You don’t need to be innovative. Yet.
First, your firm needs to nail the fundamentals. Because most of your competitors aren’t, and most of your prospects and clients just want you to do your fucking job.
That means:
- Responding to emails in 24 hours or less.
- Hitting your deadlines.
- Letting clients know in advance if you’re going to miss a deadline, taking accountability, and then nailing the next one.
- Showing up to meetings on time and prepared.
- Delivering to spec.
- Calling people back.
- Staying on budget.
- Developing sales habits & routines.
- Sending regular (weekly, bi-weekly, or at minimum monthly) project updates.
- Delivering high-quality, intentional work you’re proud of.
- Following up 1, 3, or 6 months post-project to ask how their experience was, what you could improve, and whether you can help further.
- Keeping an eye on your finances.
It’s not a comprehensive list, but you get the idea: these are the basics of running an agency that too many firms ignore.
How My Agency Scaled
My firm wasn’t particularly innovative on a macro level, or externally. We built custom WordPress sites, mobile apps, and web apps. We did some UX and tech consulting. Our shop was one of many horizontally positioned design and development firms with a process similar to many others.
The difference, and why we were able to scale to $4M/year? We did quality work and nailed the basics consistently. We ran a tight ship, financially and otherwise. We out-executed many of our competitors, and we had a culture of accountability. We were consistent. That built trust in the marketplace and became the foundation for scaling a creative agency.
Not as exciting, maybe. But true.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not anti-innovation by any means. Rather, I’m pro-balance, and so many firms over-prioritize innovation and under-prioritize the basics. Why? Because focus on innovation is fun, exciting – whereas focus on daily execution isn’t so, for many folks. But your firm’s “innovative” selling point will quickly become meaningless if your clients learn you can’t deliver on the basics.
The public discourse is dominated by stories of innovators “disrupting the space” or “reinventing how agencies work.” What’s talked about far less, because it’s not fodder for clicks and shares, are the firms making millions a year by simply out-executing their haphazard competitors.
So, with that in mind: you don’t need to be breaking down barriers, creating new markets, or disrupting service delivery. Yet.
First, nail the fundamentals. Build a culture of consistency, execution, and accountability. That is the foundation of what keeps your clients happy, and your business healthy.