Thinking of starting your own design agency but don’t know how to start? How to run a design agency? So this article is for you. 

Talk about business, design is the first thing that represents anything. Design is the face of a business. No matter if it’s a backend or front end design but it’s the core and baseline of anything. Rest everything is built around the core design of a business. Every business needs creative services like: 

• Logo Design 
• Website Design 
• Catalog Design 
• Quality Content 
• Copywriting
• Branding Strategy 
• Business Presentation
• Business Cards 
• Social Media Posts’ Designs 
• Many other digital assets 

So, there is a big potential market for design agencies. According to the BusinessResearchCompany.com, the global market for design services reached a value of nearly $153.2 billion in 2018, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% since 2014, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13% to nearly $249.5 billion by 2022.

Some basic things to start your own design agency:

• Create a decent, catchy, and short name for your agency.
• Reserve a domain for your website (preferably a .com domain).
• Design a decent and creative logo
• Build your website 
• Make your business cards 
• Create all your digital assets and intellectual property 
• Create a business plan and marketing strategy

How to create your portfolio?

A portfolio is the resume of a company, it is a showcase where you showcase your products, services, achievements, and list of satisfied customers. The purpose of a portfolio is to present yourself in the market. What are you offering, how are you different from your competitors, and why customers should choose you?

Build the CV is your business just like you do your own, include 

• Business name, 
• history, your achievements
• vision and mission
•  Certifications 
• Recognitions 
• Work was done
• List of satisfied customers 
• Affiliations and collaborations
• Performance reviews
• Testimonials 

How to find the first client?

If you don’t have a history you can include your own skills and achievements. You can ask your friends, family or early buyers to let you work for them free of cost or at a discounted price, and against that they will give you reviews and testimonials. This way you can have your initial business portfolio that will help you to attract initial customers.

How to conduct case studies?

Case studies are so important for a new business. A case study is meant

• to identify the gaps in an existing company. It helps you to decide your products, services, and price.
• To know the existing companies offering design services. It helps you to build your business model and marketing strategy.

How to build your website?

In today’s digital world, starting a business without a website or online presence means planning to fail. Build a decent website:

• Choose a domain name (preferably .com)
• Register a domain and make it hosted with a hosted company
• Create your website using WordPress 
• Customize your website design and structure as per your products and services. 
• Add relevant pages and quality content.
• Create an easy and relevant navigation menu on your website.
• You can also add a blog to be google friendly and help people with a design agency’s services. That traffic might be converted into leads and sales later.

You can do it by yourself or hire a freelancer.

How to identify your niche?

To grow your business it’s really important to stay relevant and focused. The first thing in your business plan is to decide your products, services, and your audience. Follow the steps below:

• Identify gaps in the market.
• Identify customers’ pain points. 
• Think of a solution around customers’ pain points and market-gaps.
• Decide your product and service. 
• Choose your target audience and niche market along with demographics and geography.

Your clarity about your target audience and niche will help you to do targeted business activities that will make your business grow fast.

How to create your social presence?

Social media is the future of advertisement. If you are not present on social media platforms, you can not build your brand, you can not engage your audience. Ensure your presence on social media by the below steps:

• Create your business accounts on all popular social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
• Educate your audience about what you do.
• Help your audience about design services.
• Create purposeful engaging content around your brand and services.
• Appreciate your audience if they like and comment on your stuff.
• Respond quickly to the queries. You can set up auto-responders.
• Post regularly following certain schedules.
• Make your customers feel they are important to you.
• Be relevant and purposeful while creating content on your agency’s business pages.

According to Statista, Ad spending is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 6.4%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$124,648m by 2025.

How to create quality content?

Quality content is the heart of your business. If your content is not purposeful and engaging you will lose the interest of your audience. Create attractive content.

• Be purposeful 
• Stay relevant 
• Know the need and purpose of a customer to create the right content.
• Do some research and get ideas around your content 
• Read stuff about your ideas and topics.
• Choose the right and relevant perspectives.
• Include data, facts, and rationale.
• Be google friendly.
• Proofread
• Never copy-paste, it will hit you hard.
• Be natural and creative.

How to take support from friends and family?

When you’re starting a business, support is a must. Support is not always financial, mentoring, and moral support is also support. Ask your friends, family, and acquaintances to

• Make recommendations to people to hire your services.
• Take your services and give you true feedback and reviews.
• Mentor you on your products, services, and plans.
• Fund you (if you need) as an interest-free loan.
• Help you in your core team.
• You can find a potential co-founder from your friends or family.

How to build your business network?

Your network is your net worth. You can not build your business without building a business network. Build your social and business network.

• Be an influencer on social media.
• Attend business events.
• Attend startup related meet-ups.
• Join business clubs.
• Join online groups where your potential customers are also present.
• Write blogs to help your community.
• Develop relations with business owners
• Collaborate with bloggers and influencers. 
• Travel and meet new people.
• Help people to take the business.

How to run paid ads?

Initially, you can go organically but at a certain stage of your business, you need to run paid ads. Design and run your advertising complaints sensibly. 

• Choose the right advertisement platform as per your target audience. See where is your audience? Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn?
• Choose the purpose of your campaign before you design it.
• Create a relevant and attractive ad (preferable video ad).
• Set up your ad by choosing the right audience with the right demographics and Geographic.

How to promote your agency?

Continuous-promotion is the key to grow your business. Print your brand and services in people’s brains. Promote your agency my using the below strategies:

• Build your brand.
• Create awareness campaigns.
• Promote on social media. 
• Send emails.
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Collaborate with bloggers and influencers.
• Collaborate with other businesses on a commission basis. They can refer you customers and her commission from sales.
• Run ads on Facebook or a suitable platform like google and YouTube etc.
• Ask your friends and family to promote you.
• Write (good) helping blogs.

Since you have known all the steps to start your design agency. Take action now. For more help and questions #AskDankash