Adding Magic On Repeat
Adding Magic On Repeat
Two Businesses - from the ground up.
Two Flats - styled for rental and life.
Same Founder.
The central thread running through this working relationship was coaching consultancy and creative thinking. Over the course of the seven year working relationship, he had many ideas for his existing businesses and new ones, and personal properties that needed styling for rental income.
My job was akin to being a consultant coach and interior designer, as not every idea was as sound as it needed to be; and the proposed paths did not always align with his goal for what he wanted from his businesses and life.
Sometimes what we need as founders, especially for the serial entrepreneurs amongst us, is a sounding board that will listen for what isn’t said in what is; and understand how to steer us clear from disaster.
London sales representative
for heritage windows manufacturers.
Stories from the Foundry
Reinvention
In its previous life, the company was called 88 Group Limited, so named because its founder wanted to tap into the Chinese market and played on the lucky double eight in Chinese superstition. The naming was also a way to move add property search to its service offering for Chinese buyers.
While property search side of the business did not take off, the company achieved a modest but regular flow of small refurbishment projects in central London.
At the first briefing, the company’s founder revealed that he aspired to be like a top London developer whose image he was a fan of. After an audit of his business structure, it immediately became clear this was a rebuild from the ground up.
The result was a business that relied on volume of clients, to one that could pick and choose the projects that interested him, and the freedom to turn down those that did not. The measure of success was a business where he was, in his words, no longer a “grubby contractor”, but a director of a business that finally attracted projects, the size and value of which it had “never had before.”
ROLE PLAYED
+ Development Coaching
+ On-going Coaching & Ideas Bank
+ Brand Development
+ Marketing Strategy
+ Logo and Business Card Design
+ Marketing Materials Conceptualisation & Design
+ Website & Copywriting
+ Video & Script Development
+ Creation of Interiors Moodboard
+ Back office Admin Template Design & Support
+ Project Management of Renovation
+ Attended Client Meetings - Support & Advisory
+ Guidance in Reading Architectural Drawings
Working from
Tropical Beaches
Over the years, the goal of creating wealth for a safe retirement while having geographic mobility, and having the freedom to take long breaks from daily grind became apparent. So when he approached me with an idea to start a new business manufacturing and supplying heritage windows, I saw alignment red flags everywhere.
The Foundry, on principle, does not believe in squashing people’s dreams. The coaching conversations centred on two possible paths: proceed with the dream, build the structure for it to succeed while being clear on what this path would entail; the second path was to counsel on another iteration of the same dream, but modified. Both came with costs. The question then became — what price we are truly willing to pay to have what we really want?
ROLE PLAYED
Development Coaching . Ideas Bank . Ongoing Business Advisory . Brand Development . Marketing Strategy . Logo & Business Card Design . Naming of Company . Website & Copywriting . Social Media Content . Marketing Materials Conceptualisation and Design . Video & Script Development . Video Editing . Advisory on Business Structure . Back Office Admin Setup .
Live Stage
Beyond business, the Foundry runs a complementary practice focused on interior design. A handy addition to this founder’s needs in his property-related businesses, enabling him to offer interior design know-how as a value-add to client projects, pre-loaded lookbooks for different design styles to save clients time, and helping his two rental properties stand out from the crowd by turning the “developer’s white boxes” into homes with soul.
Moodboard: The Rock Temple
Moodboard: The Scandi Sabi
“If you get the chance to work with her, don’t fuck around, just take it.”
“…when she suggested that I renamed my company, I was initially a little hesitant. It soon became apparent that she wasn’t simply helping me with a name change, but was helping me build a brand that resonated with where I wanted to be and be perceived in the industry. She brought to life a full rebranding of the company, with a new name, logo, website, business plan, branding and marketing strategy, and a new approach to client engagement.
She achieved this with minimal direction, very little management time, no pointless meetings and one point of contact.
When I required help with the launch of my other company … she single handedly created the name, the brand, all sales and marketing collaterals and continues to guide me through regular coaching sessions.
If you get the chance to work with her, don’t fuck around, just take it. She is hugely talented across many areas, and is a true asset to anyone wanting to build something they can be proud of.
Charlton Strickland, Founder.