RIDING A WAVE OF SUCCESS
First published on 25/8/2004 in New Zealand News UK
Warwick Leicester has emerged from the dot.com bust of early 2000 and is now running a sucessful web design business. He talks to MARK HOTTON.
He surfed the massive wave of the dot.com boom time in the late 1990s, endured the wipeout when the money ran out, but now is paddling back into the water and quite successfully too.
Warwick Leicester runs his own internet company from offices in Soho and is finding that the combination of his knowledge and his personal touch is hitting the right spot with clients. He set up and runs Rocket-media, which provides solutions for businesses and organisations. Among his clients he can boast Channel 4, British Gas, the NHS, and Virgin, as well as New Zealand News UK.
The Wellingtonian arrived in the UK about 10 years ago with the intention of getting involved in the music scene, but instead “got lost at the Walkabout and Harrods”. “I got to a point where working at Harrods was very much a traveller thing and I had moved away from that. “I worked out it was time to move on when all the friends I made while I was working … started moving on. They were just there for a short time whereas I’m probably going to stay here until further notice.” Leicester had been in a band and run a music store in Wellington when he was younger and had come to the UK with the intention of doing something with music, although had been unsure of what.
So he decided it was time for a change and enrolled in a two-year engineering and music technology course at Westminster College. He decided to take that option because it was where his strengths- audio and IT – were, having had an interest in computers since he was a kid. In 2000 he was recommended to George Michael’s ex-manager who wanted someone to run the IT side of his business. The guy ran the website Mezzmusic.com, which was the first to sell digitally downloadable MP3s outside of the US and was well ahead of iTunes. The company had two 24-hour festivals and a bar in Ibiza, all of which needed webcast, as well as the website.
“It was iTunes basically but it was dance-orientated. Like a dance music portal, news, reviews music, a couple of festivals and the bar. All that kind of stuff.” That was during the heady days of the dot.com boom. “It was a brilliant time. There was a lot of money around but the problem was that it was really easy. I was so sucked into it. They were saying ‘don’t worry the money will come’ but it never did. In a short time the ride ended and in May 2001 the website came crashing down. Luckily though, in December 1999 he had started a web design company in his spare time along with a cousin. “The intention was to keep our day jobs and also supplement this by building other websites.
“Some one asked if we could build a site – it was the boom time so everyone wanted one – and we did and it slowly built from that.” By October 2000 things were going so well that they set up Rocket-media.net Ltd, a move which worked out well because it provided a safety net when the dot.com business crash came. The industry continued to stagnate for some time and he was able to supplement his income by teaching music technology and internet multimedia technology to pre-degree level students at Westminster College, but things got worse after September 11. Thankfully, things are looking better with a new set of waves appearing on the horizon. Things have picked up this year partially due to optimism in business in general, but also due to an increasing number of referrals, he said. “About 90 per cent of my business is through referrals. I think it’s because I’ve built a solid reputation as a reliable and personal business agency that provides appropriate solutions,” Leicester said.
“I think I’m successful because of the fact I am accessible and I am available and provide good solutions for people’s problems. And the price is right and the speed is right.” While he takes on additional staff as needed, he is a client’s first line of contact. “I’m always available to speak to on the phone. It’s me you speak to if you have any problems, and I sort them out very quickly. “I think that’s the most important thing – I will take that responsibility and I will fix it.” That approach – and the fact he offers a completely bespoke service – seems to strike a chord with his clients, who have vastly different backgrounds, although many come from the arts and music sector – a theatre promoter, a company that builds recording studios, a live music promoter, and communication companies. He wants to diversify into different industries but is wary of getting too big and not being able to retain control of everything.
“I don’t want to ruin the good thing it is because I get on with all my clients really well.” Leicester’s made a considered move into developing more ongoing relationships, rather than doing short contracts where he is in-and-out. While it might be a growing business, creating an effective website was still quite time consuming. “People need to access information and access it easily … so you have to work out what works best, what reflects your brand.” He’s a big fan of content management tools which allow an organisation to have tools put in place that make people’s jobs easier – things like a newsletter which is easier to use and goes automatically. “It’s all about simplifying the process.” And riding that wave of success.
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- Warwick
