Intro

I started the Scottish Bee Company a few years before the pandemic began. It was still in its infancy - a startup that (like every other business) relied on a stable and consistent market and had to find its way through an ever changing market without it. John MacPherson, the owner of and founder of Bright Red Publishing, a company that provides educational material and study guides across Scotland, relies mainly on a stable and consistent education system as well as a strong financial market.

John began Bright Red in 2008 - right as the financial crisis hit, and he was immediately hit with huge challenges overnight and immediately changing the trajectory of his new company. It was only a few years later that the Scottish Government had a huge upheaval of the school examining boards which meant a large percentage of his products (study guides etc) became useless, and once again he had to change the company’s direction. Since then, with the pandemic and a continued move to digital content and changes to how we consume data, it is fair to say John has not had an easy ride.

Despite this, Bright Red is now a multi award winning independent publishing company that continues to thrive. In our podcast, John shares his journey, his attitude and a little about the importance of tenacity. Enjoy!