Why We Started a Business (And Why It Still Matters Today)

These days, people start businesses for all sorts of reasons. For me, it was a mix of the desire to be the master of my own destiny, the belief that I could do it better, or at least my version of better, and the hope that success could create a platform to help others.

Helping others has always been central to what we’re building at Soul Spaces. That plays out in three key areas:

I’ve always wanted to run a business that shapes careers and creates opportunity. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing someone grow into an asset for the business and watching their life improve alongside it. If Soul Spaces isn’t doing that, something’s gone wrong. Success, to me, is shared.

One of the privileges of running a business is the ability to support meaningful causes beyond your four walls. Charitable work has been a major part of our journey. We’ve proudly supported organisations like Whizz Kidz, Barts Charity, Haig Housing and the Stoll Foundation—through football marathons, half marathons, and one-off fundraising efforts. Each year, we commit to choosing and supporting charities that matter to us. It’s not just a nice-to-have. It’s a key part of who we are.

We believe in doing our bit. Through our partnership with Ecologi, we offset carbon every month; planting trees and investing in projects that help restore balance. Internally, we’re also investing in training to deepen our sustainability knowledge. We’re currently upskilling on SKA ratings and how we can bring those into our projects to create better spaces, responsibly.

These three pillars, people, planet, and purpose, aren’t side projects. They’re central to how we do business.

And today, I think they should be visible. Your brand, your morals, your ethics, they’re part of your offer, and rightly, they’re being scrutinised.

We still care about profit. But it sits alongside people and planet. That’s the balance we’re working hard to get right, and to keep getting better at.