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Simon Ellery: I Try Not To Take Myself to Seriously but Continually Raise the Bar on Our Design Work, Processes and Skillset

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Simon Ellery

Simon Ellery of White Rabbit.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m a creative, friendly and outgoing Kiwi that loves to hang out with friends, good food and design.

What do you think is the single biggest misconception people have when it comes to startups?

That their projects don’t matter as much as larger vendors and that they don’t have the budget for quality design. We work with a lot of start-ups and in some ways, they require even more attention to ensure they have a strong brand presence from the start.

If you could go back in time to any moment from your journey, and give yourself one tip, what would it be?

That learning how to deal with people will help you more than the latest new feature in the Creative Cloud suite.

What makes you stand out as an entrepreneur?

I try not to take myself to seriously but continually raise the bar on our design work, processes and skillset.

What are some of the best working habits you’ve gained over the past couple of years?

Giving each task an order of priority has helped. I use Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle: A Important and urgent. B Important but not urgent. C Not important but urgent. D Not important and not urgent

Give us a bit of an insight into the influences behind the company?

A passion for producing clean, modern and unique designs is the driving influence behind White Rabbit. Using creativity to solve problems for our clients is another major factor.

Where do you see your business in five years?

Taking more of the NZ market share, expanding our range of services, possibly new branches setup in other countries.

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What do you think the biggest challenge will be for you in getting there?

Our competitors in the NZ industry. The growth of online freelancer platforms could be although we haven’t found that has inhibited us too much so far. Also, the rise of DIY online design solutions.

Talk to us about your biggest success story so far?

Moving into our awesome office on Broadway has been a huge leap forward. We have an awesome collaborative studio environment which has been made possible from a lot of hard work.

How do clients and customers find you? Are you much of a salesperson for yourself?

Google and social media. Most clients come to us directly. We put a huge amount of effort into SEO so that we are ranking for our top keywords.

What one tip would you give to fellow startup founders?

Look into your competitive market to see what people are doing well and where the gaps are. Good research will mean you have a string place to start from.

And finally, what do you hope the future brings both you personally, and your business?

I hope the business brings me more freedom, financial stability and creative enrichment. For the business, I wish that we become NZ’s go-to for premium graphic design solutions and build up an outstanding reputation.

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