Let's Celebrate Local!

By Roderick Hebden, MD at New Elements which is a marketing, comms and corporate social innovation consultancy.

How are you feeling about your business?  

I’m feeling cautiously excited.  Despite taking a hit due to the pandemic, I’ve got some exciting projects still ongoing, and I’ve taken the opportunity to update some of my skills so that I can do more to help other businesses and charities in around Swindon who genuinely want to make a positive impact. 

And we have some very ambitious people who are determined not just to use their businesses to make money, but to put something back into the Swindon community in a way that provides for future generations. 

How are you feeling about business in general? 

There is so much uncertainty out there about the how businesses can respond so that they can survive through the pandemic and make themselves resilient for the future.  

There will inevitably be damage to our local economy over the next couple of years, and businesses are really feeling the pinch.  But, businesses are made of people.  And just like we’ve seen communities pulling together during lockdown, I’ve felt the same sense of community within local businesses and that’s created a really positive feeling of being in it together. 

There’s no doubt that people and businesses are increasingly wanting to work with, and buy from, business that they believe in, that stand for something, and feel like they are part of the solution to the challenges we’re all tackling.  We have to build Swindon back better, and that’s better for our economy, better for our environment and better for our people.

Tell us three ways in which you now apply this phrase to your business and/or life ‘buy local supply local’. 

1. I’ve always enjoyed working on projects which let me work with people and companies locally, even if they involve national or international brands.  Swindon, as far as I’m concerned, is the centre of the universe. You can usually find someone great to work with here, and a great local cause to get behind.

2. I get approached for national as well as local projects, but when I need to reach out to suppliers, I always look local first, whether that’s film makers and printers, or research or strategy expertise.  

3. I’ve just launched a new service to support companies who want to be more effective about how their 'Corporate Social Innovation' – whether that’s decreasing their environmental impact, giving back to their employees or local community or considering how to make their company resilient to the pressures that changes in society and the climate will bring to their markets or supply chains.  And I have set our, purposefully to focus on supporting companies locally, where I know from experience there are so many small and medium sized businesses passionate about making their companies a force for good.

What has changed for you positively as a result of lockdown? 

I’ve loved the drop in traffic during lockdown.  Swindon looks and feels so much cleaner and more pleasant without the noise, aggression and smells of endless traffic. No one enjoys sitting in a traffic jam or breathing in diesel fumes, so if  we could take the opportunity to make more space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport and give people practical alternatives to break the car addiction, I’d love to see that change lasts.

Tell us what, for you, makes a ‘good’ local business.  

Good local business, for me, is one that has a purpose at its heart.  It’s a business that delivers something that the community needs, valuing its staff and customers, whilst providing for the needs of future generations of Swindonians.

Can you name a local business which you support around food & drink? 

We had to have two weeks of isolation, due to a hospital appointment, and the very first place I visited, on the way back from the hospital was The Core, in Old Town.  They’ve done a fantastic job of rapidly changing the focus of their business during lockdown so that they could support the most vulnerable in Swindon, as well as the care workers who continue to be underpaid and overworked at the frontline of the pandemic.  And, now that the country is tentatively starting to reopen, it’s lovely to sit and enjoy a coffee in their new outdoor terrace.

https://thecorejuicery.com

Can you name a local independent business which you support around clothing or accessories? 

One fab small business that I’ve found, which I think a lot of people have passed, wondered about, but never gone in is Goofy Goat Gifts, just off the Bruce Street Bridges roundabout.  

The guys who own it take fantastic vintage watch movements, cameras and other bits of tech nostalgia and upcycle them into quirky, but beautiful cufflinks, jewellery, lamps and much else.  They have a website, of course, but each piece is unique, so I’d recommend everyone check out the shop, itself, which is a real Aladdin’s Cave! 

https://www.goofygoatgifts.com

Can you another local business you support?  

Sandstorm Media – amazing capabilities and creativity!

https://www.sandstormfilms.com 

Can you shout out to three local customers you wish to celebrate? 

SWA Domestic Abuse - https://swadomesticabuse.org

Tech Swindon - https://www.tech-swindon.com

Vox PR - https://www.voxonline.co.uk

Can you shout out to some local suppliers you wish to celebrate? 

AtLive  - https://atlive.uk

Bravedog - https://www.bravedog.co.uk

Lawrence Rose - https://www.lawrencerose.co.uk

Can you name anyone in business who has really had your back over the months? 

Paul Holmes of PCH Business Support, always there with encouragement, ideas and insight. And often a beer, too. 

https://www.pchbusinesssupport.co.uk

Can you name on person in your life who has really helped you during this time? 

Louise Halliday.  A brilliant brain who fills in the gaps, whilst challenging every assumption, Louise helped me deliver the Festival of Tomorrow, Swindon’s first festival of science and technology and has been key to help develop my business offer. 

What are your business plans for Q4? 

Especially, in the wake of Covid19, business owners want their company to make a positive difference that they, their employees and their customers can be proud of. However it has to stack up financially, as well making sense for people and planet.  

No-one's impressed by green-wash anymore. and they’re not interested in just ticking a box.  They want to support their local community but aren’t always sure how to support causes that make sense for their company. That's where we come in.  Businesses are as individual as the people within them, and we can help you work out the strategy that's right for you, so you can shout about what you believe in and in the future you are creating!

For more information visit www.newelements.uk