Seamus doesn’t like to be touched.

Well, not by me, anyway.

But last year he put his discomfort aside for an NZ Woman’s Weekly photo shoot.

That was part of a PR tour to launch our Reflections business, which turned one today.

The idea behind Reflections is simple. We ask your mum or dad the questions you've always wanted answered - and turn their life story into a private documentary your family can treasure forever.

But a simple idea doesn't mean building the business around it is simple.

Here are some of the things we got right, and wrong, over our first 12 months.

GOOD CALLS

• Suzanne McFadden and Mark Stafford were the right interviewers to bring on to expand the team. The feedback is glowing.  

• We suspected that Reflections interviews might make a great milestone birthday gift. And they do.

PLOT TWISTS

• We thought we’d interview men and women in roughly equal numbers. But 85% of the people put forward by their families are men.

• We launched a ‘private family documentary’ service. But half our most recent enquiries have come from Kiwi business owners keen for us to help tell their stories.

WHEN IT MATTERS MOST

• We’ve interviewed a number of people facing terminal illness. Those aren’t easy days for anyone, but what a privilege to be able to help families in such a way.

• Some of the people interviewed by our team have since passed, and highlights of their Reflections interviews have been played at their funerals.

WHAT'S NEXT

• We’re a family storytelling service first and foremost. There is so much gold in that space. But we’re also expanding what we do to help Kiwi businesses share their story.

• We’re trying to crack the code on why there is such a male/female imbalance in the people being interviewed. And we’re hoping Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10) is a trigger for more Kiwi families to get mum behind the mic.

Anyway, here’s to our one-year-old.

And a huge thanks to the Kiwi families - and businesses - that trusted us in year one to tell their story.