Four years on, what have I learnt?

Lots. That’s the first thing that comes to mind when I look back over the last four years.

This month marks four years of Cobb Digital, an achievement I’m incredibly proud of. From starting off with just me, to now sitting with a 15-strong team reminds me how far we’ve come.

The digital marketing sector is evolving at a rapid rate with agencies popping up left, right and centre, so staying ahead of the curve is something I’ve always aspired to achieve. We’ve honed our USP and key offering to ensure that we work with our clients to achieve their individual goals. Transparency is at the heart of what we do and this shared outlook ensures that we are all striving for the same goals and reaping the same rewards.

In 2016 we merged with Leapfrogg which has significantly boosted our vision to become the leading digital marketing agency in Sussex. We now don’t have six employees wearing three or four different hats at one time. Our structure is defined into our core services with clear room for growth in each of these areas. With this structure now in place our growth strategy is clear and as the sector develops, there is room for us to offer more services alongside the existing ones. Software development and data analysis will soon play an integral role in how we create and implement strategies and by 2019 I’d like to have a team in place that can offer this additional level of support.

2016 also saw us add a new string to our bow – a dedicated PR division in Brighton which allows Cobb PR to expand its offering further and integrate both the PR and digital teams.

As the team has grown we’ve called several places home. Our time at Entrepreneurial Spark was invaluable in teaching us new skills, building on the experience of those around us and imparting our own knowledge to other start-ups. We’re now based in New England House – a hub of brilliant, creative businesses which gives us space to grow over the next few years.

Personally, choosing to start the business in Brighton was one of the best decisions I made. It’s an incredible city, packed with innovative, creative and inspiring individuals and businesses. Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce is a brilliant support network and really helped me in the early days. I now speak regularly at their events and hope that I’m also helping someone as they start their own business. There’s a large pool of emerging talent in Brighton and lecturing at the University of Brighton reminds me that as a business we need to give something back, and offer these individuals the chance to make their mark in the business world.

Our fifth year is going to be an exciting one, I’m looking forward to continuing my role on the Coastal West Sussex Partnership Board, an exciting new role with the IoD (details coming soon), being a mentor for ‘Be the Change’ and bolstering our growth in this sector. We’ve got some ambitious targets in place for this year and the next four, so watch this space!