Hesitation Kills Agencies. Tough Calls Save Them.

Recently, I talked about growth planning. But as many head into a new financial year, we need to talk about the other side of the equation—profitability.

I’ve spoken with too many agency owners recently who 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆. And the biggest issue? 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝘆.

At the core, fixing this comes down to three key levers:

1️⃣ Grow revenue (win new clients, upsell, improve pricing)

2️⃣ Reduce costs (cut overhead, streamline teams, automate)

3️⃣ Increase profit margins (focus on high-value work, optimise utilisation)

Yet, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱. This Hesitation Kills Agencies.

They hold onto underutilised roles, hoping work will pick up. They avoid tough conversations to “protect culture.” But here’s the brutal reality:

🚨 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

- Early action = smaller, controlled adjustments

- Late action = deeper, more painful cuts, impacting more people

And employees? They often already know.

• They see projects slowing down.

• They feel when they aren’t busy.

• They sense when something’s coming.

No one wants to lose their job, but they 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲.

As a new financial year approaches, agency owners need to:

✅ Get real about your pipeline, team structure & profitability levers

✅ If change is needed, act early and act with respect

✅ Support people in their transition where possible

Tough calls today protect more jobs and future growth. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸? 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀? Share your thoughts below. 👇

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