Enterprise Nation

Becoming a freelance PR and marketing consultant was something that John Giazzi had always wanted to do, but for whatever reason the timing was never quite right.  He had either just moved house /his wife was expecting a child/the UK entered into a recession, etc. Being made redundant in March 2009 was just the motivation he needed. 

The best laid plans

In retrospect the hardest decision of all was deciding to leave a perfectly good and well paying job, with all the security and added benefits that an employed role provides.

JCG Marketing was officially launched on 1st June 2009 after I was made redundant in March 2009. The decision to give-up my job was made for me. I still have the new house, large mortgage, a daughter of 7 months and we are still in a recession!  Perhaps it’s not the best time for me to set-up a business, but you can’t control everything.

I had been preparing to set up JCG Marketing for months if not years in advance, so had already been reading business start-up books and articles. I had registered my domain name and built my website and even put together a concise business plan.

One of the best books I read was ’Spare Room Start Up’ by Emma Jones.  It has so many good tips, and the advice is succinct and to the point.  If you haven’t read it, then I would recommend doing so.  I first came across Enterprise Nation via Royal Mail’s ‘Smart Thinking, Smart Solutions’ magazine, which again is a great publication and well worth reading, and I am glad that I did as the website is informative and gives you a sense of community which is important when you are alone for most of the day in what is probably the smallest room in the house. (note from Ed – I promise we didn’t pay or force John to include this nice para!)

Business Development

The pressure of finding my first, and even my second client was removed even before official launch date.  I was a fulltime marketing manager for my last employer, so during the normal redundancy consultation procedure I pitched the concept of outsourcing their marketing to me on a part time basis.  Clearly they liked the concept as they became a client.

This helped reassure me that even in a recession companies still need and want to market themselves, but not perhaps quite on the scale to justify employing a marketing specialist.

Interestingly enough my previous employer was actually my second client as the company who printed my business cards instructed me first.

The concept behind JCG Marketing is to provide the same marketing support as you would expect from an internal marketing department, but on a flexible basis designed to suit the needs of each company. 

I can be instructed on project based work such as creating a new website, on individual pieces of work such as producing a press release, but the main concept is that I become a company’s ‘virtual marketing department’ where I manage all of a company’s marketing activity.

I believe the concept will work because JCG Marketing makes having a professional marketer financially viable for many small businesses who can’t justify employing someone. It also provides companies with the added advantage of not having to deal with employment issues, sick pay, holiday pay and national insurance contributions.

As for me, I think the next 12 months will involve lots of hard work, but will be truly satisfying. I’m really looking forward to developing and growing the business and knowing I’m the only person who can make this work. 

• John Giazzi, JCG Marketing