I started writing creatively in high school, scribing countless letters from my Mom absolving my appalling attendance record.
I somehow achieved this despite never missing a single PE or games session.
I progressed in later life to writings slightly more honest in nature producing strategy documents, feasibility studies and business plans for local enterprise companies, banks and both venture capital and private investors raising multiple rounds of funding for cash hungry business ventures.
I’ve also written rants, lots of them. Over researched, feverishly scribbled diatribes both individually and collectively berating business process and procedure or lack thereof, ignorance, stupidity, short- sightedness, risk aversion, health and safety ridiculousness... Picture if you will the late Sir John Harvey-Jones crossed with an incensed and uncensored Gordon Ramsey but with substantially fewer brain cells.
I started problem solving even earlier...
Growing up in a sanctioned Rhodesia (through 15 years of civil war) and farming in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe unwittingly nurtured transferable life/work skills grounded in the premise that NO problem, task or challenge was insurmountable—not that there was always a choice !
The process was simply called - ‘Making a Plan’
There were prerequisites to success though - dogged determination, creative? resourcefulness (read sometimes having to tread a thin line), risk tolerance, wit and a sense of humour. The smart people in my life would probably have said I could have done with a little less of all of them.
Effective when 'plan' focused they yielded somewhat different outcomes when left to their own devices, some alarming, others life-threatening—well more than some really. Enough to fill a memoir ‘more’. It’s an endeavour I‘ve been juggling for a while and is epitomised by the late, great Peter Cook line -
“I met a man at a party. He said I'm writing a novel. I said Oh really? Neither am I.”
I digress ...
Having travelled to Aberdeen in an attempt to swap farming in Africa for saturation diving in the North Sea—one that got away—I inadvertently stumbled into and fell in love with the creative sector and nine years later exploited an opportunity to launch what was to become a full service design agency.
There followed multi-sector entrepreneurial successes and industry firsts, inevitable? break-downs, unexpected break-ups, and periods where I have been totally lost, both career and self.
ALL of the above are, I believe, responsible for transferable skills conducive to writing copy that is researched, humanised, benefits-led, differentiating and persuasive!
Outside of work I enjoy pushing a bicycle up a variety of Scottish hills before trying to get back down in as short a time as possible (love speed, hate pedalling) without hurting myself too much, with varying degrees of success. Probably sounds a bit Marmite. I love that too...
I am a -
■ Voracious reader and lifelong learner
■ Meticulous researcher
■ Creative and critical thinker
■ Tenacious and empathetic problem solver and
■ I love writing !
Writing projects have been wide ranging, from -
■ Research and feasibility studies for start-ups, product development and internationalisation to
■ Business plans raising capital from banks, local government, venture capital & private investors to
■ Internal strategy documents driving employee engagement/performance and product/service differentiation to
■ Internal/external communications and marketing collateral
Sector experiences include -
■ Creative (full service agency)
■ Software (new to world product and associated services)
■ Oil&Gas exploration & production and service industry
■ Law enforcement (serious crime) and Crown Prosecution Service
■ Facilities Management (multi industry/sector)
■ Learning & development and business performance
■ Employee engagement
■ Knowledge management and training
■ Healthy snack food
■ Building exterior and structure cleaning
■ Apparel (all things 2 wheeled focused)
I trust this, my CV and portfolio connect with your copy requirements and if so, would love to explore any opportunity to work with you...
Cheers, Gavin