When I first founded the agency, I was an eager 23-year-old with absolutely no experience in running a business. Nevertheless, I jumped headfirst into this adventure (and naturally made a ton of mistakes along the way!). Now, 6 years later, I would like to share the most important lessons I’ve learned.

1. Don't do it alone

Trust me: you won't get very far entirely on your own. Even if you feel invincible, working alongside someone else can drastically improve your output. First, it allows you to expand the range of services you offer. Second, you gain a fresh perspective—the best ideas always come from a good brainstorming session. Finally, having a partner keeps you focused and highly motivated.

2. Choose the right co-founders

Starting a new digital business is exactly like a marriage. You wouldn't marry someone you don't truly know, right?
Only build a business with people you deeply trust and have known for years. Make sure to choose partners who align with you in terms of business goals, mindset, and lifestyle. People who are too fundamentally different from you will, sooner or later, create insurmountable friction. Also, avoid partnering with serial entrepreneurs involved in too many other companies at once. They will never be fully focused on your project, and you will just end up as another startup in their collection. Clarify your expectations and their exact responsibilities from day one. And remember: if you decide to "divorce," it will be neither cheap nor painless.

3. Hire the right team

A company is guided by its founders, but it is built by a fantastic team. If you are starting a digital agency, you are going to need talented web developers and UI/UX designers. My advice is to start slow: working with freelancers initially will help you cut fixed costs and pay them only as your agency grows. If you hit a rough patch, you won't find yourself paying salaries to employees who have no active projects.
By the way, finding the right collaborators is not easy at all. You will cycle through many developers, testing them on small pilot projects. It might take months before you assemble a stable, reliable squad, but keep searching until you are completely satisfied. Once you find the right people... hold onto them tightly with rock-solid contracts!

4. Do you really need an office?

If your team members are motivated and responsible, you can work successfully from anywhere, with no need for a physical office! However, if you decide an office is essential, seriously consider joining a co-working space. Besides plugging into a valuable networking ecosystem, you will save a fortune on rent, utilities, and cleaning services.

5. Set strict technical guidelines

Be very careful: having multiple developers working solo on different client projects can quickly turn into a disaster. If everyone uses their own coding style, preferred programming language, or custom framework... good luck! You will end up with a Tower of Babel of source codes that can only be maintained by the specific person who originally wrote them.
Ensure that your entire team operates in a standardized way:

  • Share a strict list of coding guidelines and best practices.
  • Force the use of the same technology stacks and development frameworks.
  • Create weekly meetings where they can share technical roadblocks and solutions.

6. Don't reinvent the wheel

If all your clients are asking for similar corporate websites or e-commerce features, don't start from scratch every single time! Invest your unbillable time into developing a customizable base product or a code boilerplate, rather than painstakingly rebuilding the entire architecture for every new project.

7. Track your business operations

You must know what your team is working on at any given moment. You can track hours and monitor project workflows using a variety of digital management tools, for example:

8. Always know where you are heading

Never keep your head down for months without stopping to look back and evaluate your progress. Remember to occasionally look up and check the direction your company is sailing. Are you on the right track? Did you hit your quarterly goals? What can you do to optimize profit margins? A good founder must not be constantly overwhelmed by daily emergencies and contingencies. Always stay vigilant and strategic!

If I could go back in time, I would certainly do a few things differently. And I am absolutely sure that I am currently making new mistakes that will become the subject of future blog posts. But then again, you can't learn if you don't make mistakes, right?

(Article entirely adapted from Medium - Ghido and translated by Studio Up)