How we did 7 figures in our first year.

The last two years have been pretty manic, and I'm not even sure where they've gone. I've gone from 22-24 in what seems like no time at all.. which is quite scary to think about.

We've now been running Kairos Media for two years (1 year and 11 months to be exact), and it's been an insane journey. One I hope continues as it's been one of the most tiring, yet incredibly time of my life.

Two years ago we decided to launch a social influencer talent management agency, that started with ￡80. Having no money to our name we made excuses why we couldn't meet people in London (we couldn't afford the journey), and I worked from a shed for the first 12 months. After being approached by a number of brands asking to work with us on a larger scale, we rebranded and formed our social media agency, Kairos Media.

We didn't particular look at numbers in our first 12 months as a business and just worked silly hours of the day, it was a bloody nice surprise when our end of year accounts were up and our accountant told us we did seven figures.

So how did we do it?

• I feel over this last two years I've learnt a lot about our mistakes, and what we've done correct. I'm sure there will be plenty more mistakes to make.. but hey.. as long as you learn, right?

Personal relationships

• The main driver of how we initially got started as a company, and mainly why we even have a company today.
• I had a semi-decent amount of personal relationships from my time being a content creator, and knew them on a personal and work level, the majority of these individuals were happy to take their time out to chat, and we begun working with them from the get go. Our first client was one that I previously worked with as a content creator, who was happy to "give it a go". We've now worked with them since the company began and still do to this day.

Introductions

• Again, personal relationships. After creating content for over four years, I knew a lot of content creators and had a good friendship circle within the space. These guys were happy to make introductions to brands they were working with directly, which helped kickstart the business. Our largest client came from a YouTuber introduction and we now run their global influencer strategy.
• I've repaid the guy in many, many beers since.

Industry knowledge

• We live & breathe the social media sector.
• I would estimate 10 hours of my day are spent somewhat on social media to some extent. Whether it's browsing Twitter in between meetings, casually checking Instagram while waiting for a coffee, or watching a YouTube podcast before sleeping. I would confidently say we deliver great influencers, at great prices, with great creatives. This is by us knowing the industry inside out, without having to spend a week researching the demographic.
• Our client retention rate has been incredible and I hope that's down to the job that we're doing for them on a continuous basis.

Work life

• The last two years I've taken one holiday with my GF, and worked every other day (apart from Saturdays, I try to take them off)
• 6 Days a week, 14 hours a day, for nearly two years. Thankfully.. I enjoy it.
• I believe the saying is "Work like there's someone trying to take it away from you" - When others are out there working just as hard, with better connections, or more funding, we need to do anything and everything we can just to keep pace. It's been mentally and physically draining, but I'm extremely proud of what we've accomplished during this time.
• I'm now beginning to find a balance with the work life, and since have found myself actually more productive taking more time off.. Who'd of thought it.

I don't think there's a particular secret of building a profitable company. Industry knowledge, work ethic, surrounding yourself with the right individuals and keeping focused goes a long way.

The last 12 months have been another journey entirely.. and we'll see where we are in another 24 months.