Creating your digital agency. On your own? Or as a Franchise?

Who can honestly say they’ve never dreamed of embarking on the adventure that is entrepreneurship? Becoming your own boss and selling your talents to grow your own business? What are the advantages and pitfalls? How should you prepare yourself before taking the plunge?

The advantages of setting out to create your own digital agency

They are manifold. Firstly, the complete freedom to manage your own business without having to answer to anyone (or almost). If you have skills and abilities in the digital field, training in webmastering, community management or an area currently on-trend in this domain, then there is a high chance that you will be able to make money by offering your services. The market needs are huge. From very small companies to major groups, you will have the opportunity to use your talents and turn them into a real career. Like any company founder, you will have the independence to decide its positioning, legal form and the direction you want to take. So, if we sum up the advantages:

• Independence
• Decision-making powers
• Ability to focus your business on your chosen area of expertise
• Freedom to choose which clients you want (or don’t want) to work with
• Pride that you are going it alone

The disadvantages of setting out to create any kind of company alone

However, there are, of course, disadvantages to going it alone. While you can expect that, as your company grows, you will be able to recruit and build teams to write your own success story, there will be many obstacles along the way. Because even if you have recognised and undeniable technical expertise, that does not automatically make you an entrepreneur with the skills and everything else that it implies… namely being a company director. And, at the beginning in any case, this means you will have to manage all aspects of the company.

• Know how to position the company from a marketing viewpoint
• Know how to promote it online (website, SEO, social media)
• Know how to market the company
• Know how to draw up a coherent business policy
• Know how to sell your services (sales abilities)
• Know how to negotiate when necessary
• Know how to make your business sustainable and profitable in the long term
• Know how to manage an operating account
• Know how to pace yourself
• Be ready to not be able to delegate anything during the holidays
• Cap your turnover until you have employees to help
• Not have the means to immediately purchase the state-of-the-art tools you need to work and have to wait before investing

In short, you need to have skills which are not simply technical. Likewise, if you have management and sales skills, you can’t develop technical expertise overnight.

The advantages of relying on a structure like OptimEurope Holding to create and build your business.

The first advantage of relying on a structure like OptimEurope Holding is the guarantee that you are not embarking on the adventure alone. The initial training we provide will give you the arms you need, in addition to the qualities you already have. You will receive sound training in:

• SEO or Natural Referencing
• SEA or Paid Searches (Google Ads)
• Social Media strategy
• Online Reputation
• Inbound Marketing
• Sales and negotiating techniques

And most importantly, you will have access to state-of-the-art tools, so that you can focus on developing your business. No website to create. It’s already done for you. No social media to manage. It’s done for you. Very little prospecting to find clients (although you will still have to pitch in). Optimize 360 has implemented an inbound marketing strategy for itself, which allows it to generate inbound leads. Optimize is also in contact with sound business introducers throughout France, and subscribes to platforms putting potential clients and digital agencies in contact. Being part of Optimize also means joining a family of peers and colleagues who have already encountered recognised problems and will be able to spare you the dangers. Finally, you will be supported all year round by the franchisor, whose only goal is to help you to succeed by building a profitable, sustainable business, while limiting the risks of going it alone.

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