Andrew Mills is the managing director of Wirral-based production house Mills Media. The firm was established in 1876 and today employs 19 people. This is his working day:
6am: Alarm goes off. I get up, go downstairs, turn on Radio 2, make a cup of tea and check my emails on my Blackberry. Nothing really urgent except for a few regular clients chasing clarification on quotes.
8.30am: Arrive at the Wirral Investment Network digital and media cluster group at Riverside Park. We debate issues including intellectual property and how to promote the digital and media sector more effectively.
10am: Back to Mills Media in Birkenhead and a quick meeting with the photographers. We have been providing the aerial photography for Bovis Lend Lease for construction of MediaCityUK in Salford and for Mpact-Thale on the Manchester Metrolink extensions. Both projects are going well and between them more than 6,000 images have been captured.
10.30am: Another check of my emails. A client has asked for a proposal for a new exhibition stand to be built so I have a quick chat with Lonn Landis, our exhibition manager, who speaks with the client prior to updating our stand design team.
11.30am:Time for a cup of tea and debrief with our conference and audio-visual department. We had a big event for Precision Technologies Group at its factory in Rochdale after it was bought by Chongqing Machinery and Electrical. We discuss the event and how we can improve in the future – we never become complacent and always strive to give that extra return on investment for our clients.
12.30pm: I catch a quick bite to eat and have a chat with Jenny, our finance director and my sister. We are fourth generation Mills – the company was first established in 1876 as a photography firm.
1.30pm: Part of our service now includes web design and I check in with that department to see how progress is going. We have just finished a website for a Wirral firm and are starting work for a North Wales organisation next week.
2pm: Start of a two-day studio shoot for a new client that manufactures fitness equipment. This afternoon is the preparation process before the models and the rest of the equipment arrive tomorrow.
2.30pm: We have several event management projects coming up around the UK including an awards night in Manchester, a Lord’s Taverners charity dinner and a four-day trade association conference down in Brighton for the Royal Statistical Society. I need to make sure we have everything scheduled in with our other departments.
3pm: I go through my emails again and make a few calls regarding new leads. We’ve just received an order for 100 budget banners for The Lord’s Taverners that we already support and an enquiry about promotional literature that needs following up.
4.15pm: I head off to meet with BioProcess in Manchester about a two-day conference they would like us to manage before Christmas..
5pm: I arrive and they give me a full brief about the event and we discuss the best way of making it a success. It seems to be very similar to previous years but they want a few more bells and whistles this time to give that wow factor for the delegates.
7.15pm: I arrive home, catch up on what the kids have been doing, and it’s a mad dash to get changed as my wife and I are dining at Thornton Hall Hotel.
8pm: We have a fabulous six-course dinner accompanied by some superb Laurent Perrier champagnes.
11.30pm: Taxi home and a quick check of the Blackberry before bed. No e-mails – all the clients must be asleep.
