From Freelancer to Agency Owner: Is It Time to Hire Employees and Build a Team?

Feel like it might be time to hire your first employee but not sure if you’re ready? Learn about when and how to build a team around you in this blog.

Abby Wood

Published:

Filed Under:

Business Development

Abby Wood

Abby Wood

The Content Lab

Originally from Cambridge, England, Abby now lives in Ireland with her partner Nick and their border collie Bosco. A content strategist and copywriter for over 12 years, she's founder of The Content Lab (a white label content agency) and Content Goodies (providing white label content templates for agencies). She's also co-founder of Ireland Website Design (a full service eCommerce agency) and LearnRight (a white label LMS solution).

Pexels Timmossholder 5737622
This content contains affiliate links. View our affiliate disclaimer.

When you’ve spent most of your time as a solo operator, the thought of building a team around you can be both exhilarating and terrifying.

Hiring your first employee opens up the potential for you to expand your business far beyond what you could ever reach on your own.

But it also means letting go of the reins a little, taking on the responsibilities and costs of managing employees, and changing the way you get things done.

Maybe you’ve been outsourcing some tasks to independent contractors or working with other freelancers up until this point. But if you really want to grow your business and take things from a one-person-show to a fully operating digital agency, there comes a time when you’ve got to rip the band-aid off and hire your first full-time employee.

But there’s so much to learn first! What does tax withholding mean? What in the world is workers’ compensation insurance? Where the heck will I find someone as competent and dedicated as myself to bring on board?

All valid questions when you’re in the throes of a pre-hire spiral.

But don’t panic! Sure, you’ll have to do some tricky tasks like register with your state’s labor department and get yourself an employer identification number. But trust me, the good stuff far outweighs the stress when it comes to building your very own team.

It’s the best thing to do for yourself and your company in the long run. Your business will thrive, you’ll meet fantastic new people, and you’ll even save money (and make money!) the more you find your feet with it.

Besides, you do so much on your own. Imagine what it would be like to have someone else to share the work – and the work day – with. It really makes a world of difference.

So, without further ado, let’s talk about how to know it’s time to hire, how to build a brilliant team, and how to go from digital freelancer to digital agency owner!

When to hire your first employee

There’s no one-size-fits-all timeline for taking on a team to grow your business…but there will be signs. It may be time to hire if…

1. Your workload is overwhelming

As entrepreneurs, it’s great to be busy. It means you’re doing something right! But it doesn’t always feel that way when you’ve got a billion projects and only two hands. 

Not only is overbooking yourself incredibly stressful, but it’s also really difficult to do your best work when you’re under that much pressure. If you’re struggling to cope with the sheer volume of work you’ve got on a day-to-day basis, it’s often the first sign that it’s time to hire someone to help.

You need time and energy to commit to your projects, especially when you’re working in a creative industry! By hiring a new employee to lighten the load, you not only get more time to focus on your work, but you also get access to their unique skills and insights to help make your projects even better – a delightful win-win for you and your brand-new agency.

2. You can’t meet your client demands

Your clients pay your bills. So when you start struggling to keep up with their demands – or worse yet, missing deadlines altogether – things can get a little hairy.

And if you’re already chasing your tail trying to keep your current clients happy on your own, how do you expect to onboard any new clients? Chances are, you can’t. Not without a team to help you catch up – and then get ahead. 

So, if your inbox is bursting with client requests, and your calendar is chock-full of meetings, it’s time to welcome a new employee into your life.

3. You’re ready to expand your business

As a successful freelancer, there’s no denying that you’ve got tons of ambition and a drive to make your business successful. After a while, it’s likely that the same fire that drove you to start your own business will drive you to take it even further. If you’ve got big dreams for your company, expanding your capabilities is a natural next step as your business grows!

When you hire your first employee, your capacity effectively doubles. And when you slowly build a team of employees around you, the world is well and truly your oyster! With more hands on deck and a vast array of business expertise at your disposal, you’ll be able to get where you want to go that much faster – smashing your goals along the way.

How to start the hiring process and build your web design team

1. Start small and hire strategically

You don’t need to jump right into the deep end and hire an entire team before you’re ready. All it takes to get you started is one true star A-player.

Start off by hiring one person who ticks all the boxes you need ticked – someone with the right skills, relevant experience, and a great personality. How hard could that be, right?

Actually, with so many candidates looking for new opportunities, finding the right person to hire can be harder than you’d think. 

So, step away from the job boards! Before you put the feelers out there in your network for someone to hire, the first step is to create a super clear and specific job description to help you find the right fit.

Focus on attracting the perfect candidate by outlining what you need from them, and what they can expect in terms of company culture, the kind of projects you handle, and any employee benefits you’re able to offer (like holidays or health insurance). 

A well-thought-out job listing can do a lot of the work for you, weeding out bad-fit candidates and appealing to top talent. Before you know it, you’ll have yourself a brand-new hire – and a brand-new agency – on your hands!

2. Create SOPs and internal procedures

Before you welcome your first hire on board, it’s important to set your new agency up for success from the get-go.

When you’re used to working on your own, you might find that your internal processes (if they even formally exist) could use some improvement before you hand off tasks to someone else to complete.

Make sure you straighten out the basics first so your new employee understands how you operate, and how they’re expected to work as part of your team. 

Take the time to create detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to share with your new hire (and all future employees). These can serve almost like an employee handbook, establishing clear expectations and guiding their approach to the work.

If you need more help getting started, I go into more detail on streamlining your internal processes in this blog. It’s more fun than it sounds, I promise!

3. Focus on creating a positive culture

If you’ve made it this far as a freelancer, you’ve most likely found a groove that works for you. Won’t bringing a new employee into the picture interrupt the comfy flow you’ve worked so hard to find?

That’s a totally fair concern. My advice? If you want to establish a successful agency and build working relationships that last for the long haul, it’s essential to create a positive working environment from day one.

One of the joys of working for small businesses is the distinct lack of corporate culture – an absolute priority for me in my content agency. Don’t get me wrong, we’re always 100% professional with clients. But we’re also 100% free to be ourselves in our group chat, on daily check-in calls, and when we get together in person.

The fun, inclusive, and supportive culture is what makes working in The Content Lab such a positive and empowering experience for every team member.

Lead by example. Be yourself. Finding a team you don’t want to work without is one part of the challenge; now it’s up to you to be the kind of employer they love to work for, and create a work culture that they won’t want to leave anytime soon.

4. Grow your leadership skills

Becoming a digital agency owner comes with a steep learning curve. There’s all kinds of not-so-fun stuff you’ll have to learn, like how to navigate a payroll system, how to follow labor laws, and how to pay taxes as an agency owner. All this while still keeping up with the day-to-day grind of serving your clients.

On top of all that, you also need to learn how to become a good leader – which luckily can be a lot of fun to figure out!

Once you start to hire people, set aside some time every month to learn more about employee management and develop your skills as a leader.

It’s true that you need your team to keep your business on track to reach new levels of success. But remember, your employees need you, too. As their employer, they’ll look to you to guide them and help them progress in their careers. And they’re counting on you to be understanding and supportive when things get tough at work or at home.

Making the move from flying solo to running an agency requires a lot of you. But when you build the right team around you, it can be incredibly rewarding.
Want to connect with like-minded freelancers, and hear more from those who’ve made the leap to become digital agency owners? Then The Admin Bar Facebook group is the place for you. We’ve been in your shoes before, and we’d love to help you out in any way we can!

Share This Article!
Abby Wood

Abby Wood

The Content Lab

Originally from Cambridge, England, Abby now lives in Ireland with her partner Nick and their border collie Bosco. A content strategist and copywriter for over 12 years, she's founder of The Content Lab (a white label content agency) and Content Goodies (providing white label content templates for agencies). She's also co-founder of Ireland Website Design (a full service eCommerce agency) and LearnRight (a white label LMS solution).

Come Join Us!

Join the #1 WordPress Community and dive into conversations covering every aspect of running an agency!

Kyle Van Deusen

Community Manager

Latest Events

February 18th, 2025

Freelancer to Agency

January 14th, 2025

Getting Started with Figma

Master the essentials in this live session—tools, grids, styles, components, and more. Build layouts while learning hands-on.

January 3rd, 2025

Happy Hour — January 2025

Join your friends from The Admin Bar in our monthly hang out call on Zoom!
Care Plan Toolkit

Save time, boost profits, and confidently manage client websites with proven tools, tips, and resources.

Bento Toolkit
The Friday Chaser

Wash down the week with the best of The Admin Bar! News, tips, and the best conversations delivered straight to your inbox every Friday!

The Content Lab

More Articles

Angry Boss

Red Alert: Spotting the Warning Signs of an Unhappy Client & How to Handle Them

Dealing with an unhappy client? In this blog, learn how to identify an unhappy client and the best way to handle the situation and keep your customers happy.

Barfly Profile Matt Schwartz

Member Spotlight: Matt Schwartz

Matt Schwartz is the founder of Inspry, an 8-person agency based in Atlanta, GA, that’s been …

Sad Despaired Latin Young Brunette Lady In Casual 2023 12 15 00 38 45 Utc

6 Steps to Writing Web Copy That Sells, Not Yells

Discover persuasive writing strategies you can use to create irresistible copy. Write engaging content that’ll turn casual visitors into keen customers.