{"id":18725,"date":"2019-04-18T14:15:15","date_gmt":"2019-04-18T14:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/seo\/https-www-nobraineragency-co-uk-blog-blog-a-fantastic-four-years-what-ive-learnt-so-far-about-running-an-agency\/"},"modified":"2023-10-24T13:34:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T13:34:08","slug":"what-ive-learnt-running-an-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobraineragency.com\/business\/what-ive-learnt-running-an-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"A fantastic four years \u2013 what I\u2019ve learnt so far about running an agency"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Lee Cullen<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n This week marks four years since I, along with my co-founder Gary, decided to leave the relative comfort of a full-time job and salary to make a go of it as a business owner.<\/p>\n There are plenty of things I\u2019ve learnt about running an agency along the way, but as we\u2019re celebrating another big milestone in the history of No Brainer, it made sense to try and condense them down to fit the theme of the week!<\/p>\n There have been some wonderful highlights already and I couldn\u2019t be prouder of everything No Brainer has achieved in such a short timeframe. But we\u2019ve also taken a few knocks along the way, and I think those are the experiences that really make you stronger.<\/p>\n From those very early days of working on an old dining room table-come desk, to becoming a team of brilliant Account Managers and Executives along with our wonderful Office Manager, working from what has been widely (I use that term loosely) described as\u00a0Warrington\u2019s coolest office<\/a>, we\u2019ve definitely come a long way since April 2015.<\/p>\n So, if I had to distil everything I\u2019ve learnt along the way down into just four things, it would be these:<\/p>\n Working as a two-man team was great and I have some brilliant memories when I look back. But we always wanted to be surrounded by a talented team of people and really establish No Brainer as a brand, not just two individuals.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a really big believer in the power of company culture. I think a strong team ethic rooted in core company values is one the keys to business success and it\u2019s especially crucial when you work in a service-based business like ours.<\/p>\n It\u2019s super important to have the right blend of personalities and skills too. Alongside a strong work-ethic, one of the biggest attributes we look for in people is emotional intelligence. We\u2019re fortunate to have some amazing people at No Brainer and there\u2019s no doubt that our team is our biggest asset.<\/p>\n It goes without saying that we wouldn\u2019t have a business if people hadn\u2019t put their faith in us in the early days and continued to do so ever since. The fear of doing them a disservice is what drives us on every day to keep on being proactive and achieving results that really matter to them.<\/p>\n As we\u2019re marking our birthday this week, we\u2019ve also made a point of including our clients in the celebrations and we\u2019ve arranged for small presents to be delivered to all of them. It\u2019s only a small gesture, but it\u2019s the little things that count.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bit of a clich\u00e9, but you have to keep moving things forward because if you stand still, you\u2019ll go backwards.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve increased the size of our team, we\u2019ve expanded the scope of our capabilities and we\u2019re now offering our clients more than ever before.<\/p>\n One of the main reasons for establishing No Brainer in the first place was because we felt too many agencies were offering an outdated, one-size-fits-all approach. We\u2019ve always embraced\u00a0integrated communications<\/a>\u00a0and over the last few years, we\u2019ve grown to offer a range of content to help our clients tell their stories better.<\/p>\n That includes everything from paid social media campaigns to media relations; video through to white papers. We\u2019ll always keep on training and up-skilling our team to make sure we keep pace with the fast-paced nature and evolution of communications.<\/p>\n From the very first day of No Brainer, we\u2019ve always thought of ourselves as a client. So much so, we allocate hours every month across our team to make sure there is always time to promote the business.<\/p>\n We know the value of marketing a brand effectively and the power of storytelling because we\u2019re doing it for our clients every day. Reputation and perception is everything and we think it\u2019s crucial that we practice what we preach as an agency.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the power of your employer brand. Each and every one of our team has applied for a role at No Brainer after scrolling through our social media feeds to see what we\u2019re all about. It\u2019s the moment of truth when someone decides if they can see a future with you or not, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to be authentic and show off your brand personality in the right way.<\/p>\n Looking ahead to the fab five<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019ve got a very clear plan in place to keep No Brainer moving in the right direction and we\u2019re working hard to continue on the pathway of sustainable growth over the next 12-months.<\/p>\n\n
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