That Mob: Jess Allison stands out from the crowd with new web company
Date posted: April 2011
Jess Allison
BA (Media & Comms) 2006
What began as a collection of odd jobs for Jess Allison has transformed into a dynamic new business venture, creating a cohort of some of Melbourne’s best independent web practitioners and designers.
The 27-year-old media and communications graduate (BA, 2006) is the lynchpin in a three-way partnership with web designers/developers Virginia Murdoch and John McLennan that last year teamed together to launch That Mob.
That Mob is a novel concept on the web communications scene—essentially a collection of nine independent web design and development companies, for which Jess provides a valuable client interface as project manager.
The concept emerged organically from work Jess was already undertaking on a part-time basis for multiple small-scale companies.
“I was doing a few days a week at John’s web design company [The Golden Grouse],” Jess said, “and a few days at a graphic design company, doing project and account management, and John said it would be really great if you could also talk to the clients for us, but I can’t afford you fulltime.
“He knew of other small web companies with the same issue and came up with the idea that I could represent them collectively. I’d have a fulltime job and they’d have the benefit of having someone for their clients to talk to throughout the week.
“It seemed like an idea that no-one else was really doing, and that it might just work.”
After six months of developing the concept, identifying the businesses they wanted to work with, and drafting the necessary legal documentation, they were ready to launch in July last year, and have since proved their theory true.
Virginia and John provide consultative web expertise to Jess, who undertakes the project management, handling client liaison, providing briefs to customers, developers and designers, and taking care of the accounts.
“I have a pretty good handle on how the web design works,” she said, “ but I don’t get too bogged down in the practical detail, so it’s easier for me to talk to the clients in laymen’s terms, to figure out what they need and then translate that with designers into a fully-scoped brief.”
Another significant advantage for the businesses is that it allows them to pitch for major jobs.
“The companies we’re representing want to stay small—they’re not interested in the hassle of having lots of employees—but they still want to be able to pitch for the larger jobs with government and other big organisations. So it’s great for them to be able to work collaboratively and have one point of contact to keep it all clear.”
Jess said the role perfectly suits her natural inclination to organise.
“I love it. Even in my personal life I’m always the organiser—I’ve just applied that to my working life. I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing a project through to its end. And I love working with people; I like talking to people and hearing what they’re interested in. I feel very lucky to have the kind of work I do.”
It was probably an inevitable path for the daughter of two small business entrepreneurs.
“I’ve seen how my parents handle it and the enjoyment they get from it—and the difficulties as well—but I’ve been in the corporate world and I’d rather be dealing with the difficulties of small business than working in a large corporate office.”
The objective now is to keep things running smoothly and to ensure all businesses represented are receiving sufficient work — “Then, hopefully, we can hire a second project manager, allowing for further businesses to be added”.
Jess’s advice to other young entrepreneurs is to gain work experience in their industry of choice before going solo.
“Also talking to other small businesses and understanding what the difficulties are likely to be will help you better prepare for them when they happen.”
Jess is keen to explore other projects long-term, but in the meantime wants to see That Mob reach its full potential.
“I want to make sure I’ve given it a good go—that it will be all it can be.”
Visit That Mob at http://thatmob.com.au/.
You can now connect to Swinburne through the following social media platforms:
