‘It’s an illusion to ever think that running a business will mean less time spent at work...’

What I wish I’d known before I started

WHEN I founded Gibney Communications in 1995, I assumed running my own business would give me more control over my working life and more time with my young family. But what it did instead was give my family more time to spend with Gibney Communications!

PR is an intrusive service business where clients and media need you available round the clock and where deadlines just have to be met.

Holidays, weekends and evenings were given to handling crises and media queries. It’s an illusion to think that running a business will mean less time at work than being a salaried employee. You bring home the problems and successes and are always thinking of the business. It’s like another child.

Being good at what you do does not mean you will be good at running a business.

I wish I’d known more about leases, upward-only rent reviews and break clauses when starting out, as the main cost in a service business is rent and staff. It was pure luck and a prudent approach to borrowing that prevented me from investing in an office property — despite being advised to do so in the Celtic Tiger years. I still don’t know whether my innate conservatism was the right strategy at the time — but it saw us through the recession and gave us great control over our destiny. We were able to partner closely with clients, to do deals with them and keep our full team of staff, without recourse to anyone on Madison Avenue stripping out dividends.

When you start out in business no one tells you of the sleepless nights worrying about a client issue. Or the disappointment when a client moves on or you are treated unfairly. No one warns you that you will spend days preparing to pitch for accounts that are always going to be awarded to someone else.

The best new business came from referrals — word is passed on when you do a really good job for a corporate client or help them through a crisis and manage their reputation issues. I do regret not asking certain clients for referrals occasionally — I thought it would be a bit unprofessional.