It all started with a wall planner
When I first started working with Sam Seymour from Foreshore HR, neither of us knew where it would lead.
Sam has been part of our Entrepreneurs Circle Portsmouth group for several years, so we'd got to know each other through monthly meetings, conversations and watching each other's businesses develop. Like many business relationships, it wasn't built overnight; it grew naturally over time.
Towards the end of last year, Sam asked if I could help produce a branded 2026 wall planner that she wanted to send out to clients and contacts. It was a lovely little project and one that suited her business perfectly. We also created a set of branded pens to accompany it and, once everything had been delivered, I thought that might be the end of it until the next time she needed something.
The moment I realised the relationship had changed
Earlier this year Sam got back in touch because Foreshore HR was celebrating its seventh anniversary. This time the brief was much broader. We produced new business cards, created personalised mugs for guests and branded paper bags to help celebrate the occasion. However, before the event date arrived Sam sent me another email:
"It's time for me to ask the expert – you!"
Sam had booked her first ever exhibition slot and needed help pulling everything together. We created the advert, roller banner and table runner, along with a few other exhibition essentials. The timing worked perfectly. Because Sam had started planning her exhibition nice and early, we were able to use the roller banner and table runner at her anniversary celebration first, before they're used again at the exhibition later this year. Rather than each item feeling like a separate job, they all became part of one consistent story, with every piece reinforcing the Foreshore HR brand.
We have some lovely testimonials on our website, and I'm incredibly grateful for every one of them, but sometimes the comments that mean the most are the ones people never intended anyone else to read. They're simply written in the middle of a project because that's how comfortable the relationship has become.
A few days later, after I'd sent over the visuals for the table runner, another email landed.
"Hi Steve... that looks bloody lovely!! I'll make sure they put a white tablecloth underneath it, as they are providing one."
Then, when the mug designs were ready...
"Those mugs look really great, I love the design, thank you. Yes, happy to send to print."
They're only short emails, but they tell a much bigger story.
Looking back, it's funny to think that all of this started with a wall planner. That's often how our client relationships develop.
Why trust matters more than the first project
In reality, very few people come to us asking us to transform every aspect of their marketing. More often they ask for help with one project. If we make the whole experience straightforward, deliver what we promised and understand what they're trying to achieve, the next phone call becomes a little easier. Before long we're no longer just designing the odd brochure or banner; we're helping them make decisions about how their business presents itself.
That's the bit I enjoy most.
Yes, I love creating good design, but I also enjoy becoming the person a client rings when they're not quite sure what they need yet. Sometimes they already have the answer and just want reassurance. Sometimes they want another opinion. Sometimes they simply know they'll save themselves time by asking someone who already understands their business.
You can't build that relationship with one great design. You build it by turning up, delivering consistently and earning trust, one project at a time.
