BIG ROOTS
MARKETING
Why big roots exists
I've been on both sides of the desk.
I started Big Roots because I know how frustrating it is when marketing advice feels theoretical, expensive, or disconnected from how a real business actually runs.
So you won't get a strategy deck you can't action, a retainer you can't get out of, or a report full of numbers that don't mean anything. You'll get practical support, straight talking, and changes you can see working.
The short version: I've run a small business on this coast, and I've done the marketing for businesses hundreds of times the size. Big Roots puts the second lot of experience to work on the first lot of budgets.
How Big Roots grew
Every step has shaped how I work now.
Big Roots takes root
Everything I've learnt across marketing, design, ecommerce and running a business of my own, brought together in one place. Big Roots exists to help Yorkshire Coast businesses build a strong online presence and make the most of what that brings.
2026
2023-26
Digital projects at scale
Three years with a specialist marketing agency, delivering websites, ecommerce platforms, web2print portals and campaigns for clients of every size — while still taking on freelance work directly with independent businesses.
2017
So the techniques big brands pay agency rates for get used on your website too.
Swapped city life for the Yorkshire Coast
Opened a retail shop in Scarborough and spent the next six years learning what running an independent business actually looks like from the inside. Managing the website, marketing on a tight budget, attracting new customers and keeping existing ones coming back — I handled all of it myself.
2016
Jumped off the corporate ladder
Left the corporate world to build an ecommerce business from scratch — years of marketing theory put into practice with real stakes. I learned first-hand what it takes to attract customers, fulfil orders and grow an online business without a big team or a big budget behind you.
Which is why I understand the challenges of running a business in a tourist town.
So nothing I suggest will assume you have a marketing budget waiting to be spent.
2005-16
Built the foundations
Ten years across marketing, design and digital roles in retail, financial services, digital agencies and the public sector. Plenty of sectors, and a clear view of what actually works for different kinds of businesses.
The 80's
The roots of everything that followed
You could say marketing was in my blood. My dad set up an advertising agency in the 1980s, so I grew up around campaigns, print, design and creative ideas. Looking back, it was probably always going to end up here.
No favourites
The tools behind the scenes
Every business is different, so I work with whatever suits yours, not just the platforms I happen to like.
Websites & ecommerce
Platforms I build with.
Wix • WordPress • Shopify · Magento • Woocommerce • Weebly • Squarespace • Web2Print platforms
Design & content
Software I create with
Adobe CS • Affinity Suite • Canva • Figma • Mailchimp · Campaign Monitor
Marketing & business
Platforms I build with.
Google Ads • Google Business • Meta Business Suite • Hootsuite • HubSpot • ERPs & CRM • Moz, Semrush & Screaming Frog • Trello
Hidden roots
A few things that aren't on my CV
Private investigations
My first job after uni was at a private investigators in Leeds. Surveillance and tracing work, once upon a time. It's where the habit of digging until the answer turns up comes from — which is more useful in SEO than you'd think.
A litter picking Labrador
I trained my dog to collect litter on walks and it ended up in the papers. Proof that a simple idea, done consistently, gets noticed — which is most of marketing, really.
I hate waste
Whether it's plastic on a beach or a marketing budget that isn't delivering results, waste has always bothered me. When I had my shop in Scarborough, I made it the town's first Plastic Free accredited business through Surfers Against Sewage. I worked alongside Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and the Marine Conservation Society, ran community beach cleans, and even partnered with a local recycling company to turn beach plastic into new products.
That same instinct of making the most of what you already have before spending more, shapes how I approach every client brief.
The cat distribution society knows where I live
If you know, you know 😀
