Agency life can be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t come with its fair share of challenges (there’s certainly no shortage of those!). From differentiating your agency from the competition to focusing on delivering for your client—rather than reaching for awards—there are a number of challenges many creative agencies face that are true across the board.

How can agencies leverage productivity to achieve profitability? While there certainly are already profitability perks to having a remote team (hello, office-related cost savings!), are there other ways that agencies can maximize the profitability benefits of WFH (work from home)? You betcha! The answer is process. We’re all familiar with the word process, and have likely thrown it around a few times in the workplace, but what exactly is it?

What do you do when an employee isn’t performing like they used to? All sorts of causes could be to blame: distractions in an employee’s personal life, fatigue due to taking on additional employment or having a new baby at home, or even broader mental or physical health issues could play a role. But so could the workload you’ve assigned.

Collaboration is popping up everywhere on today’s business teams.

Let’s face it—selling your agency on your own can be a full-time job and a challenge alongside running your agency. Before you jump into the deep end, there are a number of steps you can take that will help you make this process as smooth as possible. When you think you’re ready to sell your agency, take a few deep breaths, and they get ready to plan, plan, plan!

Marketing often feels like herding cats, doesn’t it? It feels that way to company leadership, and often it feels that way to many of the people working in your marketing department. Marketing has become a broad discipline in just about every modern business, responsible for a dizzying array of tasks, campaigns, and deliverables. And in an environment like this, it’s no surprise that tasks and deliverables start falling through the cracks.

Whether you’re practicing scrum or kanban, it’s all about pulling a team together with a variety of tools to create a high-performance environment that maximizes productivity. Backlog grooming is part of that — and it’s a meaningful way to keep product development organized and running smoothly. Where scrum meetings are concerned, it means doing more than hosting a simple sprint planning meeting to develop a product roadmap.

Successful projects require successful project planning and careful documentation. This is true in predictable environments like manufacturing, where a range of traditional project management practices dominates project planning. But what about creative environments? What does it look like to plan and document creative projects successfully?

After working with and interviewing hundreds of agency owners on my podcast Agency Life, one thing seems to ring true for all—the journey to starting an agency is often wide and varied. And while that path is different for everyone, their backstories are unanimously fascinating. Most agency owners I’ve spoken to had never run a business before starting their agency, but they had a deep passion for helping other businesses grow.

As a founder or leader at a small business, growth is incredibly exciting — it means the thing you’re building is working, gaining steam, and growing market share. But growth can be painfully complicated, too. You’ll inevitably reach a point where there’s more to do than you or your current team can get done — but is there enough work to justify hiring a new employee? In this quick guide, we’ll show you how to decide when it’s time to hire.

Knowing exactly when to hire project managers (whether your first one or another to join a growing team) is crucial but tricky. Wait too long, and chaos intensifies — cutting into productivity and profits. Yet, hiring too early can be a resource drain that could threaten profitability differently, especially for startups and small businesses. Businesses that have never had a formal project manager might have the toughest time with this decision.