’s listen and learn from each other before we kick off the show. Here is a word from our sponsor.
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Lee:
Hi, and welcome to another episode of Agency Life. Today we have on the show, Mr. Matthew Glover. How are you doing, mate?
Matthew Glover:
I’m very good, thank you. And yourself?
Lee:
Yeah, doing good. Just moved in, so things are still in boxes. Not so cool for me until everything’s all organised and got a place. But we have managed to find time to put the hashtag out, as you can see in the background. And also the Iron man mask that I wear when I’m Iron man, apparently. Actually, it’s a light to go on the wall. It’s pretty cool. So, mate, you know the format. Are you ready to rock and roll?
Matthew Glover:
Let’s do it. Yeah.
Lee:
All right, let’s do this. Okay, first of all, tell us the name of your agency and what it is you guys do.
Matthew Glover:
We’re called Little Fish Creative Agency. We’re, as the name would suggest, we’re a full service creative agency. Is how I describe us.
Lee:
Yeah.
Matthew Glover:
Collection of people that can do pretty much anything in the creative industry from graphic design straight through to filming with drones or whatever’s needed. Yeah, so that’s what we do.
Lee:
That’s pretty awesome. So you’ve been filming with drones? Like to create videos and landscape shots or things at events. Pretty much anything anyone wants to get.
Matthew Glover:
Involved in can do if needed. Yeah.
Lee:
Nice. Once you know a lot of people.
Matthew Glover:
We do, yeah. We were a network of people ourselves. Yeah. It’s a collection of creatives.
Lee:
I like it. If we were going to have a birthday party and obviously we’d have to film it with a drone. Now that I know you guys are into drones, when would your birthday be? How old is your agency?
Matthew Glover:
We’ve just turned four, actually. And that was in September of the 4th of September, I think is the official date. So happy birthday. Thank you.
Lee:
And what’s the concept behind the name as well? Because I love the name.
Matthew Glover:
Yeah, well, there is concept behind it. It was really difficult job, actually, to pick a name for yourselves because you’re so close to it. I can’t take the credit for it. I have to honour that to my brother. We were very small at the start, so Little Fish was appropriate. And I’m also a very keen angler.
Lee:
All right, good move. Do you guys then have any particular niche that you’re working in, like a niche or an industry?
Matthew Glover:
I’d like to say we specialise in branding. That’s our strongest area, especially mine. And we’ve got a lot of big projects that we get a lot. We’re doing a lot in Dubai at the moment, which is very exciting. And wait for trips over to get some sunshine because we’re lacking that a little bit lately here. So that’s good. Specialising. Branding is probably the best way of.
Lee:
So you specialise in branding where countries will provide you with vitamin D Sunlight. I like it.
Matthew Glover:
We also brand here in the uk.
Lee:
Fair enough. What do you feel like the main problem is that you solve for your clients?
Matthew Glover:
That’s an interesting one. I’d say graphic design is a problem solving job. It’s a fairly loose term, graphic design and it’s. Solving problems visually is a good way of putting it. I think so. You know, depending on. We don’t. When our clients come in, there’s a lot of consultation involved in what we do. It’s not just they come in and say, I want a logo or I want a brochure or want a website. So it does involve saying, what is it you’re trying to achieve? And then we’ll come up with creative solutions to achieve that for them.
Lee:
So you guys essentially know how to make people look good as well as solve those problems visually. For example, we need people to do something on a website. So you guys are going to visually solve that problem for them?
Matthew Glover:
Yeah, exactly. Essentially.
Lee:
I like it.
Matthew Glover:
Yeah. And that can be any disciplines, really. So that’s why we’re a collection of different creators with different disciplines. So depending on what the project is or what the need or the problem is, we.
Lee:
So four years in, how are you guys nowadays generating the leads for your business?
Matthew Glover:
We. You probably hear this a lot, but we. It goes from one job to another. So we do a good job for somebody and we get passed along or they come back and want different jobs doing. We’ve never actively gone out and looked for work, although we’ve recently working with a very talented young lady on Lead Generation. So it’s a new thing to us, doing targeted marketing campaigns to people we want to work with. I think that’s the best way of doing it, rather than like, counting everybody saying to the guys in the studio, you know, we all enjoy our job, that’s why we’re here. Who would like to work for. So we’re trying that at the moment called Take the Bait campaign, so it’d be interesting to see how that one pans out for us.
Lee:
I’d be interested in learning more about that as well in the future. That sounds pretty cool. So, essentially it is predominantly a referral, but you’re now proactively trying to find the people that you really want to work with and you kind of visualising.
Matthew Glover:
Those people, rather than just waiting for the phone to ring or an inquiry to come through the site. We’re actively pursuing the people that we’d like to work with. So, yeah, we all sat down and said, who is it we’d like to work with? So, yeah, we’re doing it that way. See what happens.
Lee:
I like it. All right, this is confession time now. So there’s just me and you and a few thousand people around the world. So don’t worry, your secret is safe with all of us. What do you feel the biggest problem your agency has is?
Matthew Glover:
That’s interesting. Biggest problem. I think the biggest problem is probably not having enough hours in the day. We massively oversee our clients, which is probably a good thing rather than a bad thing, but. So projects just never end, really. We’ve always got a lot on. A lot on our plate, a lot to do, and we’re fairly stretched most of the time.
Lee:
Yeah.
Matthew Glover:
So that’s probably the biggest problem we’ve got. I work incredibly long hours, often past one o’clock in the morning most nights, but I don’t really see it as a problem. We’re really fortunate to have a job which we’re genuinely interested in. All the guys and girls that work for us, it’s a passion, so it’s a hobby as well as a job. So is that really a problem?
Lee:
I don’t know.
Matthew Glover:
I’m not sure.
Lee:
I guess it is if you make it one. All right. Well, you’ve just. You’ve described the life that a lot of us have led, you know, the 1am mornings and that. Do you have any techniques that you use to try and switch off?
Matthew Glover:
Sometimes, as I mentioned earlier, I’M a keen angler, so, yeah, getting out onto the bank is my escape time. It just allows me to turn my mind to something else because once I’m thinking about the fishing, I’m not thinking about, you know, job related thoughts, you know. So that is my switch off time and a bit of relax. Yeah, bit relaxation.
Lee:
I like it. This is a question that many of us are really struggling with. I’m struggling with particularly, which is finding the time or finding ways to stay healthy. The answer can be, I don’t know or do you have any tips?
Matthew Glover:
If you have some tips for that, I’m afraid.
Lee:
All right, we’re all struggling. A few people have suggested things like yoga, going for a walk in the morning, changing your diet and that. So I’m still trying to work my way through it all.
Matthew Glover:
I’d love to be able to say I’ll do yoga or go running. I don’t. My only time for that is just out being out in the fresh air when I’m fishing. I drink far too much coffee, far too many late nights. So yeah, it’s not great.
Lee:
Yeah, I’m with you on the coffee as well, mate. I’m pretty. Is that coffee right now you’re drinking?
Matthew Glover:
It is, yeah. This is. Gets me through.
Lee:
All right, well, we’re about to hit our last question, but I guess if you are a coffee drinker, is it freeze dried coffee or do you like have a whole coffee routine?
Matthew Glover:
We actually got one of the reasons we moved to where we’ve, where we are currently in. We’ve got the most fantastic coffee shop around the corner.
Lee:
Oh, wow.
Matthew Glover:
Yeah, really, really good. So we spent a lot of time in there or sending some of our guys there to coffee. But before. Yeah, we’ve got coffee set up here too, obviously for late nights. Yeah, yeah. So it’s proper coffee. Don’t like instant?
Lee:
Yeah, no, no, same. Although that. I actually got into coffee with instant because I knew that I needed to try it and then discovered the world of coffee. And we also have a coffee shop metres away. So our coffee budget just, just got bigger. Right. So we are now at the final question. But I was just intrigued as one coffee lover to another. But the final question is this. Can you name one tool that you feel has been essential to your success and why? And it could be software, it could be physical tool, anything you can think of.
Matthew Glover:
I’m going to try and avoid the usual, the obvious routes like creative suite or laptop. If I had to choose one tool, it would probably be my notes on iPhone I’ve got a terrible memory. If it doesn’t go into my notes, it’s likely to be lost forever. Yeah, that’s the one thing I think the team we’ve got is the biggest plus of our agency. There are some extreme intelligence talented people. Without them we wouldn’t be the agency we are.
Lee:
I like it, mate. Thank you so much for your time. By the way, was that notes on your iPhone the Notebook app rather than a Notebook?
Matthew Glover:
Yes, the notes app.
Lee:
So you won’t lose it because I lose all the notebooks I ever write in. Thank you so much for your time. It’s been great listening about your agency. I recommend people go and switch off with a spot of fishing as well. My brother in law does it so I’ve yet to take him up on that offer. I’m gonna go see what all the fuss is about. And as well freeze dried coffee folks, if you’re drinking that. Maybe go try and get one of those nice Nespresso machines or something, mate. Have a wonderful day. Thank you so much for your time and we’ll see you soon.
Matthew Glover:
Thanks a lot.
