#8 Working on the business

As an agency, it's very easy to get stuck on the hamster wheel of client work and looming deadlines. 

It's like the plumber with a leaky roof. If you're not careful, you can be so focused on client projects that you forget about your own, and find yourself in a position where you haven't grown or developed.

But if you want your business to grow, you need to treat it like a client.

We had a new Creative Director, Andrew Ashton start around 10 months ago and he was flabbergasted at how much time we dedicate each work to working our own business!

What's that look like?

🔹 We allocate a significant amount of internal resources for non-billable projects
🔹 We track all time spent working on the business, categorising into our 5 key pillars: Training/Development, Wellbeing, Marketing, Design For Good, and Finance/Operations
🔹 We understand how much our own projects cost us
🔹 We market ourselves and celebrate our clients successes 
🔹 We report on the status of our own projects in daily, weekly, and monthly reporting

In other words, our own projects are allocated and resourced exactly like our client projects. It means we're constantly making sure our brand stays relevant and doesn't get left behind.

If you've been feeling stuck lately and haven't been treating your business like a client, here’s what I suggest:

1️⃣ Set aside time and whitespace to think freely and let ideas flow
2️⃣ Turn those ideas into real life projects with briefs, timelines, and budgets allocated
3️⃣ Create change and growth in your business

Now, a quick dose of reality: urgent client projects will often take precedence over your own. Because in order to work on your business, you first need money!

But just be careful that you don't fall into the trap of constantly prioritising client work over growing your business. You have to find a balance between the two so that you can innovate and grow.

How do you strike that balance?

#edisonagency #business #entrepreneur #growth #marketing #strategy

This post is part of a The Edison Agency 10 year reflection series, covering some of my biggest takeaways from the past decade in business. Read the blog here: https://lnkd.in/g9t5nWP3