On today’s episode of Word on the Street, Katie speaks to Nick Whitnell, Founder & Lead Consultant of Daring Works. Daring Works is a strategic brand consultancy helping businesses to achieve, maintain and improve their B Corp status which can then be the foundation for using business as a force for good.
Nick Whitnell is a purpose-led brand and marketing consultant and experienced B Leader, passionate about helping businesses deliver positive change and support meaningful growth that balances people, planet and profit. With a background in leading multi-million pound marketing campaigns, Nick has spent over 15 years creating, evolving and leading impactful business strategy from positions of senior leadership at LV.
In this episode you will hear:
- The process of becoming a B Corp certified agency/business
- Implementing changes to become more sustainable
- Creating a community you can connect with
- Development of strategies, purpose, and values
There were so many amazing takeaways from todays’ episode, and these were just a few of our favourites…
Can agencies be B-Corp?
Yes! The UK is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and there are now 700 B-Corps in the UK. The process of becoming B-Corp certified involves an initial check to find out whether B-Corp is something that is definitely relevant for you as an agency because it can be a lot of work and something you need to be committed to.
To get an assessment you have to have been trading for 12 months, a for-profit business in a competitive market, and have an account on the B-Corp website. You will then need to complete the impact assessment, which is a free tool of around 200 questions. As you fill out the questions, it will start to show and demonstrate the types of things in your business, category, sector, and industry you should be thinking about.
You need to get a score above 80 to be able to submit, give evidence and then have a call with B-Lab who will go through and assess what you’ve submitted and that you are a business who is looking at people, planet and profit in equal measures rather than just profit alone.
What can agencies do to implement sustainable changes?
Look at their purpose! Nick believes that there is an overarching demand to grow at any cost, but if you are an agency and you are able to start looking at what your purpose is and what type of clients you want to work with, whilst having a central core DNA that runs through you as a business, you are then able to make decisions based upon your purpose.
Attracting like minded people to your business gives you opportunities to grow in a more meaningful way, rather than being caught up in a crazy period of doing anything in order to grow, which will never lead to happiness or achieving what you want to achieve.
Creating a community you can connect with
Building a community and having the ability to discuss problems and opportunities opening will give you a chance to achieve great things, make change, and connect with people. Having these open and honest conversations helps build a narrative based upon integrity, and that’s when we can start to see real power and behavioural changes. We can drive a genuine shift in perspective and reality by having these conversations and speaking out.
Links & references
Katie Street: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiestreet/
Nick Whitnell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickwhitnell/
Our Sponsor
Series 6 of Word on the Street is sponsored by Tanba, The Agency New Business Academy, is a brand-new initiative aimed at equipping agencies of all sizes with the knowledge, content, partnerships, and opportunities needed to accelerate agency growth by optimising their new business ‘engine’. Tanba is an on-demand and affordable solution for agencies looking to upskill their team via training courses, content and insights delivered by our panel of industry experts, leaders, and partners.
The academy is all about empowering agency teams to get noticed, attract opportunities, increase conversion rates, and reduce the costs associated with the sales process. Visit https://tanba.io/ to find out more and start empowering your agency.