An ‘agency’ is generally a small-scale service-based company. Like Socinova & Trigacy.
Over the past decade, I’ve been through many phases of ‘business development.’
I went from working as a freelancer to being a ‘one-person agency,’ to hiring an in-house team for everything, and now being a lean team with core specialties and outsourcing everything else.
My agency was a ‘one-person agency’ in 2014, long before the term became popular. I started hearing about one-person agencies or the ‘no office, no employees’ model in 2020 and used to wonder whether they were sustainable. To be fair, this was mostly about marketing or creative agencies.
But how can one person run an entire company? Or maybe agencies aren’t companies but just competent individuals providing niche services that align with their talents?
Either way, it’s interesting to ask whether they are sustainable. In my eyes, long-term success is the most important goal.
Is having an office and a team unnecessary?
Entrepreneurs advocating for a ‘one-person agency’ or ‘no office, no employees’ model argue that having a team and an office are headaches—or at least unnecessary.
While I can see why some people feel that way, it’s not this ‘absolute’.
Managing an office and a team is difficult. But so is long-term growth.
Success is not so absolute that it depends on or is influenced by only one or a few things. Long-term success requires excellence in most skills, including working well with people and managing an organization.
When entrepreneurs deal with people to get things done and manage an enterprise, they simply become better as they are exposed to challenging situations.
In my opinion, this learning curve is necessary to do something remarkable in your life.
We’ve all heard stories of tech startup founders working out of their garages or with just a few people and creating multimillion-dollar companies. This does happen, yes. But it is an exception, not the norm.
The rest of us can be successful only by being excellent in most areas of life. Excellence generally comes from persistence and new experiences. Running an enterprise and managing people are great ways to learn and grow.
“If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
But what about the age-old wisdom of doing things yourself if you want them done right? Or the fact that most entrepreneurs are highly efficient when working alone?
Both of these arguments are probably right. We just need to combine them with another piece of wisdom – first things first, second things never.
It is a thought I live by. As a founder, I work on the most pressing problems in my company at any given time and delegate the rest.
Though managing a team and an office can still be overwhelming, I sleep well knowing that I handle the biggest challenges. This balances the pros and cons of working alone or with a team and brings out the best in most situations.
This is such a familiar and time-tested approach that I was surprised to see ambitious people even considering the one-person agency model.
You need people who compliment you
One of the biggest challenges for ambitious people is being with themselves all day with a heightened sense of things. This can easily become overwhelming, and it causes them to lose their sharpness without them knowing it.
That’s why I believe being with people complimenting you is important. Different people bring in different perspectives and sharpen your acumen.
In my experience, dealing with real people and real problems teaches you the essential skills for success the fastest. You also NEED that exposure to truly differentiate the good from the bad. The bigger the perspective, the more precise your moves could be.
And besides that, shouldn’t doing good for people and society be a part of our lives? What will we achieve by working alone and keeping everything to ourselves? Not much, in my opinion.
Working with a team and running an enterprise gives me immense pleasure. It just feels right. I’d rather have a fulfilling life where I share my success with people and have an establishment, than lots of money being alone.
Why a team and an establishment play a significant role
In my opinion, most things in business are fragile, and you need more than yourself to carry on.
If you believe you and you alone can run a business forever, let alone grow it, then I think you’re yet to see the big picture.
The high levels of motivation when you’re starting up, or the energy in your youth will not be enough.
A team and an establishment create a buffer and system to keep you going even when you don’t feel like it. Of course, how effective that system is depends on your skills as an entrepreneur, but I firmly believe you need it.
Your team and your organization will drive more results for you than you could ever do yourself. And for the additional responsibilities you get – I think they are a gift, here to teach you the right skills to succeed.
Enterprise value is where the real money is
A one-person agency could be a good start or even necessary in some situations, but the end goal should be to create a successful team and establishment.
Let me give you one final perspective.
When successful, agencies generally make good money. It’s common for one-person marketing or creative agencies to make US$100K a year or more. Many even do $500K or a million a year. Some of the top ones could be making upwards of that. But that’s it.
On the other hand, billionaires are made with ‘enterprise value,’ i.e., the value of the companies they’ve built. They’ve mastered managing teams and establishments, and society rewards them for that.
I know most people don’t think of numbers this high when they start a one-person agency, but as entrepreneurs, we should be highly ambitious and have an eye on the end goal: enterprise value.
Not only is a one-person agency model risky to maintain, but it also has limited upside potential. So why bet on something that isn’t the best way forward? It’s up to you to choose.
