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Tips for Redefining Your Goals as Your Agency Grows

hands with computer and plants

Change isn’t just a good thing—it’s a GREAT thing. 

Change can mean that your agency has grown and expanded, or that you’ve learned and readjusted your objectives, both of which are very positive steps! 

You’ve probably been navigating the world of digital agencies for a while, which means you’ve certainly had your ups and downs. We salute you for your persistence and dedication.

But now it’s time to keep changing.

Just in the same way that an infant’s goal is to crawl but a toddler’s is to run, your agency cannot thrive and progress by maintaining the same goals as it had from the get-go.

You’ve already reached a certain level of client retention (which should always be your number one priority), and you’ve evolved from a one-person show to include more players (maybe you’ve even outsourced!).

If your target is to reach a certain level of success and then sit on your laurels, just a warning: This might not be the best post for you. 

(Just kidding. We know that you’re a dynamite agency owner with a go-get-em’ attitude and a rock-hard will to keep evolving.) 

Now let’s talk about ways to redefine your agency’s goals as you expand.

desk with computer and plant

How do I tell the difference between my goals, my agency’s identity, and my principles?

Whether you’re in the mood for a total agency makeover or simply looking to up your agency’s game, it’s useful to know the difference between these three factors that make you, you!

All of these areas are important to define, but keep in mind that (almost) all of them are adjustable as your agency grows.

  • Goals: 

This one is pretty obvious and totally adjustable. (It’s safe to assume that you’ll continue to keep a goal of “earning profits” so that one doesn’t count.) 

Whether it’s the first time you’ve sat down and thought about creating new goals or the fiftieth, it’s a good idea to have a list of what you’ve already accomplished up to this point. That way, you can see which goals have worked out for you and which you can laugh at now that time has passed.

  • Identity:

Even if your agency maintained a certain identity for multiple years, or even decades, no one is forcing you to keep it forever. You might find yourself in a situation where the way you’ve defined yourself has begun to feel like a shoe that’s too small or a jacket you’ve grown out of. 

What’s more, holding on too tightly to the identity you created for yourself could be counterproductive, as you could be boxing yourself out of potential clients. 

Be flexible! See where you’ve come from and analyze the gaps in your client base. Most of all, make sure that you’re not avoiding any areas you’re passionate about, simply because you were a different person when your agency first started.

  • Principles: 

This is the only area that you should never change! (Here, we’re assuming that you are not, in fact, Cruella DeVille.) Your principles are what not only define you, but they make you respected and trusted by your clients.

Growing your agency and expanding your client base does not mean that you have to give up the pro-bono work you’ve been doing for underprivileged individuals. It doesn’t mean that you should give up your program of discounts for veteran-owned businesses.

As agency owners and humans, we must stand by our principles, no matter how our goals change. 

women talking with plants

So, let’s get growing.

Tip 1: Keep following the basic principles of goal-setting. 

The SMART method used throughout the business world seems to be very effective, so let’s keep using that. It consists of five areas:

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Achievable
  • Realistic
  • Time-bound

Whether you’ve used these steps before or are just hearing about them for the first time, they’re a tried-and-true way to set effective goals at any phase.

Check out MindTool’s goals article for a little bit more information on each of these ideas!

Tip 2: Include your team in your goal-setting process.

Your team has been a part of your success up to this point, whether they were involved with you from the beginning or not. You owe it to them to define goals in a way that allows your team to express its opinions. 

If you’ve considered yourself to be a lone-wolf in your decisions thus far, here’s an excellent opportunity for you to practice your vulnerable leadership skills. 

There’s an enormous chance that you could benefit from their perspective if you include them in your goal-setting process. There’s an equally enormous chance that you could alienate yourself from your team if you don’t.

Tip 3: Don’t be afraid to branch out.

As we discussed while defining the difference between goals, identity, and principles, your agency’s identity has every opportunity to evolve along with your goals and the person you are. 

Don’t feel pigeonholed by a decision you made when you started out— we all change and grow. The alternative is missing potential clients or sectors that you would be absolutely ace in conquering. 

And who would want that?

Tip 4: Take the opportunity to give your finances a good once- (or twice-) over.

Whatever your new goals include, it would be wise to make them alongside a thorough financial wellness check to avoid any nasty surprises along the way. 

After all, you might have lofty goals and dreams, but if you can’t foot the bill, you might want to pare down your goals a half-step back. 

Just until your bank account catches up with the original goals, of course. 

Tip 5: Embrace uncertainty and the potential for failure. 

No matter how on-point, reasonable, and achievable your goals may seem, there is literally no guarantee that you will succeed. Frustrating, huh? 

As harsh as it may seem to say so, it’s true. But what’s also true is that, without redefining your goals, you have an equal, or larger, chance of stagnating. 

Take the risk and redefine your goals, and you will learn more about yourself, and your agency no matter what the outcome.

sofa, computer and many plants

But most importantly of all: Don’t forget to express gratitude for each stage along the way.

Each phase of your agency’s growth has contributed to your agency’s—and your own—identity, even if that phase wasn’t the easiest or the most pleasant. Whether actively realizing it or not, you’ve expanded each time that you confronted your challenges, and you’ve worked through them all. 

You’re here because of your own hard work and your resilience in the face of challenging situations, the first of which being that you took the first step.

Your agency has made it this far, and you’re not even close to being finished. 

Redefining your agency’s goals with purpose and conviction can be an intimidating process. But with a little bit of precision and an open mind, you’ll be on the way towards a new chapter of your agency’s history. One that you could never have even imagined when you first started out on this crazy journey.

Let’s rock and roll—and redefine.

woman, computer and plants

For more ideas about scaling your agency’s growth while keeping your identity in check, take a look at this mastermind session on scaling with Troy Dean. You might also like this blog post about the benefits of changing up your strategy by our very own Morayo Orija.

And for advice from successful leaders who have faced the same expansion challenges head-on, subscribe to our Webinar Channel!

Author
Abigail Brooks Santana