When you think of the word Niche you connote it with something special, a one-off perhaps – and that’s exactly what Founding Director, Jenny Cross, wanted to create seven years ago when she launched Cross Productions.
Cross Productions is an award-winning Marketing Consultancybased in Leicestershire, who enable businesses to grow through strategic marketing, planning and implementation. The company was established in 2013 and is now celebrating their seven-year anniversary.
Initially, Cross Productions was set up as an independent publishing house, giving honest advice to clients surrounding their marketing activity before they invested into a magazine. After 12 months of giving this advice away for free, they saw the effect on their bottom line and decided to start charging. This development saw Cross Productions change from an independent publishing house to marketing consultancy.
If launching a Marketing Consultancy wasn’t enough for Jenny, she also saw a gap in the market for a magazine. Originally, there were 4 different titles ranging from Holiday to Bridal magazines, but as her passion grew for local Leicester businesses, she shelfed all other titles Niche Magazine was born. Fast forward a couple of years later and the team had expanded from five to ten employees, which meant that even more possibilities were on the horizon. Jenny is very much the opportunist and was swept up into the local business community and became fascinated with success. She has since wasted no time in setting up the Niche Business Awards, Inspirational Women in Business and The Real Entrepreneurs Club – which is a private event held twice a year.
The growth doesn’t stop there. In 2019, Jenny qualified as a professional business coach after completing a post-graduate diploma at Leicester Castle Business School and has implemented a coaching culture within the business, it’s here she also mentors on the Small Business Charter. Wanting to share her knowledge and expertise, she has spent time giving back to the local community, from applying to become an area lead for the FSB, where she was successfully voted in by the members. In addition, Jenny strengthened her role with De Montfort University by becoming a mentor for the Crucible Program in which she helps post-graduates wanting to set up their own businesses, and also stands as a Strategic Adviser to their academic marketing department.
When asked what the biggest achievements and challenges of the past seven years are, Jenny has said:
“Achievements don’t come without challenges, one challenge is finding the right people to work with the company, but as we’ve grown, we have come to understand our core values as a business which makes it easier to recruit smarter. We’ve got an amazing team, without the support of them, we wouldn’t be where we are now. Our biggest achievements have predominantly come through the magazine, it’s a great feeling bringing the business community together. The city of Leicester is very much about culture and community, so I’m proud that my business only adds to this.”
It seems that the substantial investment in these companies has paid off due to seeing a predicted turnover of £650,000 this year with the aim to become a business that turns over more than £1million in the next 3-5 years – having now worked with global clients and another with over a £100,000 spend, there’s no doubt this is possible. This strategic growth plan also includes them becoming industry leaders for LinkedIn Management.
Jenny has said:
“I am a huge believer in success drives success. Together we can achieve more, and collaboration plays a huge part in our own successes – it’s proven through the fact that we have been able to invest £2Million back into the local economy through marketing spend. I am very proud of what we have achieved in the last seven years.”
Finding time to run a business, support other businesses and spend time with her three-children might be enough for some, Yet she still finds to be a Board Member and Trustee for Focus Charity and the Dorothy Goodman Academy Trust, alongside sitting as an area lead for the Federation of Small Businesses East Midlands, supporting local organisations as well as having recently been invited to sit on the Growth Hub board.
All be it that this isn’t how the team at Cross Productions thought they would be celebrating their seven-year anniversary, it has enabled them some time to reflect, breathe and implement new processes. It seems that COVID-19 has a positive effect for the business, as they have used the time as an opportunity to grow other services such as LinkedIn Management – very much ensuring that they not only survive but thrive too.
To read more on Cross Productions and the services they supply, visit: https://www.crossproductions.co.uk