FJB Digital

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief executive of a private members club with 200 members. We’ve been established since 1787. It’s primarily a luncheon venue, but increasingly we also hold dinners and have 21 bedrooms for accommodations of members and reciprocal members.

We have approximately 200 reciprocal clubs worldwide, with 30 in London and nine in New York.

What challenge were you trying to address with FJB Digital?

I have been the chief executive of the club for 12 years or so.

A few years ago, in 2013, we had a website, and one of our members brought to my attention that it was hopelessly insecure, and we didn’t even have a member’s area.

We then thought we needed to get this up to date because it has been quite a traditional club. These smart, modern London non-members owned proprietary clubs who all have smashing websites are very modern. For us, ours was hopelessly out of date.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Julian (Owner & Consultant) and FJB Digital came along and offered their services. They redesigned the member's area, basically introducing security, and then we got up to date photography done, and they then introduced that onto the website.

They made the whole thing, not just computer-friendly, but probably more importantly, mobile-friendly, which it certainly wasn’t before. Since then, they have done a couple of major revisions for us, keeping us up to date with the IT changes which happen quite frequently. They designed it with us, but they were the people who were pushing the design, so to speak. They also do all of the hosting for us.

What is the team composition?

Julian was always the point of contact, and he had a large team.

How did you come to work with FJB Digital?

Julian came around and suggested that his firm might be the firm to use, and they pitched for the work well. We also have an IT firm that advised us on our general Wi-Fi and hard drive. I like to keep things separate and don’t like relying on one firm. The IT firms said they could’ve done this as well, but Julian was quite cheaper.

How much have you invested with them?

It was around £15,000 (approximately $19,500 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since January 2013.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We used to be a gentlemen’s club before we allowed ladies in 2010, and Julian understands clubs. We weren’t interested in having a really swish website that did everything like booking accommodations and booking events, and Julian got that very early on.

All I wanted was an utterly professional, easy to manage, and easy to move around website. Our club's average age is 62, so it had to be user friendly for some pretty old members, and Julian got that very quickly.

He then came up with a design that inevitably had a sort of tennis competition, knocking it to and from to get the detail right. Eventually, we got there, and it was actually quite an easy process with him because he understood what we wanted. Julian and someone else came up here, and they showed my PA how to use the website. She is now very proficient at it because they got her trained properly from the word go.

Suffice to say, the members haven’t commented on it, which is good. Normally, they complain. Julian explained the need to have an adaptable and mobile-friendly system. He then changed it, and the members who had been complaining about not being able to use it on their phones have stopped complaining.

During the lockdown, as the club's chief executive, I had to arrange events for members on the website. Julian was very good, and some of them had to be done quite quickly. I would phone him up or email him and would ask him to get the lecture online as soon as he could. God only knows how he did it, but then the members could log in and look at a lecture online via the website. His turnaround with that was sometimes within minutes rather than the house.

From that point of view, during COVID-19, when the club was shut, he was very good indeed.

How did FJB Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very good. My PA is on the phone with FJB Digital much more than I am. When she has forgotten how to do something when she is updating the website, she will phone them up, and she gets a very quick answer, so she is very happy with their team.

Julian is also very good at alerting us to a change. He will make recommendations that we update the website for a particular technical reason, not just the normal security things, which are very important.

If something is going on in the IT world, which is way over my head, he will recommend we change certain things because then we will be up to speed, and people with their phones will be able to do things which leave me standing. When it comes to reaction, he is very good, and on recommending changes, he is also very good indeed.

We had to have a simple system for my PA, who runs the day-to-day management of the site. She puts things on and takes things off, updates the menu, and stuff like that. Julian and his team had put that in place.

What did you find most impressive about them?

There’s no pressure working with FJB Digital. Julian is a charming chap. He is very keen to get one bit of work, which is to completely get our membership list, which is a very sensitive list because of the sort of club we are.

As it is very sensitive, we are worried about the security of it. He was very keen to do that work for us, but unfortunately, I went to another organization recommended to me, and I now slightly regret it because they have been quite slow. Once I gave Julian the decision, he didn’t bite my head off and was very good about it. He is a very good man, and they are a very good firm.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I needed an efficient system and responsive team, which I received with FJB Digital. Julian is proactive in telling us what we might have to consider to make sure that we are up to date with all of this modern stuff, and the key thing was the mobile phone changes.

I don’t think I would change anything, and there is nothing that has given me cause to complain.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Go to them. Compared to other firms we use, FJB Digital was significantly less expensive. The firm that deals with our physical IT, such as the hard drives and Wi-Fi wiring, is based in the middle of Edinburgh, which isn’t far from their offices.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Eyemouth Freezers has been processing vegetables since 2000. We’re a small but up-and-coming group that partners with processing sites and growers. Our job is to clean, freeze, and grade the vegetables before retail packing them for all of the major supermarkets.

When I joined in 2010, I took over the IT side, handling the traceability of our products and stock through our hybrid access database. I’d say 80% of my work is food safety, and only 20% is IT support.

What challenge were you trying to address with FJB Digital?

Our company was about 10 years behind from a digital perspective. We were operating on Microsoft Office 2010, our MS Access database was a hybrid of the 2007 and 2010 engines, and our operating system was still on Windows 7. It’d been a long time since we’d done anything IT related apart from upgrading our server.

As a result, we were looking for a relationship with a consulting body that could take us through a digital transformation. It was a process that would involve looking at what we had currently and taking us to where we wanted to go.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

Julian (Owner & Consultant) provided IT consulting services, starting with a top-down review of our company’s IT infrastructure. There were a lot of things we needed to consider. Did we want a cloud-based solution or something on site? What were the software requirements, and how would everything run with our current setup? Did we need to make the infrastructure more robust?

From there, he created a digital roadmap that guided us through evolving our IT foundation. It was a process of setting implementation targets throughout the engagement while writing proposals for a new SQL database application. That was the end goal — we wanted a new solution that could handle all of the stock control, traceability, and on-site operations.

With each meeting and milestone, we got closer to digitally transforming our business, installing Tableau and other software to automate custom production reports. Now that everything has been roughly completed, we’re planning on contacting Julian for a few more projects in the pipeline.

What is the team composition? 

All of my dealings were with Julian, but there was a larger team in the background. When we did the digital roadmap and database proposals, his other members supported him.

How did you come to work with FJB Digital?

We have a big belief in exploring the local market when looking for service providers. There’s a lot of good skills in the local area that we’re not always aware of, so we tend to be on the lookout for hidden gems.

At the time, we’d gone to a grant body called the Scottish Enterprise, asking about businesses close to home that could undertake our project. They put us in contact with 3–4 companies. Out of the lot of them, Julian was the most clued up and fit the bill.

We didn’t realize how much of our initial infrastructure wouldn’t support the new database that we wanted. So, we could’ve spent a lot of money for a database that wouldn’t have even worked. Julian was blunt with us about what we needed to do to achieve our goals, so that was the start of our journey.

How much have you invested with them?

It was about £1,500 (approximately $2,000 USD). That’s about £75 (approximately $97USD) per hour.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Julian between September 2018–October 2019. In the future, we hope to return back to the engagement to work on our website.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the owner of an e-commerce selling French food to the general public with delivery in the whole of the UK. The products are directly imported from France and sold exclusively to the UK. I am the only person working for this company so far.

For what projects/services did your company hire FJB Digital?

Website design: In order to start my business, I needed to create a website and this was all new to me, so a website designer was needed to save time.

What were your goals for this project?

I wanted to have a website that is clear and simple to navigate, so that potential customers could easily buy my products online in a few clicks.

How did you select FJB Digital?

After looking locally for the best website designers using reviews from Google and asking my local network if they knew a good website designer that could help me launch my website, someone in my network who had his website designed by Julian from FJB Digital recommended him. I contacted him and could not refuse his offer of free help in launching the site.

Describe the project in detail.

Julian explained everything I needed to know about creating a website using Shopify, and accompanied me in the whole website creation from start to finish. At the beginning there was nothing, and when the project was finished, there was what you can see when going to www.delifrancais.co.uk.

He created a website for me, advising on domain provider, platform to use (Shopify) and email provider to choose, did the more technical operations for me, showed me how Shopify worked and always monitored and advised me on what to do in order to improve the website.

When I was struggling with something, he always had an answer to my problem and fixed it or explained how to fix the issue.

What was the team composition?

Only two people in the team: One website designer / technical expert => Julian Blake One customer => me.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Have a look at www.delifrancais.co.uk I had nothing, and now I have a website that runs well and is easy to navigate, looks professional and is not too cluttered, which is exactly what I wanted. All the feedback I received about the website was positive, the only improvement that could be made is the content, but this is my responsibility, not FJB Digital's. Total success!

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow between myself and Julian was very effective, he was always available when I needed him.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

The availability and patience of Julian was impressive, and his knowledge was superior to what I needed. I always had an answer to any question I had and together we managed to create and start a website from scratch, and all of this was free. The value for money is unbeatable!

Are there any areas for improvement?

Of course, there is always improvement that can be made. There is nothing I can point for improvement in particular as I am extremely happy with the work that has been done and I have already recommended FJB Digital. I will definitely work again with Julian when I need help!

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of a marketing agency.

What challenge were you trying to address with FJB Digital?

We needed help with web development.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They created an easy to use CMS for us. We had an existing site and they added a lot of designs and content as well.

What is the team composition?

We worked with two people from their team.

How did you come to work with FJB Digital?

We found them online via a Google search.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent 3,000 Pound sterling (approximately $3,900 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2017 and we wrapped up in April 2017.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our traffic increased after working with them. Everyone is very pleased and the site does well with search results. They were cost-effective and not overly complicated.

How did FJB Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

They did really well. We managed the project through Crunchbase, email, and phone calls.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They were approachable with a quick turnaround time, high expertise, and a client-focused approach.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I thoroughly recommend working with them. Give the team a clear brief from the outset and make sure you keep in communication.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the secretary of the Standing Council of the Baronetage, which is an organizational society that represents the hereditary baronets across the UK. We assist the baronets if they have any queries, run social events, and protect the historical aspects.

What challenge were you trying to address with FBJ Digital?

Our previous website was serviceable for its time, but it’s been about 12 years, now. It was time to revitalize and modernize our site. We tasked FBJ Digital with helping us move forward with the project.

What was the scope of their involvement? 

FBJ Digital revamped the whole structure of the site to improve the overall feel. Much of the information remained the same — they mostly focused on the look of the site. We worked together to get the imagery down because we had to obtain permission from our members to use some of the assets.

Aside from the site, they got our Salesforce up and running. Before, all of our data was spread out across a number of databases. FBJ Digital was instrumental in aggregating that into one resource. 

What is the team composition? 

I worked with Julian (Owner & Consultant), but I’m sure he had others in the background helping him. 

How did you come to work with FBJ Digital?

Julian’s father was a member of our organization, though we did hold a tinder and looked at other bids. Out of all of them, FBJ Digital’s was the best. I looked at some of their past work and felt that their websites were spot on. It was very clean imagery, and I found it easy to make my way through those websites.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project lasted from December 2018–October 2019. We had a few meetings early on and started working on the site development in early 2019. As the partnership evolved, we discussed our database needs and worked on the Salesforce integration.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

All of the members who are using the site now have been hugely impressed by the new look and feel. One of the areas of the site that gets a lot of compliments is what we call the Official Roll of the Baronetage. Users who access our data on the Official Roll have responded positively to the improved design.

How did FBJ Digital perform from a project management standpoint?

If you get the relationship between the client and the service provider right, then the project management is much easier. 

I’d worked for organizations before as they’d gone through development projects, so I already understood that process. It was just a matter of communicating how I wanted this site to look and feel. Julian delivered that, and we got on well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It was a really positive experience. They were always at the other end of the telephone. Even if I encountered an issue over the weekend and had to send them an email, they would come back with an answer or sort it out for me. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think I could fault them. They’re a good, reliable company that listens.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest and realistic in what you want. You can’t expect them to come up with all of the ideas because it’s a partnership. You need to explain where you’re coming from, what you want the site to deliver, and how the imagery should look if you want to get the best out of them. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Business Development Director for our product design consultancy so the website being visible 100% of the time in Google's search results and operating without bugs is crucial to my work.

For what projects/services did your company hire FJB Digital?

We had a large digital agency design and build the website but we were not happy with their process or the final result which was clunky and expensive to make minor changes to. Their hosting package was also exorbitant! We approached FJB to take over the hosting and maintenance of the website which immediately cut the headaches and cost of our website in half (at least!).

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to make minor changes to some of the pages and to fix some of the SEO based errors that had been built into the site by the other agency. We also wanted reduce our expensive hosting costs.

How did you select FJB Digital?

There aren't many companies offering support to Umbraco sites locally to us and FJB came recommended.

Describe the project in detail.

FJB took over the hosting and maintenance, suggesting updates that needed to be made instantly to improve our SEO performance and some which could be delayed till later. These have all now been completed. We have approached them as and when we've needed backend changes to the site to allow new functionality.

What was the team composition?

We always interface with Julian who is responsive and helpful. He coordinates the developer effort on their end.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Our hosting costs were halved as well as any maintenance that's required on a now aging website.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

FJB have been very responsive and proactive during our engagement.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their responsiveness and honesty.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Very satisfied