What it's like running a design and marketing business in Colchester vs Bury St Edmunds
Updated: Sep 20
So my small business is based in Manningtree, where Colchester is my closest big town, and I also spend time in the Bury St Edmunds area visiting my partner.
I attract a lot of Colchester clients because of that proximity, and I've got to know both places really well as a result. They're both brilliant. They're also genuinely different, and I think that's worth writing about.
Colchester has always felt busy to me because there is usually something happening, whether that is a networking event, a new independent business opening or somebody working on a new idea. That creates a good environment for meeting people who are actively thinking about growth and trying different things with their businesses.
The creative side of the city contributes to that too, particularly with places such as Firstsite and The Minories giving people somewhere to encounter art and ideas outside the usual business setting. Having that around changes the conversations you end up having, especially when your own work sits somewhere between design, marketing and business strategy.
The networking scene has also been a big part of my experience of Colchester. I have met business owners through local groups, worked alongside agencies in the area and spent enough time around the business community to see how much local relationships can contribute to referrals, collaborations and opportunities that would probably never have started through a cold email.
Coworking spaces such as Patch add another option for people who work independently but still want somewhere professional to meet clients or get out of the house for a day. That matters more than it sounds when you run a small business, because sometimes being around other people who are also trying to get work done makes you feel like less of a hermit.
Why has Colchester been so important to my own business?
A lot of my earlier professional experience happened in and around Colchester, including agency work and projects with businesses across Essex. That gave me much more direct exposure to the practical problems small businesses actually have, rather than only learning design as something that exists inside a portfolio.
I started noticing how often the problem somebody described as “needing a website” was actually much wider. The business might be struggling to explain what it sold, the branding might no longer reflect the quality of the work or the website might be presenting plenty of information without giving somebody a clear reason to enquire.
That experience still affects how I approach projects through my Creative Services now, because I would rather work out what the business actually needs than automatically recommend the biggest possible project. Some businesses need a focused refresh, while others genuinely need deeper strategic work before changing the visuals.
Being shortlisted for the East of England StartUp Awards in Colchester also felt particularly nice because so much of my own business history is tied to the city. It gave the recognition a local connection as well as a business one, which made the whole thing feel a little more personal than turning up somewhere I had no relationship with.
What feels different about Bury St Edmunds?
Bury St Edmunds has plenty happening too, but I tend to notice the independent businesses there in a different way. There are shops, food businesses and specialist services that feel very considered, particularly in how they use their physical space and visual presentation to communicate what kind of customer they are trying to attract.
That interests me because a physical shop is doing many of the same jobs as a website. Somebody sees the frontage, looks through the window and decides whether the business feels relevant to them before they have spoken to anybody, so choices around signage, colour, packaging and presentation start shaping expectations immediately.
There is also a stronger sense of established local life in parts of Bury, which changes the atmosphere around the businesses there. Long running events, local organisations and independent traders all sit quite visibly alongside one another, so the town can feel rooted without feeling cut off from newer businesses or ideas.
I tend to notice that kind of thing because so much of my brand strategy and marketing work involves thinking about how people form impressions before they buy. Watching how businesses present themselves in real places is useful because you can see those decisions working without an Instagram algorithm getting involved.
Does one place suit a creative business better?
I have felt welcome around both, and I would struggle to make a sensible argument that one is objectively better for running a creative business. The useful difference is what each place gives me when I spend time there and what sort of working day I tend to have.
Colchester suits days when I want more activity around me, particularly if I am meeting people or attending something connected to business. Bury St Edmunds works well when I want a little more space to think, wander around independent businesses and notice how people are presenting what they sell.
Both are useful for slightly different reasons, and having access to more than one local business community has probably been healthier for my own thinking than staying inside one very small bubble. You see different types of business, different customer expectations and different approaches to presentation, which gives you more to draw from when somebody comes to you with a problem that does not fit neatly into one industry.
Does location matter as much when your business works remotely?
For me, much less than it would for a business that depends almost entirely on passing trade or local appointments. Most of my work can happen remotely, so a client in Colchester does not need a completely different process from somebody elsewhere in the UK.
Local relationships still matter because they create opportunities to meet people in person and understand the businesses operating around you. A business owner may find me through somebody they already know, meet me at an event and then continue the entire project remotely, so local visibility and remote delivery can sit together perfectly well.
That is one of the reasons I have never wanted to position Hi This Is Bry as though I only work in one town. My branding, website and wider strategic work can be delivered remotely, while being based around Essex and Suffolk still gives the business a real local network and history.
What have both places taught me about small businesses?
The biggest thing is probably how much presentation changes the way a business is understood before anybody knows whether the actual service is good. You can see it particularly clearly with independent businesses because two companies selling broadly similar things can create completely different expectations through their branding, premises, website and the way they communicate.
That does not mean every business needs to look expensive or incredibly polished. It means the presentation needs to make sense for the customer the business wants and the experience it is actually offering, because problems start when those things tell completely different stories.
I see the same issue online when a strong business has branding or a website that makes it appear much less established than it really is. That is why so much of my work now involves looking beyond whether something simply looks attractive and asking what a potential customer is likely to understand from it.
FAQs
Do you work with businesses in both Colchester and Bury St Edmunds? Yes, I work with businesses across Essex and Suffolk as well as clients elsewhere in the UK. Most projects can be handled remotely, while local clients also have the option of meeting in person when it makes sense.
Do you only work with businesses in Essex and Suffolk? No, my work is available to businesses across the UK because branding, website and strategy projects can all be delivered remotely. Being connected to Essex and Suffolk mainly reflects where a lot of my own business history and local network sits.
What kind of businesses do you work with? I mainly work with small businesses and founders who want clearer branding, better websites or more useful marketing direction. My Creative Services cover different levels of support depending on whether somebody needs a focused review, a new foundation or deeper strategic work.
Can you help with both branding and websites? Yes, I offer brand strategy and marketing services alongside web design and marketing services, so the two can be considered together when a business needs both. That can be particularly useful when the website needs to carry the new identity and messaging properly rather than treating them as unrelated projects.
Do I need to be local to work with you? No, because most of the process can happen remotely through calls, shared documents and digital delivery. Local clients may choose to meet in person, but the quality or scope of the project does not depend on being nearby.
Both places have influenced how I work
Colchester and Bury St Edmunds have given me different things as a business owner, and I think that difference is part of why I enjoy working around both. Colchester has been tied closely to my professional development and business network, while Bury has given me another independent business community to observe and spend time around.
The useful part is seeing how different businesses create trust and recognition in different environments, because those decisions are exactly what I end up thinking about when I work with clients. Whether somebody finds a business while walking down a high street or through a Google search, they are still forming impressions before they ever start a conversation.
Want to see what people notice when they find your business?
Being visible in the right places is useful, but people still need to understand and trust what they find once they reach you. My free Business Visibility Playbook helps you review how your branding, website and visible authority work together, so you can spot where potential customers may be missing useful information or getting a weaker impression of the business than the one you intended.
