Should You Open Your Own Digital Media Agency?

Almost everyone’s thought about opening their own business. For the digital marketing industry, these types of thoughts aren’t unusual. In fact, many people would see this movement from employee to boss as a natural cycle in advertising, but how do you know if you’re ready to take this step?

When

You can confidently open your own digital media agency fulltime when you have three months of cash flow saved up, and the pros outweigh the cons.

Pros:

• You’ll Make More Money (This is not guaranteed, but many agencies can produce revenue early on if they start on a small scale.)
• You know how to deliver the product (possibly better than your boss knows how)

By making your own business. you’re just cutting out the middleman:

• It’s challenging and exciting. You will work with new companies, different situations, and promising ventures.
• It offers a new work culture that could be better than the one you are in.
• You get to be your Boss (However, you also gain many more bosses, i.e., your clients)
• Usually pays off and can be personally rewarding.

Cons:

• You will not get sick or vacation days.
• You Will have a lot of competition, so be ready to explain why you are the better than other agencies.
• You will have a significant large workload. Because you are the boss, you have to make sure everything gets done and be able to perform multiple roles.
• You will be selling your services, so get used to having to pitch yourself even if you never wanted to be in sales.
• Marketing is all about what’s new and innovative. By the time something is published its old news, so get used to the idea that no one is going to tell you how to make your business successful.
• You Will be stressed. Adding on to the stress you already have, you will have the stress of a larger workload, of unpredictable income, and of pressure to deliver a good product.

Our Best Advice:

If you’ve decided you’re ready to start your own business, here’s some advice on how to succeed.

1. Research

While there is no manual for creating a digital media company, you can still research trends and information that may help you get your business off the ground.

2. Give Free Services

Offering free services is a great way to gain new customers, and these services don’t have to be massive or costly.

3. Make Client testimonials and Case studies

Client testimonials and case studies are great ways to promote yourself and is the proof that your business is effective.

4. Focus your business

Find what you specialize in and use that in your business. Trying to do too many things could make the quality of your work suffer.

5. Leave Time for Other things

Remember you have a life outside of work. If you only focus on your business, you will end up stressed out and unhappy.

6. Enjoy Starting Your Business

Yes, you will be stressed and may doubt yourself at times, but this is a fun and exciting period of your life, so take the time to appreciate it.

7. Focus on Quality

Make everything you do high quality to set yourself apart from competitors.

You now know when and how to get started, so go for it and good luck!

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