LIFE THROUGH A LENS

Last year, Distilled Films owner Matthew Clarke was diagnosed with stage three high grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, instantly slamming the brakes on his business.

As he looks to relaunch his business, he shares some of the advice and insight he has picked up from his experience.

back of your mind that you’ll have to put everything all back on hold if it comes back. You’ve just got to assume it won’t. One of the key lessons of cancer is ‘sod tomorrow, just make the most of today”.

One of the biggest lessons Matthew learned was the importance of insurance.

“I’m no insurance expert, but I know now,” he says, “If you’re running a business, particularly a microbusiness, make sure you have a good critical illness policy.

“A lot of people think they can cut corners, and it will never happen to them. But I am so thankful I had this insurance. Without it, I would really have been scrabbling around. But the insurers paid up very quickly, it just needed a letter from the consultant. So, I had no financial worries when I wasn’t able to work, which has helped me relaunch.”

Another important thing Matthew has realised is the importance of nurturing friends rather than building business contacts.

“It’s so easy to say when you start off in business, you’ve got to build up contacts, but no, in the middle of all this I realised it is good friends who are important, knowing I had that support there.

“And it’s so easy to misjudge people,” he adds. “It’s easy, when you’re in the heat of running a business to sometimes look a people and misjudge them, thinking they’re just competition, that they’re out to get you. It’s only when you’re in that critical situation and people come forward to support you, you realise “I misjudged you”.

“Business is important, but it’s not the be all and end all.”

The experience has changed Matthew’s whole mindset on how to go about business.

“This is not an attack on networking groups. But there is a feeling you’ve got to have this bravado. You go to a business event and you’ve got to put this bravado on, say ‘I’m amazing, I’m the expert, come look at me.’ But now, I can’t have any truck with that. If you’re living for the day, there’s no time for that.

“With all businesses at the moment going through really challenging times, I think it’s time to get rid of all this bravado in the business community, because in many ways, your bravado can be an attack on someone else. Someone could be sitting and listening to you and thinking, ‘oh, I’m not good enough, I’m insufficient’. And that can really impact on someone else’s mental health.

“So, get rid of all this bravado, just be a bit more real. Build a business which fits you as a person, rather than trying to become someone to suit the needs of the business. That’s really what I’m going to be trying to do for myself, in building my business out of cancer.

“You’ve got to be a bit more honest about yourself and honest with your feelings.” www.distilledfilms.co.uk