A business that 21-year-old Callum Beattie set up less than a year ago has already tripled its monthly turnover and expanded to the point where he’s been able to employ a member of staff.

The former BMW car salesman set up Stoke-on-Trent based Crawford & Beattie in January 2026 with no loans, grants or investors.

Callum is building the strategic creative and content agency from scratch and says that every client, system and result the company is involved with is something he has been directly responsible for delivering.

He said: “I started with the conviction that most agencies sell activity, not outcomes. I set out to build one that proves its value in numbers. In my first year of trading I’ve signed and retained clients across completely different industries, from garden buildings and exterior cleaning to the food sector and automotive, and delivered measurable commercial results for each of them.

“What I’m proudest of is how I got there. When I needed lead generation infrastructure I couldn’t yet afford to buy in, I taught myself to build it. I reverse engineered the systems used by far larger competitor agencies and built my own from scratch, automated qualification bots, conversion funnels and SMS follow up infrastructure, so my clients get the kind of systems much larger agencies charge a premium for at a boutique price.

“Every new client problem has become an opportunity to add a capability the agency didn’t have the week before. That instinct, turning a gap into a new strength rather than a reason to say no, is how I’ve grown the company.

“I run Crawford & Beattie on a retainer model by design with a small number of clients, high standards, high margins and direct access to me as the founder rather than being handed to a junior. It’s the opposite of how most agencies operate and it works.

“Within my first year I’ve created my first employee role, issued my first employment contract and built the company to the point of being named a Finalist in the UK Small Business Awards 2026.

“I came into this with everything to prove and plenty to lose. I’ve proved the model, the results and the reason I left a comfortable job to chase this. I’d be proud to represent what’s possible for a young business owner in Staffordshire and I’m only just getting started.”

Callum registered the business in November 2025 and left his job with BMW in January 2026 to work on Crawford and Beattie fulltime.

Most of his clients are Staffordshire based but are as far afield as London. He proudly says that he has retained every client he has won.

He added: “My ambition is for Crawford & Beattie to be a recognised name across the UK and for people to know what it does just by hearing the name. I’m 100% driven to make it happen.”

Callum Beattie has entered the Young Business Person of the Year category of University of Staffordshire Business Awards and has entered Crawford & Beattie into the Start-up Business of the Year category.