IW: Give us an elevator pitch for your business.

CB: Hi, I’m Chris Blyth is the founder, web designer, accountant, secretary, and drinks maker at Three Fishes Web Design. Based in our lovely town I’m available for remote, freelance projects.

 

IW: What is your favourite thing about Worthing? 

CB: It has to be the promenade between George V Avenue and Splashpoint. I’m a runner and according to Strava have ran it 600+ times, however I’m yet to be bored of it.

It’s a stretch that’s ever changing depending on how the weather is or the time of day or year and its somewhere I’ll never take for granted.

 

IW: Describe your favourite type of day?

CB: It has to be a Sunday. As a runner and absolutely love a Sunday long run so I would start the day running from Worthing to Shoreham and back for a half marathon distance. Would then follow it up with Red Wine whilst watching the F1 and then a roast dinner in the late afternoon. Wonderful!

 

IW: What skill or talent would you most like to learn and why?

CB: Salsa dancing looks like a lot of fun. I look like some weird art when I dance so it would take A LOT of time to get up to a decent level!

 

IW: Name one thing on your bucket list?

CB: I’m a big F1 fan so would be attending the Monaco Grand Prix weekend with an unlimited budget. Anyone who knows anything about F1 knows it isn’t actually a great track for racing…..but what a place to spend a weekend!

 

IW: What topic could you give a 20-minute presentation on without any preparation? 

CB: Ice Hockey, specifically the NHL based over in the US & Canada. I’ve been a huge fan of the game since I was about 10 and through family ties, support the Arizona Coyotes.

Since early 2021 I’ve been a co-host a weekly podcast based on the sport with a guy over in Denver called “Across the Pond NHL”. Its great as it’s a pretty niche sport to follow for a Brit so means I get to chat to someone about it once a week and we’ve built up a pretty good and loyal following in the process.

Having a podcast also gives you the opportunity to speak to people within the game and we have had on ex-players, coaches, General Managers, commentators and even a Hanson Brother from one of my favourite films, Slap Shot.

Fun Fact: Byron Dafoe, who played 400+ games in the NHL for Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, and Atlanta Thrashers and is an All-Star was born at Worthing Hospital.

 

IW: What are you really bad at? 

DIY, 100%. Whenever I do it, it never quite looks like how it should. Plus, I always seem to find a way of injuring myself in the process.

 

IW: What is your go-to local independent business and why? Go on, you can have more than one if you like ;)

 CB: For beer and wine it has to be Bottle and Jug. Tom who owns it is a walking encyclopaedia when it comes to good Beer and Wine and he hasn’t steered me wrong once when it comes to recommendations. His website is pretty good too. ?

 

IW: What is something you are really looking forward to? 

CB: Me and my wife are heading to Iceland for a holiday which was delayed due to the pandemic. Its coming up pretty soon and has been 2.5 years in the making.

 

IW: What does your perfect breakfast look like? 

CB: It has to be a Full English with black pudding, no tomatoes and drenched in Worcester Sauce with a cup of coffee on the side. No airs and graces.

 

IW: What do you buy loads more of than other people, and why?

CB: Coffee Beans. Being home based I’m rarely 20 yards away from a kettle and I drink the stuff like its water. Edgcumbes Coffee based just outside of Arundel is my favourite local roastery and conveniently, its available from Rassasy in Ferring.

 

IW: Name a favourite album, film, book or TV show and tell us what it does for you? 

CB: A bit of recency bias here as I’ve just rewatched it but it has to be “The Thick of It” TV series. I’ve easily watched it 10+ times and it still pulls me right in. Glenn’s resignation scene is a thing of joy,

That said, me and my wife are onto series 2 of “Succession” and that is en-route to being one of my favourite shows.

 

IW: What gives you goosebumps?

CB: When the credits kick in at the start of Home Alone. I’m a massive child when it comes to Christmas, and I love everything about that music and film.

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to see the film on the big screen in Toronto and with a live orchestra scoring the music. I may have had dust in my eyes.

 

IW: Which season is your favourite and why?

CB: As much as I love Christmas, it has to be Summer. Worthing really does come into its own during the season.

 

IW: If you weren't living in Worthing, where would you be living?

CB: A tossup between Phoenix, Arizona which was pretty much a second home as a child or the island of Vis in Croatia. Absolute paradise!

 

IW: What inspired you to start your own business?

CB: Unfortunately (or fortunately), I was made redundant due to the financial effects of the pandemic. It was a demanding job that involved a daily 3-hour commute. Needless to say, I didn’t want to jump into the first job that came along, so I took the opportunity to look at what I wanted from life and work backwards from there.

I was involved in designing websites at previous jobs, and it’s something I have a passion for so coupled with wanting to be my own boss, turned a negative situation into a positive one.

 

IW: What is the best thing about what you do? 

CB: I love speaking to an eclectic mix of businesses and individuals, all with their own needs and requirements, and through that collaboration, producing the first draft and then building further on that.

 

IW: What pearl of wisdom would you impart to anyone wanting to set up their own business? 

CB: Sounds straightforward to say, but I would say go for it. Sounds cliché, but it’s better to take a leap of faith in something than living your life wondering “what if”.

Once doing it, stay resilient, focused, and remember this isn’t a 9-5, Monday to Friday life you’re now living.

You’ll have quiet periods where your main job of the day will be uploading posts into Instagram or sorting out your Outlook folders, but then you’ll have other periods where you’ll worry you’ve taken too much on.

I would also say absorb everything and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Countless people have set themselves up and failed.

See if you can find out where they went wrong and avoid doing the same.

Alternatively, there are plenty who have set themselves up from scratch and made a success of things. Find out who those people are, drop them an email and ask for a quick chat over Zoom or Teams. People like talking about themselves, especially when positive and guaranteed you will learn something valuable to take forward and use yourself.

 

IW: What do you get up to in your spare time? 

CB: I’m big into my running so invariable that. I like to get out at least 4 times a week although I’m training for the Brighton Marathon so currently its more.

 

IW: What’s your guilty pleasure?  

CB: Rod Stewart. Absolutely love him. In fact, I don’t even want to class this as a guilty pleasure. You should feel guilty if you don’t like him.

 

IW: What’s your favourite way to start the day? 

CB: A 4 mile out and back run along the promenade at around 7:30 in the morning. The sun is just about out so it isn’t hot, the sea is glistening, and that salty/seaweed smell is in the air. Absolute bliss.

 

IW: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things could you not do without?

CB: My amazing wife Nicky, my beautiful cat, Eva, and a pair of running trainers.

 

IW: What plans do you have for the future? 

CB: Workwise I want to continue meeting and working with awesome people whilst developing skills in an ever-changing sector. On a personal level I’m running the Brighton Marathon in April for a charity very close to my heart, Pancreatic Cancer UK so to be honest, not looking much beyond that.

 

IW: Anything else you would like to add? 

CB: Not really, other than to say thank you for taking the time to read this Q&A and if you’re in need of a new website, a refresh or some advice, feel free to drop me a line.