It's 10 years since former journalist and communications professional Leanne Fawcett launched her own PR company, LEC. Today, the business boasts an impressive portfolio of regional and national clients and is a fully integrated provider of media relations, publishing, and print services. Leanne tells us more about her journey and what the future holds for LEC...
“It’s hard to believe it’s 10 years since I launched my business, LEC. “The milestone has crept up on me a little and while I am always so quick to celebrate client anniversaries, I have been a little guilty of overlooking my own.
“So, it’s nice to have the platform to sit and reflect on my business journey, the highs and lows, the hits, and misses (thankfully more highs and hits in my decade of being an entrepreneur) and think about the future holds for LEC.
“I decided to launch my own business after nearly 15 years working in regional journalism and local government.
“It was always something I fancied doing, however the timing was never quite right and inevitably, it was put on the back burner.
“But when a change of personal circumstances gave me the chance to think about where my life was going, I decided it was now or never.
“That was 10 years ago – how the years have flown by.
“LEC started life as a public relations company, working with regional businesses to help them raise their profile within the regional and national media. “But gradually, as we became more established and our portfolio of clients grew, the services we offered also expanded and LEC became a provider of PR, design, marketing, and social media services.
“That growth led to the expansion of the team, and I won’t lie, being an employer just wasn’t for me. I built a small team of people around me, however three years ago I stripped things right back and after a couple of my staff moved onto pastures new, I took the chance to go back to basics and use freelance support where I needed it. “I have to say, nothing has changed with the business and our clients still get the same level of support – in fact, the business is as successful now as it was when we were a team of five, however, the pleasure I get from running it is far, far greater. “Don’t get me wrong, as any business owner knows, the pressures and challenges never go away, and I’ve lost count of the number of tears I’ve shed over the years. “However, I finally feel like things are just about where I’d like them to be. “In the past six months, we’ve secured a number of new clients in sectors including e-commerce, commercial cleaning, coaching and renewable energy. I love bringing on board new clients, I get such a buzz from a company saying they want to work with LEC, however keeping existing clients is as much of a priority to me so one is never at the detriment of the other.
“Our publishing arm has also expanded, and now includes the quarterly East Durham Business magazine, the flagship magazine for East Durham Business Network, and the hugely successful Business News North East and East Durham News websites.
“So, what does the future hold?
“Certainly, I want to continue to grow the business, bringing in new clients and increasing the workload we have with those businesses we already work with. “And I’m very excited about the potential of a new venture I am involved with. “Novus Business Collective has been launched by me along with Denise Fielding from East Durham Business Service and Alison Machin from Think D.
“The new business is aimed at those people and SMEs that are already operating successfully but who need specialist targeted assistance which could help them grow. “Initially Novus Business Collective will offer help in areas including financial management, business development and planning, coaching and mentoring, communications, design and marketing.
“Each business that signs up will be put through an initial diagnostic of their set up to determine which areas they need to invest in to boost their chances of growth.
“It’s an opportunity for the three of us to get stuck into a new project outside of the day job and we’re currently in the process of spreading the word and networking to raise awareness of what we’re doing.
“LEC has come such a long way in the 10 years since I set it up and I really am incredibly proud of everything we’ve achieved – good and bad. “Every day’s a school day as they say and never is that more true than when it comes to running a business.
