The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Agency

Dreaming about starting your first agency? We’ll help you get there.

The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Agency takes the guesswork out of agency ownership, helping you confidently navigate the numerous legal, creative, and financial challenges that are a hallmark of agency ownership.

$49.99 | Buy Now

Dreaming about starting your first agency? We’ll help you get there.

The eBook:

The Template and Worksheet Bundle:

pages of expert advice

professional templates

detailed task lists

worksheets and guides

Click a Page Below to Read a Sample of the eBook

We’ve started, scaled, and sold multimillion dollar agencies–and have launched Agency GrowLab to share everything we learned along the way.

The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Agency provides the critical guidance you need to realize your dream of running a successful agency, making sure you avoid all the common pitfalls that agency founders fall victim to. The book is packed with expert guidance, tips, and resources to help you navigate agency ownership. Plus, the optional Template and Worksheet bundle can accelerate your agency’s growth.

Have you ever asked yourself, “What type of business entity is right for my agency?” or, “How do I position myself against competitors?”

This eBook has the answers you’re looking for–validated by real world experts who have seen it all before.

Everything You Need to Start Your First Agency

Purchase only what you need or bundle and save

The Template and Worksheet Pack

$24.99

Templates and worksheets built to get you from day 0 to day 180
ePDFs, Excel, and Print Ready PDFs

Get The Template Pack

The Interactive eBook

$39.99

The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Agency
ePDF and Print Ready PDF

Get the eBook

Bundle and Save With the Starter GrowKit

$49.99

Combine the Interactive eBook with the Template and Worksheet Pack to create The StarterKit

Get the Full StarterKit

The Template and Worksheet Pack: What You Get

Mission, Vision, and Values Worksheet

The most successful agencies codify their Mission, VIsion, and Values from the start. This worksheet will make that task seemless.

Risk Tolerance Quiz

Starting an agency is no easy task. Learn about the level of risk you can stomach before diving into the deep end.

Partnership Compatibility Quiz

Thinking of starting your agency with a partner? Take this quiz to make sure your relationship can withstand the challenges to come.

Business Entity Comparison Chart

Choosing the wrong legal entity to start your agency can cost you thousands down the road. This chart makes it easy to determine which business entity is right for you.

Keyword Research Template

When it comes time to optimize your website for page one ranking in search engines, you'll need this tool to rank and prioritize your keywords.

SEO Checklist

Want to rank on page one of search results for competitive keywords? This Search Engine Optimization checklist will ensure you don't miss an important step in optimizing your website.

Competitve Analysis Worksheet

Successful agencies must be positioned to beat the competition. This interactive worksheet will help you assess your competitors and identify your competitive edge.

3 Must Have Interview Guides

Agencies that last hire their CPA, lawyer, and insurance broker in their first 180 days, but finding the right fit isn't always easy. These interview guides ensure you're asking the right questions from the start.

Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement

Protect your proprietary information and show your clients that you want to protect them too. This mutual NDA has been legally vetted and approved to work anywhere in the USA and Canada.

Master Services Agreement (MSA)

Build client relationships on your terms. This MSA was created for any service your agency might deliver, has been vetted by lawyers, and developed to work for any agency based in the USA or Canada.

Statement of Work (SOW)

Formalize and protect the scope of any client engagement. Created to work alongside the MSA template, this SOW has been vetted by lawyers, and developed to work for any agency around the world.

Profit and Loss Template (P&L)

A P&L helps you keep track of the financial health of your business by showing a detailed chart of accounts broken out by revenue, gross income, EBITDA, and net income. This template helps ensure you are tracking the right information.

Learn From Agency Experts

Authors Amy Balliett and Josh Miles are widely sought-after speakers and thought leaders in the worlds of marketing and content design. Drawing on a combined 30+ years of experience starting, scaling, and selling agencies, they are on a mission to empower entrepreneurs to find similar success in starting their own agency businesses.

In The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Own Agency you’ll find concrete guidance on how to start a successful agency business, with topics like:

How do I identify my area of specialization?
Should I find a business partner to start my agency with?
How do I hire the right lawyer or accountant for my agency?
How do I pick the right type of business entity for my agency?
How do I design my website and market it?
How do I analyze competitors?
How do I know when it’s the right time to hire staff?

Buy the Full StarterKit

About the Authors

Amy Balliett made a name for herself as the CEO and Founder of the creative content agency, Killer Visual Strategies (formerly Killer Infographics). She owned her first company, a candy store and ice cream parlor, at the age of 17 before heading off for college. She subsequently built a successful career in film and marketing before launching Killer in 2010.

Within a few years, Killer Visual Strategies grew to become the industry leader in visual communication, driving visual strategy and creative content campaigns for global brands including Microsoft, Boeing, Adobe, Nikon, Starbucks, the National Endowment for the Arts, the United Nations, and more. By 2018, Balliett and her executive team sold Killer to an agency collaborative and subsequently joined fellow agency leaders in building Material.

Named the Number One Global Strategic Consulting Firm by GRIT in 2021, Material combines the talent of 12 leading agencies, consisting of 1200+ global employees across the practices of research, strategy, design, and brand building.

Today, Balliett is the Senior Fellow of Visual Strategy for Material, serves as the Chief Visual Strategist to several boards, and is the co-Founder of AgencyGrowLab. Considered an expert in her field, Balliett speaks at dozens of conferences each year including SXSW, Adobe MAX, Content Marketing World, and more. She is also a regular teacher at The School of Visual Concepts, a guest lecturer at several colleges and universities, a LinkedIn Learning instructor, and an award winning author.

Josh Miles began his career in the film industry, working as a Digital Producer for an award-winning production studio in Seattle, working on both commercial and feature projects. His combined passion for storytelling and film led him to the doors of Killer Visual Strategies in 2012, joining as the third employee of the then fledgling agency.

At the time, Killer was a young upstart still finding its way in the world. Where some saw risk, Miles saw opportunity and quickly rose to leadership. By 2014, Miles developed multiple revenue streams for the agency, contributing to 150% year-over-year growth while expanding the agency’s portfolio of services and book of accounts.

Miles became the Chief Creative Officer of Killer, leading the agency’s creative offerings while taking the proper steps to position Killer for its sale in 2018. Miles then joined Balliett and other fellow agency owners in the development of Material, where he remains a leader in the business today.

Miles regularly provides consultation services to founders and freelancers looking to start, scale, or sell their agencies. He serves on the Board of Advisors to the Tombolo Institute at the Bellevue College Design Thinking Program, provides portfolio review services to future grads, and is the co-founder and Creative Principal of Agency GrowLab.

Ready to Start Your Own Agency?

You’re an expert at what you do–let our expert guidance set your agency on the path to success.

Buy The StarterKit Today