The Business Pickle, the sustainability strategy business Gillian and I started as a side venture to Harvey, is now closed.
Over about two years we produced three in-depth research reports, a podcast series with business leaders and experts, ran a launch event, and delivered a few sustainability strategies for clients. We built some genuine credibility, a modest audience, and a pipeline of work that could've turned it into a real business. It didn't, and after roughly 18 months of proper effort we made the call to wind it down.
I wanted to write this down honestly. What we built, what it cost, what went wrong, and what I'd do differently.
What we believed
The theory was pretty simple. Do detailed research and podcasts with business leaders and experts in each field, and that would get organic interest, some SEO, maybe some viral reach. The content had a bit of broad appeal because it's interesting, and targeted appeal per topic. That interest builds the brand, the brand generates leads, the leads become strategy work.
Half of that happened. The content did establish credibility, when we got in the room people took us seriously as having real subject matter knowledge. But it didn't build our brand or leads. Getting in the room still had to happen the old fashioned way.
What it cost and what it returned
I'll be specific with the numbers because vague versions of these stories aren't useful to anyone.
- Investment: about 80% of a full-time person (Gillian) for the life of the business, plus around $10k in design and publishing costs
- Revenue: approx $50k, from three delivered strategy projects
- Pipeline: another $300-400k in proposals. None converted.
- Leads: maybe 50 over time, mostly low quality
The audience numbers, which for a two-person side venture I'm actually proud of:
- ~37,000 website visitors (still getting 500 a month, which is partly why this page exists)
- 250 report downloads, plus another 200 from our launch event report
- ~400 subscribers
- 8,100 podcast watches and listens
- A launch event with 150 attendees, 50 in person
The indirect benefit was harder to measure but real. Building relationships with experts and leaders, and learning from them, which informed the strategy work we did deliver, and fed back into Harvey.
Could we have done it leaner? Probably. Short rapid interviews, or targeted articles, rather than a comprehensive in-depth report on each topic. Still not sure it would've worked or been beneficial, but we would've found out cheaper. (This is a theme, you'll notice.)
The nearlys
The hardest part of this story isn't the failures, it's the nearlys.
We had five serious proposals with major organisations, leaders in their sectors across telco, finance, food & beverage, and technology. One we got through a tender process, didn't win, and they ultimately paused the work anyway. Three others were engaged and ready, or in progress, and paused because of changes in business conditions (struggling financially, got bought out, etc). One we part-delivered and then it went nowhere.
Three of those projects could've changed the direction of the business. Cornerstone clients, established credibility and reputation. There was always the chance it could've gone off.
After the fifth proposal with lots of engagement paused or said no, we knew it wasn't right. And the pattern wasn't just us. The market for genuine sustainability strategy and change (not just reporting and compliance) cooled down, and kept getting tighter over the following years. Organisations pulled back from their sustainability strategies partially or entirely, having to pivot to core operations and financial sustainability. At the same time there was huge growth in consultants in the space, including established leaders getting stronger. For a two-person side business, that was a really hard time to be starting out.
What we got wrong
We went too hard on content, top of funnel, and broad. Comprehensive reports are expensive and slow, and ours didn't land or go viral the way we hoped. Being a content publisher is super hard to cut through. If we went more directly into strategy work, targeted outreach, direct conversations, we might've got revenue sooner and learned faster.
We should've pivoted sooner. Gillian actually sensed it wasn't working before I did. I was still keen and optimistic, and the nearlys kept feeding that. She had the foresight to call it, and she was right. I should've called it earlier.
We were missing a dedicated sales/consulting person. Gillian brought sustainability knowledge and experience, was excellent at writing, and at building relationships. I brought the sales and consulting side, but not specialised in this space, and not 100% focused on the business. Another person who was consulting-focused may have changed the equation.
The separate brand was probably right, eventually. Harvey really is brand, marketing & tech, which is very different, so long term keeping it separate probably made sense. And having a separate brand made it very clear to people this was new and different and specialised, it helped cut through in the conversations we did have. But maybe in the short term we should've started under Harvey, got some traction and insight, and then considered a separate brand.
What it cost Harvey, and what it gave back
Worth being straight about this since you're reading it on Harvey's website. The Business Pickle cost Harvey a salary, some costs, and a bit of my attention. Harvey was doing very well in its own right the whole time, and the relationships and activities did generate some leads and profile for Harvey too. Not enough to justify the investment, but a nice benefit. And the learning came home with us.
The bigger lesson about impact
Something I believe now that I only half believed then. Most sustainability work in businesses is focused on reporting and compliance. Some organisations are doing real changes, where sustainability is core to the operations, and they're the exception worth celebrating.
But achieving proper impact, actually improving the impact of businesses at scale, requires broader systems change, driven by organisations like ACSI, ALCA, RIAA and CAF, who shape the frameworks, capital flows and expectations that individual companies respond to. (Who happen to be Harvey's clients, so in a way I get to keep working on the problem from a different angle.)
One boutique consultancy nudging one company at a time was always going to be a small lever. That's not a reason not to do it, but it changed my view on where the leverage actually sits.
Gillian
None of this happens without Gillian. She was a superstar, delivered a super high quality of work and insight, was really accountable, led things, and created so much of it. The research, the writing, the relationships.
And when it was time, she had the clarity to call it before I did. The wind down was natural and organic, not what we wanted, but handled the way you'd hope. We're still very good friends, and she's gone on to create a new brand and other creative work, which I have no doubt will be excellent.
We were also supported by a bunch of really smart people who are committed to business for impact, who gave advice, made connections, helped with strategy, and were involved in delivering projects. They enriched our minds and ideas and I'm eternally grateful.
What happens now
The reports are moving here onto the Harvey website as a few articles. The podcast episodes and videos are still up on the streaming platforms. The old domain now redirects to this page. Nothing we made disappears, it just has a new home.
Was it worth it?
Yes. It wasn't profitable, but it was worth it.
We did high quality work and committed to it properly. We delivered a few strategies that could've had real impact. Somewhere between 500 and 1,000 people read, watched or listened to things we made that may have helped or influenced them. And we learned a huge amount, about content, markets, timing, and ourselves, that's already making Harvey better.
I'm still glad I did it, gave it a crack. I just wish we'd pivoted a bit sooner.
Thanks for reading, and to everyone who was part of the pickle.
Simon
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