It all began with a sandwich

23/10/20213 Minutes

“Learn to adapt” is the most important piece of business advice

Like all great stories, it began with a sandwich. A free sandwich, in fact.

“Free lunch provided with training,” read the advert. And so I leapt into the market research world, beginning my role as an interviewer at FDS research in Archway, north London, in 1987.

Two decades later – and with a series of roles at over eight companies – I’d experienced just about every aspect of the research industry. By the time 2003 rolled around, it was time to go freelance and independent.

Why? I realised I had acquired the abilities I needed to run my own agency, and I had a desire to create my own workspace; one where I was answerable only to my clients, rather than being in the middle, stuck between my employer and their clients. That can be a stressful place to be.

So, alongside my longstanding friend and colleague Suzy Xavier, I founded The Telephone Unit – a name that describes the contents of our business perfectly, as we provide everything from telephone interviewing to consumer research. We have a team of experienced recruiters and interviewers who work remotely in our virtual office, recruiting groups and conducting in-depth interviews by phone.

The financial crisis hit us hard in 2007/8. Among our clients were many financial banking institutions. In fact, banking research was our main source of income and it dried up. Fortunately, we had other areas that became more prominent, such as social and medical research. So we actively pursued partnerships with larger agencies, which worked well for both parties.

The coronavirus pandemic forced us – along with the rest of the world – to move into online and Zoom working. Thankfully, we were ahead of the game with this, as we’d been running a virtual office since 2003. Even before the pandemic, we rarely met in person, so moving everything online became routine pretty quickly.

The financial crash, the pandemic – they’ve failed to sink our ship.

But throughout it all, we’ve learned to adapt. That would be my strongest advice to anyone looking to start a business.

Right now, we’re looking forward to 2022, with stronger spectacles, but undimmed enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the quest for the sandwich continues…

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