The Growit! Blog

Is 2018 the year you should hire a coach for you and your agency?

Written by Clodagh S. Higgins | Feb 15, 2018 9:10:00 AM
Running an agency can feel a lot like being/doing a plate spinning act, in a circus, on a tightrope, and the plates are on fire. Well, not every day feels like that, but you know what I mean. Your to-do list keeps getting longer, cause for each thing you cross off at your end you need to add two more. This gives you the feeling of not getting anything done. So at what point do you reach up and ask for some help? The minute you think you need some!

There are many ways you can find a coach for yourself and your agency, one that suits your requirements and budget. Here are a few options depending on your where you are in the lifecycle of your agency or the challenges you are facing:

#1: You are feeling overwhelmed.

Most agency owners have an important role in the business, sales, account management, marketing, web development, which all takes up most of your time. Then there are all the tasks involved in managing people, running the business, sending invoices & chasing payments, etc. By getting a coach and having a weekly meeting with them, they can help you prioritize your tasks to help get some free time in your diary and to start thinking about how you can work ON the business, not just IN the business.

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#2: You know what to do, you don’t know where to start.

You have got yourself to a stage in your agency where you have to hire people on your team so that you are only wearing one or two hats, and you are starting to have time in your week to think about the future of your agency. Your work with a coach at this point could be focused on a 2-3 year plan where they can help you plan that out, set tasks for you to compete and meet with you monthly.

#3: You want to grow or scale your agency.

You have got a 3 or 5 or 10-year plan drafted out, but now you need help on hiring the right people to get you there. By hiring a coach for this step, they can help you with clarifying your organisational chart, setting your recruitment process and defining your business model. They could help you set up a board of directors if that was the direction you choose to take. Also, your existing employees will benefit from having a career plan, skill mapping and a coach to help them succeed in their role.

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#4: You need to streamline your agency.

After many years of running your agency and having gone through many iterations of market models, you have now decided that you wish to downscale, you want to step back and run it as a lifestyle business or perhaps one of your family members is ready to step up to take over key roles. Working with a coach at this stage can help you set up a transition plan for where you will take on less tactical roles and work with your successor on taking on the leadership position.

#5: You are looking to sell your agency.

This is a really exciting time to be a Digital Marketing Agency. There are currently many larger agencies looking to acquire smaller ones, in order to expand their services and build an Inbound or Digital Marketing Team. The right coach can firstly help you set up your financial picture to show the buyer that you are a good purchase. They will help you refine your processes as this is fundamentally a key part of what buyers are looking for: a business with revenue prospects and a repeatable system to generate that revenue. Your coach should be able to connect you through their network to suitable buyers and help you prepare for the interview process that comes along with an acquisition.

 

There are plenty of more reasons to start working with a coach. These are just some of the typical phases that we see digital agency owners find themselves in. If you feel like a coach can help you personally and professionally (and you can afford to engage one then do your due diligence)? Then get one that knows your industry, someone you feel you will enjoy working with and that you trust them to share your financials and your feelings with. Make this the best year of your agency by hiring the right coach to get you to the place you want to be.