Est. in 2019
Brass Bee Marketing was started unintentionally, and unconventionally, just a year before the pandemic hit. It wasn't the best start - but we've come a long way and we're proud of our beginnings.
From coffee and commutes in Essex to freelancing by the seaside in Sussex, founder Catherine Hills shares our story:
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Catherine Hills (BA, CIM)
- Brass Bee Owner & Founder.
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Virgo, Stepmum, Exasperated Dog Owner. Loves period dramas, weekend breaks & colourful interiors,
"I'd love to give the impression that I was some sort of entrepreneurial powerhouse and set up Brass Bee Marketing from a desire to make a big impact on the world and make a huge success of my life. But that would be a big lie. I had no intention of running my own business at the age of 29, and it happened because I was too ignorant to realise what I was agreeing to. You could even argue that it wasn't my idea at all.
At the time, I was employed as an Executive Content Creator for a high-end design and build company in Essex. ​​But my hometown is the seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex, and while I loved my job, I was commuting up to my little bedsit and back, twice a week. I missed my friends and family back home and was always burning out. I drank A LOT of coffee and lived out of my Cath Kidston travel bag. I got to a point where I knew I couldn't keep going, but I wanted to carry on doing the job I loved. I decided my best bet was to ask my employer for a compromise and see if I could work from home."
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"I approached my boss feeling nervous. I respectfully told him that he would either have to agree to let me work from home, or I'd have to hand in my notice. It was probably the boldest thing I'd ever done in my career at that point. After a week of anxious waiting, he called me into a meeting and told me that, regrettably, letting me work from home wasn't going to happen. 'Once I let one person work from home, then I have to let everyone work from home,' he said. (The irony that this was a year before the pandemic is not lost on me!) I was devastated and knew I'd have to give up the job I loved so much.
But then, I heard him say something that would change everything: 'If you wanted to go freelance and work from home that way, we'd be very interested.'​
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"Now, I'll be honest - I had absolutely no idea what 'going freelance' really meant. But I agreed on the spot, thinking it was too good an opportunity to turn down. I just assumed I'd figure it all out later. I moved back home and because my old employer was my only client, I simply carried on with my job on a remote basis. Soon, another past employer heard I had gone freelance and asked me if I could come back and work with them once a week. For the first year of my freelance life, I worked exclusively with two clients and congratulated myself on finding such a great set-up. The money was great, I had a regular, reliable income, I could work whenever I wanted, and I knew the people I was working with. I loved being a freelancer!
But after that golden first year, COVID threw the world upside down, and oh goodness, did my happy bubble burst quickly. Both clients panicked and ended their working relationship with me within days of each other as they put the rest of their staff on furlough. I wasn't entitled to any self-employed support from the government because I hadn't been freelancing for long enough. With the world falling apart around me, I realised I had to start promoting myself and find other clients, quickly. And that's when I started having to think like a business owner. 'Baptism by fire' is quite a good way to describe it!"
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"I quickly discovered that promoting yourself is completely different to promoting a company you work for, which was all I was used to. There are so many more emotions involved when it comes to putting yourself out there, and I started to understand how difficult and nerve-wracking it was for smaller business owners to blow their own trumpets. Imposter syndrome became a familiar and regular mental challenge to overcome, and I felt envious of other people who seemed to promote themselves so damn well. I had to learn how to dedicate time to market my business while also juggling everything else, from tax returns and networking to sending out proposals. My determination started to spread a little thin, and I thought about throwing in the towel plenty of times.
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One thing that helped me shift my mindset was realising that if I struggled with my years of experience, other business owners likely felt the same. I stopped viewing my brand as a direct reflection of myself and began to see it as an entity in its own right. I let go of worrying about my follower count on social media and focused instead on creating fun, creative campaigns that would genuinely help other business owners. I noticed that I changed, too - I became more direct, strategic, and objective, and as a result, more and more businesses started reaching out to me for help."
"As the world began to recover from the pandemic, I noticed that many businesses in my local community were still struggling to use social media to promote themselves. To help, I dedicated a few hours each week to run free, supportive social media workshops in Hastings Old Town. I listened to their concerns and learned about their biggest challenges. When they started returning week after week to share their successes, it reminded me that I actually knew what I was talking about. I believe those workshops benefited me just as much as they helped them.
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As we've continued to grow, Brass Bee Marketing has built a reputation for honest advice, encouraging pep talks, and friendly support. As of April 2024, Brass Bee HQ is based in offices at Freedom Works, in the heart of Hastings Town Centre. We've offered training to over 100 businesses owners, in the form of our 1-2-1 Coaching sessions, workshops and training sessions."