Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in economics but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with David Marlow, CEO of Third Life Economics, located in Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Third Life Economics is a research and consultancy company established in 2008 offering support to institutions and individuals involved in local economic development and placemaking, mainly in the UK, but, on occasion operating worldwide. Typical projects included strategy and policy development, evidence review and issues identification, business case and investment appraisal, programme and project management, interim and NED roles, coaching, and mentoring. Approaching 400 invoices to reflect a client portfolio of organisations involved in LED and placemaking – local authorities, universities and colleges, private sector and social enterprises, national government and agencies, professional and trade associations, partnership bodies (like LEPs in England) and joint ventures, and some international institutions like the EU.

Tell us about yourself

I am a development economist professionally. Prior to establishing Third Life Economics, I spent over 25 years working in senior roles in the public sector in the UK and overseas – the last eight as CEO of first a large metropolitan council and then a Regional Development Agency. On passing my 50th birthday, I decided, as far as possible, to strip out bureaucratic structures and processes from my professional life and focus on stimulating work with people and organizations with whom I enjoy collaborating. The goal to add value to improving the outcomes of places – cities, towns, regions – and especially those less advantaged who live and work there remains the driving force that gets me out of bed every day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Remaining relevant in distinctive and innovative ways, building and retaining the trust of clients and colleagues, and working with them to generate and deliver solutions to their places’ challenges and opportunities, is energizing and sometimes even exhilarating. To have gone at least some way to achieving that over approaching fifteen years in at least eight countries, with over 30 local and combined authorities in England, a dozen Universities and a similar number of major businesses, half a dozen charities and social enterprises, seven UK Government departments and agencies, and over twenty place-based partnerships and JVs is a source of huge pride. But we are always only as good as our last commission and perhaps only one project away from setbacks and disappointment – so longevity and sustaining this into the future remains the litmus test of future success.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Managing the inevitable peaks and troughs well is tough. Keeping up standards when you have taken on too much work and keeping up spirits when you have too little. Try to build relationships with clients and colleagues who can be supportive in both scenarios – and try new approaches and undertake useful experiments to keep up your interest and enthusiasm during the troughs.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do something you love and which is able to shape-shift – grow and adapt – as context inevitably changes and you evolve as a person and a business
  2. Clients will come from unexpected places – assume most of those who promise you work before start-up may fail to deliver, so cultivate new networks and novel contacts and put a lot of time into building your business profile and reputation
  3. Hold your nerve – during the first three years, there will inevitably be striking and even soul-destroying setbacks. But if you do not accept they are fatal in a business sense, then they won’t be.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thirdlifeeconomics.co.uk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidJMarlow
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-marlow-986036a/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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