I met Lloyd during my short time working for Invacare, and we worked on various projects together, I found Lloyd to be extremely professional and innovative with all aspects of his work.
Recently I joined a webinar hosted by Lloyd, which included many marketing professionals, and I found it to be informative and refreshing to see that everyone was in the same boat. I caught up with Lloyd after the webinar, remotely, of course, to find out a bit more about his experiences not just during this crisis but as a business owner.
1. Lloyd for those that don’t know you, can you give me a quick intro the world of Lloyd and how you started Rockadove?
Getting a job in the TV/Film industry was, and still is tough, so I ended up working for an Investment Bank, something I literally stumbled into. I lived for the weekend and didn’t enjoy my Monday-Friday and knew I had to get back into what I loved and was passionate about. So I naively jumped into running a business back in 2010. I will be honest, it isn’t easy and wasn’t plain sailing, but this year we celebrate Rockadoves 10th Birthday and we enter our 11th year in business and we are well positioned to thrive for the next 10 years too.
2. Nobody expected this virus to have such an impact on businesses. On the webinar, you mentioned you recorded four vlogs on day 1 of lockdown, was that a strategic decision because you knew it would help the business or were you hoping for the best?
Rockadove, like many companies were massively affected by this global pandemic. We could no longer go out and film due to the lockdown and social distancing rules and lots of our projects were immediately cancelled or postponed until, this was all over!
For me, it was a shift in mindset. From being incredibly busy with work lined up for the next few months, overnight we had very little work that clients had any immediate requirement for. So, as a marketer, I knew it was important for us to have a presence in the business community and giving away free advice and tips on how others can still utilise video as a business tool during these challenging times, was important. It was out of my comfort zone, I prefer to be behind the camera than in front of it, but again, during challenging times you need to change your mindset and priorities. I had the idea after the press conference announcing lockdown, so the next morning I prepped 4 topics, filmed myself and sent this across to my team to edit all by mid-day.
Key for me, was getting that first vlog out same day. Why? Because it was relevant, it was the first day of lockdown and I wanted to be the first in my sector to do so. Did I know it would be of interest and/or successful, no, but like all marketing it is about thinking an idea through and executing on that idea.
3. What were the first decisions you made when the virus became a pandemic, with regards to your company and your team, and is there anything you would have done differently now knowing the severity of the situation?
I was in Seville, Spain, the weekend they went into lockdown. From business as usual in a busy tourist filled city one day, to everything being closed and police kicking you off the street the next. An interesting experience to say the least and at that time I genuinely didn’t think the UK would ever go into lockdown. This was because speaking with business owners
and staff out in Spain, they were all terrified of the financial impact it was going to have on them and I couldn’t see how it would be possible for businesses to survive.
That being said, the day I returned things were beginning to develop in the UK, so within 3 days we had the whole team working remotely from home; a first for us. During those 3 days we had started to see projects being cancelled or postponed, which was a concern and I started planning accordingly.
A week later the UK went into lockdown and we saw immediate impact on all projects.
Throughout, I made methodical strategic decisions based on facts and data in quick timeframes, which I believe has put us into a strong position to survive anything Covid-19 throws at us. There is nothing I would do differently.
4. How are you currently maintaining staff morale and do you have anything in place for the wellbeing of your team?
Staff moral is crucial at this time, as some of my team live alone and some may be concerned about their jobs and future, which is understandable. I personally have kept myself very busy and although my daily tasks have changed, I am still working at full capacity, which certainly helps. Others, especially those across the UK that are furloughed, will have lots of time for their minds to wonder. I have encouraged my team to keep busy, have structure in their days, undertake training and online courses to keep their skills sharp and learn new skills for that matter. We have weekly (virtual) coffee mornings, so we all get to see each other and catch up; and talking about project work isn’t allowed on these calls! We are also trying to have online socials, so last Friday for instance we had a Team Quiz, which was great fun and escapism for a few hours, feeling some normality.
As I write this, we are only 3 weeks into lockdown. My biggest concern for my team is how long this will last. As if we are still in this situation at the end of May, that is a significant amount of time to be isolated and not working, certainly to full capacity. It will be hard for everyone to adjust going back to an office, full-time work and daily commutes at the end of this. Employers and team leaders need to support their team during and after this.
5. Are you now using your time wisely and planning for after the lockdown or are you just enjoying the time off?
I’m still working, we have new projects coming in, but I am definitely dedicating time to strategic planning. From a business level a lot of that focus is on our service offering and marketing strategy. Things will be different after this and businesses not putting time into planning now, will struggle to get back on their feet. It is also the perfect time for marketing teams to be analysing past campaigns and put content strategies in place for the next 6-12 months.
6. You mentioned in the webinar that you have had some difficulties with clients and payments, what’s the biggest challenge you have ever faced with a client, and what was the outcome?
Currently we are in a global pandemic, everyone is struggling, and cash is king. I don’t blame businesses for trying to delay payments and hold on to cash during these times. Although, if everyone does that, it causes a vicious cycle.
The most frustrating instance was a few years ago with a client not paying. They had emailed saying they were thrilled with the project and were using the video all over their website and marketing avenues, but it took us almost 2 years to get them to settle their final
invoice. After an enormous amount of time, energy and money invested in retrieving it, they settled the invoice just before our court date. I think it takes a certain type of individual to do that but dealing with issues like this is part and parcel of running a business. It is far from glamourous.
7. Now that you seem to be a natural at being in front of a camera with your vlogs and doing webinars, do you see Rockadove branching out further and offering other marketing services other than video?
We offer our clients strategic marketing solutions, whether that utilises video or not. Who knows what might be around the corner.
8. What advice would you give to someone currently setting up their own business?
My advice would be set your expectations correctly. This is not going to be an easy journey and if it is at first, don’t be complacent. A good business is a financially secure business, as you just don’t know when the next global crisis will hit!
9. Do you see Rockadove surviving through this pandemic?
100% – No doubt in my mind.
10. And finally, if you were not the MD of a video production company, what would you be and why?
I am a big foodie and love a nice glass of wine, so I would probably be running a nice Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar somewhere. Never say never.
It’s refreshing to speak to a business owner who is currently working his way through this pandemic but has every confidence that his business will come out stronger with strategic planning and keeping the team morale high with regular communication and team activities. As I’m currently setting up my own business, I will be taking his advice on board. Well done, Lloyd.
If you’re looking for a video production company for your business video requirements, I would highly recommend Rockadove with their professional approach and innovative solutions.
