Start With Confidence and a Long Runway to Grow Your Agency

<p>Scott Harkey had a rocky start in the agency business, having to keep other jobs while he tried to get his agency, <a href= "https://ohpartners.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OH Partners</a>, off the ground. It took time, but he built his reputation and now runs a stable of agencies, as he says. Scott talks about how the first years of agency growth are always difficult and why new agency owners should give themselves a long runway to get their business off the ground. He also reflects on the mistakes he made and why he should have focused on strategic growth and talks with optimism about the future of the agency business, where he sees tons of opportunities for independent agencies that are starting out as well as opportunities to rebuild trust with clients, which is at an all-time low.</p> <h2>3 Golden Nuggets</h2> <ol> <li><strong>Getting your agency off the ground.</strong> For Scott, the biggest challenge to getting over the million-dollar mark was gaining the experience he needed to <a href= "https://jasonswenk.com/purpose-propels-agency-growth/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">project the confidence</a> that would actually lead him to land jobs. “You almost have to earn confidence in this business,” he explains, “because people are smart and they smell your bullshit.” He advises people who want to make as an entrepreneur to give themselves a long runway until that plane finally gets off the ground. It’s very difficult, as he acknowledges, it will take time and you will need to become an expert on your client’s business before you can confidently say that you know exactly how to do a great job for them.</li> <li><strong>Stop wasting time on bad pitches.</strong> After working hard to getting his agency off the ground and past the million-dollar mark, what would Scott do differently? For starters, he wishes he had been more strategic about growth. He is sure he wasted too much money on <a href= "https://jasonswenk.com/pitch-for-free/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">bad pitches</a> and that he shoul