‘It’s my passion project’ – Entrepreneur Steve Ellul on working his dream job at 22

Steve Ellul is no stranger to marketing. He’s always known that that’s where his passion lies, so it’s no surprise that he spent his first few working years occupying related roles at some of the country’s best-known brands.

But that didn’t quite cut it for him.

“Ever since I was around eight or nine years old, I was always up to something; whether it was selling phone covers, keychains or pretty much anything else I could get my hands on,” Steve tells MaltaCEOs.mt.

“However, back then it was all about making some extra pocket money – this time it’s different, this is my passion project. This project is driven by nothing but passion for building and growing exciting brands,” he continues.

In 2020, Steve quit his full-time job and set about creating his own marketing firm, dubbed The Growth Bully. Offering clients a range of services including web design, strategy, and conversational marketing, Steve managed to build a healthy portfolio of work in just over a year.

“Taking the plunge and leaving a company I was happy working at was easily one of my biggest personal achievements,” Steve confesses.

“With The Growth Bully, I’d like to create some long-lasting relationships with clients by making their lives easier through our marketing efforts and by giving brands the attention they truly deserve. At the end of the day, I also want to create a workplace that my colleagues would be excited going into,” he continues.

In the past year, it’s evident that Steve’s lived up to most, if not all, of those self-imposed expectations. Since the company’s launch in March 2020, not only has The Growth Bully maintained a growing client base, but it has also introduced a new team member.

“I always knew starting a company wasn’t going to be easy, but I didn’t expect to be having this much fun working on my own project day in, day out,” Steve exclaims.

“The accountability of it all is something that really pushes me to work harder to ensure my clients are not only happy, but growing, consistently,” he adds.

Of course, such a huge change wasn’t entirely plain sailing. Shifting to a fully independent environment also meant a surge in responsibility.

“Something that keeps coming up is knowing when to take the next big step; when to hire that person you think would be a perfect fit; when to purchase that software to level up your operations,” Steve explains.

“But I’ve learnt to accept the fact that there never really is the perfect time, so just go with your gut,” he says.

Considering The Growth Bully’s positive run, we couldn’t help but ask Steve about his plans for the next five years.

“Without going into specifics, I envision a space of super passionate and creative individuals constantly learning and working together with one goal in mind: growing exciting brands,” he notes.

And whilst five years does seem like a long time, Steve’s already got a solid idea of what steps he’d like to take to propel The Growth Bully forward, finances permitting.

“Firstly, I’d start with getting super organized through costly but useful software and applications. Once that is all in place, I’d get a few more like-minded creatives on board in order to scale quicker and get set up in a kick-ass workspace that inspires our creativity,” he says.

It’s all well and good to ideate about the future, but, as Steve points out, nothing’s more important than nipping a situation in the bud.

“If something makes you happy and you think you can make your mark within the market, go for it. If you’re not sure where to start, Google it. You’ve got unlimited resources at your disposal online,” he points out.

Once you’ve got the right vision, he says, “it’s time to set the short and long-term goals to work towards” whilst simultaneously “giving your customers as much value as possible and knowing your own value.”