So many businesses have in the past relied heavily on face-to-face meetings and international travel, and the pandemic has now forced them to create entirely new ways of working. Our client, Simon, owner of consultancy Purposeful Change, explained to us how his business has transformed entirely through the course of the pandemic, and his fortuitous planning of a garden studio just three weeks before lockdown helped his business not only to survive, but to thrive throughout 2020 and beyond.
Simon launched Purposeful Change 6 years ago, and spent much of the first 3.5 years in business commuting internationally to deliver his consultancy and leadership training services to high-profile business clients all over the world. His business took him out of the country every other week; from Seattle to Hong Kong; helping huge businesses such as HSBC, Nike and Ford find their mission. With a full year’s bookings in place at the start of 2020, Simon decided a garden office would be a useful occasional office space for when he wasn’t out of the country, and commissioned eDEN to begin his studio in March 2020, taking advantage of a last-minute build slot due to a cancellation.
Three weeks after eDEN handed over the keys, the world went into lock-down, and the international events which were booked for the rest of the year were soon cancelled. Due to this, Simon had to adapt and find new ways to run his already successful business without leaving his home.
In a matter of weeks, with the help of specialist interior designers at Guthrie and Kirkwood, Simon’s garden office quickly became a full broadcast suite, with Microsoft Hub software and four screens allowing him to record, publish and transmit video to anywhere in the world. Simon began rebooking his clients virtually, taking all his services online from his connected eDEN garden office, and delivering presentations to as many as 5,000 people at a time.
The bespoke garden office not only allowed him to supercharge his business, but it became a retreat and ideation space, allowing him separation from the house and space to think big for his own business and on behalf of his clients.
Simon told us “I still sometimes have to get up at 3am due to the time difference in the countries where I am delivering my training, but I now only have to commute 10 meters. I get to spend so much more time with my family, and being around has become more important than ever.”
Irrelevant of their size, many of Simon’s clients have been impacted by covid in a number of ways, but his optimistic outlook and ability to adapt has enabled him to double his turnover in a year. When asked about how he chose eDEN as his preferred supplier, Simon told us…
“There are so many suppliers out there, but eDEN’s quick pace and high spec made them an easy choice. Our garden room had already paid for itself within 2 months! We are now planning a garden room at our second home in Kent which will be more of a peaceful creation space for art and design”.
To summarise his experience of the past year, Simon said “Whatever life’s problems, you have to ask yourself what’s the opportunity” and his thriving business is a perfect example of this mantra in action. To hear how we’ve helped other small business owners, take a look at our Spotlight On Small Businesses campaign.
