Nearly twelve years ago, we made a fairly significant change to the way we worked. After years of having offices on the main road in West Didsbury, we decided to move We Are Life into our home. Our offices had never been particularly grand, but we’d loved being there. They gave us a visible presence in the heart of West Didsbury, surrounded by the independent businesses that made the area such an interesting place to work. But eventually, the cost of maintaining a separate office simply stopped making financial sense.
It was a practical decision, although not one we made without some hesitation. We’d always welcomed clients into our offices. Would inviting them into our living room feel quite the same?
a different kind of meeting
One of the first people to find out was Tim Blacklock, the man behind Didsbury Driveways. Tim came to see us to discuss a website for his business. Instead of meeting around an office desk, we sat in our living room and talked through what he needed. And, as it turned out, everything felt perfectly normal.
There was no awkwardness about the change of setting. No sense that working from home made the business any less professional. We talked, got to know Tim and began what would become a longstanding working relationship. That was back in 2014. We’re still working together today.
built on trust
Over the years, we’ve come to appreciate just how straightforward working with Tim can be. He knows his business, understands what he needs from his website and is happy to leave the design decisions to us. That kind of trust is something we never take for granted. It would be easy to assume that a project involving very few amendments requires less thought or attention.
In reality, the opposite can be true.
When a client gives you the freedom to make decisions on their behalf, there’s a responsibility to ensure those decisions have been properly considered. The research, planning and design thinking still happen. The difference is that much of it takes place before anything is presented. And that’s always been our approach with Tim.
time for a change
Of course, websites don’t stand still. Design changes. Technology moves on. The way people use websites develops, often quite considerably. So, after more than a decade, we agreed that the original Didsbury Driveways website was ready for an update. The business itself was well established, with years of experience and a reputation built through the work Tim and his team had carried out.
What it needed was a website that reflected that experience, presented the services clearly and worked comfortably across today’s devices. A considered update, rather than change for the sake of it. And Tim’s approach? Much the same as it had been in 2014. He left us to get on with it.
some things don’t change
When we first met Tim, we were adjusting to a new way of working and wondering whether moving out of our offices might change how clients saw us. Since then, quite a lot has changed. We’ve worked from different places, moved countries and watched the digital world evolve in ways we could scarcely have imagined back in 2014. Didsbury Driveways has a new website, too.
But the working relationship that began with a conversation in our West Didsbury living room has continued much as it always did. There’s a familiarity that develops when you’ve worked with someone for that long. You come to understand their business, their preferences and what matters to them. And they come to understand how you work.
Not every project needs endless meetings, lengthy discussions or multiple rounds of revisions. Sometimes, after all those years, it’s simply a case of knowing that everyone understands what needs to be done. Nearly twelve years after that first meeting, we’re really glad Tim came to our living room.