I'm not a marketing person, I'm not a sales person, I'm not a creative person, I'm a geeky techie. After 16 years involved in running e-mango I must be doing a few things right, but they are many other things that I could be doing a lot better. That's why events where local business people can meet, gain some insights into each others work and approaches, to learn from each other in an open way and not be all anally competitive about it, are such a useful thing. I also attend the Fastgrowth meetings.

I will give Paul Tansey from Intergage a shoutout as he is someone that I like what he says and more importantly, how he says it. He is one of the nicest guys I have met in business and runs a very successful business with a great team around him. Who says you have to be ruthless in business to do well?

Coming back off the recent Once Upon A Time event held by Mark Masters, having seem him present in a very interesting and likeable way at a recent Intergage event, I decided to book myself to one of this You Are The Media - Lunchtime Club meetings. It only costs a few pounds but that basically covers lunch. You do not get sold to, no one his pitching to you, you listen in and more importantly join in. Take some learnings from it, and try and put something back in.

Mark's mantras are all about "You are the media", story telling with your brand, and being passionate about something.

The first Lunchtime Club I went to had Ollie Perron from Lunchd, who incidentally supplied the lunch! The session was based around how he took the approach of using video as his content for showing what Lunchd was all about and building an interested audience, and audience that will find his content useful and not end up simply being "followed" in social media terms but never engaged with.

Mark always tries to dig down into what someone is passionate about. Well Ollie is passionate about food, obvious now that you know he runs Lunchd, but his story goes along the lines of having worked in restaurants/kitchens, he wanted to still live and make a living in London, retain a connection with food but without all the chopping. He started a business selling veg to London restaurants and corporate clients. For him, this was a good way of maintaining good connections with chefs and the food industry. Still keeping his passion alive.

At some point he decided to move out of London down to Dorset. He tried to do the same business with selling veg but the market here was just not conducive or big enough for a new starter. So, he started working for a digital agency. Was doing OK, but over time his role became more of a going between handling emails to clients, to developers and back again, so needed a way out, to get some energy back into his life.

Rumbling in the background was that passion for food, so he started to make lunches for business meetings. This took traction and so became a part time thing. Local digital companies, inviting big brand clients/prospects down from London, wanted to have something better than Tesco sandwiches on the table, even Waitrose wouldn't do.

It grew and grew until it became a full time business.

The brand Lunchd is basically Ollie. Lunchd has a website. All websites need some content. If it was a brochure website, maybe people would visit, read it and feel it wasn't for them at that time. Nothing to hook them. Ollie's approach is to give them something more. Something that is easier to consume, than having to read. Something new that comes along regularly. Something that is useful, insightful, something that you could have empathy with (especially if you run a business, have started a business, or even thinking about it) and something that is fun. It is only fun if you can see and feel the passion, otherwise it is just a hollow facade, a marketing thing with little substance.

Ollie chose to make a series of videos, and have a Vlog on his website. He started to film what they were doing in the kitchen. Let's face it, that is the crux of the business. He wanted them to be practical, something to learn from, not just to be admired. Entertainment value is a key part of making them work.

Oh yeah, the marketing budget? To begin with, zero. They just used their iPhones and iMovies on their Apple Mac. In time they have progressed to a Nikon D500 dSLR because of the depth of field controls, which takes the footage to a different level. Much nicer videos but an investment of £1000+.

Mark said to stop doing more, do less but for the people that matter. Invest the time for quality.

Ollie said about his videos that "This is not a highly polished show, this is real". It is that authenticity, that realness that helps build trust. Also easier for individuals to do so, whilst big brands have to throw huge amounts of money at it, at marketing and at other tricks. An individual, just being themselves, their honest selves can so easily build trust.

Producing videos takes time and is a commitment in itself to keep going. The whole seasonal foods aspect give him opportunities for more videos and good luck to him. It's a long term thing. A client took 18 months before becoming a client.

We ate the Charminster Thai that day. It was lovely. Not saying that because it was free, it wasn't. Big bold flavours and colours.