Back in May 2019, when Alex was 18 years old and working as an Apprentice Marketing Assistant for a Norfolk-based family-owned multi-franchise car dealer group, he decided to grow a side hustle to bring in some extra money by doing something that he enjoyed. 

 

Alex had tried and failed to grow his own small business from the age of 15 up until 18, using various brand names and concepts. This time, he decided to put his name to the business in order to further inspire him to make this attempt a success. And so, Pollard Media was born!

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Alex started off by taking on some small freelance gigs, building his experience in the space alongside his Apprenticeship to grow and develop into new and exciting areas of knowledge & capabilities. He continued to take on the occasional freelance gig, building his experience through 2019.

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As 2020 approached, Alex was determined to further grow his side hustle, taking on a couple of small new freelance clients. 

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April 2020 came along and Alex was approached by Sarah Keeley, a friend of a friend who was helping her fiancé start an online sports retail business. Alex started to work closely with Sarah & her fiancé to develop their brand, website & marketing strategy from scratch.

 

During this time, Alex & Sarah would work long hours, through evenings & weekends to develop their vision and found that they worked exceedingly well together. Toward the end of 2020, Sarah asked Alex "Why don't you do this as a full-time job?" - a question that resonated & stuck with Alex. 

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In December 2020, at 19 years old, Alex has his mind set - he was determined to make Pollard Media more than just a side-hustle. And on 11th December 2020, Alex registered Pollard Media Ltd as a company at companies house. 

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Through December, still alongside his daytime job, Alex worked in the evenings & weekends to build his brand & digital presence, ready to prospect businesses in the New Year.

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In comes 2021, Alex was ready to make amazing things happen and nothing was going to hold him back.

He started reaching out to businesses that he had identified that could benefit from improvement to their digital presence and implemented a personal, genuine approach - something that businesses seemingly hadn't experienced up until that point.

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In January 2021, Alex welcomes Kevin into the business, who is coincidentally his Father! Kevin brings with him 48 years of Accountancy & Business experience and takes on the responsibilities of the financial operations of the business.

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In February 2021, after some persistence, lots of coffee and not a lot of sleep, Pollard Media's first Client introduction meeting was scheduled. On the day of the meeting it was snowing - but that of course didn't stop Alex. He drove 20 miles to his meeting, and successfully onboarded his first big Client with two web development projects and accompanying marketing strategies. What's more, we are proud to say that the Client in question is still with us today.

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A month goes by and Alex onboards a further two small Clients. Alex works in his lunch-breaks and evenings through the week alongside his 9-5 job and then through his weekends to deliver Pollard Media's new Client projects.

 

The workload starts to become a challenge alongside his 9-5 commitment, so he approaches a friend from school, Lydia Finn.

 

Lydia who was a very creative individual had tried multiple career paths but hadn't found her calling. Alex offered her a 15-hour-per-week Marketing Assistant position, aligning with her creative talents. On 12th April 2021, Lydia joins the business.

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A few months go by and Pollard Media takes on another Client, but Alex wants to grow the business further.

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In June, Alex visits Sarah who was working at 111 at the time. Jokingly Sarah asks "have you got a job for me yet then?!" Well, funny you say that! Sarah joins us as a freelance, part-time Client Success Manager, bringing with her years of Communications experience from 17 years of working in the Norfolk Constabulary Control Room, Norfolk County Council Operations and various other Customer Facing Roles. Three weeks later, Sarah takes the leap and leaves her job to work for Pollard Media.

 

It's July 2021 and Pollard Media takes on its first office in Herbert Smith House, Honingham. It was small, had a slanted roof with one Velux window and was only big enough to accommodate a maximum of 4 people at any one time (at a push!), but it was our space and we loved it.

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We continued to work on growing the business, taking on some new exciting projects, learning new things and developing our knowledge every step of the way.

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In December 2021, we celebrate Pollard Media's 1st Birthday and start our hunt for our next Team Member, an Apprentice Digital Marketing Executive with City College Norwich.

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In February 2022, we meet Katie Madden - a bright, ambitious young lady that could not have impressed us more in an interview if she tried! Katie joins the Team on 12th April 2022, exactly 1-year after Lydia.

 

Alongside this, Alex & Kevin suffer the bereavement of their Grandmother, & Mother, Doreen - a family member that played a big part in Alex's life & upbringing. It's also at this same time that Alex hands in his resignation at his 9-5 to work on his business full-time at the age of 20.

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At this point, there's no turning back. One of Alex's favourite quotes, that he learnt during his time at his previous Employer was "In the year 1519, Hernán Cortés arrived in the “New World” with 600 men, and upon arrival, made history by “burning his ships.” This sent a clear message to his men. There is no turning back!  Two years later, he succeeded in his complete conquest of the Aztec empire." So, Alex burnt his ships and went all in on Pollard Media.

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In April 2022, Pollard Media agrees the lease on a new office premises - over 4 times the size of the room that the Team was working in before hand, and in June 2022, we finally move into our amazing new workspace in Taverham, welcoming Clients old & new to meet and collaborate with our Team. 

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Toward the end of 2022, we celebrate Pollard Media's 2nd Birthday, and start to plan for our 3rd year of business.

A year that we are determined to make incredible things happen for our Clients, our Employee's and our business.

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So far in 2023, we've welcomed a record amount of new Clients in the first few weeks of the year, along with another new member of our Team, Fiz Chambers.