240 days. That’s how long it’s been. That’s how long it took to achieve the majority of the goals first set out for the team when I opened Digital 51 on March 1st 2021.

We have a real belief and drive in what we are trying to build and achieve at Digital 51. We want a fully employee owned business within 10 years. We want to work in partnership with business, not just fill roles and move on. We want to provide industry leading data that can help inform decision making and keep our partners ahead of the game. Mostly we want to partner with people and businesses who like us believe in the power of technology to change and enhance the way we live.

We are at the same time very competitive, very driven and a six person 100% fully self funded start-up. This means goals and objectives are not just important to us, but they are also a challenge we set ourselves to test and push our capabilities.

So what have we achieved?

  • We wanted to sign partnership agreements with over 30 businesses, we have achieved nearly double this in 240 days.

 

  • We wanted to create a community for our belief in all things Product and help people on their journey into this growing area of the digital space. We now have Product 51, a community of over 200 people, contributing to monthly videos, podcasts, recommendations and referrals. This community is creating change.

 

  • We wanted to grow our team. We hired our first intern in Chloe Brown in July, we hired Hollie Williams in September, and we have hired a further new starter who joins the business on November 1st.

 

  • We wanted to specialise, stick to our beliefs in Product, Creative and JavaScript Development recruitment. We have done this. We have turned away over £200,000 in potential revenue as the business did not sit within our 3 core focus areas. We have not just turned these businesses away, we have introduced them to other recruitment agencies without asking for anything in return. We want those businesses to hire and grow, we were just not the best people to help them. Hopefully we will work together in the future.

 

  • We wanted to create a brand, by sharing content and ideas across LinkedIn and the Digital 51 website. We have gained over 4,000 followers to our company page which was established on March the 1st We have produced over 50 articles on our website and shared these with thousands of people viewing them. We have also personally gained thousands of new followers to our personal profiles as we share the news and view of Digital 51.

 

  • We wanted to believe in video and the impact it can have across the entire recruitment process, from advertising roles to interviews on demand. This has been a brilliant success for us, personally hard and taking us all out of our comfort zone, but what a return we have seen. We have our own, still building YouTube channel even and I am doing my own short video series on topics which are impacting the recruitment life-cycle.

 

Lastly we wanted to hit a financial number. A number which represented this was worth doing, this was sustainable, this is why every member of the team was right to quit their previous job, join Digital 51 and not financially lose out. We have now, at the end of October, hit that number! I say again we have hit the number at the end of October which we wanted to hit by the end of December! Amazing.

However, it has been far from perfect, and I believe we are frayed round the edges, a little tired out and now not at our best. So, I have made the decision to ask the team to take a couple of days off, starting tomorrow (Thursday the 28th) and Friday the 29th of October. They have agreed. This will give everyone the support, confidence and shared knowledge that we are all having 4 days off, at the same time.

Why is this important? Because even though we have a completely flexible view of how, where, and when we do our jobs, and have unlimited annual leave, no-one has really taken the leave aspect. We have all been too focused, too obsessed even with hitting our goals and targets.  It’s time to power down.

Yes, LinkedIn gave their teams a whole 7 days off to relax, and I am sure other businesses have done more, but this is not about anyone else, this is about us.

So tomorrow mobiles will be off, out of office messages will be on and we will be powering down for a few days. Want to know what we are doing with this time? Don’t worry as always we love to share, so below is a snapshot of the details the guys are willing to share:

  • Adrienne is going all in on relaxation with a trip to the spa, all in on indulgence. She has already demanded the smoked salmon afternoon tea and the most gentle full body massage ever invented.
  • Alex is heading to Legoland! Yes, it’s time for Alex to head to the world of bricks and spoil his beautiful family.
  • Craig is on the road, but then again Craig is always on the road. Craig is spending some time over in Hertfordshire with his family whilst no doubt cramming as many other activities in as possible. Craig loves busy leave!
  • Hollie is off to Glastonbury! She assures us there is no surprise festival on that we don’t know about, but she loves the West Country, so is heading off for some time to chill.
  • Lauren is off to the Ritz! Yes, you read correctly, Lauren has been sat on afternoon tea at the Ritz since before Covid and she is finally cashing that bad boy in.

 

As for me, well that’s for me to know. What I can share is, for the first time since December the 4th 2020, which is when I made the decision to go for it and open Digital 51, I am shutting down. Think cottage. Think the middle of nowhere. Think no WIFI, no phone signal. I will switch off this time.

We will be back Monday the 1st of November and we have more changes to announce as soon as we are back in, so watch this space for the announcement of a new starter and a bit of a shake up. Any article called ‘in, out, shake it all about’ is worth looking forward to. It drops Tuesday 2nd od November, so watch this space.

For now, thank you to everyone who has helped us achieve these goals so far, we literally could not do this without your trust and support.

We are taking a break, but we are by no means done, so we will see you bright fresh and ready to go Monday 1st of November. Christmas countdown anyone…………………………

This article was written by Simon Brown, Founder, believer and proud to write these words leader of Digital 51. You can contact Simon on