U should always be leveraging more & more
Here's your process
1) work for free
2) get 5-10 $1-5K/month retainers
3) get rev share + potential equity deals only
Eventually ur agency should be a cash cow
High margins &/or a turn into a holding company if you're getting equity
It's a process. takes time
Work for free
fail, learn, fail, succeed, now start charging low/mid-tier retainers
Learn more, become great at your craft, build great systems & team
then if possible do rev share deals only. Bring in lots of rev. take equity /w startups if u can
You CANNOT SELL an agency doing $1-5K retainers
U just can't
Unless it's for a .5-1x multiple
Why the Retainer model is just training for the big leagues (rev share on big $$ & equity w startups)
Graduate from retainers & get into rev share/equity ASAP
also to get rev share on big $$ and/or equity
Your offer needs to be more than just "lead gen"
No one is gonna give u Equity for "lead gen"...
Manage a startup's sales process from start to finish & train their sales team to have huge success?
Different story
If i started a new agency today my goal would eventually be to turn into holding company
with:
- an offer SO damn good it DESERVES Equity
- my hand in dozens of promising startups
Equity vested via specific KPIs
Bring 20 clients, get 1% equity, 20 more clients, 1% more & so on