How John built a business on social good

John is not chasing business buzzwords. After more than two decades in self-employment, he knows what works, what does not and what is worth backing. What has kept him going is not noise or ego, but the chance to build something useful, profitable and worthwhile.

What makes his story stand out is not simply that he runs a business, but how he has shaped it over time. Growth was never about getting bigger for the sake of it. It was about getting clearer, sharper and better at what mattered.

Focus beats fuss

As the Founder of Eski Media, John is refreshingly blunt about one of the biggest lessons in business: "niche properly, or make life harder than it needs to be." For a time, he ran a company that tried to be too many things to too many people. Once it narrowed its focus to the areas where it was strongest – media and campaigns for health and social impact - everything started to click.

As John puts it, it “made business easier”. The shift did not shrink the business. It sharpened it. It became easier to run and, crucially, more profitable. That, for John, is the point: success is not about chasing every opportunity. It is about knowing what you do well and having the discipline to stick with it.

He is also honest about the early years being relentless. Experience, though, brought better judgement. He learned to work more sensibly, focus on the things that make the biggest difference and stop mistaking activity for progress.

Working with people who care

John is clear about the kind of people and organisations he wants to work with. Not every client is the right fit. He is drawn to people inside public sector organisations, NHS teams and social impact projects who want to test ideas, try things out and make a difference.

That tells you a lot about how he sees business. He is not interested in empty transactions or polite surface-level relationships. He wants to work with people who care about outcomes. In that sense, the business is as much about trust and shared ambition as it is about delivery.

He is especially drawn to entrepreneurial thinkers inside bigger organisations - the people willing to say, “let’s try this, and if it works, let’s back it.” For John, entrepreneurial thinking is not confined to business. Sometimes it lives inside the most traditional settings, where people are brave enough to do things differently.

FEO as a sounding board

FEO clearly plays an important role in John’s business life. He has been a member since it was formally established and has taken part in Step Change, startup support, FEO360 through which he delivers sessions focused on understanding your customers.

What he values most is the honesty. “FEO is a place where people do not have to pretend everything is brilliant. They can say when business is hard, when they are stuck and when they need perspective.” For John, that kind of openness is rare - and valuable.

He also sees the worth in practical conversations that go somewhere. It is not networking for networking’s sake. It is about talking things through with people who understand the reality of running a business and can offer challenge as well as encouragement.

Built from experience

John does not talk like someone who has had a neat, linear journey. He talks like someone who has learned by doing, including through business partnerships that taught him plenty about compatibility, timing and shared ambition.

He is candid about the fact that not every partnership works. But he is equally clear that even difficult experiences can sharpen your judgement if you use them well. He is not selling a polished version of entrepreneurship. He is showing what it looks like to learn on the job and is using his experiences to mentor Eski’s emerging leadership team. The company has hit several milestones in the past 12 months financially, has delivered campaigns throughout the UK and had a recent film series broadcast on Sky Sports here and Fox Sports in Australia.

His experience has given him discipline. He knows not every idea deserves equal attention, and not every opportunity is worth chasing. That focus has made the business stronger today than it was in its earlier, broader form.

Family shaped the mindset

There is a strong family story behind him too. John grew up in a traditional household where hard work was the norm, not the exception. His parents took on multiple manual jobs, later reinvented themselves as academics and eventually started their own business in their 50s, moving to the Costa del Sol.

That background clearly left a mark. It helps explain why he sees business as something practical rather than glamorous. It also explains his respect for resilience and reinvention.

They showed him that business was not reserved for people with a certain type of background or qualification. It was something ordinary people could step into if they had the courage to do it.

More than profit

What keeps John engaged is the sense that business can be profitable and have real-world impact.

He talks with energy about projects that make a difference in communities, support public health or help shift behaviour in a positive direction.

He has found a way to combine commercial sense with purpose. He is not chasing “entrepreneur” as a brand. He is focused on doing good work with good people and making it pay. His success has come from something quieter, but far more powerful: focus, honesty, curiosity and the willingness to keep adapting.

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