This festive month we jingle our bells for Benny Bruce, owner of JINGLAMA. Benny runs his marketing content business from the Alice in Wonderland room. He loves the kooky décor and creative atmosphere almost as much as the free coffee. We don’t blame you Benny. It’s great coffee.
What do you/your company do?
I am a one-man company providing marketing content for a range of businesses. I write blogs and articles, manage a few websites and social media accounts, and do some email marketing. I also consult on marketing strategy for some of my clients.
What is the best thing about your job?
Because I have local, national, and global clients from a whole range of industries it is super fast-paced and varied. People want their content to be high quality and often they want it quickly - either when they have a good idea, or something happens in their industry which deserves a great bit of content. So, they give me a call and I get to work thinking of ideas and presenting them in super-engaging ways. I love the creative challenges it brings, and I also love the rewards of being my own boss.
How do you stay motivated and productive?
I try to stay as active as possible, which I find increases my focus and energy levels. I do a lot of running – if I’ve not had a run in a few days, I feel brain fog setting in and start feeling frustrated. DeskLodge has been a game changer too, I live on my own in a one bed flat and before I came here I was just rolling out of bed, having a shower and sitting down to work for the day/into the night. Now have a great routine, get a lovely greeting from the DeskLodge team every morning and the bright kooky spaces (and free coffee) keep me feeling energized and creative. It helps me separate work and home life which has really helped my mental health.
Where is your favourite place to work at DeskLodge?
I work in the Alice in Wonderland room. I have a lot of work which requires me to have lots of windows open at once, and I do a bit of video editing so having access to a high-quality monitor is essential so I can double-screen and multitask. The décor is a bonus – it’s as mad as I feel inside and it certainly never feels dull!
What's the most valuable piece of advice you've been given in work/business?
I think the piece of advice that has changed things most for me is to manage expectations and not set yourself over-ambitious deadlines. When I started up, I found myself working late nights and weekends to provide bits of work that I’d promised would be turned around very quickly (without necessarily having the client ask for it that way). Granted, people will be impressed with a quick turn-around, but they’ll be more impressed with a stunning piece of content.
What do you do in your spare time?
I do a bit of running, play 7-a-side football, and cricket in the summer, I love watching films and going to the cinema. I’m a massive fan of professional wrestling and I follow that vivaciously and on occasion imitate the wrestling moves in my living room.
Describe DeskLodge in 3 words or fewer.
Ray of sunshine
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