Welcome to our series, ‘Meet the Entrepreneur’, where we meet entrepreneurs and start-ups from the Channel Islands. We find out what they are doing, what ‘drives’ them and what advice they would give anyone starting out in business.
Today, we meet Fiona Wylie of Brand Champions.
Brand Champions is a marketing consultancy, who specialize in increasing brand awareness, creating stand-out identities and delivering record sales growth for companies like Royal Caribbean and British Airways. We solve gritty problems for our clients, be that a new product launch, helping grow an existing brand or just being an outsourced marketing team for that companies can rely on to deliver strategies and provide expert marketing advice.
I started Brand Champions in 2018 and we are in a period of dynamic growth – we have just taken on two very promising team members and added a selection of really exciting clients to our roster. I am very proud of the business and how far it has come.
Tell us about your ‘journey’ and how you got to this point.
After rising through the ranks from graduate to Marketing Director at Royal Caribbean, I spotted an opportunity to swap sides and take my ‘client-side’ expertise into agency life. By 2018 I also had two kids and wanted the flexibility to set my own hours, confident that I could still work with great brands and add real value, despite not working to a ‘corporate clock’. In 2018, Brand Champions was born.
Can you talk us through a typical working day?
There is no such thing as ‘typical’ working day at Brand Champions, but as we are a virtual business, keeping in touch with my team and my clients is really important.
We make use of apps like slack and Teams, so we are in (more or less) daily contact with one-another, despite not sharing the same office space. This flexible approach is part of our business model. I work with people based on their talent and their values, not where they live – it makes for a much more diverse team, which is very important to me.
Have you had support from Jersey Business or Digital Jersey?
Tony [Moretta, CEO of Digital Jersey] has been very welcoming. He has introduced me to a few people since moving here, which I am very grateful for, being new to the Island. The digital hub is an impressive space and a great resource for entrepreneurs within the sector.
Can you share your experience with banks
Honestly, this has not been the easiest journey at all for me, perhaps as I was coming over from the UK?
How has Covid-19 impacted your business?
We have been indirectly impacted, in that several of our clients work within the travel and tourism sector, so we appreciate how the pandemic has affected their business and of course we feel for them and want to support them. These are our friends and colleagues, and it has been incredibly tough for them
This month and next, we are actually offering free consultations for Jersey businesses within the travel and tourism sector, as part of our ‘launch’ on Island and as a ‘helpful hello’ to those hardest hit by the pandemic.
From a business perspective though, we have been very lucky. Brand Champions has continued to grow over the last two years, which is in part due to the rest of the world joining us virtually, something that has definitely been expediated by the pandemic.
What’s been your biggest challenge as an entrepreneur?
Self-promotion is not something that comes naturally to me. I love what I do and I am always happy to engage in industry discourse but I am not a great self-publicist. So that was a challenge in the early days when it was just me setting up and building a client base. Years later, I am now very lucky to be surrounded by an incredible team, who I am more than happy to promote, so it is great to be at that point.
Can you share any pleasant surprises/experiences as an entrepreneur?
I have found kindness amongst the most unexpected people. I would advise anyone starting out to always ‘take the meeting’, you just never know what they might say or how they might contribute to your life. They may help you in ways you never imagined.
What advice would you give to someone who has a start-up idea?
Seek advice from people who have done been in your position before. And believe in yourself – it’s a hard slog but totally worth it, but you have to believe in what you’re doing 100%.
What would you like the States of Jersey to do in order to help entrepreneurs and start-ups?
I am impressed with the work they do with Digital Jersey, and zero corporation tax is an advantage for businesses.
I am relatively new to the Island, so wouldn’t want to comment to much else until I had lived with the system for a little longer. I will say that having set up my business in London, I feel Jersey is a much kinder place – it is a very supportive community for start-ups.
Which leaders do you admire and why?
Nicky Hoyland, CEO and co-founder of MCG, is one of the many people that I think are doing amazing things for diversity and inclusion and really driving this culture for work from anywhere.
I’m part of a group called Digital leading ladies and I couldn’t possibly mention them all but there are so many amazing women within this group, all championing women in the workplace.
Aside from ChannelEye.Media, which accounts do you follow on social media?
Agencynomics, Wetwheels Jersey and Kaizen creative
What do you do in your downtime?
RELAX! I take my dog Jessie for a walk, hang out with my kids, and, as I am new to the Island, I have been exploring the lesser-trodden parts of Jersey.
What’s your favourite film?
I really don’t watch much TV but when I do, I am after some light entertainment, so something like Bridget Jones Diary would fit the bill.
What music do you listen to?
90s classics – it’s my era!
Are you listening to any podcasts at the moment?
My two favourite podcasts are ‘off menu’ and ‘Parenting Hell’ – they give me an amazing way to switch off and laugh.
What book are you reading at the moment? Can you tell us about it?
Caitlin Moran’s ‘How to be a Woman’ – another inspirational woman, willing to work through her story and share her wisdom with the world. I’m not too far in but already know I’m going to love it!
What is your favourite gadget and why?
I’m not the most tech savvy person, which is why I surround myself with a wonderful team who are much more clued up than I am. The latest thing they’ve set up is a QR code that links to my calendar to book time slots – it is absolutely genius but I have no idea how they did it.
It was set up so that Jersey businesses in the tourism and hospitality sector could book their own free 40-minute consultation with me, something I hope they all take the opportunity to do!
For more information about Fiona Wylie and Brand Champions:
Are you a Channel Islands entrepreneur/startup who would like to be featured in Channel Eye? If so, please drop us an email to [email protected]
