This presentation will give you some practical advice to increase the profitability in your creative business.  We have spent over 10 years using this methodology in a live environment – and it’s a very simple formula…

1. 5 Steps to Agency Profitability By Debbie Pine This presentation will give you some practical advice to increase the profitability in your creative business. We have spent over 10 years using this methodology in a live environment – and it’s a very simple formula…

3. 1. Rate Card & Remuneration Fees This is probably the most important area to get right as it sets the tone for HOW MUCH your agency can make from a piece of client business. You need to give this the right attention up front in the relationship to ensure you can deliver great creative and still make a profit!

6. 2. Estimating your creative properly Once you establish the correct Rate Card – give the time and attention into ensuring your day-to-day project estimates are as thorough as possible. Your estimates are HOW you turn client business into revenue for your agency. They are the next critical step after the Rate Card in making $. Don’t be afraid to place value on your creative - and remember to quote based on the quality and longevity of the idea – not just the execution of it.

9. 3. Tracking your job costs Don’t under-estimate how much a job can change or blow out through the course of the creative project. Once an estimate is drafted, this may be a constantly changing beast until the job is delivered. Always allow for 2 -3 rounds of client Authors Corrections for each step: Creative Concepts & Execution – including artwork, editing, post production, live testing etc. Remember to track in REAL TIME and not too long after the job is completed as additional fees get lost and forgotten.

12. 4. Billing to create positive cash flow It is important to bill a client job as soon as it is quoted and started. Why? By the time the job is delivered to the client, the Agency is usually just being paid – which means the billing happens in REAL time. In addition – if any external expenses are incurred during the job, the agency is not carrying these expenses. They can be large, especially on TV related jobs. It is common to bill 100% and also 50% upfront. Choose what works for you.

14. 5. Reporting to understand your business No matter what size you are, you must produce some level of reporting to be able to make positive changes to your business. Data is your friend and will give you so many clues as to what you can change to make the biggest financial advantage. This ranges from poor client profitability, lagging department profitability, individual staff utilisation and where sloppy processes are occurring in the business.

17. Do you need further help? Visit our website www.tickboxer.com to find many more resources at your fingertips to help your creative business become more profitable.