‘I just don’t have the fear’ were the words I muttered to my last employer when I handed in my notice 19 years ago. I thought I was Rachel in Friends, quitting my job to pursue something I was passionate about and eager to wake up for.
That night, I remember sitting in front of my mum’s fire, opening the local Northwich Guardian, and seeing an advertisement for an Account Executive at a new agency in Knutsford. I immediately knew I’d get the job and be happy there; I didn’t realise it would be a job that would see me through a marriage, two children, a win on a TV game show, sadness and a lot of laughs. A job that, nearly 20 years on, I am still just as happy to wake up for.
Fuelled by enthusiasm – and Red Bull
I sent off a cover letter littered with enthusiasm and typos and printed on bright yellow paper along with my CV. Enthusiasm was all I had; well, that and the fact I got top of the country in an advertising and marketing module on my A-Level Media exam! I didn’t know what a PDF was and was still working freelance as a cheerleader and choreographer for Man City Football Club, which I am 100% sure got me my first interview with Keeno…(Come on, you Blues!)
Fuelled by two Red Bulls and a genuine interest in advertising and creative writing, I gave it everything I had. Somehow, I attempted to convince 438’s founders to make a girl who had just dropped out of Drama school their first official employee.
My Dream Team
Those guys delivered on their promise to me. If I worked hard, they’d teach me everything they knew and build a lifelong career. Now, I could use this blog to talk about the skills I have developed or the fact that I believe no degree could have given me this opportunity, but actually, I just want to focus on what it means to work at a company for OVER half my life. Because while my life has had many twists and turns in the past 19 years, I realise my constant has always been 438.
In my first year at 438, we had a wonderful, tiny squad of about seven. This included my first recruit, Hods. Yes, it was me who suggested she come to work at 438 as a stop-gap between uni and travelling (I must remember to ask for that recruitment bonus!)
Our fantastic team was by my side when I lost my dad suddenly on Christmas Eve; I will never forget the moment of his funeral when I looked behind me and saw Keeno, Whitters and Hods in the crowd. They had never met my dad; they were there to support me. I had been at 438 for less than a year.
Discovering our agency identity – alongside my own
The following years brought late nights working on pitches, significant account wins, and a clearer sense of discovering our identity as an agency. Agile and creative, we were solution finders, going the extra mile and constantly evolving with technology. Let’s take a moment to remember the birth of wetransfer.com when our daily 5:15 pm task of running to the Post Office to send artwork on a disc was replaced with us waiting 24 minutes to send a 10mb artwork file via the World Wide Web!
For me, the following years brought marriage, a £200k win on a TV game show (when I told 4.9million people on live TV that I wanted to start a family and Keeno nearly had a heart attack), and, of course, my first pregnancy, for which I can reveal I did the test in the downstairs toilet at 438 and then immediately came upstairs and marked up some No More Nails Piston artwork amends. But I guess that’s a testament to how much 438 feels like my second home.
Another baby, three house moves, a journey into co-parenting, and several promotions later, 438 have supported me through every moment. The loss of Uncle Mike hit me hard; he was one of life’s true gentlemen. He helped nurture my love of creating ideas, and I feel his presence daily in the office. I know he’d agree that watching 438 grow has been a privilege, but being part of the foundations is indescribable.
People who bring out the best in one another
When my friend Lee asked if I could offer ‘some girl called Steph’ some work experience, I never guessed it would lead to finding my Isuzu Partner In Crime, and when I convinced my new friend Christie she’d be better at creating marketing that creating telly, never did I imagine the friendship we would form and campaigns we would make together.
But mainly Hods… never did I think that drunkenly convincing her in a taxi to come and do a bit of admin would lead to a 19-year adventure together, including her paving the way as our Managing Director. I am so proud of what she, Whitters, Keeno, Dids and Uncle Mike have created. That little blue door on King Street has welcomed so much talent and nurtured so many people.
So what more is there to say in our 20th year? I guess it’s the timeless lesson that a good high school teacher might share: “Find something you love doing, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” However, I’d like to take it a little further than that. It’s about finding like-minded people, people who bring out the best in one another, people who care about the input as much as the output. And in the spirit of thanks, it’s a big one from me to 438 for taking a risk on that drama school dropout, for being my constant and seeing something in me worth nurturing and supporting me while I did all my growing up.
Because without that, I couldn’t be the person I am today.
And that person will always be… Megs x