While onboarding a new team member recently, they commented on how solid my systems were — especially around client approvals. They said it felt like I was living in 2030.
I never worked at another agency before starting my own. For a long time, I thought that might be a disadvantage.
But in hindsight, it's probably helped.
I didn't inherit any bad habits. I didn't learn "this is how agencies do things" just because that's how it's always been done.
Most of the content you see about running agencies comes from LinkedIn, and a lot of it is the highlight reel. I'm aware some of it is exaggerated — but I still try to live up to the standards being implied.
A lot of those founders are running much larger agencies than I am, charging significantly more. And because I've modeled my systems off that level of operation, the bar internally is often higher than it technically needs to be for the size of my agency today.
I don't design systems around limitations. I design them around what actually makes life easier for clients.
Because at the end of the day, yes — I'm hired for expertise. But I'm also hired to take work off the client's plate in the cleanest, most efficient way possible. And that's what I'm always optimizing for.