Can you run a Digital Agency part-time?

Running a business requires dedication and time. Whether you are looking to open a ‘bricks and mortar’ store or an online business, countless hours and energy go into making it a reality. However, we’ve all heard the term, ‘work smarter and not harder’. With that being said, during this week's blog we wanted to explore the idea of whether you can run a Digital Agency part-time?

If you think about most businesses that you’re familiar with, either ones that you have operated yourself or worked within, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many that are run part-time. Sure, there are lots of seasonal businesses that operate reduced hours or are run part-time, but the majority of businesses are functional as full time entities.

Operating any type of business is a marathon and not a sprint. Here at iOB Business, we recognise that in order to build a long term Digital Agency, you need to be prepared to put the work in. However, with the advent of technology, automation software and careful planning, you can operate a Digital Agency on a part-time basis. In this instance, it is important to be realistic about your earning potential as with most businesses, generally your return is influenced by the amount of time you dedicate to your business.

Why do people operate part-time?
Everyone has different goals, aspirations and commitments when it comes to their next business. As a company, we are fortunate to speak to hundreds of people each month from all over the world. Each person has their own motivations and constraints when it comes to launching a new business.

Most people are not in the position to start a business full time straight away as they have existing costs that need to be met. Whether it is a mortgage, car repayments, family expenditure, we all need to ensure we can maintain a basic lifestyle for ourselves and our loved ones.

Therefore, the prudent approach for many budding entrepreneurs is to start off part-time as they transition away from being employed to becoming a full time business owner. This does present unique opportunities as you build your business around your existing commitments. It certainly is possible to run a Digital Agency part-time with the right support and processes in place.

Utilising your time effectively
One of the biggest challenges for any business owner, whether they are full time or part-time, is having enough time to complete all their tasks. Time management and prioritisation of tasks is crucial if you are planning to start your business part-time.

For example, you should clearly identify how many hours you have per week to dedicate to your business, outside your normal working hours. This could involve cutting down on leisure activities such as watching Netflix or sports games and working on your business in the evenings. Furthermore, it could require you to work on the weekend to realise your goals.

A great thing about launching a Digital Agency is the variety of businesses that you can actually work with. Most businesses are now open for longer and typically on weekends too, which makes the ability to prospect outside normal business hours (9 AM - 5 PM) much easier.

When utilising your time, you should pay close attention to maximising revenue generating activities. For instance, you can use your evenings to research and identify potential businesses to target. As you enter the weekend, you can put your research to good use by actually connecting with your prospects and begin to nurture them into potential clients.

Automating processes
Technology has made it easier to eliminate manual processes, which makes life easier if you are operating your business part-time. For example, systems such as Zapier allow you to automate processes such as data captured via a contact form into your customer relationship management (CRM) system. This limits the amount of time you need to spend on completing manual tasks.

Looking at things like marketing and advertising, this can also be automated to a degree. For instance, rather than spending valuable time attending networking events which are great for building a local profile in your business community, you can actually launch online ads with platforms such as Facebook or Google.

The benefit of online ads is that once you have set these up, you can leave them running for a few days before you need to go back and start optimising. This again frees up your time to focus on other activities within your business.

Delegating to others
Another area to consider when operating a business part-time, especially a Digital Agency, is to focus on delegating tasks to others. For example, you can opt to build a team or work with a family member or friend to accelerate your performance.

By delegating tasks to others, you can actually increase the amount of hours that are collectively being spent in your business and focus your time on specific areas that need your attention. It also allows you to take a step back and see how your business is performing over a period of time.

Being realistic
In our opinion, if you do decide to run your next business part-time, you should set realistic expectations. Unfortunately, most people tend to overestimate what they can achieve in 12 months and underestimate what they can achieve in 3 years. However, a business whether operated full time or part-time, is a marathon and not a sprint. Therefore, it is important to set realistic expectations for your business.

While the dream is to earn a full time income from part-time hours, this is not always possible immediately. One of the great things about operating a Digital Agency is the ability to determine your own selling price and also where you operate. As a result, you don’t need a huge volume of sales to start generating significant income.

However, it is important to be realistic and set mini goals or milestones to help keep you on track and motivated to succeed. It is certainly possible to operate almost any type of business part-time when you have the right expectations to begin with.

Selecting the right solutions
Having access to multiple revenue streams is great as a business owner as it gives you the ability to generate income from a multitude of clients. However, when you are dedicating part-time hours it could be beneficial to focus your energy on a few different solutions and target your approach.

For example, our Add-on Services are a way for you to work with local businesses and effectively outsource the creation of websites or explainer videos to our team of experts for a small fee. This allows you to concentrate your time on finding and servicing clients as opposed to learning how to develop a website. Selecting the right solutions and options is crucial to helping you maximise your time when you start part-time.

Transitioning to full time
The final element we wanted to cover in this week's blog is to focus on your long term goal which should be to transition from being a part-time business owner into a full time Digital Agency owner. By having the right mindset, processes, expectations and plans, you can make the transition smooth and gradual.

Working on your business full time will give you much more scope to scale and grow your Digital Agency to achieve your goals. Hiring employees, building a strong pipeline of clients and investing in infrastructure will all be crucial as you develop a thriving business.

Summary
As we have seen throughout this week's blog, it is certainly possible to run a Digital Agency part-time. With the right mindset and processes, you can build a business around your existing commitments and lifestyle. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way to build your business but it all starts with decisive action and plan.

To find out more about our Digital Agency business opportunity and how you can start on a part-time basis, please contact a member of our team.

Until next time, take care.