Navigating Agency Life: Challenges and Community

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Do you feel along or isolated in your agency leadership journey? Wonder how it feels to have people who ‘get you’ and understand the unique challenges of owning an agency? Today’s featured guest faced numerous insecurities and challenges on her growth journey. Ultimately, the pivotal moment came when she joined a peer community, which encouraged her to adopt a new mindset and explore various solutions and strategies. Discover her unexpected journey into entrepreneurship and how the support of her peer community empowered her to confidently remove misaligned talent and pursue strategic partnerships, alleviating the burdens of ownership.

Andi Graham is the CEO and founder of Big Sea, a marketing agency that began its journey as a web development firm in 2005. She shares her unique educational background, her interest in the intersection of communication and behavior change, and discusses her self-taught journey into graphic design and how realizing her vision was bigger than her skills paved the way for starting to build a team and eventually starting an agency.

In this episode, we’ll discuss:

• The role of community in embracing a different approach to agency challenges.

• Learning the importance of due diligence in an agency merger.

• Lessons on the high price of misaligned talent.

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Accidental Agency Owners: Embraces Your Strengths and Delegate Weaknesses

Although Andi graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sociology, her true passion was advertising and understanding the connection between communication and behavior change. She also taught herself design and had fun creating menus for the pizza shop where she was working at the time.

Later on, in her first professional role, she got to dive into other marketing activities like starting the company’s first email newsletter. To enhance her skills, she learned coding to implement more visual modifications than the newsletter platform could offer. Eventually, she started building websites and taking freelance clients and realized she had built something more lucrative than her full-time job.

When the time came to intentionally start growing her business, Andi knew her strengths are copywriting and project organization but lacked in design and web development skills. It was time to start hiring people with expertise in these areas to improve the quality of her services. She recognized she was more of a jack of all trades but lacked the patience to get really good in a particular area. It was the right combination of skills to become a business owner, as running a business requires learning a little bit about every part of the business.

The Importance of Community in Agency Leadership

One of the most significant challenges Andi faced while launching her own business was the struggle to balance financial realities with her desire to cultivate a positive workplace culture. Yes, she wanted her team to have fun and like her but she also needed to run a profitable business.

However, finding a community of peers who understood the unique difficulties of agency ownership proved to be a game-changer for her. She quickly learned that, although her peers faced the same challenges, they were approaching them with a different mindset. This highlighted the importance of perspective in business and the need for a supportive community that encourages open dialogue and shared learning.

This camaraderie was not just about commiserating over shared challenges; it became a platform for exchanging solutions and strategies and helped Andi appreciate the value of having a “tribe” who not only validate your experiences but also inspire you to adopt new approaches to your work.

The Significance of Due Diligence in an Agency Merger

By 2016, Andi found herself feeling overwhelmed by the demands of running her agency alone and yearned for more quality time with her daughter. She had connected with various agency owners, which enabled her to build relationships with peers whose skills complemented her own. This collaboration led to a partnership that resonated with both her personal and professional goals.

Each partner brought unique strengths to the table, whether in sales, operations, technology, or marketing and creative projects. This division of labor allowed everyone to concentrate on their passions, ultimately enhancing job satisfaction and productivity.

However, the journey was not without its challenges and Andi regrets not conducting thorough due diligence on her partners prior to the merger. As a result, she encountered unexpected friction due to undisclosed ownership stakes that created tension in decision-making processes. Fortunately, there was a positive outcome, with a successful buyout of the problematic partner handled with care and mutual respect.

Collaborative partnerships are not merely transactional; they are rooted in shared values, trust, and open communication. As Andi learned, prioritizing alignment in partnerships is essential for fostering a healthy, productive, and fulfilling business environment.

Lessons on the Hidden Cost of Misaligned Talent

Another significant challenge Andi encountered was the difficulty small agencies face in attracting and retaining talent that not only possesses the necessary skills but also aligns with the team's dynamics and values.

At one point, she struggled to let go of a highly skilled developer whose negative attitude was detrimental to the work environment. This is a common pitfall for agency owners who often become overly reliant on individuals with specialized skills, overlooking the importance of interpersonal dynamics and team cohesion. Recognizing that technical expertise does not automatically translate to a good cultural fit is a vital lesson for leaders.

Ultimately, Andi faced several situations that taught her the importance of recognizing early signs of misalignment and getting over the fear of disruption and the perceived challenge of replacing a key player can lead to prolonged periods of dissatisfaction within the team. She is now much more confident in her team’s potential for resilience and adaptability in the face of personnel changes.

Embracing the Long Game in Agency Growth

Having run her agency for almost twenty years, Andi has learned the value of patience as it become clear that success is not merely a product of quick actions or rapid changes, but rather the result of sustained effort and the ability to endure challenges over time.

Although agency owners are usually fast-movers and very action-oriented, her recent agency rebrand has taught her the importance of building momentum through consistent actions and understanding that the efforts put forth today will yield results in the future, sometimes months or even years later. This long-term perspective is essential for entrepreneurs who may feel disheartened by the slow pace of progress.

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