#3 Rethinking Succession in a Creative Agency - A Conversation with Arabella Lewis-Smith

Barry is joined by Bella, founder of Salad, a Dorset-based creative agency built around brand strategy, visual identity, and websites, for a candid conversation about why she chose employee ownership and what it has actually required on the other side. 

This episode is especially relevant for founders who are thinking about succession and want a route that protects culture, rewards the team, and still keeps the business commercially grounded. 

What’s covered

• How Salad grew over 24 years, why they stay consciously small, and what “mindful ambition” looks like in practice. 
• The succession trigger that made Bella and her co-director question the default “grow to sell” path, and what shifted once EO entered the conversation. 
• Why EO felt like a genuine win-win, without pretending it’s a magic wand. 
• What Bella would do differently: choosing advisers, using the EOA as a starting point, and the one thing she wishes she’d done far earlier. 

The communication reality

Bella shares a very honest view of what “good comms” actually means in EO:

• Why she was advised not to rush and tell the team immediately, and how they handled early questions and anxiety. 
• The importance of repeating information, and adapting to different communication styles (from presentations to one-to-ones). 
• A reminder that EO is not a one-off event, it’s an ongoing cultural investment. 

Making owner mindset tangible

Practical examples of what changed post-transition, including:

• Sharing financial information with the team (with clear boundaries). 
• Involving the team in key planning and long-term goals, rather than keeping strategy “upstairs”. 
• Quarterly Vision Days designed to help the whole team “look up and look forward” together. 
• The role of beneficiary payments as a meaningful signal, while keeping the culture about more than money. 

Leadership and succession, unfiltered

Bella speaks openly about the tension many founders feel after an EO transition: loving the business, but also wanting the freedom to build a different kind of future. She also shares what Salad is working towards next, including succession planning and a longer-term shift in her own role. 

Quickfire highlights

• Employee ownership in one sentence: Bella frames it as an antidote to widening wealth inequality. 
• Biggest surprise: how much she’s valued the EO community. 
• Book recommendation: Radical Candor (for anyone leading through change and feedback). 
• CEO confessional: “I want to leave, but I don’t want to leave.” 

If you’re exploring employee ownership, this episode will help you think more clearly about the human side of the transition: communication, identity, leadership, and what it takes to keep EO meaningful after the paperwork is done.

Disclaimer:

The following podcast is intended to be of a general nature, will not be suitable for everyone, and should not be treated as a specific recommendation. We recommend taking professional advice before entering into any obligation or transaction.

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