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15.02.2022
You may roll your eyes at this, but I used to be a rockstar. You wouldn’t have heard of me. I never made any money or impacted the charts. No yachts, no celebrity lifestyle, no ‘getting papped’ as I walked out of clubs. But, I had a dream that I followed straight out of school, and I did something with that little bit of stardust.
I went for it, and… I did OK. I had fun, toured Europe, made lifelong friends, learned a hell of a lot and got burned more times than I would care to admit.
Throughout all the adventures I had during my dalliance with power chords and broken strings, the main thing that got me through was confidence. Compared to my peers, I never really thought I had an equal talent, but I did have belief in myself. Put me on a stage in front of 10, 100, or 1000 they all got the performance I was born to give. No matter the crowd size, no matter the venue.
When my shooting star slowly started to fizzle, I then moved on to my professional career, and from there, if i’m honest, it was a struggle. My younger misadventures meant I skipped university so it felt like I had to work harder and smarter to move up in any company (if they even let me through the door). Luckily, I knew my worth and had a fighting spirit (which certainly helped) and, eventually, I became successful in my own right, however, the confidence within was different, not as prominent, a dull glimmer rather than a powerful beacon.
And from there it stayed throughout, over different roles and several companies. As I moved up in the professional world, the self-doubt never left, it buried itself away, ready to expose itself when ready, which it eventually did with the announcement of redundancy.
However, dear reader, the story does not end there. Oh no, no, no! This turn of events eventually led to the start of The Crane Event with my wife and business partner, Jemma. It was a business that was ours, that we answered to and no one else, that saw value in knowledge and experience, and one that brought my shine back. Sure there was trepidation but there was also passion, and, by crikey, confidence and with that, I forged on, but this time as a team. Working together, I realised I could have a moment on stage again, to be the rockstar I always wanted to be.
And then 2020 happened…
Admittedly, not the best time to be trying to run an events business, but there I was, pivoting, working out what ‘new normal’ meant, and ultimately hoping I’d never hear that phrase again. I learned new skills (Virtual events), added dimensions to our business that I hadn’t considered before (Podcasting), and most of all, I did something I didn’t necessarily do since the business started. I stopped and took a breath.
With a forced break upon me, I took stock of what we had, thought about what the business needed to be able to pull through, and then I paused, and I took my time with it all. We were lucky in the sense that our event-marketing services shifted online (even virtual events need an audience) but with the newfound free time from not putting on live events, I went for long dog walks, I picked up my guitar, I completed Netflix, and I slept.
While I couldn’t put on live events for clients, I put virtual ones for my friends. What started as a Friday night pub quiz to help the few weeks we would be in lockdown while away soon turned into over 30 weeks of entertaining my nearest and dearest. We’d get through this together, as a team who could log on and log off, whenever they felt like, a support network ready and waiting (with a few fun questions thrown in).
I spoke to others within our industry and formulated a plan to keep ourselves relevant by creating the #shinebright team, illuminating Cambridge’s finest architecture to raise smiles across the city.
Nine weeks and 25 different venues later, I had reactivated my event brain cells and was ready for whatever the world threw at us next.
While 2020 attempted to turn our lights out, I departed never feeling stronger. Every day really was a learning day but we, as a business, have survived, and most importantly it was on our terms, staying true to our core beliefs.
However, I hadn’t anticipated 2021…
Not necessarily a repeat of 2020, but like a cassette recording of a cassette recording (remember those?), the quality was diminishing. Not within the business, but within me personally. I hadn’t expected it (whoever does), I soon started to feel… a little empty. At first, I brushed it aside but as it grew, I knew that it couldn’t be ignored, but luckily, I figured out what the cause was and knew that there was a solution. To have more fun.
Despite confidently knowing that 2020 was time for me to relax, and readdress, the lockdown meant that the things I enjoyed, such as socialising in a pub, visiting new places, going away for long weekends just couldn’t happen and it was something I realised was more a part of me than I may have first thought. If 2020 was all about surviving, 2021 was about learning to live again. The quizzes certainly helped but for me, nothing beats conversation in a noisy bar, or the thrill of live music.
Something else I hadn’t really anticipated was how starting a business would affect my mental health. Whether you’re freelancing or running your own empire, you’re surrounded by other business types, that whenever you meet, talk about running a business. And it’s exhausting. If you ask a group of business people what they’re reading or what they’re listening to, nine times out of ten it would be business-related. At first, it’s easy to conform, to fit in, to always think that you need to do better. But that’s not how I operate. The last time I was at a business networking meeting the conversation went something like this…
Them: So, what are you reading at the moment?
Me: Oh, a biography about the history of the Jaws theme park ride at Universal Studios
Them (looking confused): uhhh, and what are you listening to?
Me: loving the new Taylor Swift right now
Them: … *gives up and walks away*
I wasn’t trying to be flippant, I was being me. And that’s all I ever ask of myself, and those around me.
There seems to be a culture within the business community that you should always be improving yourself. We’re told to read every business book, listen to every podcast and take advice from self-professed thought leaders, but like everything else in the world, surely improvement should be done in moderation?
I work hard, I’m always interested in learning new things, but I’m also a huge fan of downtime and, for me, that’s my indicator of personal success. This is where I want to be. I do want to succeed in business but also enjoy my weekends with my wife, dogs, children and friends. So that’s what I’m doing. Sure, I may work the odd weekend (I do work in events after all) but I make sure I take time during the week, everything has a balance, and I’m happy to say, I think I’ve found what works for me.
I’m having my cake and eating it, and I won't have it any other way.
And with that, we’re already 2 months into 2022, and what that holds for us, who knows? We’re certainly looking to be taking the next steps as a business to grow larger and we’ll get there, in our own time, experiencing the journey on our own path.
When you’re on stage, a lot can happen. A string may break, a beat missed, jeez, you may even misstep and fall off (it’s happened, OK! Don’t ask!) but you get back up and you continue. The best part? You’re surrounded by a community of people, whether it’s band members, your fans, or if you want to talk business, your colleagues and network. And with that, if you’re doing it right, comes a life-affirming camaraderie that can power you through, get you to the end of the song, the gig, the project.
There’s the old cliche I’m sure you would have heard of that’s in desperate need of being but reinvigorated with a determined vigor of a rockstar headlining Wembley stadium.
The show must go on? Nah… The show WILL go on!
Justin Crane
https://www.thecraneevent.co.uk/
