Danny Matthews' 2021 Business Growth & Plans

Today we're sharing the thoughts of Danny Matthews who is the owner & creative director of Danny&co. which is an award-winning branding & design Studio which is based in Cirencester.

It's April - how does this month fit into the ebb & flow of your year? 

I have just finished recruiting and onboarding eight new staff under the government Kickstart scheme as well as supporting students from regional universities so our focus is shifting to planning and creating content to grow our core business, the Brand Confidence® programme.

We’re really fortunate to have just taken on some incredibly exciting projects too which will not just keep us busy but could also raise our profile significantly.

What are you most looking forward to as the country tries to ‘open up’?

However ridiculous this may sound, I can’t wait for someone else to cook my food and pour my wine. Me and my wife are big foodies so being able to explore cultures through food experiences is what we really miss.

I’m also working towards getting the team together for a day as being a remote team, they’ve never met so I’d love to arrange that.

It’s also Stress Awareness Month, what measures have you taken in your business to reduce the stress on yourself & your team?

We operate very different to many other businesses in that it’s a results-only work environment. Our team are remote and work when they want, where they want, as long as the work is done. 

There are some huge potential benefits to productivity and work-life integration with this but also means that the responsibility for stress management and wellness for employees can be forgotten.

To combat this we have wellbeing events organised for the team with Nicky and Sharon from Discover Your Bounce and actively encourage the team to come up with ideas for managing stress. 

The latest idea we will be trialing is on the last Friday of every month we will have #NotWorkingNotSorry where we have a virtual social event during the day. Everyone has their favourite lunch and we talk about anything but work. It’s a chance for us to bond as a team and build community as a business.

What do you do personally to support your health and wellbeing? 

Over the years I have learned and been taught many techniques for managing stress and looking after my mental health. Meditation, breathing, exercise and often felt myself slipping back into bad habits. 

The biggest improvement for me to support my own health and wellbeing has been scheduling the time in my diary for me. I now have a colour coded slot in my calendar called ‘SELF’ which each week I book in time for me; to draw, learn something, walk, breathe and I treat it like any important meeting so my brain knows it has to be done before I move on to the next task.

Do you see your product/service as one which supports the health and wellbeing of others such as your clients? 

I see that one of the biggest causes of stress in business is lack of clarity and because of the abundance of information we have access to now it’s hard to know which advice to follow.

Your success is dependent on you, your people and your clients’ confidence in your brand. Therefor anything that reduces confidence, reduces your chance of success.

Get your brand right; the strategy, messaging, behaviours and identity of your business and you can save yourself a lot of headache. This is because when these are aligned your business becomes consistent, transferable and most importantly predictable.

As the year goes on, will you take health and wellbeing more seriously going forward?

Despite the fact that me and my family have been in the same house for over a year without a single break, I have been very focussed on growing the business.

As the year goes on I plan to respect my time more, get out in the fresh air more and make full use of the weekends. No doubt the team will also push me to care for my wellbeing as we make decisions together to care for theirs.

Have you got any Spring services or special offers you’d like to mention?

We have a talented creative team here and I want to share them with the world, we are currently considering an exclusive ‘Pay What You Want Wednesday’ feature for those on our email list which will have some one-time-only-never-to-be-done-again offers every Wednesday. 

Keep an eye on our social channels and connect with me on Linkedin to find out when it happens!

And finally:

It’s been a tough year for most of us but none more than hospitality. Me, my family and the whole team at Danny&co. will be holding a glass up for you all when you re-open. 

For any independent foodies, send your offers and info to us at [email protected] we would love to support you by purchasing treats to try in our #NotWorkingNotSorry sessions. Cheers

For more information visit www.dannyand.co