Agency year ahead: a time for start-ups and scaling
The Brexit EU deal and COVID-19 vaccine provide business certainty despite a UK-wide lockdown. The question is not whether we’ll see a recovery and growth, but when.
Now is a great time to go freelance or to start an agency. If you’re an agency founder it’s also a good time to think about creating additional value, scaling and growth.
Don’t get me wrong. The past few weeks and months have been a rollercoaster. Our use of superlatives is exhausted. I call bullshit whenever I hear someone say the word challenging, uncertainty or unprecedented.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the shut down of many areas of the economy. Hokey cokey lockdowns during Q3 and Q4 of 2020 created further business uncertainty. And then there was Brexit.
The New Year kicked off with a deal with the EU swiftly followed by a nationwide UK lockdown that is likely to last until Easter, and maybe longer, but it will end.
The Government has said that the vaccine is the route out of the crisis. It’s a race to vaccinate people against rising infection rates and the mutation of the virus.
Are we really only a week into 2021? Many of us are already feeling emotionally and physically wrung out. Hold in there.
So why my optimism around freelancing, new agency starts and scaling?
No one wants a lockdown. Home working and home schooling are a grind, but for the first time during the pandemic we can see a way out. We can start to make plans and we know that the end of 2021 will be better than the start.
This is a reset moment.
Organisations have cut back to preserve cashflow and survive. They have been operating month-to-month since March 2020.
But commerce and life itself hasn’t stood still. The economy hasn’t stopped.
The energy contained by lockdown cannot be contained forever. It’s not a natural state. The question is not whether we’ll see a recovery and growth, but when.
When the economy does turn, it will be quick, as sectors reopen.
The marketing and PR agency market has followed the wider economy and society. Anyone working in culture, entertainment, sports, and travel made cuts. Print and events have ceded to digital.
Government support including interruption loans and the furlough scheme have helped, however the impact on employment has been signification.
January is always a time for hiring in the creative industries but there’s a renewed energy this week. My network and newsfeeds are full of opportunity.
The pandemic has changed how we think about many areas of society and the economy. The dispersion of education, healthcare, shopping and work are four immediate opportunities.
The pandemic has also reset how we think about operational areas of business including offices, travel, and technology. We’ve experienced rapid cultural and workflow innovation. There’s opportunity for new thinking in each of these areas.
So yes, now is a great time to build or scale a business at the bottom of the market and then benefit from the recovery.
I’m speaking on a PRCA panel about the year ahead on Wednesday 20 January at 1pm alongside:
Vikki Chowney, H&K Strategies
Rohan Shah, Reuben Sinclair
Michelle Goodall, Access Intelligence
Adrian Ma, Fanclub PR
Shayoni Lynn, Lynn PR
