37 to go. 37 working days, and for many, including the team at Digital 51, 2021 the working year will then be over. Where has the year gone?! Where has the time gone?! We say it every year, but this year has gone in the blink of an eye!

It feels like only yesterday it was the night before the big opening, the night before we threw open the doors to Digital 51 and attacked our first day, week and month. BLINK. It’s now the day before bonfire night.

We have shared our journey so far with you through a series of posts, blogs, articles, videos and pictures. We have done this as we are on a journey, we started as 5, we are currently 6, intrepid explorers building a new company, from the ground up.

If you read my recent post, you will know last week we closed the business for a couple of days, closed to take a breath, take a moment and reflect on the achievements we’ve delivered already. We also needed to take stock about what comes next. Having smashed through our financial goal for 2021, what do we now focus on foe the next 40 days and 40 nights to make the business, our offering and our service even better in 2022? This we’ve realised is our new challenge and we can’t wait to attack it. We know we are not perfect, I guess we are not trying to be. We do know however we can be better and that is something we are striving for.

So, we are coming out of the traps of the long weekend fast and shaking things up. On Tuesday myself and Adrienne sat down to start the action group as I like to think of us! What actions do we want to take next to drive change?!

IN!

We are thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to announce the arrival of our newest team member. New people bring an energy to people already in the business and the business itself I find. Lewis Malton joins the business. Lewis’s passion for personal development, combined with his interest in technology, and his driven nature makes him a great addition to the team. Lewis will be working closely with Craig Fenn, continuing to build our Development offering around our love for all things JavaScript.

Wait, I thought you said you were 6 explorers Simon, doesn’t Lewis make 7? Simon, Adi, Craig, Lauren, Hollie, Lewis and Alex equals, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 right?

OUT!

We have sad news too. We have always said everything is not perfect and we have always said this year has been fantastically exciting, but really challenging. Digital 51 was founded on a set of ideals and beliefs that I personally had. However, the ability to realise those ideals and beliefs came from my ambition to do it with 2 people; Alex Hall and Adrienne Howlett. Both Adi and Alex very much helped me form this business and turn my ideas into reality. They have also supported me and the business since we agreed in December 2020 to go on this journey. I might be the voice of the business, but we set out as a team of 3 founders. Unfortunately over the last 8 months Alex has decided the journey is not for him, and he wants to get off the ride.  Why? I’ll let Alex explain that if and when he wants to, but really he has realised this start-up journey and challenge is not for him right now.  Alex heads to take some time off with his beautiful family and goes with our full support and excitement to see what he turns his hand to next.

Alex, thank you for everything, our door is always open and remember The Hub is always there.

So what next?

SHAKE IT ALL ABOUT!

Well we want to continue to grow. We’d love two more people, we are interviewing at the moment, so if you are out there, reading this and you want to be part of something this honest, this transparent and with such a clear purpose. Then I’d love to hear from you. We also have someone in our sights, we have done since the start. You were the sixth name on our list, the sixth Beatle if you will. You know who you are, I hope you are reading this! We will continue our love affair, pursuit, and continue to convince you that Digital 51 is the future. Seat 6 has gone, but 7 and 8, both great numbers, are up for grabs!

We need to do a bit of re-jigging on our offering. Our partnerships across Product have exploded behind the machine that is Adrienne. We have partnerships across not just Product Management, but Product Design and this is an exciting area we want to grow. Our Creative area led by me has taken everyone by surprise, including me! That market and our impact on it has been more than we thought. We now have a Creative division even if we did not necessarily set out to have one. We should build on that. We will build on that. We are coming for the Creative market, so watch out!

We have some exciting ideas for the JavaScript market, but there is no denying how tight that market is right now from a candidate perspective. We are working on something for the new year which could see us change the conversation and game in that area. Watch this space for more on that.

Oh and we are getting asked more and more about Contract, Interim, Freelance, Permalance, call it what you will. We want a stronger offering there moving forwards too. We currently do it where asked, but being honest are not proactive enough.

There is so much more and so many other ideas we have, but my train is about to get into the station and also I don’t want to share everything with you right now.

For now we want to use the next 37 days. We want the best December of catching up with our partner clients and candidates to thank them for this year, whilst also outlining how we can support them in 2022.

There is a lot to do, so we should get on and do it. Also stop looking in from the outside, if you want to hear more and know more, I am on

One e-mail and we are chatting before you know it. It’s that simple.

In. Out. 37 to shake it all about.

This article was written by Simon Brown, Founder of Digital 51.