Suhit Amin heads up the Scotland-based talent management agency Saulderson Media and does just about everything from running campaigns, admin, marketing, HR, handling talent, and the rest. It’s all hands-on in a small agency and everyone is contributing to everything.
“Since lockdown, my day has changed a lot. Typically I would be in university and having to get up for my day ahead there, however, in lockdown, my full focus is on the business and my vision for the company,” said 19-year-old Amin.
9-9:30am: You see everywhere that to be a successful entrepreneur it’s all about waking up at 4am, going on an hour-long run, working out and meditating all before the average person has woken up. I don’t believe in that. I’m much more of a night-owl so I work later and start my day later.I usually wake up at some point between 9 and 9:30. The first thing I do is check my notifications and see if there is anything urgent to handle first thing in the morning. My emails, WhatsApp, or LinkedIn are the first places I go to. Then, like any teenager, I head to social media to catch up on what I’ve missed overnight or if there was anything exciting put in a group chat. I find the time before I start work is one of the main times I get to just be a teenager and browse through social media or message my mates. I quickly grab some breakfast while watching a bit of YouTube then my day starts.10-11am: My day typically starts at 10:30, however, working with people in multiple different timezones I sometimes jump on a call at 10am with clients based in Asia. If I am not on a call I’ll use this half an hour to respond to missed emails, take a look at our task management tool and see what tasks are for the day ahead and make sure I am aligned to help the team with anything they may ask.11AM-12pm: Most mornings I will sync with our marketing manager Vova for a variety of different things. This can be anything from planning out our marketing for the week, brainstorming new ideas, working on company efficiency or developing new big client pitches. The time communicating and talking to Vova and other members of the team is very valuable as it allows for fresh ideas I wouldn’t have thought of and it means we can make sure we are all on the same page.12-2pm: I use this two-hour slot to really focus and work on tasks that are key for the business. I often will have to sync and chat with clients and influencers as part of this, however, as most people are on their lunch break at this point.2-2:30pm: The life of an agency owner is busy so I tend not to spend too much time away from work. I will take 30 mins just to switch off and have lunch away from my computer. This gives me a short breather before I get into a busy afternoon and evening.2:30-4pm: More often than not I’ll have meetings scheduled for this time. I’ll usually chat with clients, run through plans and creative strategies, and plan ahead for what we are looking to do with them. This is also a key time for me to chat with prospective clients and influencers to join Saulderson. We are a two-part agency with both a talent management strand and the agency strand. As the CEO, sitting down in a call with potential brands and influencers is extremely important as it helps build relationships and creates a personal connection. As the face of the company, prospective clients feel much more valued if the head of an agency takes time to build that connection.4-5pm: I usually take this time to check in on the performance of campaigns and see where we are at. We utilise the amazing influencer platform Tagger, which allows us and our clients to see how our campaigns are performing in real-time. This gives me a good indication of what needs to be done to make sure KPIs are met and to relay my thoughts to the team.5-6pm: Relationship building is one of the most important parts of running a successful influencer and talent management agency. Making sure your talent feels valued, cared for, and looked after sets you apart from the rest. I will use this time to check-in personally on every exclusive creator within the agency (regardless of whether I handle them directly) and make sure things are going well with them and what I can do to assist. Hearing genuine feedback from them is super important for us to improve what we do at all times.6-8pm: This two-hour slot is a time of rest for me. Through lockdown, I have re-discovered my love of cycling and usually spend about an hour cycling before dinner. When I’m back I will have dinner with my family and speak to them before heading back upstairs to crack on with a night of work ahead.8-11pm: On Tuesday’s we have a weekly staff meeting from 8-9:30 where we go over everything that’s been happening within the business and plan ahead as well as goal-setting and accountability. This is crucial as it makes sure we are staying on top of things, and building team synergy. It’s always a great time to catch up.The influencer marketing world is always on and moves at a very fast pace, which means we’re always doing things at different times. As well as that, with it being so global, this is a key time in which I work with influencers and brands over in the USA. One influencer we have managed for a long time is US-based and it’s always a pleasure catching up with him. A lot of brands we work with on the talent management side are US-based also, which makes this time very important for us to lock in deals for our talent. Other than that, I tie up anything that I have been working on in the day and enjoy using this time to review and edit proposals, creatives and briefs that have come in from prospective clients so I can ensure that I am aligned on everything for when I chat with the team the next day. At Saulderson, we are very flexible in the way we work, as it is critical that staff are working when they feel most efficient and best. A few of my colleagues like to work at this time on a variety of things so there’s plenty of internal communication.11pm-1am: Although some days I will still be working at this time, I try to come away from my desk and get ready to switch off. I usually will do a short workout to keep fit.Then I catch up with my girlfriend and friends and watch a bit of YouTube and Netflix before calling it a night at around 12:30-1am unless there’s anything pressing that comes up last minute.
