What it's like to run a design agency

 We setup our bristol based graphic design agency www.onlyorca.com around 6 years ago and its been an exciting journey with lots of ups and downs along the way! My business partner and I we’re both freelancing before and always wanted to have a design agency and to be able to take on graphic design projects from awesome clients in and around the Bristol area. 5 years on our studio is doing well, we have 6 members of staff and some fantastic clients who we work with. I remember when we first started out and looked for information from other people who setup agencies for guidance and struggled to find it so I thought I would write a little re-cap and quick guide of what to expect should you be planning to take the leap and setup your own creative agency!

Starting out

First things first, I couldn’t have done it on my own. You quickly learn along the way that running a graphic design agency has a whole load of unexpected challenges that arise along the way so teaming up with my business Partner James was the best decision we made as two heads are better than one! When we first started, spending a lot of time on promo and our own artwork we were not bringing in enough cash to survive so we were both working part time jobs on top of working crazy hours in the studio so we could pay our rent!

Staying motivated

There are times when things get tuff - we were told by many people that it normally takes around 2 years to get any business established and running smoothly and although we were getting some great clients early on, theres alot of extra non design related things you need to get to grips with like tax, accounting, client management and getting systems in place that make your day to day running of the design studio as smooth as possible. For us we always ensured that we dedicated at least half the week to working on stuff we enjoyed practising design briefs, improving our illustration skills and refining our style so that even when times got tuff we still felt enjoyment and satisfaction at work. 

Taking risks and aiming high

After around 3 years things started to smoothen out nicely, we had a steady amount of clients and were building up a strong reputation for graphic design in the Bristol area. This was the stage we realised we  needed to expand and take some more risks again so we employed more staff members and upgraded our studio by moving upstairs and kitting it out with custom desks and new equipment. This was an important step for us and enabled us to take on more clients and bigger projects which in turn meant more revenue and enabled us to inject more money into advertising and promotional campaigns to help our design agency grow in Bristol. 

Managing staff 

Running a studio means basically going from a designer to being a boss, and being a boss means managing staff. You need to ensure that your staff respect you and enjoy working in your company and at times this can be hard when your workload is piling up but its crucial to having a successful design agency. We want our employees to feel comfortable at work so have focused on creating a relaxed laid back environment that inspires our staff to work hard and enjoy their time in the studio whilst doing so. You’ll need to work out a good balance between friend and employer to be there for your staff when the pressure is mounting and things get tuff, but also ensure that they are focused whilst at work to help them grow their professional careers and help your company grow at the same time. 

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If your interested in setting up your own agency or are in the process of doing so, send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to help out and offer any support I can!