There’s no place like home for Sam Willoughby.
The owner of Kirkheaton-based 1017 Marketing is more than happy to be a Huddersfield girl running her own business in her home town.
Sam was brought up in Taylor Hill and attended Newsome High School before taking A-Levels at Greenhead College.
“One of my A-Levels was business studies and I enjoyed the marketing aspects of the course,” she says.
Sam had got a taste of selling “at the sharp end” with a student job over several summers working on the perfume and cosmetics counter at Peter’s fashion store in King Street, Huddersfield.
She says: “I was keen to do a marketing degree, but – believe it or not – the only universities offering the course I wanted were Huddersfield and Bournemouth. There was no contest, really!”
During her studies at Huddersfield University – where she gained a BA (Hons) in marketing – she went on placement with a small marketing agency in Cleckheaton and on graduating in 1996 was invited to take up a full-time position with the firm.
She went on to work for a number of marketing agencies in Huddersfield and Sheffield, dealing with a diverse range of clients and helping to “sell” an array of products ranging – she says – “from bras to buses”.
Sam progressed from account executive to account director at the Sheffield firm before seeking a change of direction.
“I worked with some great people and some great clients,” she says. “But I think I always knew that eventually I would want to do something different.
“Agency life is brilliant when you are young and don’t have commitments. In 2012, I had my little boy and I didn’t want to continue commuting to Sheffield.”
Sam’s father, John Quarmby, had his own hydraulics company, DCA Group, based at a former chapel in Taylor Hill.
“My father had talked before about me coming to work at the company,” says Sam. “It had never seemed to be the right time, but now it was a great opportunity. It also gave me flexibility and meant I would be working locally.”
Sam worked at the company for 18 months – getting to grips with highly technical products and helping market them to customers far and wide.
She says: “It gave me a great insight into hydraulics! I was responsible for all the marketing. It made me think that I could be doing this for other businesses. By this stage, my father was retiring and the direction of the company was changing.
“I thought I could do a similar thing for smaller local companies that couldn’t justify having a marketing person in-house but needed help with marketing their businesses or particular projects.”
She says: “There are a lot of managing directors who want to improve the profile of their businesses. They have a great product, but their marketing activity comes at the bottom of the ‘to do’ list.”
Sam set up 1017 Marketing in March last year – taking the name of her business from the 10th and 17th letters of the alphabet, her father John Quarmby’s initials.
The company provides services such as project management, web design, copywriting, email campaigns, brochures and leaflets and sales support with Sam drawing on her own expertise as well as the support of specialists in specific fields. “I work with a network of other freelancers, which also provides a cost-effective solution for the client,” she says.
And she’s no regrets about making the move. “Things are going really well,” says Sam. “When I started 1017 Marketing, I did a lot of networking. I was amazed how many networking groups there are in Huddersfield alone. Now I am getting business through word-of-mouth recommendation.
“I work mainly with local companies. I can’t believe how many businesses there are on my doorstep.
“I set out to help smaller businesses, whether that’s sole traders or firms employing 20 people, but I find I can also offer services to larger companies that have established marketing teams but need someone to support them on special projects.”
And Sam hasn’t completely abandoned the world of hydraulics. “Just before setting up 1017 I met the chief executive of the British Fluid Power Association, which represents hydraulics and pneumatics companies.
“Now I am a strategic alliance partner and through that I’m working for a hydraulics firm in Norfolk.”
Says Sam: “My first client was a physiotherapist and now I’m working for clients ranging from architects, butchers and children’s nurseries.
“There are some amazing businesses, but it is frustrating that they have all these great ideas but they don’t have the time to action anything because they have to look after all sorts of other issues. I will never know their business as well as they do, but what I can do is provide a fresh pair of eyes.”
Sam has sound advice for business owners who want to revitalise their brand and get their message out to a wider public.
“To a lot of businesses, I say: ‘Step back a little bit and do things in bite-sized chunks.”
Sam says she likes the diversity of her work and the flexibility afforded by running her own business, but admits self-employment can be a lonely place.
“I have a really supportive family, but I also have to be able to motivate myself,” she says. “Luckily, I’m quite good at that!”
When not running her business, Sam likes “doing all the nice things that everyone likes to do, such as holidays”.
She says: “I know it’s a cliche, but I genuinely love spending time with family and friends.”
Yes, home is definitely where the heart is for Sam.
