Good Business Showcase: Views For Change

Starting up a business is a tough journey for any entrepreneur. Purpose-led businesses that are creating businesses that align people and the planet alongside long-term sustainability have an extra lens they need to use when designing and making decisions, not making it any easier. So who are these impact-led business owners and what does it take to get a good business off the ground?

I’ve reached out to the purpose-led founders that I have worked with to shed some light on what the journey of starting a business looks like and tease out some lessons they have learned for other budding good business entrepreneurs.

Thank you for taking the time to share a little about the journey you’re on to set up your good business. To start off with, do you want to share who you are and the name of your business?

Of course, my name is Nicola Telford and I am the co-founder of Views For Change.

What does being a 'good business' mean to you?

For us, being a good business means ensuring a positive impact is built into every piece of work we do.

That’s great, and when did you set up the business?

In January 2020.

And what spark the drive to create a good business?

I owned and ran a marketing agency that was profitable and successful, but something didn't feel right. I realised my frustration was rooted in a 'profit at all costs' mentality, at our own business & with our clients.

We started working on and trying new ways to build good into our own business and support our clients to implement more 'good' into theirs and out of those experiments, Views For Change was born.

So you’re not new to the sector but have created a business that’s aligned with your own values. Can you share a little more about your experience in the world of business before embarking on this journey?

I studied Philosophy & Sociology at Cardiff Uni then took a number of (seemingly random) positions after that while I figured out my purpose. From HR to Legal to Marketing.

I always wanted to work for myself and decided to take the skills I'd learned in those positions into a freelance and consultancy capacity as a 'side-hustle’. I formalised this, joining forces with Ozzy and we started Attracto (formerly MAMA Marketing) in 2017. We learned a lot, very quickly in the world of business and running your own company.

I bet. Was there anything that surprised you about starting up a business?

Everyone else is just a person too, working things out each day - I thought everyone was far more important, skilled & better than me and that entrepreneurship was reserved for a certain few - but when you realise everyone's human, you can communicate on that level and get things done together. And more generally, that I could do it...

Thanks for being so honest. And what have you found to be tough?

There are three things I’d say have been tough on this journey:

Prioritising work is hard when managing yourself - it's easy to neglect important work for the work you enjoy / find easy.
Staying motivated when things are tough - it can also be really hard not to listen to the 'nay-sayers'.
It can be really lonely - especially at the beginning of a new journey

It’s so true and not talked about enough. What would you say you’ve learned about yourself through this journey?

I have discovered that I am far more capable than I thought and far more resilient than I imagined I would be.

I’ve also come to accept that there is only one 'me' and only I can do what I do. And also that I can't do everything and need help sometimes.

And importantly, beating myself up about taking breaks helps no one, especially myself. And aligned with that, therapy is a godsend and should be a public service for everyone.

Here Here. And what do you wish someone had told you before starting up that would have been useful to know?

Being true to yourself and your values will get you further in the long run.

You don't have to take everyone's advice.

You don't have to say yes to everything to be successful.

That last one is particularly good. And what have you learned that you’d like to pass on to other budding entrepreneurs?

Decide what impact you want to have in the world and make your decisions based on what will support that the most.

Not everyone shares your values - find those that do.

Be honest - with yourself and others.

Love that. So what’s made a real difference to you in your startup journey?

Founder Communities are great for advice, support, cheerleading, and I've made some amazing friends as well. You don’t have to do this on your own.

I could bang on all day long about the importance of therapy for personal and business reasons. Too often, we think of therapy when something is wrong, but we need to change that. Therapy can be about being your best self, or just maintaining things as they are, or for no reason at all; but it will ALWAYS help.

I echo all of that! So what is your vision for the world? And how does the business achieve that?

I envision a world where every transaction, interaction & action has a positive onward impact. Views For Change is starting its journey with donation consumer rewards for marketing and advertising activities; but this is just the start.

And what are you currently working towards? What’s that next milestone?

We're currently raising investment so that’s the next big milestone for us.

And for anyone out there who’s been inspired by your mission and vision and might be able to support you, what would make a real difference to your business right now?

Firstly, investment. If you’re an angel investor or are connected to networks of investors interested in SEIS / EIS investments within a good business, please do get in touch.

And we’ve just launched our early adopters’ offer, which is heavily discounted, so if you’re a brand looking to make a difference through your marketing or are a marketing agency interested in offering something different to your clients. Get in touch as well.

Awesome. And where can people go to get in touch with you?

You can contact me via our website: https://viewsforchange.com or via the Good Business Club Directory.

Got a question you’d like me to ask founders of good businesses? Get in touch.