How’s Business Going?

3 minute read…

Everyone asks. At dinners. On calls. In passing. In text exchanges. Over coffee. Whether it’s genuine curiosity or just a polite conversation starter, you only have a split second to decide which version to deliver - the optimistic one or the real one.

The question hits different every time. The last few months have been challenging in our industry. Not impossible. Not hopeless. Just… tough. The kind of tough that tests you. Your belief in yourself, in the market, in timing. I know what it looks like from the outside. You see the these thought pieces, the content, the film clips - the highlights. And of course, they’re great moments. But behind all that, we’ve been pushing hard. Building relationships, creating opportunities that don’t even exist yet, pitching for work that slips through at the final hurdle. You pour your best into something, and still the email starts with: “We’ve decided to go another direction.” It’s gutting. You breathe deep, and go again. Because that’s business. That’s life. That’s leadership.

The UK market feels tight right now - a lot of great studios, agencies, and thinkers all fishing in the same small pond. And we’ve been feeling it. Not defeat, just reality. That’s why we booked New York. Not to escape, but to enquire.

New York was cool.

I’d been before as a tourist, but on a business trip it felt like a cousin city to London. I loved the hospitality. The openness, the business culture. There’s a generosity to the way people do business there. You feel it in the small things.

I sat next to a few people over the weekend, and both times there was a follow-up that same week. Whether it was because we were on the ground, people we reached out to seemed to make time. It reminded me that the real currency of this industry isn’t creativity or capital, it’s connection. In an ideal world, those other things are secondary.

We weren’t there to chase briefs or flash up decks. We wanted to be present. To sit with people. To listen. To understand the rhythm of things in another culture and context. There’s something powerful about being in the room again.

I’ve realised this trip wasn’t about expanding our business as much as expanding our presence. You can’t outsource presence. You can’t replicate it online. You have to go. You have to get on the train, the plane, walk the block, give and receive the hug, laugh in real time. People still value that. They can feel when you’ve made the effort. So much of business is really just being there.

So when people ask, “How’s business going?” I think my answer might be changing. It’s still tough. Still uncertain. Still full of days that test your resolve. But it’s also full of moments like this - moments that remind you why you started. I think the goal isn’t just growth anymore. It’s presence. It’s being where the life is. In the conversations, in the rooms, in the relationships that outlast the projects. Because even when the market tightens, curiosity still opens doors. Even when work slows down, connection keeps things alive. And even when things don’t go your way, showing up still counts. Maybe that’s the real answer. Business is going… human.