What happens when redundancy becomes the catalyst for building a creative career on your own terms? For freelance Brand Voice Copywriter Jonathan Wilcock, it meant stepping away from agency life, embracing the uncertainty of starting again and finding a clearer creative identity in the process. Based in East Sussex, just five minutes from the beach, Jonathan runs What If – a company of one built around words, brand voice and decades of experience across advertising, creative agencies and freelance work.
From having zero clients and an NDA covering 14 years of previous work to finding unexpected opportunities through chance encounters, Jonathan’s journey is a reminder that creative businesses don’t always need to follow a conventional growth model. In this interview, he shares his approach to finding clients, developing creative ideas, staying inspired, dealing with difficult projects and maintaining integrity in an industry where playing it safe can sometimes be the easiest option.
How was your company born and where are you based?
So, What If (a company of one) was born out of necessity, aka redundancy, plus I’d done my own thing before, and loved it. It is/I am based in East Sussex, 5-minutes from the beach.
What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?
Zero clients, an NDA slapped on my last 14 years’ work and me getting in the way of myself.
Which was the first huge success that you can remember?
Handing over the office keys to the landlord of the agency I’d co-owned and run, then the next tenant coming in and giving me a ton of project briefs. We’d never met before; a total chance (is there such a thing?) meeting. Bacon saved.
What’s the biggest opportunity for you and your company in the next year?
No idea. If I can stay sane and happy, balanced and positive, and true to myself, then I reckon it’ll all work out just fine – whatever ‘it’ is.
Can you explain your team’s creative process? What makes it unique?
My team is me. Great thing is, I’ve had a nice, messy career. Worked in advertising as both an Art Director and Copywriter. Freelanced up in town for years. Ran my own creative agency, up to my elbows with everything from holding client hands to steering designer’s brains. Run workshops, photo shoots and commercial shoots. Developed brands from scratch. Now focused on brand voice – and lovin’ it.
So, I mix all that experience up into a nourishing creative soup, via client conversation, brief dissection, notebook scribbling, hardcore editing, ignoring it, editing again and slapping the client in the face with the end product. 98.5 times out of 100 it works first time, but hey, I’m only human.
How does your team remain inspired and motivated?
I’m a very kind and generous boss. I share all the best briefs. Never say no to a pay rise request. Allow long lunch breaks by the sea. Organise gallery trips. Even let the whole team have the occasional afternoon nap if they’ve been working too hard.
Also, I’ve always got silly side line projects on the go, like illustrating and fiddling in Photoshop and writing daft poems. Much of that nonsense is coming together in a book, that with a fair wind, should be available via Kickstarter very soon.
How has COVID-19 affected your company?
It didn’t. I know how horrible it was for many people, but in my weird little bubble, it was a joy. I had six weeks without work, but the sun was blazing and we’re lucky enough to have a back garden. I chilled and let it wash over me. But I will reiterate, I’m one of the lucky ones, I did get Covid, but it just laid me up for about 10 days, and no one in my circle was seriously affected. When the six-week hiatus passed, I had the best financial year, followed by an even better one. Let’s put it down to some kind of past life payback.
Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Most of my heroes and my inspiration comes from outside design/brand. I seem to gravitate towards two extremes – spiritually-rooted practical wisdom and childish nonsense. My ideal dinner party would have Spike Milligan, Ren & Stimpy, David Lynch, Dr. Seuss, Mahatma Gandhi, Michael Palin and Charlie Chuck all banging elbows. Having said that, I love the wit, gall, creativity and work ethic of Mark Denton at Coy Communications.
And then again, it’s impossible not to find inspiration in everything. Even the banal, everyday nonsense. You just need to switch your curiosity goggles on.
What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?
Concentrate on growing on the inside first. Unless you’ve got serious business brains/nous/connections, overheads will lose you a lot of valuable sleep. Slow and steady (usually) wins the race. And finally, remember what’s important to you and what your agency stands for. By all means, adapt to survive, but don’t flush yourself down the loo at the same time.
How do you go about finding new clients/business? (Pitching, work with retainers, etc.)
I splash myself about quite a bit. I’ve also found that being generous with my time pays off. I try to be the kind of person I’d want to work with.
What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?
That creative ideas and integrity matter a lot more than they currently seem to.
Can you share a defining moment in your company's journey that shaped its identity or direction?
When I said out loud, “I am a Brand Voice Copywriter”. It gave me focus and clarity; an angle to work with.
How do you foster a culture of innovation and experimentation within your team?
A two-day job is allowed four days to breathe. This gives plenty of time for ‘mucking about’ and straying down dark alleyways. There’s nothing like rushing to cramp your creativity.
What measures do you take to ensure diversity and inclusion are prioritised within your company?
I’ll work with anyone who has the talent and the attitude.
Can you describe a project that challenged your team creatively and how you overcame any obstacles?
Every project is a creative challenge, that’s why I still love the work. Obstacles are generally tackled by working hard, stepping away (reading a good book/watching a movie/going for a walk) then coming back at it with fresh eyes.
The most challenging projects are when a client backtracks on what they originally agreed was the right thing for them. The fear of being TOO different, or TOO fun, or TOO outside the category norm. Seeing exactly what we’d all worked so hard on to create the brand standout they needed, then having to pull it back to something dull and predictable – that’s a challenge.
How do you balance maintaining your company's unique creative voice while meeting the diverse needs of clients?
Although clients buy a slice of me, the brief, the brand and the audience have to lead the way. That’s how I’ve always played it and that’s fine by me.
What strategies do you employ to adapt to changes and trends in the industry while staying true to your company's values?
Trends are trends. Sharp thinking, clarity, empathy, creativity… that’s all that good stuff that’s been with me since day one. No strategy, just holding on for dear life to the things that actually matter.
Can you share a memorable client success story that exemplifies your company's approach and impact?
I’m working on a sizeable project right now. The client is both challenging and utterly loveable. Once I got to grips with her unique approach, I adapted mine to fit, taking the path of least resistance, balanced with a healthy amount of digging my heels in, sometimes saying “no, we need to do it this way”. The amount of joy that both of us are getting from the process is off the scale and it shows in the work.
Of course, business is business, but if you’re prepared to expose a little of the non-businessy you, then it can be a true pleasure.
In what ways do you invest in the professional development and growth of your team members?
It seems to me that 99% of professional development is getting on and doing it. Learning along the way. Asking for help and advice from others you trust and respect. Staying open, positive and invested in the work. The other 1% is the very occasional course that tickles my fancy.
How do you approach sustainability and ethical practices within your company's operations and projects?
I keep everything down to bare essentials. Laptop, notebook, pencil. No printer (I use a print shop for the occasional presentation board). No office – every room of the house and every local caff is my workspace. And (not just because it’s sustainable) I use no AI assistance whatsoever.
Can you discuss a time when your company had to pivot or innovate in response to unforeseen challenges, and what lessons did you learn from that experience?
A few years ago, I was halfway through a decent-sized job and the client went AWOL. Thankfully they’d paid 50% upfront.
No amount of emails or phone calls made a dent. Gone. Poooof. I was dead to them.
I know it doesn’t sound very professional, but from previous bad debt/weird client experience, about 20 years before, I knew the stress and strain of hanging on to the pain wasn’t worth it. So after a couple of months, I sent a very polite email, which of course was ignored, saying they could keep the other 50%, I’d got bigger fish to fry. Ah, the release.
Do you have any websites, books or resources that you would recommend?
The Bhagavad Gita, A Walkthrough for Westerners – by Jack Hawley
Bert Fegg’s Nasty Book for Boys and Girls – by Michael Palin and Terry Jones
