ing an agency : lessons of growth and change

It has been a remarkable journey to lead and scale a rapidly-growing agency, especially as building a business wasn’t even on my radar six years ago when I started consulting independently.

In the six years I spent building Eyeful Media, i’ve relied on my network of colleagues and friends, especially those with agency-experience, to guide our growth. Every step of the way, I’ve learned valuable lessons.

We learned many lessons as we matured. Our journey was divided into phases based on Adizes organization lifecycle model.

• Infancy.
• Go-Go growth.
• Adolescence.
• Prime.

We recognized the need to adapt and improve our approach each step.

The feedback from our employees and clients helped us identify many of the critical growth opportunities.

As we have grown as an organisation, the important lessons that we learned at every stage of our journey continue to evolve.

Themes for business development

We assign a theme to our business each year in order to provide clarity and guidance.

In 2020 we concentrated on building infrastructure. In 2021, we focused on establishing structure. In 2022 our goal was to improve efficiency. This priority remains in 2023.

Our mission, values and vision have been carefully crafted and refined.

Clarity around these things has enabled us to scale our business in a manner that feels right to us. This includes hiring for culture fit, building infrastructure, structure and efficiency, in ways that are aligned with what we wish to achieve and what we stand for.

The Year of Infrastructure (2020)

In the early days of our agency, a network consisting of consultants and contractors was used.

We needed to build a better infrastructure as our team grew.

We wanted to be able to predict staffing levels better when we were pitching clients.

If you have the budget, put them into place as soon as possible.

Payroll solution: Get one today

Our processes were greatly simplified when we switched from paying contractors via PayPal to Gusto payroll.

Gusto made it easier to issue 1099s and other tax documents. Integrating with Corpnet benefits and management also made it easier to manage employees across states.

Investing in high-quality communication tools

Our team provided feedback that helped us upgrade from Google Chat (our previous chat program) to Slack.

It is important to invest in tools that promote effective teamwork and sharing of information, especially when working with remote agencies.

Selecting business accounting software

To avoid having to migrate data from an accounting program designed for freelancers, you should start with a more robust version of the software such as QuickBooks Online.

The growth of your business can be measured by establishing a consistent project name and dividing it into classes and divisions.

Data collection and reporting automated

Supermetrics was initially used to extract data into spreadsheets. This allowed us to reduce the amount of manual work and free up our team for analysis. As our needs increased, we switched to Domo, an even more comprehensive reporting tool, in order to create detailed reports for internal and external audiences during our efficiency year.

Track time accurately

We understand that tracking time is important for understanding client and project profitability.

We started using time tracking from day one, as we needed it to bill our clients. However, we upgraded the solution we used because it was more integrated with other parts of our tech stack.

Note: Later, we started to do a more detailed analysis of client/project profitability and the percentage of time tracked. But this was the starting point.

Project management solutions are a great way to manage your projects.

Adopting a project-management tool will streamline your workflows and increase efficiency. The first SEO we hired pushed us to implement project management.

Because I was no longer in an internal leadership position, I did not realize the importance of aligning multiple organizations in parallel workstreams.

Invest in tools to make it easier for your team members to share feedback

It is essential for us to keep a constant pulse on our employees’ performance as a values-oriented company. After a suggestion by a friend, who runs a larger agency, we implemented 15five.

This is the first time we have used a workforce management tool.

Create a custom template for Google Slides or PowerPoint

It may sound ridiculous, but hiring a designer for the creation of a Google Slides Template was one of our best investment.

We spent countless hours fixing decks that were inconsistent. We saved a lot of time and only spent under $2,000 on it.

Get a CPA who can handle multiple states and offload your bookkeeping

I used to manually categorize each expense in QuickBooks. It’s okay to do your own bookkeeping in the beginning of your business to better understand your costs, but it becomes less efficient after a while.

Pay someone to do your taxes for you (like Corpnet). Also, find a bookkeeper. We also needed to hire a CPA after our first few business years. Our first CPA was no longer sufficient due to the complexity in operating across multiple states.

Create an overall operating plan

You may be a founder with a clear vision of the direction you want your agency to take and what is important to you.

As you hire new leaders, make sure that they understand the plan. A plan on paper can also help you identify opportunities and gaps.

Organise your documents and share them on a shared drive

I would be happy to put all my documents in a single folder, and then search. Not everyone is able to work in this way, and it’s very difficult to organize documents later.

Create a scalable, organized file structure to make onboarding new employees easier. If you are growing rapidly, you will need to hire people quickly. Being organized can help you accelerate this process.

Organize all your contracts in a folder.

Identify revenue streams and expenses

Determine what you wish to sell, the price you will charge, and how to align your resources with the work you intend to do.

As you grow, you might be willing to accept any project that comes your way. But as you expand, you can choose to reduce or increase the scope of your services.

The Year of Structure (2021)

In this phase, we focused on establishing a strong foundation and improving our processes to ensure scalability.

We wanted to improve the onboarding and free up our team to work on strategic initiatives.

You may find it difficult to leave your day-to-day duties, especially if you began as a marketing manager and are now required to be a “real CEO”.

Delegating tasks and creating a strong team structure are crucial when you hire the best people.

Consider using sophisticated tools for data consolidation and presentation.

Add additional layers of management in order to improve communication and align the goals within your agency. This is also the time to explore partnerships and secure a credit line.

Create a robust onboarding procedure

In the beginning, I did onboarding to ensure that everyone understood our values. This wasn’t scalable or efficient, and it wasn’t the most effective way to do things.

Some of our leaders have decided to create a better system with clearer expectations and links to important documents. They also met and greeted with different colleagues.

Create a team structure

We added group directors at this stage. It was a great way to give our team managers they could turn to for assistance and to clarify their roles.

Annual reviews

I have never been a big fan of annual reviews, because I believe that managers should provide feedback every day.

Some of our more environmentally-conscious employees, however, wanted a structured process to help them better understand the steps to take to reach the next level.

We began by using Google Docs, but later moved to 15 Five.

Secure a credit line

It is best to take out a credit line when you do not need it.

You are responsible for your employees’ and their families’ livelihoods as a leader. If you find yourself in a financial crisis, have a backup plan.

Upgrade your Brand

For the first few months, you may fly under the radar. Consider a logo or website redesign as you grow, even by word-of-mouth. Don’t go overboard!

Not too much in advance but enough

Consider switching to a staffing model that allows you to hire a few days in advance as your agency grows and revenues become more predictable.

Avoid over-hiring so you don’t have idle bandwidth. (Like flowers, agency hours perish – they are gone once they are gone!) Being staffed up allows the team to cover for absences and train more effectively.

If a sudden project arises and you require bandwidth, use contractors to quickly scale your resources.

The Year of Efficiency (2022)

Our primary focus was on efficiency as we sought to improve profitability for clients and projects, automate our processes and optimize our business processes.

Our focus is also on the development of our employees. While leadership training might not seem to be related to efficiency at first, the goal is to reduce unintentional turnover and provide growth opportunities for your staff. Both of these things can be helped by coaching.

You can get an assistant

You’ll find that as a founder you will often be the one to take on tasks no one else can handle.

You may need to set up email accounts for new employees or answer questions about benefits. Offloading these tasks to an assistant can save you time.

Create processes and templates

Early hires may have difficulty navigating the process of implementation. It’s likely that you will encounter resistance. So, get feedback from them early and often.

Templates can include 90-day plans and reporting plans. However, your main goal is to find anything that the team recreates frequently in order to save time.

It may be possible to create reusable approaches to projects and content. However, you should avoid creating work that is “canned”, or cookie-cutter.

Serious about project and client profitability

As you establish your reputation, you might be willing to accept lower margins in the early years.

Make sure you know your actual cost of managing accounts, based on who is assigned to the account and what their costs are.

Train your staff – not only with marketing/tactical platform training

Do not assume that everyone has the same level of skill as you. You’ve seen more than most people.

Create a comprehensive training calendar that covers topics such as active listening, how to navigate difficult conversations, and customizing materials for clients of different organizational levels.

Realign your team

You want to stay loyal to those who are doing good work, even if they may not be the ones to take you to your next growth level.

Understanding if it is necessary to change the roles of new hires or their reporting relationships can be one of the most difficult parts of growing your business. You should also ensure that the team members you hire are in line with your values and brand.

If they don’t fit your culture, it is best to let them go. A thorough hiring process will help you screen candidates upfront. You may not always get the hiring process right.

Upgrade your legal paperwork

As you add more clients and employees, you should have an attorney review all of your documents, including employee handbooks and employment agreements.

You want to protect your business from the constant changes in laws.

Check your bank account

You may still have an old checking account that you opened when you first started your business.

Speak to your banker about upgrading the account. You can also add a linked saving account.

It is possible to reduce the cost of wire transfers.

Upgrade your reporting software

You’re now likely to have more clients. Consider a reporting suite that is more advanced, such as Tableau or Domo.

Budgeting is important.

It’s now time to manage and operate your company according to a budget.

It’s likely that you will be wrong the first year. But it is a good muscle to develop to help you understand why your revenue growth is slower or faster than anticipated and how expenses deviate from your plan.

Keep in mind these 6 tips for agency growth

Clients and team members will give you frequent feedback

It is vital that your team and clients feel heard.

Take feedback quarterly or more frequently, such as NPS and eNPS.

Attention to feedback is key to building a successful and lasting agency.

Diversify Your Revenue

In the beginning, you may not have much control over this and accept most of it.

It is important to balance the advice of agency development consultants with the need to protect the livelihoods and health of your business.

Don’t put too much business in the hands of one client or vertical. It is vital to balance retainers and one-time projects in order to maintain a healthy business.

One-off projects are more lucrative if you avoid scope creep.

When it’s a stretch, or the client doesn’t fit you, say no.

You can’t expect to get anything out of taking on a job that you lack the necessary skills for.

Do not rely on your intuition alone. Instead, trust the perspectives of your leadership team. It’s always better to leave a job with grace and recommend another company than to do substandard work.

You can walk away from a client if they’re not a good match for you. They may be disrespectful to your staff, constantly trying to get more money out of you, or just a bad partner.

Minimums allow you to produce your best work

In the early stages, you might be willing to compromise on project fees or minimum retainers.

You’ll soon learn the number of hours that your team needs to work in order to produce results and be proud of their work.

Do not be embarrassed about your prices. You should only charge what your work and you are worth.

Find out the types of people who thrive in your company

We’ve found that due to the complexity and speed of our work it is difficult to hire juniors who need daily guidance.

Look at who is performing well and who tends not to perform as well, and make adjustments in your hiring.

It is important to make sure that people have the correct values and skills. This requires effort.

Track small expenditures

Software and people can quickly add up if you are working remotely.

A quick tip would be to check regularly to see if your freelancers still belong to your team. This will allow you to cancel expenses such as email, project management and time tracking.

Audit all software on a quarterly basis to make sure your team continues to use it.

Accepting the different stages of change and growth

Scaling up an agency can be a challenging and rewarding journey. By diversifying your revenue, focusing on the development of your team, and making strategic hires you can scale up an agency.

Accept the various stages of growth. Adapt to the changing requirements of your agency. Consistently evaluate and optimize all your operations.

Every step of the journey will provide valuable insights to help your agency succeed.

The first Search Engine Land post that appeared was Scaling up an agency: Lessons in growth and change.