Jeremy Salmon has run the successful design agency, WeDesign Media, for 15 years.
He started his career as a professional freelance illustrator working for various
publications and organisations. With WeDesign Media he has helped hundreds of established and start-up businesses and organisations to achieve their business goals using online and offline promotional marketing material.
Jeremy’s passion for illustration and writing children’s books has led him to create My Baobab Learning. With this project, his goal is to make a difference by positively influencing children of African descent to grow to think and do great things.
Tell us about your brand.
I’m the founder of WeDesign Media, a digital, print-based and design agency that
creates promotional material for businesses as well as websites, publications – like
magazines and books, and illustrations as well.
What inspired you to start your own digital agency?
It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly inspired me, but from a young age, I knew I wanted to
run a business and work in the art and design industry. I spent a lot of time as a
youngster drawing and doing anything art-related. It was destined that I would either
work for a big company or start my own business. Since I come from a family of
business owners, it was going to happen that I would have a business at some point!
What are your currently working on?
Right now, my personal project was birthed from my love of children’s books. I’d
illustrated books for clients, but I’d never done my own book project. So I created My
Baobab Learning where I create publications for children to teach them things they
wouldn’t normally learn in school, like money management, economics – things I wished
I was taught as a young person. I’ve actually published my first book Round and Round
which teaches children about economics.
The best part about what you do is…
Doing what I love and getting paid to do what I love! I’m very grateful for that.
What impact has your venture had so far?
Well with My Baobab Learning, so far, the impact has been overwhelming. I launched
Round and Round last November (2018) and the feedback from around the country and
even the US and Europe has been phenomenal. My favourite part of the whole project
was speaking to people at events because they’d tell me what they thought of the book.
I want to reach out to more children especially those in deprived areas. You know the
baobab tree is a mighty tree that spans out wide but had its humble beginnings in a
small seed. So, I want to plant seeds or ideas into young children’s minds so that they
can go out there and do things they want to do.
What’s one key challenge you’ve faced so far and how did you tackle it?
During the 15 years I’ve been in business, the greatest challenge for me was building a team. It’s not easy to find the right folk because over the years you build a reputation and create a standard and to put that into someone’s hands and trust them to give the same quality of service can be nerve-wracking. It’s not always easy finding the right people.
But what I did was just be patient, worked with as many people as possible and eventually the right people come along. I’m fortunate to be working with a great team of people right now.
A typical day is…
I’ll tell you my ideal typical day! It happens sometimes but not all the time but I’m
working on making it all the time!
I get up about 7am, do my affirmations, meditation and exercise. I shower then start
work in my home office. From 9-12 I do my passion projects those things we love but
don’t get time to do. From lunchtime to 6-7pm I work on the projects for WeDesign.
When I go back into the house, I clock in to look after the children whilst my wife clocks
out as she spends the day homeschooling them. So, I get the kids fed then ready for
bed and once they’re in bed I wind down, reflect on the day, do a few things before I go
to bed.
Weekends I don’t do anything – it’s family time.
On a day off, what do you do?
That’s a funny question because I don’t think I’ve ever had a day off. Having 6 children
and homeschooling them, and running your own business all leaves very little time for
days off. When I do have a day off though I like to chill, read and paint.
Three people you’d like to have a chat with are:
I’m really impressed with Jay-Z and what he and his wife Beyoncé have created. I’d love
to find out his perspective on business and thinking big, and especially because of
where he’s come from.
I’d also love to talk to Akon about the different opportunities there are on the continent.
I’ve heard him speak about how much there is to achieve in Africa.
I think I’d love to chat to Oprah about her achievements, her work ethic and how she
thinks. A one-to-one with her would be fantastic.
An interview with Fresh Connections UK.
https://www.freshconnections.co.uk
Supported by Molah.Media
