An agency is just you and your first hire in a rental office with two laptops. Your costs are not that big. And on the other side of your profit and loss-sheet you have a few clients. Clients that will pay you most of the times two months after you finish your work for them. So, manage your employee(s), a few clients and see that the money coming in and the money going out are not that far apart.

Easy, right?

So why do so many agencies fail? Not always because they’re not good in doing their creative job, but because they’re lousy entrepreneurs. (Not you of course, most of your peers). They hardly make a profit, they make the same mistakes over and over again, they’re not competitive from a financial point of view.

In How to run an Agency I will try (and trying is all I can do) to help you to run your agency properly and make a profit of probably around 20% ebitda while staying sharp in your creative work at the same time.

Ebitda, I hear some say, what the hell is that?

Well, for a start, it’s one of the chapters in this book, so I get back to you on that subject. For now: it’s the amount of cash your agency produces after all the bills have been paid for.

When I say ‘in this book’, of course I meant: in this course, this multimedia, multichannel kick-ass concept. It’s 2021 for God’s sake. So yes, there’s a book. But I need you to stay on board of this concept after you’ve finished reading this book. Become a member. And grow your agency.

The last couple of years I’ve advised lots of fellow agency entrepreneurs, who came in for coffee because they had some questions. That’s when I thought: let’s bring this a step further. I’ve talked to lots of agency-owners. Most all of them in Europe. So if you’re from the USA, from Asia or wherever, feel free to join and get inspired. But my examples, my inspiration comes from Europe.

So, all you creative entrepreneurs, this is the first time you take a simple course on the business side of running an agency. You should have done that before, I know.

Get your act together. Keep producing great creative work. And don’t ever let your lack of interest in the business side of running an agency get in your way again.

Marieke