1 September 2008 marks the first day of the fifteenth year of copywriting and corporate communications partnership Zarywacz.

“It was a step into the unknown when I chose to leave the security of corporate employment and start running my own business in 1994,” comments partner Robert Zarywacz. “Since then we have enjoyed working with a variety of clients in businesses and organisations of all sizes, building long-term relationships over many years.”

Originally based in Windsor, Berkshire, Robert took advantage of developments in internet and communications technology to move to a remote area of North Devon in 2004, while brother and business partner Simon maintains the South-East presence in Wokingham.

“Location is rarely an issue now that we have the ability to work by email and phone, so we collaborate on projects between Devon and Berkshire, and work with clients all across the UK,” adds Simon Zarywacz. “Clients can pick up the phone or drop us an email with a request and know that we will produce the work they require.”

Zarywacz specialises in copywriting, editing and proofreading for marketing, public relations and online communications, as well as building and maintaining web sites, and managing corporate communications projects.

Looking forward to the future, the partners are optimistic.

“Working practices have changed considerably over the past 14 years and we have continued to thrive by understanding and adapting accordingly,” concludes Robert.

“With the most challenging economic climate for many decades, we have prepared ourselves by investing time and resources in our use of technology and in our own marketing, and by ensuring we create effective communications that achieve our clients’ business objectives and provide value for money.”

When proofreading a number of large corporate documents recently, I realised how dull the writing can be. Just because someone is a specialist in a subject, it doesn’t always follow that they are good at communicating enthusiasm about this to other people.

One of the main problems is when the writing style is ‘passive’; by this I mean the practice of saying “something was done” rather than “something happened”. The opposite style is ‘active’, e.g. “I run”, “they started”. This style is far more energetic and gives vitality to writing.

It is remarkable what a difference this can make to a document, especially if it is a long one. Look out for this next time you read a long corporate report, especially if you find your eyes drooping in boredom. Also, bear it in mind when you write such documents – your readers will thank you and your writing will probably be more effective.

Robert Zarywacz

Ilfracombe is a beautiful town.

Whichever way you look, you see marvellous views: the harbour, the sea, Hillsborough, the Torrs.

10 years ago I probably would not have imagined moving my office 200 miles from Berkshire to North Devon, 50 miles from the nearest motorway and even further from the nearest international airport. How could I continue working with corporate clients?

But all that has changed and here I am, writing this article in Ilfracombe.

Broadband internet access and advanced telecommunications make this possible. Now Simon and I work as a virtual partnership, collaborating with each other on client projects by phone and email. We work this way with many clients too, and some we never meet.

Does this really work?

The answer is: yes.

While there are benefits to face-to-face meetings, they do waste time in travel. Travelling from Windsor into London could add three or more hours to a 45-minute meeting and, of course, the distances between towns in the West Country add to travel times too.

So the ability to develop effective relationships remotely is very beneficial, especially when a client rings up with an urgent request for work that needs to be completed at the last minute.

Efficiency and cost savings

The capability to receive a fully designed document as a PDF file emailed from a client in the City of London, to proofread and annotate it with amendments in Devon, and to email it back to the client within hours is truly revolutionary and very efficient. There’s no travel, no courier, no time delay and no travel expenses.

It suits both large corporate clients and small businesses, and it enables us to respond more flexibly.

Maintaining satisfied clients

Clients are happy because they know that we are on the end of a phone or at a computer, ready to work on their projects.

The reality is that the distance between us – 2, 20 or 200 miles – no longer matters. The client relationship is the same as if we were in the same room together.

As well as providing cost savings for clients, we can use the travel time saved more productively.

So is there a place for face-to-face meetings in modern business? Yes, of course, and we enjoy balancing both methods of doing business.

Robert Zarywacz