How I work

When I work for a client I view it as a partnership and put the best interests of the client to the fore. So I always try to work with them for their long-term benefit – and my long-term relationship with them – rather than for just the short term of the engagement. The way I approach the relationship contributes to this:

• Flexible fee and billing structures – by charging only for the minutes spent on each client's case and billing at agreed intervals, my clients can be sure they get what they pay for.
• Skills transfer approach for long term, sustainable benefits – where possible I work alongside owners or existing staff to ensure that my experience (and any information gained during the course of a project) rub off on the client. Such 'skills transfer' gives clients extra value for money.
• Timely support to maximize in-house skills and capacity – I am happy to work on an ad-hoc basis with clients once I have got to know and understand them, spending a half hour proof-reading a press release here, a couple of hours working through an important Board presentation there or a few days overseeing a distribution schedule. Again, I charge for the time spent, so clients come to view me as a cost-effective extra pair of hands as well as a fresh pair of eyes and an external viewpoint.
• Available to work with other consultants – I am happy to be engaged to work alongside other consultants or freelancers in related or overlapping fields. If you are a consultant or freelancer looking for co-workers for project bids, please do get in touch.
• Access to the insights of a freelance journalist – I work on a part time basis as a freelance arts and travel journalist, so I can advise clients in their press campaigns from the perspective of 'the other side'.
• Access to the insights of a creative practitioner in my own right – as a fiction writer and journalist, and a collaborator on creative photographic projects, I can see the world from the viewpoint of the artist, as well as the communications advisor. This fact is particularly appreciated by the actors, dancers, jewellers, painters and crafts people I have worked with, who may at first view 'marketing' as an alien concept.

For more information on my approach to projects and the benefits of working with a consultant, see Why use a consultant? and Way of working.

You can see my CV, including employment experience, or read about previous projects in more detail.