From 0 to 92,000 in Under Three Years: The Media Directory

We sat down with Rob Hirst of The Media Directory to talk about the creative industries, starting your own business and the enterprising community around Sheffield. Here's what he shared with us about the exciting journey that The Media Directory has carried him through.

by Roxana Soica / 29 Apr 2015

When did it all start? What was the preamble to this brilliant idea?

It was around September 2012 that I was about to turn 30 and was working for an engineering firm while also trying to be a musician. I had a lot of friends who were artists, actors, photographers, all working or aspiring to work creative jobs. I, too, had a degree in Media Studies - which, in all honesty, hasn't really been of much use.

There were redundancies at the company I was working at and I wanted to leave because I had been there for 10 years. There was a lot going on - I was also paying for a rehearsal room, practising with the band, writing on my own, and then I just had enough. I decided it wasn't getting me anywhere. I felt as though my time was finished and it was time to help others.

How did you decide that this was what you wanted to offer as a business?

I was aware of other businesses in the sector because I was using their services. I did believe that their services were extortionate, though. I would pay £100 a month for subscription fees to try and get into the music industry as a songwriter, and it just seemed ridiculous…  And a lot of the jobs advertised were fake and I just thought – ‘Right, I wonder if I can do anything myself’.

There was a two-week period where I just thought, ‘I've got to do something’ – so I did some research, set up a twitter account and started re-tweeting all these different companies in different areas. I got about a thousand followers in three weeks.

What surprised you about how it evolved?

It was always exciting launching it – that was the key thing. At the time I used to watch The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den and read all these blogs about businesses starting out and never getting to see their product out there. When it launched, I had built a following on Twitter of about 25,000 and in the first week the website had about 500 views. Needless to say, I was devastated. I couldn’t believe it! I was so naïve to think that all those people on social media would come straight to the website. That was a big shock, but also an exciting time. I thought ‘Here we go’.

How do you feel about the start-up/business community in Sheffield?

One of the highlights of this journey was being able to work with a few other Sheffield companies. I’ve been engaged with the start-up community in the last two-three years while I was building my site and I’ve found it to be incredible. I went to a few enterprise group sessions and I learned about taxes and HMRC, how to market your business and things like that. I had already read about all of that, but it was nice to have other people to talk to, who were all at the various points in their journey. I find that the Sheffield start-up community has developed a lot in the last few years. CADS has been around for about three years now, and Union Street just opened, too.

What do you prefer in terms of working space? Open or individual?

I think the co-working thing is a great idea, especially in the creative industry, and Sheffield has a lot of small businesses that wouldn’t exist without the connection that a communal working space provides. And at the same time it’s great to be part of CADS and have a space here. Even though I’m not working with them, it’s nice to be under the same roof with so many artists and creative people – it’s about the environment.

Do you come in at CADS like you would in an office? As in, you come from home, you do your work here and then when you're done you go back home? 

I do it all day and I do it all night – it’s crazy and it’s very exciting at the same time!I almost spent 14 hours a day, 7 days a week on the website. It’s become like an obsession, it just drives you on.

Finally, would you have a piece of advice for others starting their business?

Never give up! It’s really easy to give up and looking back at my bank account along the last two-three years, I could have given up a long time ago. If you believe in something and know that if you get to a certain point it will work, and if you do your research, have a solid business plan and you know your market, you should be fine – and you should just go out and do it.



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