Ep 3 Establishing a successful creative business by the beach, with Clair Haycraft, Haycraft Creative and Angela Hicks, CEO of The Hive.

In this week’s episode, we meet Angela Hicks, Chief Executive of The Hive, and Clair Haycraft of Haycraft Creative.   Clair and her husband Phil set up their creative business in Weston, with the help of Angela and her team. 

Starting out on your own business path can be daunting, but the businesses of Weston and North Somerset have huge support in the form of The Hive. 
The Hive offered Clair and Phil essential business advice, office and meeting space, plus connections to other businesses, helping them set up what is now a thriving design business.  

In the episode, Clair talks about:

• How the move from Bristol to Weston has benefitted their business and allowed them to have a better quality of life
• Why clients like an excuse to visit, as they get the chance to be close to the beach
• Her business success story after maternity leave and lockdown, following input from The Hive

They also talk about the benefits to working in Weston, including: 

• The sense of community support for each other and the collective desire to make Weston a better place 
• How unlike a city like Bristol, Weston’s size makes it feel easier to connect with people, and stand out with less competition from other creative peers
• How culture has transformed the town over the past few years, how much there is to do on the doorstep and the sense of light and space in Weston
• Weston’s fantastic transport connections - including the train station, local airport and road network
• Lesser known facts about Weston and their favourite places to eat, drink and shop

Click here for a  summary of the episode and further links to business support within Weston 

Find out more about The Hive 

Discover more about Haycraft Creative 

To comment on today's conversation head over to Instagram or LinkedIn.

If you enjoyed this episode, we would so appreciate it if you could rate, review and subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify - it helps us to share the amazing stories of the people of Weston-super-Mare.

Huge things are happening in Weston-super-Mare, the creative, historic seaside town on the Somerset coast in the South West of England.

Find out more on our website Super Weston

Huge thanks to our host Becky Walsh and our voiceover artist Matt Hardy