We recently connected with Lydia Hoye and have shared our conversation below.
Lydia, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?
I feel like I’ve starting my entrepreneurial journey later in life, particularly when you see 20 somethings launching businesses but I don’t believe I had the self-discipline to launch a business from scratch when I was younger.
I’ve grown into the self-discipline required to create, launch and grow a business from the ground up, because the greatest lesson I’ve learnt in the last 2 years is that self-discipline isn’t just the self-discipline you put into the business but also what you choose to put into yourself. Self-discipline for me is what I do daily to nourish myself alongside the mental self-discipline to move forwards with optimism even when life as a founder doesn’t always go to plan.
With Bound to Prosper, I set out to create a different type of creative comms agency, from the team structure, to our partnership with clients and the type of work we do. My self-discipline has developed from believing in a different way of doing things and staying true to my vision to be different.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I launched Bound to Prosper, a creative comms agency, 2 years ago. My mission was to create an agency that felt and worked differently to agencies I’d known in my 20-year career. Much like what the agency is built on, I was keen for us to work with brands that are reshaping industries that need a shake-up – an evolution of thought, values and action if you like. I previously ran an agency for 12 years which was highly awarded and had a roster of global and household names, but I couldn’t help feeling like agency models were stuck in a trap of sameness – from the team structures to the pitches they rolled out, to the jargon used. It was time for change.
At Bound to Prosper, our team is different and like with all businesses the foundations for this are embedded in our culture. We are an aspiring ‘Teal business’, which means we are high performing and human centric in everything we do. Our team is built on a mindset that, as people, we are evolving rather than the team being built on a blueprint hierarchy.
We also believe in the evolution of a connected economy rather than the obsession with the attention economy – our creative comms is designed to build a story between brands (whether established, starting out, domestic or international) that recognise that certain industries are broken and need an upgrade – those businesses are the ones that we work with.
Last year we were nominated for PRCA’s new consultancy of the year which was a huge privilege. A campaign I’m particularly proud of was the launch of a ground-breaking future gazing report for a women’s wellness client, and one of my very favourite weeks of the year was when our clients featured across Vogue, Forbes and BBC Global.
Coming up, we have developed an approach we are sharing with clients on the power of brand attachment. We’ve looked at how people attach to brands and how brands can create a greater connection from their campaigns by understanding brand attachment types. It’s a fascinating area and is showing tangible ROI with clients who are putting it at the centre of their comms planning.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities most impactful on my journey have been:
Self-discipline – particularly mental self-discipline because as a founder, you need this in spades to ride the ups and downs. For me mental self-discipline has also kept me on track to bring to life my vision without being side tracked by things other people are doing. It also manifests as one of the agency’s core values of ‘showing up’ – for one another as colleagues and as a team who show up in heart and mind for clients.
Curiosity – keeping up with changes and growth opportunities in the industries we work with as well as the PR industry. Staying ahead in understanding AI, social media changes as well as industry tools we use to improve out efficiencies are all paramount. Being curious about where life is going helps us become better storytellers for our clients and the work we do.
Creativity – understanding my ability for creative thought has been a game changer for me. I grew up thinking I wasn’t creative as I didn’t ‘make’ anything to touch, see or hear but recently I recognised that my creative thought can create amazing things. My creative thought can see the end goal, but I need others to help me achieve it.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me is to give me the ability to experience duality.
My dad came to the UK from India when he was 5, he was a Buddhist, and I grew up looking at books of mantras and yoga.
My mum was from a town in the middle of England and was from a strict Catholic family.
My schooling was mixed between private and state schools, so I was friends with diverse people, from different walks of life and being from a family of 6 children, I thrived on the craziness but also regularly sought a place to be alone.
I think the ability to experience two sides of life has impacted the way I look at opportunities, the impact of people’s actions and how I connect with people from a place of genuinely being excited by their uniqueness.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.boundtoprosper.com
- Instagram: @boundtoprosper
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lydiahoye
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boundtoprosper.com
