Caroline Smith : Oakley Media Ltd

Oakley Media offer high quality graphic design services. Caroline Smith decided that it was high time that she worked for herself... 

I trained as a Graphic Designer in the early eighties (back in the time of the dinosaurs before PC’s were invented and we had to use ink and glue to prepare artwork!) and have worked in commercial studios and public sector organisations for the last 25 years, developing my skills to embrace the digital era along the way.

In the early days I worked as a designer and a studio manager and loved the buzz I got from the creative elements of the job. I have worked in local government running a creative department but also covering PR, press, media and events which was very varied but very enjoyable.

My last position was as Director of Publishing & Resources at the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

This was great in many respects, I got to travel the world to meet our members and set up publishing deals, I ran a publishing department with a £2m turnover and my bank manager liked the salary but I suddenly realised that as I’d climbed the management ladder I’d lost touch with the things that I really enjoyed doing – the hands-on creative things - and I came to the conclusion that position and status and salary mean absolutely nothing if you don’t enjoy what you are doing.

Starting the business

I then decided that I would be better off starting my own business and get involved with the more hands-on approach. So I went on the Business Link website to look for some funding and networking opportunities – and came across WBDA’s details.

So I got in touch and booked an appointment with a business advisor called Joy Hunter who helped me develop my business plan and provided me with numerous training and networking opportunities.

The services WBDA and Joy provided have helped me focus on the things I need to do. The marketing workshop acted as a refresher for me and highlighted things I hadn’t considered. The web-based training delivered via the National B2B Centre on behalf of WBDA has helped me develop my website and e-marketing so that is much more effective. All of these events also enabled me to get out and meet others in the same boat which is invaluable.

About Oakley Media

So here I am with my own business. Oakley Media Ltd is really a culmination of all the experience I have gathered during my career. I offer graphic design services primarily, anything from a simple flyer to a product catalogue, but am also involved in publishing things like conference programmes and magazines. I have a mission to provide creative, affordable and reliable services to businesses and organisations and my expertise means I can help clients in a variety of ways from print buying to advice on corporate brand to building exhibition stands.

I have realised there is a market for helping small businesses present and promote themselves effectively and I have increased my range of services to provide assistance with e-marketing and web design.

Overcoming challenges

I must admit though, the main problem I’ve discovered with starting a business is the sheer volume of things I needed to do in order to be ready to open the doors to clients. Setting up a bank account, building a website, marketing – all these things take time and I’ve discovered you can spend all your time running the business and have no clients or spend all your time on clients and none on admin and marketing. Obviously it’s important to get the balance right so that your business can both survive and grow. I do also miss the social element of ‘going to work’ so being able to get out to events and workshops has been a great.

I spent the last 13 years working with very clever people (primarily men) from an academic, science or engineering background and after a while it can start to make you feel rather inadequate!

However, attending the networking events and workshops that WBDA run has put me back in touch with real people who seem to appreciate and value the contribution I can make to their business.

The support has given me confidence and the realisation that perhaps I do know what I am doing after all!

For more information on the services Caroline provides – please email her on oakleymedia@googlemail.com or give her a call on 01788 567557.