Preparing For Launch – Five Things to Do Before You Start a Web Design Agency

When you’re starting a web design agency, planning ahead can mean the difference between getting off to the best possible start, or spending months playing catch up.

But it can also be hard to know exactly what you’ll need to get done, and it can feel overwhelming. There are things that you could do, things that you should do, and things that are absolutely essential.

In this article, I break it down into the five most important parts. By the end, you’ll have a clear list of what you need to focus on, and if you make it all the way to the end, I’ve got a bonus tip for you.

01. Choose Your Business Structure

This is probably the part that most new business owners find confusing, but how you choose to structure your business is important, especially when you’re just starting out.

The good news is that this is actually a lot simpler than many people realise, so it’s not something that you need to lose sleep over. You can also change your business structure later if you like.

Depending on where you are in the world, there can be lots of different ways to structure a business, some of them more obscure than others. Even here in the UK, there are a few different options, but to keep things simple, I’m just going to talk about the two that are probably the most common: being a sole trader versus setting up a limited company.

Being a sole trader basically means that you are your business, whereas setting up a limited company means you create your business as a separate legal entity – the limited company is the business, not you personally. That’s a very simplified overview, so if you’re trying to decide which one is right for you, I’d recommend doing some more thorough research, or speaking to an expert like an accountant.

If you’re leaving employment, then becoming a sole trader is perhaps an easier transition, and that’s why many people like it. Equally, many people also prefer the clear distinction between them and their businesses, so they prefer the limited company route. If you’re going into business with a partner, then you may need to consider other options.

Either way, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got this sorted by the time you’re ready to start trading.

02. Get Your Work Environment Ready

• With home working still popular, you probably already have some kind of home office setup, or you’ve at least worked from home at some point in the past. But now is also a good time to review whether what you have is fit for purpose, and if you don’t have anything, then this is definitely the time when you’ll need to start thinking about what you’ll need for your launch.
• Obviously, this assumes you’ll want to work from home, but you don’t have to. You may prefer to work in a dedicated office where you can be around other people. Both options have benefits, and neither is better than the other, but the last thing you should do is start your new web design agency without giving this any thought.

Even if you’ve been working from home and using something like your sofa or kitchen table, while that might have been okay for short periods, it won’t be healthy once you’re working in your business full time. You’ll need somewhere comfortable and ergonomic, otherwise you could end up with a long-term injury.

Your computer setup is also important, and there’s a big difference between a low-cost laptop that’s fine for just checking emails or web browsing, versus one that’s capable of more intensive tasks, like design and development.

Here’s a quick checklist covering what you’ll need for a good working environment, either at home or in an office:

1. A desk – perhaps the most obvious, but it will need to be wide and deep enough for all your equipment, and high enough for you to sit or stand comfortably.
2. A chair – also fundamental, but it will likely be in constant use and in constant contact with your body, so don’t scrimp here – invest in something that’s both comfortable and supportive.
3. Your main computer – this could be a laptop or a desktop, but it needs to work around you, and it also needs to be powerful enough to perform all the tasks you’ll need it to.
4. Accessories – even if you choose a laptop, you should still use a proper, separate keyboard and mouse. A second monitor can also be a good investment, as can an external hard drive to give you layered redundancy on top of cloud storage.

As I mentioned, try not to scrimp on these. When you’re just starting out, money can be tight, so it can be tempting to go for the lowest cost options, but I know from experience that investing in quality usually more than pays for itself. As the saying goes, “buy cheap, buy twice”.

03. Put the Word Out

Something that always surprised me when I ran my web design agency was just how important word of mouth recommendations can be. When you’re just starting out, chances are you won’t have built up much of a reputation or network of contacts, but you will need to, otherwise you might struggle to find work.

The best way to do this is just to get the word out, so don’t be afraid of being too vocal about your plans for your new business. Tell as many people as you can.

Friends and family are the obvious places to start, but anyone else you think could be beneficial – even your employer, though we’ll get to that in a moment. Even if you think that whoever you tell may not be interested themselves, you never know who they might know. I can still remember one of my first ever clients came about just because a friend of mine told them I was starting my own agency.

Don’t be afraid to shout about it on your social channels either. Remember, you never know who might be looking.

If you’ve been working as an employed designer or developer for a while, then you’ve probably become really good at what you do, and that can be very attractive to potential clients who might want you to work on their website.

There could even be people out there right now who would love to work with you, but they don’t because they see you as ‘off limits’ because you’re working for someone else. If they know you’re branching out on your own, then that could be the trigger that gets the ball rolling.

Plus, when you’re just starting out and your worried about where the work will come from, it can be a huge confidence boost when you start to hear that people want to work with you.

04. Leave Your Employer on Good Terms

This one should go without saying, but if you’re employed and you’re leaving that employment to start your own agency, it’s always wise to leave on the best possible terms. Being employed is not always easy, so you may be excited to be leaving, but don’t forget that your employer was good enough to offer you that employment in the first place.

Be sure to respect their boundaries – there’s plenty of work out there, so you shouldn’t need to try and compete with them, and be sure to check your employment contract so you know exactly what your restrictions are.

You also never know what kind of opportunities leaving on good terms could lead to. If your employer values your experience and expertise, then they may offer you some freelance work once you’ve left, which can be invaluable when you’re just starting out. Plus, depending on how big they are, they may even be happy to pass over projects that are too small for them, or those that just aren’t what they want to work on.

Even if it’s not the kind of work that you want to do, be humble and grateful anyway. I still remember when I was leaving the London agency I worked for before I started my agency, the directors there were really helpful, and they gave me some invaluable advice that I’ve never forgotten.

Plus, they also had a client that was probably too small for what they wanted but perfect for me, so they were happy to pass them over. That meant I gained an extra client when I was just starting out, which was priceless, and that client also stayed with us for many years.

05. Have Something Ready to Show Potential Clients

Telling people about your new business is one thing, but showing them that you can walk the walk is just as important. Word of mouth recommendations are vital in helping you to get your foot in the door, but potential clients will still want to see what you’re capable of, so they can understand what you could to do for them.

If you’re just starting out and you don’t have a large portfolio of work yet, then this can be difficult, but there are a few ways you can at least get something ready to show clients:

1. You could be extra creative on your own brand and website. So even if you don’t have many actual client projects to show, at least your own website can do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to impressing potential clients.
2. You may be able to use some of the work you did while you were employed by other agencies, though be sure to check first, don’t include anything that you don’t have permission to use, and make sure you give them credit too.
3. You could do free or pro-bono projects for local businesses or charities. Even if working for free doesn’t appeal to you, this can be a great way to get some real-world examples.
4. You could create your own concept projects, but again, just be completely transparent that they’re not ‘real’ projects.

When you’re just starting out, you probably won’t have too much that you can show in a portfolio website. It can also take time to put this all together, which is time you might not have if you’re also working full time in the run up to launching your agency.

But you will need at least something to show, so you should start thinking about this ahead of time. This is one area that probably isn’t that quick to get lined up either, so be sure to plan it in advance, and give yourself plenty of time.

Bonus Tip: Make Sure You Setup a Business Bank Account

Once your new agency is up and running, you’ll obviously need to be able to accept payments, so you’ll need a business bank account. This might seem like an obvious point, but you’d be surprised how many new business owners forget this important step, and I know this first hand because it was a rookie mistake that I made.

If you’re considering working as a sole trader, then you’d be forgiven for thinking that you could just use your personal bank account, and technically, you probably could, but personally, I wouldn’t recommend that.

First, do you really want all your business transactions being mixed up with your personal ones? That will almost certainly make managing your business’s finances a lot messier.

Second, there’s a good chance that other people will need to see your business transactions too. At the very least, your accountant will need to go through them to prepare your accounts (and I would recommend having a good accountant, even if you only work as a sole trader).

If you ever want to apply for business finance, then lenders will also probably want to see your statements. If they need to sift through your personal and business transactions, that’s going to make their work a lot harder. It probably won’t look very professional either.

Plus, do you really want other people seeing what goes on in your personal life? So even if you choose to go self-employed, you’ll probably still want to setup a dedicated business bank account. If you choose to set your business up as a limited company, then you’ll definitely need one.

However, the application process can take time – sometimes several weeks – so be sure to plan this into your timings. It won’t look very professional if you need to tell your clients that they can’t pay you because you haven’t got a bank account yet.