When you first build a design agency, the value proposition is pretty simple:
“I do work, they pay me.”
It’s a great start.
Until you realize that’s what everyone else figured out too.
So what reason do clients have to work with your agency as opposed to anyone else’s?
When an agency owner gets to this point, it usually kicks off some noble solo expedition to invent some proprietary process, machete in hand, hacking through untouched jungle, convinced that originality means inventing everything from scratch. When done in a vacuum, it usually results is some vague alliteration like “Design, Develop, Deliver” that looks like what everyone else does anyway.
The better, simpler way is to acknowledge that there’s no such thing as originality. Everything is a remix. Far from throwing in the towel, this mindset can actually open you up to borrowing from existing models that already work, as opposed to burdening yourself from having to invent from scratch.
Simply stated, a model is an example you can follow or imitate, which is a great way to learn. Fashion models wear clothes so you can see how they might look on you without having to try them on yourself. Some workout videos have models who demonstrate the exercise so you know how to do it properly. Recipes often use photos to model how your dish should turn out.
By the same logic, business models let you “try on” proven structures before you commit to them. They reduce risk and shorten the learning curve, because you’re building on what already works instead of guessing your way through it.
Here are some models that I used liberally and referenced constantly while I was building my agency SuperFriendly:
Movies are made by assembling specialized teams of directors, writers, actors, and crew, and more, brought together specifically for each film. They work together for years toward a singular, excellent purpose, and then disband. This was my primary inspiration for building SuperFriendly as a network of hundreds of freelancers as opposed to a team of full-time employees. We even had Directors and Producers at the core of every account to follow the model very closely.
The Super Friends were DC Comics’ ensemble of iconic heroes—led by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman—who joined forces to fight threats too big for any one hero to handle alone. We borrowed the entire motif even down to the company name.
After reading Creativity Inc., we borrowed Pixar’s idea of Braintrusts. Here’s how Ed Catmull describes Braintrusts in the book:
The Braintrust, which meets every few months or so to assess each movie we’re making, is our primary delivery system for straight talk. Its premise is simple: Put smart, passionate people in a room together, charge them with identifying and solving problems, and encourage them to be candid with one another… the Braintrust watches [a version] of the movie and discusses what’s not ringing true, what could be better, what’s not working at all. Notably, they do not prescribe how to fix the problems they diagnose.
For every project we did, we allocated money specifically to hire a group of outside experts to consult with our project team about holes and opportunities they saw in the work somewhere along the way.
Teaching hospitals are medical centers that treat patients while also training the next generation of doctors, meaning experienced physicians supervise residents and interns as they learn, practice, and refine their skills in real clinical environments. This directly inspired our apprenticeship program, and using the teaching hospital model help our clients quickly become at ease to the fact that apprentices would be working on the projects they paid good money for.
The fluidity of a 5-person team that has to flex and adapt constantly was a big inspiration in how we ran our processes. I wish I had David Hollander’s How Basketball Can Save the World back then:
In the ideal state of basketball, there are no silos, but rather human flexibility and interchangeability. At any given moment on the court, you might find yourself in an entirely new situation—new facts, new circumstances—that you need to solve. To say, “That’s not my job, that’s not my position” is insufficient. You need to be and do whatever is required in that new time and place. There’s no manual or answer key. There’s just a unique challenge that you and your teammates have to solve together. The solution? You need to be it, whatever it is. Adopting a position of positionless-ness is the best preparation for whatever comes your way.
One of the first things I do when helping an agency owner grow their business is ask them to identify the specific of their rich life and/or worthy goal, as I’m a firm believer of beginning with the end in mind. What happens every time is that the owner starts to reveal to themselves the details of the sometimes-scary M-word:
Their mission.
They realize it can be bigger than just, “I do work, they pay me.”
For some, that might be living a certain lifestyle, like taking 2 family vacations a year or starting to build a formidable wine cellar. For others, it’s about accomplishing something, like reducing homelessness in their town or being able to fund their kids’ college tuitions without any debt.
Once you start to hone in on your mission, you start to seek out people who have already accomplished the same mission. This is where models become really useful. If you wanted to climb Everest, you might at least want to have a phone call with someone who previously climbed Everest so they can help set your expectations.
If you can’t find a 1:1 model, you might find look for someone close enough. If you wanna to be the most dominant force in pickleball history, you might look to Serena Williams as a model. She did it for tennis, but you might decide that the model is close enough. So, the steps she did in regards to tennis, you do the equivalent with pickleball: the workouts, the prep routines, the specific coaches, the eating habits.
How and where do you find good models? It’s not like there‘s a book where you can look up your business and find a bunch of useful models.
You find it in your fascinations. In your unfair advantages. What do you nerd out about? What do you have a lot of experience with?
I became a designer because I saw Toy Story when it came out and decided I wanted to be an animator. So I went to school for animation and accidentally discovered design. I started an agency a decade later. I wasn’t looking for models then, because I already had them from studying Pixar years earlier.
I’ve played basketball since I was 6. I watch a ton of movies. I read comic books growing up. The models already existed in my head; I just needed time and the right opporunity to connect some dots.
Here are a few prompts to connect the dots for your own models:
When you use and infuse your personal models into your business, you truly create something unique. A web design studio inspired by UFC will be very different than a web design studio inspired by Buckingham Palace.
What models have you used lately?
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