Tom McLoughlin is the founder of SEO Travel, a Leeds-based digital marketing agency specialising in SEO, PR, web design, and other services for small and medium travel businesses.
After the pandemic had a big impact on the travel industry and many companies drastically cut back on their overheads, McLoughlin found himself reflecting on the business and contemplating how to move forward.
He decided to donate 100% of the company’s profits to charity in 2021, with the goal of giving £1m by 2031. By April 2023, SEO Travel had already donated £74,590 from its work over the first two years of this initiative. Last year’s money supported a children’s rescue centre in Kenya, and this year the money will go towards a school rebuild in Nepal and supporting 133 children in Yorkshire with new beds.
Here, he shares all the lessons he’s learnt.
Which single daily habit or practice could you not do without?
Planning. The first thing I do when I open the laptop is review my jobs for the day, check my calendar and timebox the tasks I have lined up before anyone else has had chance to interrupt me with emails/calls/Slack etc.
What’s been your luckiest break?
Not getting a writing job. I started my career in PR, then decided I wanted to pursue writing and move back north from London. All the writing jobs I applied for wanted you to know about SEO, which I didn’t. So I went and got a job at an SEO agency instead to learn about it, thinking I would go back into writing in future. 15 years later and I never did go back for that writing job.
What’s your best failure?
See above. If I hadn’t failed to get a writing job I might still be sat in Bolton writing about fridges…
What is the best investment you’ve ever made, either financial or time?
12 months teaching in Honduras after I finished school. It gave me a completely different outlook on life and forced me to grow up. And it allowed me to have a huge variety of unique experiences that have given me the skills, drive and perspective to achieve other things in life.
5. Which book would you recommend others to read and why?
Legacy – James Kerr. An incredible insight into how successful teams function, packed with actionable things leaders and individuals can use to get better. Plus it has lots of inspiring and surprising stories about the All Blacks and is super easy to read.
What one piece of advice would you give your 21-year-old self?
Take small steps. Bill Gates said “Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.” Early in my career it was always about how fast you can achieve your goals and what the quickest route to ‘success’ is.
Experience has shown me it’s better to take it slower, make small changes consistently and aim for a bigger goal over a longer period. Think about your long term goals, then make decisions based on getting there with lots of small course corrections along the way. It might mean you ‘progress’ more slowly initially, but you’ll be more likely to hit your big targets and live the life you want to live over the longer term.
Who or what has had the single biggest influence on your working life?
Podcasts. The old adage is that you’re most influenced by the five people you spend the most time with. Over the years podcasts have enabled me to ‘spend time’ with people like Tim Ferriss and Rich Roll and the inspirational people they have conversations with. If I’m ever on a low ebb, short of ideas or need inspiration then I know listening to them will get me back in the saddle.
Tell us something about you that would surprise people.
I once won a ballroom dancing competition! But on the work front, probably that I doubt and question myself a lot. I come across as very direct, assertive and sure of myself, but I’m constantly questioning whether I’m doing the right thing, have performed well or am on the right path.
How will the COVID crisis change work for the better?
It will bring more awareness of meaning to the world of work. We changed our entire business model as a result of the pandemic to give 100% of the profit we make at SEO Travel to educational charities. Covid made me look in the mirror and ask why we were building an agency, what good we were bringing to the world, what kind of place we were for the team who worked together. Putting meaning at the core of what we do has had a profound effect on our business and the people in it, and this approach will be at the core of all other projects we launch in future. I hope more businesses will realise the impact this can have as it truly works for everyone involved.
What does success look like to you?
Happiness for me and the people I spend time with (friends, family, colleagues). Making a positive impact on the wider world.
