Kelly Gordon is the Co-founder and CEO of With Not For, a creative talent, consultancy and training agency that exclusively represents Disabled people. With Not For is a Disability led company and Kelly herself is a full-time electric Wheelchair user.
Can you tell us a little about your background and the company?
I am Kelly Gordon, one of the founders of With Not For, my co-founder is Emma Gardner. We are a creative talent, consultancy, and training agency – which is definitely a MOUTHFUL! What that means is that we work with clients in creative spaces whether that be in the advertising world, within mainstream media outlets or creative led organisations to introduce and integrate Disabled talent within their workforce or as freelancers. To train existing teams or to work as consultants on creative briefs.
Image: Co-Founder Emma Gardner
How did the idea come to you for the company?
Emma and I met back in 2020 during COVID lockdown initially discussing another project and collaboration, from our first call (that lasted HOURS!) we found out that we had a lot of similarities and a lot of the same views around representation, especially in the ad world and mainstream media. We spent a lot of time after that talking and thinking about not only the future of the creative industry but the future for talented Disabled people in the workforce. From those conversations With Not For was born and we haven’t looked back!
How did you achieve awareness?
Achieving awareness has been tricky especially as a company that set up with very little budget and other full time commitments but we are lucky that we have a fantastic community and some incredible talent to showcase so momentum slowly started to build. It meant a lot of long nights (and still does) and a lot of dedication to filming and producing our own content to demonstrate the importance of our work.
How have you been able to gain funding and grow?
We haven’t! With Not For has not been funded and has grown slowly from conception, we are lucky now that our work (and our talent) has spoken for itself, and we have been able to secure some incredible clients and contracts. We are still very cautious and ensure that we always reinvest profits into the growth of the company and our community.
What are the key successes?
There have been so many successes and things that we are proud of it With Not For! From seeing our first creative release incredible illustration work and essentially revitalising and reinventing an existing brand, to being recently appointed to deliver training, consultancy and talent for Guinness x Six Nations! It’s been a wild ride, and we are excited to see what 2024 holds for us.
What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?
Our biggest challenge has always been time! As we’ve had no investment, we really have had to manage our time carefully to ensure that we can drive With Not For forward navigating Disabilities, mental health, childcare and burn out! It’s been super challenging, but we are an understanding team that has really been able to pull together when we have needed to.
What were/are the challenges and how have you overcome these?
Our biggest challenge has always been time! As we’ve had no investment, we really have had to manage our time carefully to ensure that we can drive With Not For forward navigating Disabilities, mental health, childcare and burn out! It’s been super challenging, but we are an understanding team that has really been able to pull together when we have needed to. And client’s expect Disabled people to work for free… that’s an age-old, ongoing issue that we are trying to tackle head on and eradicate with our work.
What are your plans now/for the future?
Wow, who even knows what the future looks like for us! 2024 feels very exciting with the introduction of some brilliant new clients. I think overall it is super important for us to make change and be a part of important conversations and at With Not For we love film making and creating impactful content so I think 2024 will see some important releases from our side, some great new clients, and a big 3rd birthday party at the end of the year to celebrate 3 years in business!
Q9: Work with people that understand you! – Emma and I just click, and it makes working together quite seamless, meaning that we can often “divide and conquer” but also cover the other person when life gets in the way. We also understand each other’s weaknesses and differences which is equally important to be open about – It makes working really fun and not actually like work at all.
Can you share your top tips for entrepreneurial success?
Find clients that are like minded – We LOVE working with brands and agencies that “get it” meaning that they understand the importance of Disability inclusion and want to start their journey with us. Whatever your area of expertise, finding like-minded people always helps. But equally, finding clients that are open minded and willing to learn and evolve is also just as cool.
Social links
https://www.instagram.com/wnfcreative/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/72698015
Website: https://www.withnotfor.co.uk/
