Our,’ Ten Minutes With,’ series of interviews gives businesses the opportunity to tell us about themselves, how they’ve adapted to Covid-19 and what their plans are for the future.
And we always get to hear something unexpected during the interviews, which is why we love doing them.
This week, we speak to the owner of Marketing Consultancy, Making Marketing Sense – Eleanor Piredda. 2020 was a year of change for all of us but none more so than for Eleanor who left a full-time job to set up her own company. Here she tells us how she’ll never look back and why life could have been massively different if she’d followed in a famous TV reporter’s footsteps.
What five words would you use to describe yourself?
· Logical
· Quick thinker
· Ambitious
· Patient
· Sociable
Tell us about yourself
I’ve been married for 17 years and have three children. We live in Stone, Staffordshire and during normal times they keep us really busy with all their activities like football, swimming, and horse riding.
Outside of work, I exercise pretty much every day and when I get time I love reading – mostly historical books by authors like Phillipa Gregory but I’ll read other genres too. I also really enjoy baking! Anything pastry-based is my forte, so I do make a good steak and ale pie!
And what about your business?
I help businesses understand the value of a marketing strategy. Many business owners don’t see the bigger picture and how the vision for their business depends greatly on getting the marketing right. I work with them to ensure the marketing foundations are strong on which to build, the marketing is aligned to their overall company objectives and they have processes in place to ensure it remains consistent, effective and generating a return.
I work with businesses in many different sectors like Telecoms, IT, heating and plumbing, architectural sectors and so on because the marketing principles can be applied to any given sector. I don’t have to have had experience in a sector to be able to work with a specific business. So, I say no companies are off-limits as the principles for good marketing are the same whichever industry you are working with.
What did you do before launching your business?
I was the Marketing Manager at an IT and Communications company immediately before setting up on my own.
I have worked for myself before though as a Marketing Consultant and worked with industries like the ceramics and equestrian fields to help them focus on specific areas of growth. I have also worked with business authors to help them develop their brand.
What has lockdown been like for you?
It signaled a big change in direction for me as I launched Making Marketing Sense as a result of the first lockdown so last year was about re-establishing myself as a business owner and launching the business as a limited company,
I set it up on the 6th of August and started trading on September 1st. I can honestly say the response has been phenomenal and I can’t ever imagine not working for myself again.
Lockdown itself has brought its own challenges with juggling work and homeschooling. I guess I’ve been doing the same as a lot of people, baking, trying to work out from home and watching boxsets. Thank goodness for Netflix, Sky and Amazon Prime!
Have you learnt anything about yourself because of the lockdowns?
I’ve learnt to juggle that’s for sure and that I can handle quite a lot!
Keeping a structure for the kids, who are 10, 13 and 15 has been difficult but you learn to adapt.
I’m missing the simple things, like going out for meals and seeing other people. It’ll definitely be nice to have social occasions in the diary again.
What are your plans for the future?
I’ve joined a networking group to build relationships with other business owners so that’s already helping grow Making Marketing Sense.
I certainly want to build on that, firmly establish my brand and help more businesses tap into affordable marketing solutions.
Are you going to do anything differently once this is all over?
Visit family more than I did before. I have a big family but speak to them now more than I ever did previously, so instead of Zoom, it’ll be good to take the time and see them face to face more often.
Finally, what was your dream job at school?
Believe it or not, I wanted to be a war correspondent. TV reporter Kate Adie lived in my hometown of Southwell in Nottinghamshire when I was growing up. She used to come into school and talk about her experiences of covering the Bosnian War. She also used to come into the Deli where I worked on a Saturday. I bought her books and took an interest in politics which I studied for A-level. I was in total awe of her!
Obviously though after gaining a business studies degree I chose the safer option of a career in marketing rather than reporting from war-torn countries. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I had gone down that path. I probably wouldn’t have had three children so I certainly have no regrets.
If you’d like to be one of our, ‘Ten Minutes With,’ interviewees find out more by dropping us a line at hello@legspr.agency
