There’s so much to consider when starting up your own digital agency and here’s the list that circulates my brain everyday from when I wake til when I fall asleep around 3-4am each morning.
- What category do we fall into? Digital Agency, Interactive Marketing, Social Design Consultants
- Should we offer services in everything we’ve ever done?
- Who can I reach out to in order to extend our network?
- What big agencies would have large amounts of overflow work?
- What companies are hiring for roles that they could save money on by working with us?
- Is it better to hire on or partner with another team?
- Am I spending my time on the right stuff?
- Is our environment the best it can be for our team?
- When is it time to expand into a bigger office?
- When are we launching our social media analytics tool?
- When is the website redesign going to be completed?
- Am I spending enough time with my family?
- When will I sleep?
There are some harsh realities when starting up a digital agency. And there are so many great things that come with it as well. Can you focus on the good things and let the little things roll off your back? Some of the most important things about a Digital Agency are: love who you work with, never give up, be creative when looking for projects, tap inspiration from those around you and believe that what you envision as the point of sustainability will be there soon.
As much as this translates into some of the daily challenges I face as the CEO and co-founder, it also should show that I embrace transparency outside of my own walls. I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on some of the things they are challenged by and see if we can create some great tips and resources for other agency leaders.
cheers
BJ
June 26th, 2010 - 12:11 am
BJ, here’s my list:
- How do I keep my best people
- Should I take the plunge and build the church before we have a congregation
- How do we embrace Digital faster than we are
- Should I fire the clients that don’t really match our values and also those that really are not profitable
- How to install time and costing models into our agency so we know the real story on job proficiency and profitability
- How to make reward and recognition consistent and a part of our dna
- When will sustainability arrive….we seem to be forever 2 clients away from it
July 12th, 2010 - 8:37 am
Hey Dennis,
I just saw this comment so here’s my response:
> Best People – They have to believe in the vision of the company, they need to love getting up everyday and coming into the office and you need to take care of them. My last piece of advice is that if someone wants to leave, they’re going to and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s the natural part of the cycle. You’ll always be there, but there will always be those that come, do a great job and look for greener pastures.
> Church vs. Congregation – Can you clarify?
> Embrace digital faster – Yes or you’re too late.
> Firing clients – I’ve seen this firsthand and if you have the cashflow to support this then go for it. In terms of clients that aren’t profitable – yes that’s a no brainer.
Install time and costing models – You need tools and the people to run these tools. If you’re not tracking time as an agency you’re driving blind. You have to be able to see profitability or you can’t do all the fun stuff we do at agencies
> Reward and Recognition – Do it naturally. Start small and build from there. We did an annual awards ceremony last year for the team and will do it again for sure.
Sustainability – A lot of us are wondering the same thing. Keep pushing forward, finding that niche and those clients that see value in long term relationships. It’s the one off projects that are false-cashflow cows.
I hope that helps for now!