4 ms·

Ask HN: General Web agency question

8 points by kiraken 11y ago

I have a few questions to ask about web agencies. So if you own/work/hired one before feel free to answer: First, i used to work as a freelancer in a freelancing platform but had some troubles with it, and realized that its paying 1/10 of the market's price. So i decided to go out on my own. And was wandering if i should present myself as a freelancer or as an agency when i start. Second, how much is the usual hour price that an agency charges Third, How do i go about convincing clients to sign a retainer agreement Fourth, i'm based in North Africa, but will present myself as an international agency since i don't really do work locally, and most of my clients are from the UK and US. And would my position cause me problems in getting contracts or payments Fifth, what is the usual size of an agency's team. I'd think that 4 should be enough? Sixth, can i run it on my own and alone? Taking on only as much contracts as i could finish, i already am a fullstack developer and designer, plus i learned a bit about marketing and SEO in the last few years Seventh, how to go about bringing new clients? Eighth, how easy is it to establish yourself in the market and start getting clients. Plus how long it would take if your quality of work is good. Since i did a little bit of searching and there are A LOT of agencies out there. Thank you for reading so far! And i hope that you could give me some valuable advice

allendoerfer 11y ago
> And was wandering if i should present myself as a freelancer or as an agency when i start. Present yourself as an agency. If you answer to people searching for a freelancer, you can easily say, that you are building your own agency, too. > Second, how much is the usual hour price that an agency charges Varies. > Third, How do i go about convincing clients to sign a retainer agreement Offer hosting and be responsive. If you do your work well, you usually do not need a retainer agreement. > Fourth, i'm based in North Africa, but will present myself as an international agency since i don't really do work locally, and most of my clients are from the UK and US. And would my position cause me problems in getting contracts or payments I am based in Germany and had one customer from Africa. He did not pay me. So definitely yes. This business (as most other businesses) is 20% about your actual skills and 80% about communication and all the other stuff. I would definitely tackle this disadvantage. You could for example attend a conference, take some pictures and post them on a blog to show, that you are actually reachable. > Fifth, what is the usual size of an agency's team. I'd think that 4 should be enough? I do not think that this matters at all. It is nice if you can show some teammembers, but customer references are more important. > Sixth, can i run it on my own and alone? Taking on only as much contracts as i could finish, i already am a fullstack developer and designer, plus i learned a bit about marketing and SEO in the last few years Of course you can. Your customers do not really care. Tell them you have a network of experts. > Seventh, how to go about bringing new clients? Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. > Eighth, how easy is it to establish yourself in the market and start getting clients. Plus how long it would take if your quality of work is good. Since i did a little bit of searching and there are A LOT of agencies out there. Use every client to get the next bigger one.
- GFischer 11y ago
  "Use every client to get the next bigger one." Amen. Except for big companies or government companies, most websites, etc. for small businesses are hired on a word-of-mouth basis.
- kiraken 11y ago
  >Varies. Could i get a range? Since i'm oblivious to how agencies work >Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. Can you elaborate?
  - allendoerfer 11y ago
    > Could i get a range? Since i'm oblivious to how agencies work An agency charges as much as it can. >>Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. >Can you elaborate? Blog, speak, present yourself as the go-to expert. Can be used both as inbound or outbound marketing. Doing outbound is much easier, when you provide some value, even without them hiring you.

8 points by kiraken 11y ago

allendoerfer 11y ago

> And was wandering if i should present myself as a freelancer or as an agency when i start. Present yourself as an agency. If you answer to people searching for a freelancer, you can easily say, that you are building your own agency, too. > Second, how much is the usual hour price that an agency charges Varies. > Third, How do i go about convincing clients to sign a retainer agreement Offer hosting and be responsive. If you do your work well, you usually do not need a retainer agreement. > Fourth, i'm based in North Africa, but will present myself as an international agency since i don't really do work locally, and most of my clients are from the UK and US. And would my position cause me problems in getting contracts or payments I am based in Germany and had one customer from Africa. He did not pay me. So definitely yes. This business (as most other businesses) is 20% about your actual skills and 80% about communication and all the other stuff. I would definitely tackle this disadvantage. You could for example attend a conference, take some pictures and post them on a blog to show, that you are actually reachable. > Fifth, what is the usual size of an agency's team. I'd think that 4 should be enough? I do not think that this matters at all. It is nice if you can show some teammembers, but customer references are more important. > Sixth, can i run it on my own and alone? Taking on only as much contracts as i could finish, i already am a fullstack developer and designer, plus i learned a bit about marketing and SEO in the last few years Of course you can. Your customers do not really care. Tell them you have a network of experts. > Seventh, how to go about bringing new clients? Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. > Eighth, how easy is it to establish yourself in the market and start getting clients. Plus how long it would take if your quality of work is good. Since i did a little bit of searching and there are A LOT of agencies out there. Use every client to get the next bigger one.

GFischer 11y ago
"Use every client to get the next bigger one." Amen. Except for big companies or government companies, most websites, etc. for small businesses are hired on a word-of-mouth basis.
kiraken 11y ago
>Varies. Could i get a range? Since i'm oblivious to how agencies work >Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. Can you elaborate?
- allendoerfer 11y ago
  > Could i get a range? Since i'm oblivious to how agencies work An agency charges as much as it can. >>Educate an audience, whose businesses you can improve and that is able to pay you. >Can you elaborate? Blog, speak, present yourself as the go-to expert. Can be used both as inbound or outbound marketing. Doing outbound is much easier, when you provide some value, even without them hiring you.