Stefan Lepkowski founded the Karol Marketing Group more than 30 years ago, and it has gone on to become one of the North East’s longest-established integrated and multi award-winning PR, digital, and creative communications agencies.
What was your first job (and how much did it pay)? Besides from the odd jobs here and there, my first job paid nothing. I was the odd job man for Blaydon Lines, a ski holiday company in Val d’ Isere, in the French Alps. It was my job to fish out jewellery that holidaying guests dropped down the sink, or unblock toilets that were enduring an excessive load of some kind. One of my tasks was also delivering bread to the chalets and when on one occasion I received a discount for the volume of pastries I’d bought, I quickly realised that money could be made. By the end of my season, I was making about £100 a week, far more than many other ski bums in the resort. It gave me a taste for the opportunities that come with working for yourself.
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What is the best advice or support you’ve been given in business? Gordon Davison, managing director and founder of outdoor brand Berghaus told me never to ‘Zig’, but to ‘Zag’. He was a fantastic mentor, and he emphasised the benefits of believing in yourself and doing things differently. That advice, given to me 35 years ago, has stayed with me ever since and I apply it to the work we do for clients every day. If you can’t identify why your business is different from that of your competitors, then how can you ever communicate why customers should come to you!
What are the main changes you’ve seen in your business/sector, and what are the challenges you’re facing? When I started out in business, we used to write press releases, print them out and put them in the post! Oh, how things have changed. Every facet of marketing and communications is evolving every day and we have to keep up with new technologies, know how best to apply them, and understand their audiences. I am not an expert in everything we do, so way at the top of my list is finding the best people. Not just talented but ethical team players, people who believe in the good in what they are doing. If you get this right, then all the challenges that business can throw at you can be overcome. It is for this reason that even when we are not actively recruiting, I always make time to meet interesting people. I know from personal experience that the right mix of individuals is the magic formula behind our success and for this reason, I am incredibly fussy when it comes to making new appointments.
How has the pandemic changed the way you work? The Covid pandemic was catastrophic in so many ways for everyone, but for us as a business, there were aspects we really benefited from. With everyone at home, it put a focus on the importance of marketing and communication and adapting to tell the world what you had to offer – in that time we saw our retainer fees increase by 25%. The introduction of Microsoft Teams and clients’ acceptance of doing business from home has changed the way we work forever. We still go into the office three days a week but for everyone, our work-life balance has improved beyond comparison.
Who is your role model in business? I have never been one for role models, I have instead found my inspiration from mentors and others in business that I respect. A role model suggests that I would like to emulate that person and their achievements - I have my own ideas. Over 30 years, I have learned that I just want to have fun, and to enjoy my work and time with colleagues. I have found that this approach brings success across the board. When I hear about businesses setting themselves targets and goals, often at the expense of happiness, it makes my toes curl. I used to be that way… but never again!
What would your dream job be? The one I do now! My profession has changed so much over the years and at times it certainly hasn’t been easy, but right now I am doing my dream job – working with and leading a talented group of individuals doing great stuff for their clients – how could it be better!
What advice would you give to someone starting out a career in your sector? Be prepared to take risks and don’t endure any job you don’t love unless you can see how it will create opportunities for you. Make sure that whatever you settle on, it is something you love, and believe in your potential. The chances are you will be doing it for a large part of your life, so you need to make sure that you have that passion and that fire in your belly to keep pushing and progressing and that will hopefully come across in the work you do.
What makes the North East a good place to do business? So much has changed since I started out. I used to spend a large amount of time sitting in my car, or on a train or plane travelling to all parts of the UK and Europe. But today, we do business over Teams and the Internet with just occasional face-to-face meetings and we have the benefit of accessing talent, and clients wherever they are. This means a lot of talent has also returned home to the North East and we are no longer seen as some kind of provincial city by others. The North East has everything you could need in terms of the talent and resources available, but what puts it a cut above the rest is our people – that extra bit of talent, passion, and kindness is, I believe, just unmatched.
How important is it for business to play a role in society? Life has taught me a few lessons. When my three-year-old fell into a pond, drowned, and was lifeless for one and a half hours I thought my world was over. When, the next year I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer I thought my woes were never going to end. I and my family have been very lucky, my son was revived and six years on he is doing very well, my cancer was removed, and I too am fine. But I know not everyone has the fortunate outcomes we have had as a family, and I know that it was the contribution that many other businesses have made through charitable initiatives and social responsibilities that impacted so positively on us. So, I fervently believe in the role businesses must play in our society – to make a positive contribution, to act as catalysts for social change, and to support those who are already doing so much to improve our lives.
Outside of work, what are you really good at? I am not really good at anything (apart from talking!) but I am a keen outdoor sportsman. Over the years I have flown paragliders, extreme skied, dived, mountaineered, windsurfed, and presently I am learning to wingfoil. I guess I, and my family hang out with a lot of extreme sports adrenaline junkies, compared to them I am hopeless. But compared to the average person on the street, I am probably better than most.
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