April 1st is our fifth birthday – and with five fabulous years of Intelligent Ink-ing under her belt, director Christina has provided us with some musings on five key things that she has learnt in that time. 
As I get ready to head off on maternity leave, it feels both a happy and sad occasion that I’ll be stepping away from this place for a wee while. First though, it’s time for celebrating and reflecting, as we hit the huge milestone of Intelligent Ink’s fifth birthday.

When the team asked me to think about and share the things I’ve learnt in the five years we’ve been doing this, I’m not sure what they were imagining I might come up with… There’s so much I could say, as the lessons are both endless and ongoing, but here are the most pertinent points, to my mind.

1. Incredible people make all the difference

We’re a people-powered business, who are only as good as the Inkers we hire but I think that, regardless of any other factors, this sentiment would still hold up. Whether it’s people on the team, our clients or other influencers and partners, incredible people help to give purpose to what we do.

People can say what they like about the world of business, but in my opinion, it’s just like life – by which I mean that it’s really all about relationships, when it comes down to it. The strength of some of the relationships we’ve built over the last five years are, without doubt, some of the most instrumental things in getting us to where we are today.

2. Always do the right thing (and your best) by people

Leading on from the importance of relationships, and absolutely vital to that, is the driving motivation to always do your absolute best by people. Our success has been largely thanks to word-of-mouth and this absolutely would not have been possible if we weren’t steadfastly committed to always doing our best. In fact, it would be safe to say that this has driven Intelligent Ink right from the start. We only hire people who are equally committed to this and, to date, it would be what I consider our most enduring value.

Stemming perhaps from our unwavering perfectionism, but also from our genuine desire to put our best selves out there and assist our clients to do the same, we don’t support mediocre or ‘good enough’ – and this has become an important part of our legacy.

3. Peanut butter and perks

Along with doing your best by people, you have to let them know how much you appreciate them. Do it all the time and don’t stop. Our Inkers are some of my favourite people in the world and are a huge part of the reason that I get up and go to work every morning. They continuously astound me with their commitment to our values and to what we’re building and with their desire to do the best by each other and the people we work with. So, I try to make sure I tell them that.

Give praise where praise is due – everybody loves a pat on the back. Find out what’s important to the people around you and use that to spoil them, whether it be an endless supply of Pics peanut butter, free lunchtime yoga on a Friday, or a ‘Jar of Joy’ to celebrate all the amazing things that happen day-to-day. These things become the cornerstone of our culture and, hopefully, fill the team with the same warmth when they think of this place, as what I have when I think of their contribution to it.

4. You absolutely have to find balance

When you own your own business, it’s very easy to get bogged down. Whether it be in the details, or all the big-picture ‘dreaming stuff’, you can guarantee that what you’re working to build will never be far from your mind. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you’re physically at work, out to dinner, or in bed on Sunday morning, it’s likely to still be following you around. It’s not easy to establish and maintain boundaries, and it’s certainly not easy to switch off.

While the cliché that you need to ‘make hay while the sun shines’ is most certainly true, especially when you’re in the younger stages of business, it can lead to some fairly ambitiously scaling hours. This is OK, to a point, but it’s also vital to find and keep some balance where possible. You might not get it right every week, but you have to occasionally see the wood for the trees and realise that you need a break. It not only goes a long way to saving your sanity, but it also doubtless makes you better at what you do. Talking to other people, exploring somewhere new, reading something that may not be directly related to work, or just letting a problem go for long enough that your subconscious gets a chance to muse over it – these are all breeding grounds for greater creativity and inspiration, so establish some boundaries and give living a try.

5. Good content will always be important

The channels may change and, indeed, they already have seen plenty of change in the last five years – but the need for quality, well-written content that weaves a real story and makes us feel something will always exist. In a time when there is more and more information out there, more and more ‘noise’, a piece of writing that really resonates with people is becoming more and more difficult to find. It’s an exciting time to be a writer – especially if we continue to view what we do not just as a function, but as our craft – and however this industry evolves, you can bet that we’ll be there ready to offer up some intelligent ink.