Agency: Starting a Creative Firm in the Age of Digital Marketing (Advertising Age)

This book is for young startups and entrepreneurs in the advertising, marketing, and digital services space. It's an A-to-Z guide for young advertising firms, full of advice that ranges from getting funding to how to value the company and sell it to how to hire your first employee. As large agencies have struggled to adapt to the digital age, they have come to rely on these freelancers and specialists. These specialists have begun forming shops of their own - the new modern version of the agency. Increased marketing fragmentation and brand's need for specialists means that the time has never been better for a freelancers or niche service providers to build their own small firms. All they're missing is the guidance they need to find their footing. While specialist agencies and freelancers are highly skilled, most have a lot to learn about the mechanics of starting and running an agency. Many of these specialists come from a different background than those who traditionally started agencies: they come from the internet, not the ad world. In Agency, Rick Webb provides a comprehensive guidebook - giving readers the knowledge, strategies, and understanding they'll need to make the exciting transition into a modern creative services firm. Drawing from his experience running his own digital ad agency and working with countless innovative tech start-ups, Webb focuses not just on how to get started, but how to survive in a competitive marketplace. This is a hands-on master class in everything that the agency manager needs to know. From understanding small business banking, to deciding how to price a job and manage procurement, to winning new business, Agency provides everything from basic business and leadership skills to insider tips and industry information. Webb outlines the shape of the ecosystem in which new agencies will be finding their place. Packed with personal anecdotes from his time starting and running the highly successful Barbarian Group, Webb provides practical techniques for building an agile company. Modern agency upstarts need a different sort of education, and Agency provides a remarkable crash course. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-3 Front Matter....Pages 5-5 Why am I Doing This?....Pages 7-8 The Vision....Pages 9-14 The Value Proposition of Culture....Pages 15-17 Culture and Vision....Pages 19-23 Communication....Pages 25-29 Front Matter....Pages 31-31 What is Good?....Pages 33-38 Ideas....Pages 39-44 Process....Pages 45-74 Working for Other Agencies....Pages 75-85 Pro Bono Work....Pages 87-92 Front Matter....Pages 93-93 The Basics....Pages 95-101 The Emotional....Pages 103-109 The Pitch....Pages 111-134 The Rational....Pages 135-154 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 On Partners and Partnership....Pages 157-160 The Team....Pages 161-169 Employee Retention....Pages 171-182 Employee Departures....Pages 183-195 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 Bootstrapping....Pages 199-205 Front Matter....Pages 197-197 “I Want to Get Rich”....Pages 207-212 On Growth....Pages 213-215 Banks and Funding....Pages 217-230 Front Matter....Pages 231-231 Starting Up....Pages 233-242 How Much to Charge?....Pages 243-247 SOWs, MSAs, and In-PROs....Pages 249-253 Tracking Time....Pages 255-256 Billing, Collections, and Cash Flow....Pages 257-260 Working with Vendors....Pages 261-264 Employee Expenses....Pages 265-268 Front Matter....Pages 269-269 Expanding Beyond Your Core....Pages 271-274 How Much is my Company Worth?....Pages 275-279 Creating a Product in Your Service Firm....Pages 281-294 Case Studies of Start-Ups Within an Agency....Pages 295-301 Working for Start-Ups....Pages 303-305 Getting Acquired....Pages 307-322 The Fear....Pages 323-325 Back Matter....Pages 327-341 Why am I doing this? The vision The value proposition of culture Culture and vision Communication What is good? Ideas Process Working for other agencies Pro bono work The basics The emotional The pitch The rational On partners and partnership The team Employee retention Employee departures Bootstrapping I want to get rich On growth Banks and funding Starting up How much to charge? Sows, msas, and in-pros Tracking time Billing, collections & cash flow Working with vendors Employee expenses Expanding beyond your core How much is my company worth? Creating a product in your service firm Working for startups Case studies of startups within an agency Getting acquired The fear. As large agencies have struggled to adapt to the digital age, they have come to rely on these freelancers and specialists. Increased marketing fragmentation and brand's need for specialists means that the time has never been better for a freelancers or niche service providers to build their own small firms. All they're missing is the guidance they need to find their footing. Webb provides a comprehensive guidebook with the knowledge, strategies, and understanding they'll need to make the exciting transition into a modern creative services firm