How to launch a successful digital agency
No matter how appealing the idea of being your own boss sounds, starting a business can be stressful and overwhelming. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone, and there are lots of resources available to help you along the way—provided you know where to look! We’ve collected some of the best tips from around the Web on how to launch your own digital agency and make it successful, so be sure to read this article if you’re thinking about taking the plunge into entrepreneurship.
Analyze your market
Do you have what it takes to start your own creative services business? The market for creative services has grown substantially in recent years, with some predicting that upwards of $30 billion will be spent on marketing and communications in 2018. If you’re looking to get into one of these hot industries, how do you know if it’s right for you? A good place to start is by analyzing your competition and seeing if there’s an opportunity where they fall short. Here are some questions to ask yourself: What type of company do I want to run? Am I willing to work long hours? Can I handle rejection or failure? Can I deliver high-quality work consistently over time? How much capital can I commit to my new venture (both financially and emotionally)? What kind of clients am I interested in working with (or not working with)? Does my personality match up well with running a small business or freelancing from home, or would working for someone else better suit me at first?
Put together your team
Starting an agency is hard work. You will have all sorts of projects, clients and tasks on your plate at once, and you need good people around you who will help shoulder some of that load. This can be especially difficult if you’re just starting out. So, what do you do? Start small. Get one or two key people working with you in those early days, whether it’s someone you know from a previous job or someone from school or university who has experience in your industry. It doesn’t matter how big their role is—it could be as simple as having them answer emails while you focus on bigger things—but having someone else there to share some of that burden will make everything easier for both of you.
Get Funding (if needed)
Many entrepreneurs underestimate how much cash they’ll need to fund their business idea. If you plan on bootstrapping or funding your company yourself, be sure you have enough cash to cover up-front costs like licensing fees, marketing materials and equipment. If you’re thinking about raising funds from investors, make sure you know what your goals are and have a realistic time frame for achieving them. Also consider how you’ll pay back your investors when it comes time to do so. You may also want to think about hiring an accountant early on, as well as an attorney if you think you might end up selling equity in your company. The more prepared you are with these details, the smoother things will go down once it comes time to raise money or sell shares of stock.
Marketing is key, do it right
Your company has a product and you want to sell it. In order for potential customers to care about that product, you need to make them aware of it in some way. Digital marketing is just one of many tools you can use for marketing your business online. The point of digital marketing is not just getting more people from around the world visiting your website. The main objective is converting these people into customers. As much as possible, try using online advertising platforms like Facebook Ads and Google Adwords. Here are five tips on how to market your small business online: 1) Create an email list. Email marketing is still one of the most effective ways to reach out to prospects and clients. It’s also very easy – almost anyone can create an email list and start sending out emails with their products or services right away. 2) Use social media channels wisely.
Diversify your services
When you’re starting out, it can be tempting to focus all your efforts on providing one particular service (e.g., social media consulting). This is often a good idea at first, but you should eventually think about offering different services that target different types of clients and industries. The more unique offerings you have, and they way they complement each other, will help you stand out from your competition and give your business more credibility. For example, if you offer social media consulting as well as web design and development, then you can attract both small businesses looking for basic assistance with their marketing efforts as well as larger companies who want an outside team to handle their entire online presence.
Build a system for success!
While many people start digital agencies with little more than a good idea and some freelance development skills, doing so without establishing reliable and repeatable systems is probably not going to lead you far down your path. Without proper planning and organization, you can’t possibly manage everything that comes along with running your own business—let alone reach any form of stability or consistency. You need to establish processes for managing clients, hiring staff, and prioritizing your work. The best way to do all of these things? Build a system!
Know what you’re good at and stick with it
Like most business-related endeavors, running a website is going to require you wear several different hats. But no matter how skilled you are at making websites look pretty or how technical your understanding of coding may be, it all falls apart if you don’t know how to run a business. Marketing, sales, client service—the list goes on and on. If you want to start a web design company, for example, then make sure that designing websites is where your passion lies. Don’t try to do everything yourself; focus on what you enjoy doing and find someone else who can handle the rest. This will not only allow you to create a better product but also prevent burnout down the road.
You don’t need to be an expert: While there is definitely value in hiring experts when it comes time to build your site, there’s nothing wrong with hiring professionals who are willing and able to work with clients like you.