James Gibson is co-CEO at LOVELIVE, a creative design agency based in Cheshire.
Gibson co-founded the agency back in 2010 with Kim Collier and now has a team of 17 and recently unveiled a new-look brand and website.
The majority of the agency’s clients operate in the healthcare sector, however LOVELIVE’s offering recently branched out to include the professional services sector too.
From lucky breaks to failures, Gibson shares all the lessons he’s learnt…
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
As a father of three girls, my mornings are hectic with making packed lunches and getting them ready for school. I always turn my morning shower to cold for the last five minutes to refresh my senses. My morning coffee is accompanied by a Berocca drink with a pint of water, as I was told by my friend’s dad who was a doctor that this helps you get all your daily vitamins and a pint of water all at the same time – what more do you need?! I always squeeze in 10 minutes of mindfulness at some point during the day.
What’s been your luckiest break?
During my career I have been lucky to work within studios with amazing and inspiring designers and leaders. My creative director at the time was very ‘old school’ but very driven by attention to detail. Nothing ever got past Gerry! This taught me well as I had the background to expand on.
I always dreamed of creating the vibe that I felt in that very first studio I worked in. I now believe that me and my co-CEO have created that and more, but you would have to ask our amazing creative team!
What’s your best failure?
Wow, that’s a tough one. Over my years in delivering events, I remember we had a symposium which was very hard work. It involved a lot of late nights trying to get all the doctors slides previewed and setting up congress when suddenly all the power went off and we were told it wouldn’t be back on that day! This was a lesson in that anything can happen with live events and to be prepared for the unexpected!
Another time I recall I was working on promoting a HIV drug. We had a stand-alone meeting with several spin-off meetings located at an amazing hotel complex in Phuket. Once we had started all speaker rehearsals, we noted the room smelt funny. We had to keep changing rooms throughout the day. The hotel then told us that all meeting rooms had been flooded in the monsoon weather, and although they thought they were dry enough for our meeting – they weren’t! After hearing this news, we changed our entire agenda and sourced another hotel to deliver the meetings.
Planning is important, but solving unexpected problems and changing all your plans is even more rewarding – I have since learned to have a backup plan for everything!
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
For me this is the time spent watching as my kids grow up! Just being there for pantos or school trips to the local library or Granelli’s ice cream shop in Macclesfield. The look they give you when they see you just being there or watching them on from on the sidelines is priceless.
I also think that listening to others is something that gets easily overlooked nowadays. I love meeting new people, young and old and just asking them questions about what they do and what they have learnt in life. We can all learn so much by just listening and taking the time to speak to others.
Though when it comes to business, my best investment to date would be setting up LOVELIVE with co-CEO Kim.
Which podcast or book would you recommend others to read and why?
That’s tricky, as I have a few! In respect of my business, I like the podcasts from The Wow Company – I would highly recommend them for any design/digital led businesses.
When I’m not in work mode, I enjoy The Therapy Crouch. It’s very real, funny and relatable with having kids. Book-wise, I love the Jack Reacher novels by Lee Child.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Just say ‘Yes!’. Live in the present moment and accept it for what it is. You can’t change the past, and you can’t predict the future. Enjoy and live every moment.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
This may sound corny, but my biggest influence has been my wife. When she was seven months pregnant, I told her that even though my job was great and what I enjoyed, I wanted to leave and start up my own business. I couldn’t have done this without her encouragement.
It was a scary time with a newborn on the way, but she believed in me and we knew this was a great opportunity to set up alongside Kim, who had been a friend and colleague for many years. I’d always talked about it, and I don’t know if it was her hormones talking but I could never have done what I have done without my wife saying ‘shut up and just do it!’.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I have always wanted to be a florist and own my own little boutique flower shop.
If there was one thing you could change about your career, what would it be and why?
Listen more and take risks.
What does success look like to you?
As LOVELIVE continues to expand and change with the exciting ebbs and flows of the industry itself, I am looking forward to what’s to come… ‘Nothing is ever finished until it’s finished’.
In my personal life, success is enjoying and living every moment with my wife, family, and friends.
