#10 - In-House vs Agency

Ahh, the age old question - should we hire an agency OR have someone in-house?

“Now Mira, let’s not lie to ourselves. You work at Chronos, surely you’re going to push the first, no?”

Well, yes. And no. The truth is there’s no correct answer. What I want to do is to show you both sides of the coin, so that you can make the best decision for your brand.

Let’s get started.

The First Question You Should Ask Yourself - What exactly am I/is my team strong at?

You might be great at media buying, spending millions per month without even batting an eyelid.

You might be great at operations, pulling the pieces together and ensuring processes are purring along.

You might be great at retention, blending email & SMS to drive a seamless customer experience that leaves them wanting more.

But the truth is, you can’t be great at everything - there will be some things that just ‘click’, and others where you need a little more time to figure out.

The question then lies:

“Do I want to spend time upgrading myself/my team from a C to a B? Or hiring an expert to push it to an A+, whilst I focus on making my other systems A+?“

What’s My Current Yearly Revenue?

Below 8 figures? I’d highly recommend going with an agency (but like everything, there’s exceptions).

That’s because as agencies, we’ve seen clients in a large breadth of niches (at Chronos, we’ve worked with over 400 brands). This gives us insight into what works at scale, along with best practices, and a proven system and process.

It’s also good on your wallet, because agencies often fill multiple rolls (at Chronos each brand gets assigned with a strategist/campaign manager/copywriter/designer/qc team).

Startup - If you’re just starting out, it’s all about getting scrappy

You’re likely clocking 5 - 6 figures in revenue, and starting to get your toes wet.

Focus here would be the bare minimum you can do to get the biggest output. In my opinion, I would place 50 - 60% of my efforts on acquisition here.

Whilst testing out a variety of platforms is great, I’d say stick with proven platforms like META/Google, as your goal is to stack profitability, and proof of concept.

In terms of agencies, it depends on how much budget you’ve set aside. We have brands that reach out before it makes ‘financial sense’ to, because they wanna make sure their house is built on solid ground.

We also have brands that reach out only after they’ve broken even/are profitable - no right answer!

Scaling/Growing - Where things get exciting

Nothing’s more thrilling than this phase. Clocking 7 figures in revenue, and being able to prove to your friends/family that you made the right decision.

One problem though, everything’s breaking, and you transition to a full time firefighter. Your systems of what got you to 7 figures will not work to bring you to 8.

Here’s where an agency shines the most, as they bring systems and processes to your incredibly chaotic world.

A great agency will be partners and not hands. Expect them to challenge your assumptions and tell you no. If they’re ‘yes-men’, then maybe it’s time to reconsider as well.

Mature - You’re really crushing it

The business is pulling 8 - 9 figures in revenue, and this is when brands start bringing everything in-house.

This makes complete sense too, because it’s often much easier to coordinate everything, and makes brand exits that much easier.

You’ll want S tier players here, as they’ll be key in maintaining momentum and growth.

I would use agencies here in a supporting role to supplement team gaps, or even act as sparring partners (iron sharpens iron after all).

The Truth Is…

It really depends. I know 🙄

But ultimately, every business is different.

There’s no one size fits all answer, which is what makes business exciting in the first place.

It’s a never ending journey, of you putting one foot in front of the other, and charting what you think is best for the business.

And that’s a wrap!

A little off tangent today, but something I feel is incredibly important for all brands to consider.

I’ll speak with Joshua/Miles, but I want us not to just be an ‘email newsletter’, but an ‘e-com newsletter’ with solid depth.

Hope you enjoyed it, and have a great weekend ahead.

Cheers.