Introducing Gavin from Search Seven
Gavin Willis has gone from selling adverts in magazines, to now running his very own agency Search Seven. He sees business as a way to make a difference to the world, giving back up to 7% of his profits to charities and community projects every year.
His vast experience as a digital marketer led him to found Search Seven, an agency with a passion for digital marketing services that lead to measurable success. The fully-remote team of specialists in the team have a variety of backgrounds and expert knowledge of Paid Media (Search, Display & Paid Social), SEO, Content Marketing, CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) and Social Media.
Search Seven’s ethos for giving back and digital marketing aligns with the Sussex Business Show, and they are the proud Charity Sponsor of the Sussex Business Show 2024.
We catch up with Gavin to get his take on business and recommendations.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out in your career path?
One piece of advice from me would be to build a really good, strong support network around you – get the right mentors and the right people that give you the right guidance and advice.
Who has been your most important professional mentor?
Oh, this is a tough one. I’d probably say two people, both from my old agency, Propellernet.
One would be Jim Jensen, one of the co-founders. And the other one is the current MD, James Sandford. Both of them are just brilliant and have given invaluable advice for the past 13 years really – I set up the business after leaving Propellernet, so those two have been brilliant.
If you had to write a book tomorrow, what would you write about?
I’m actually planning on writing a book in the next year or so. So for me, it’s about balancing purpose and profit. So I’d write a book about the Search Seven story – a book about how you can build a business whilst also giving back and doing good things for your community.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is probably when I’m driving, when people that are in front of you don’t indicate. It really annoys me. So if you’re in front of me, please indicate.
If you could be remembered for one thing, what would it be?
I don’t know. I think it’s what I’ve achieved with the business over the years. Um, we’ve raised quite a lot of money for lots of different charities. So I think someone who’s had a big positive influence on society and had a big social impact, that’s what I like to be remembered for.
What are three books you’d recommend to our audience and why?
- Super Engaged by Nikki Gattonby – this is written by the old MD at Propellernet, and is a great book all about how to really engage your team, how to motivate them, how to look after them.
- Rocket Fuel – a book about how to have accountability in business, about how you need a visionary and an integrator to run a really successful business.
- Maverick – a book that is 30 years old, but it’s a company in Brazil. It’s a really good story about a guy taking over his dad’s business, flipping it upside down, letting the team change everything, rather than it being from the top down.
What are three other podcasts you recommend to our audience, and why?
- Different Hats by Sam Thomas
- Sal Jeffries with the MMM podcast (‘Mind, Mood & Movement)
- Web Trends Optimise, which was a really good podcast about business leaders and their advice to different businesses.
We are grateful to have such a brilliant company as our Charity Sponsor and if you want to hear about the giving back philosophy, or anything digital search related, then you can meet Gavin from Search Seven on the 26th September at the Brighton Dome for the Sussex Business Show!
