This is a very simple formula for micro-agencies to expand beyond the £250k turnover level. And to stay there.

As with all business formulae, the concept is straightforward, and the execution is difficult.

But in this post, we will look to lift the veil on exactly how Time can be generated in micro-agencies. And in turn, how that element of the growth formula above can be leveraged.

Firstly, we need to set the scene. And to do this, we need to recognise the realities of a micro-agency owner’s Time.

For most, the task categories look something like this:

The business is small, and therefore the owner tends to be involved in (virtually) everything that goes on.

But this often results in them splitting the priority of those tasks like this:

The tasks in the TODAY section get done immediately & tasks in the TOMORROW section get deferred. And not usually to “tomorrow” in fact, but rather an indeterminate time in the future where they can no longer be ignored!

Those sat in FUTURE, well they’re really going to struggle to get a look in, at least from a proactive standpoint.

So when you then look at the role each of these task categories plays in the expansion of the business, the problem becomes self-evident:

So in a nutshell, the pressure of the numerous demands on a micro-agency owner’s time mean that the actions most important to growth are relegated to nice-to-haves.

And this structure creates a cyclical process that often results in the agency effectively standing still:

So whilst you may continue to bring in new work over time, the overall scale of the business remains static, as you trade doing for selling, over and over.

So how can this cycle be broken?

First we need to look at the root cause; client work & client management.

Now of course those two task categories are critical to the Money element of our growth formula, and therefore cannot be discarded entirely! But how those tasks are achieved certainly can be.

And this comes down to resource; the people you have in your micro-agency to execute on those tasks. Chances are that you (as the owner) are the only person who can realistically market & sell right now. And the same is probably true for the operations & finance work. On top of that, if you hired non-billable staff to do those roles, you would still be the only one left to do client work, and so you’d still likely suffer from the same problems! Which is why the client side of things is where the focus should be initially.

Before we get into that in too much detail however, it is worth talking about the trade that is being made here.

In the short-term, there is almost no way to avoid this - if you take on more costs, your profitability will come down. Try to think of it as an investment - more to come on that later…

For most micro-agencies, this period of trading Money for Time will result in falling profit %s but a stable absolute profit figure.

For example, an agency turning over £100k at £50k profit may well find that they still make £50k profit at £150-200k turnover. And whilst this may not seem a hugely attractive prospect in the short-term, it should be assisting in laying the groundwork for the future.

On the assumption that growing beyond that turnover level is something you want to do, then the investment is likely necessary. 

And whilst the example above may not represent the “perfect” situation, it does at least show a sustainable one; and taking a longer-term view, sustainability should be the focus over % profitability.

As outlined above, to break the cycle of doing & selling, you’ll need to add people to your agency.

But to be entirely clear, these do not have to be full-time, permanent members of staff. And indeed very often they are not; freelancers, part-timers & contractors could all fit your bill. So when we talk about “people”, keep an open mind on what that could mean in your agency.

Firstly, there is very definitely a distinction between good hiring & bad hiring. And we’re not just talking about the skills, experience or cost of the people you bring in. We’re talking primarily about independence. Or at the very least the desire & attitude necessary to achieve it.

Because this goes back to the reason why you are looking to expand the team in the first place; Time.

And if you hire people who you cannot turn into independent workers, this will be the result:

And consequently, this is the biggest mistake we see micro-agency owners making - they equate a bigger team with less responsibility & therefore more Time.

But without thinking about how to generate independence in that team, they are in fact no better off in terms of Time.

This is partly about the attitude of the individual(s) concerned - during your interview process, think hard about how you are going to identify self-reliance & independence. Asking open questions like “How do we get the best out of you?” & “How do you retain & retrieve new information?” are good ways of seeing what personal structures someone has to underpin independent working.

But on the assumption that you can find people with the right attitude & structures, you as the agency owner have a huge role to play in whether they can actually achieve independence.

Here are the things they will need:

‍Processes: most agency owners want things done their way; it’s only natural, considering that if you didn’t, you’d probably have stayed as a salaried employee somewhere else! But getting this across to the team is hugely time-consuming if you don’t write it down. We understand that the word “process” sounds boring, so if you’re currently mid-snore, try to think of it another way:

Processes are there to get things done your way without you having to say a word

Does that sound more appealing? 

The way you want work to be executed, the way you want client queries to be handled, the way you want the team to update each other on their progress, the list goes on - it is not a small job. But equally, each time a team member references the process or (in time) follows it unconsciously, is time saved for you. Because if they didn’t have it, they’d have to ask you what you wanted.

‍Defined roles: in micro-agencies, there is a LOT of mucking-in & we are not denying that. But even if a team member needs to cover a different type of work once in a while, they should be fully aware of what their core job is. And indeed where that job starts and finishes, especially in an agency where you need multiple skill-sets to execute a client project end-to-end. So define roles clearly, and your team won’t spend every waking moment asking you to tell them what to do!

‍Templates: whatever your industry, your work will involve documentation. Be it for internal reference for the wider team, or for client-facing conversations / sign-off, you’re going to have it. And if you can template it for your team, they are significantly more likely to be able to fill it out without your input than if they have to open a blank document each time! Templates not only standardise the visual appearance of your documentation, but they also ensure that all areas that need to be covered are addressed - effectively as if you were asking your team member each of the questions yourself. Hours upon hours will be saved with templates!

‍Default priorities: less commonly recognised in our experience, but hugely important in time-generation. We have seen time & again that micro-agency owners have to tell each team member what to do next as & when they need to switch task. And this is hideously inefficient. By creating a default prioritisation list, team members should be able to switch tasks themselves based upon it, only requiring you to step in if you want something done out of the normal order. 

For example, a simple rule could be “work on the project closest to completion before picking up something new.” So if a project which they thought was finished comes back with some client feedback, they would pick up the amends to that over the newer project they have just started on. Simple things, but hugely effective in removing you as the owner from the equation. And thus generating you more time.

‍Expectations: this is partly about explaining the existence of all of the above supporting material, but also about the fact you expect your team to use it. If they ask you a question that they could have answered from your documentation, don’t answer it; ask if they have checked the documentation. If you continue to operate like the sole source of information, you are training your team to treat you as such. Once they realise that it is actually easier to get their answers somewhere else, that is the path they will take. You’ll still get questions for sure, but those will help you to uncover where the gaps in your documentation are, so once you’ve answered the question, you can ask your team member to update the process or template accordingly. Win-win.

‍Trust: last, but certainly not least, is trust. Simply put, if you do not trust your team to work independently, you will NEVER generate the time you need. If you feel a constant need to look over everyone’s shoulder at what they are doing, the rest of the work you have done will be for naught. You cannot, and should not, expect perfection from them; at best you should be aiming for them to do as you would have done 9 times out of 10.

Because you have to remember that this is a trade:

If you want to gain Time, you have to be willing to trade something for it. One part of that trade is the Money invested in the people you bring in. The other part is control. If you cannot accept others’ making decisions that you would not, you will never achieve a significant gain in Time. And if you cannot make a significant in Time, you will almost certainly stunt your agency’s growth.

Generating Time is a combination of the right people & the right set-up for them to achieve the necessary level of independence.

Without that independence, the people alone will not solve your Time issues.

And if you can’t solve your Time issues, you will constantly be stuck in this loop:

And all the while you are moving around that loop, your business is stagnating & you are getting increasingly frustrated.

Create independence, generate Time, grow your micro-agency beyond that moniker.