Selling creative services operates under fundamentally different conditions than other industries. This uniqueness brings distinct challenges and uncommon opportunities, yet the sector suffers from limited transparency that hampers efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability.
The Problem
A Creative Mastermind member recently observed that agencies should chat more, talking about the things that matter in their businesses.
While this resonates deeply, agency owners naturally guard sensitive operational data. They wouldn’t freely share information that could disadvantage them competitively.
The Opportunity
Some of my most valuable business partnerships formed with competing agencies.
Through knowledge-sharing, we collectively reduced risk, leveraged each other’s strengths, and gained confidence to align pricing with market standards.
One conversation revealed a critical insight: a member undervalued a core service relative to market expectations while overcharging in their perceived strength area. That single discussion proved invaluable for identifying business vulnerabilities.
The Challenge
How can agency owners share industry knowledge and address collective challenges without revealing their identity or creating competitive vulnerabilities?
The Solution
A comprehensive creative industry benchmark: reaching out to hundreds of UK and Ireland-based agency owners to complete a confidential questionnaire.
Results compiled and shared exclusively with contributors.
The goal: collectively elevate industry standards by providing relevant, actionable data addressing common operational questions across creative studios.
Why This Matters
When agencies operate in isolation, everyone struggles with the same problems independently.
When we share data, even anonymously, we all get smarter. Pricing becomes more confident. Operations improve. The entire industry benefits.
The creative sector deserves better data. This is how we start building it.
Go deeper: Want to know what your agency is actually worth? Read the Agency Valuation Guide for the key metrics buyers look at.