Behind The Brand: Dalry Rose Digital

I love hearing stories of how and why brands and businesses are born. I'm so lucky to be able to meet passionate business owners who tell me their story and the 'why', 'how', 'when' of their brand. When I worked with a product development client, I learnt through researching blogs in their industry that many of the best brands and inventions happened out of necessity and/or passion.

I often get asked why I set up my business and what does 'Dalry Rose' mean?

Why did I set up my own business? Well, after spending 6 years working for creative marketing agencies in Hampshire, I was well trained and experienced enough to start thinking of the 'bigger picture' when it came to creative projects and client partnerships. I was following entrepreneurs social media and was inspired by how they managed their business and their projects. I felt so passionate about blogging and working with brands that I loved and believed in, I was roaring to do it full time. I felt like creatively I couldn't do as much as I wanted and explore solutions which I believed in will work for my clients. Creatively, I can't sit still and work 'in a box'.

My personal life was developing and it became a frustration to be controlled by someone else in terms of when I could go on holiday, take a day off, or even leave work after 5pm. I wanted to have the flexibility to work from home if I needed or wanted to, or to decided to finish early so I could go and support my fiancé at events, or prep a BBQ for my family when the weather turns beautiful unexpectedly. I wanted to have the ability to take a health & wellbeing day when I needed a break.

I realised how hard I worked and decided I could earn more for my knowledge especially as my work/life balance was non-existent. If I was going to work this much, then I wanted to earn financial rewards for the time I put in - so I seriously thought about going freelance. So I started to juggle my agency work, my blog in the evenings and weekends, and then also some freelance clients who I built a relationship with through blogging work.

I rebranded my blog and decided to seriously push it and market my creative services to Hampshire businesses. I was already working with two Hampshire businesses at the time on their digital and social media marketing, and they helped refer me to their business acquaintances who were looking for social media marketing help - word of mouth is still the most powerful tool. Those clients gave me enough financial stability to be able to hand in my notice and focus full time on building my brand.

When I rebranded my blog, I knew I wanted it to be different in terms of wording and to be able to stand alone - as this business was my 'baby' I needed the business name to mean something to me, and not just an SEO hack to include words like 'social' or 'digital' dominating the title so I could climb up the rankings. I picked Dalry Rose - Dalry came from St John's Town of Dalry in Scotland, a small town I visited a few years ago and fell in love, in more than one way. I've always wanted to visit Scotland and this was my first trip there so St John's Town of Dalry will always be special - without sounding weird, I even recognised an old building in the town which I had previously dreamt about!

I then thought about what I wanted to achieve with my business - I knew immediately it was all about growth, and about showcasing your best services/products/assets, so I started thinking about nature. Although I work and love digital, I'm also a very outdoorsy person who loves being 'at one' with nature and the world around us. My brand needed to be modern, authentic, and holistic. So my brain went to 'blooming'. Flowers. What flowers though? You see, I love roses because they are so delicate and beautiful, yet underneath there are sharp thorns which defend the flower against those who want to harm them. I like that - so delicate, yet so strong. So resilient. Rose it was. Dalry Rose.

The name Dalry Rose captured everything I wanted to portray to my clients - and I needed to summarise that with a logo, and my brand proposition. "Dalry Rose Digital: Helping You Grow & Blossom." This proposition is perfect: with Dalry Rose Digital I help my clients grow and blossom through digital and social media marketing in Hampshire and beyond; through my blog I help my audience grow and blossom on a personal level; and with my styling business I help my clients grown & blossom through visual style.

This is my ethos and my mission - to help achieve organic growth. And to appreciate that just like in nature, nothing blossoms 24/7 365 days a year - it's about blossoming and then taking time to re-strategise and work on growing again - then blossom and hit your audience with a bang! Then take the time to grow further and be better... You see, there's a pattern.

I believe there's room to grow for everyone and everything. I love helping brands - reading through client testimonials makes me happy because I know I have made a difference in their business, and I'm a part of their growth and success. I have excellent relationships with my clients, many of whom I have been working with from the very start of the business. To me, it doesn't feel like I'm 'working' because I love what I do. I genuinely enjoy waking up in the morning and looking at my diary to see what exciting projects I've master planned for clients and my own brand.

I agree: if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life.

It's been three years since I set up Dalry Rose Digital. When I started, I gave myself 3 months to 'make it work' before I would admit defeat and go back to agency life. 3 years later, my business is growing in the direction I could only dream of. I strongly believe that those brands with a mission to change something or bring a certain type of value to their clients are the businesses that will last the test of time.

I wouldn't be a business owner if I didn't try and shamelessly plug my services - because I want to work with you, and tell your story. Take a look around the website and what I have to offer, and when you're ready to grow and blossom contact me - I look forward to chatting with you.