Great agencies don’t just grow or just become profitable. They grow or become profitable intentionally. The best agencies lead with this mindset in their early days. Whether you’re just starting out or years into running your firm, tracking capacity, utilization, and realization are foundational tools for firm leaders who want to make better decisions at … Read more
5 Strategies to Train Your Founder to Stop Managing by the Bank Balance 1. Set a Regular Financial Rhythm: Establish monthly (or biweekly) financial review meetings. Present a simple dashboard with: When founders know they’ll get consistent, easy-to-understand updates, they’re less likely to check the bank every day. Click here for the editable Google Sheets … Read more
If you’re like many agency owners, the first thing you do to “see how your business is doing” is look at your bank balance. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s… misleading. If you are managing your agency by your bank balance alone, you’re not seeing the whole story. Your bank balance is not your income. … Read more
In the dynamic, fast paced world of small firms, the challenges of big business loom just as large yet the resources to address them are significantly scarcer. It’s what makes having a good finance person that much more valuable. It’s no secret that working in smaller firms means juggling multiple roles—and your finance person needs … Read more
Many agency owners delay investing in a strong finance solution in the early stages of their business. On the surface, this might seem like a reasonable decision — after all, when cash is tight, it’s tempting to prioritize client work, marketing, or hiring over building a solid financial foundation. But this delay carries a massive … Read more
Agency owners share many qualities: courage, creativity, and a wealth of ambition that often exceed the hours available in their busy days. While juggling the demands of day-to-day operations—a challenge a fine-tuned finance team can help with (more on that later)—they face the universal reality they will exit their business. On some days, the thought … Read more
See if this sounds familiar: your agency’s bank account is flush with cash, but your accountant tells you at the end of the year that you haven’t made any profits. Something doesn’t add up. “But we’ve had so much business this year!” you think. Not only that, but when you looked at your sales and … Read more
Like most owners of marketing agencies, you’re the one who feels the most responsible for tracking your business’s performance and profitability. Maybe you even hired a bookkeeper and a tax accountant to tag team the job. But do they know what to look for? Rarely, as it turns out. You may assume that the professionals … Read more
Essential Financial Reports Every Creative Services Firm Needs: How to Read and Use Them For Smarter, More Confident Decision-Making We work exclusively with creative service firms, the brilliant souls serving clients of their own in marketing, brand and business strategy, architecture, design and more. Most owners want to be financially successful but are understandably unequipped … Read more
Pricing. A topic we discuss a lot at Finally, and for good reason. Your pricing strategy is important and even small improvements to your approach could significantly increase your firm’s profitability. This is particularly true for creative businesses. And while previous blog posts have detailed strategies for pricing creativity, this post will unlock the power … Read more
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