Before you look for work, look at how you work
Every agency owner fears the same thing: the phone stops ringing.
Leads slow down. The inbox looks empty.
So you do what everyone does and chase more work.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth: your biggest growth problem isn’t new leads, it’s what’s happening inside your agency right now.
At Design Business Council, we’re often asked to help agencies “get more new business.” But before we touch marketing or sales, we run the numbers.
Because until you know how your agency actually runs, you’re guessing.
Most agencies are running too hard just to stand still
The average small to mid-sized Australian agency runs at around $60,000 a month just to open the doors.
That includes 5 full-time designers, admin, rent, subscriptions, software, marketing etc. And around 60–70% of that cost is salaries.
DBC research shows that a profitable five-person agency should be billing $1.1 million a year with a 25% profit margin.
Most don’t come close, not because they’re bad at design, but because their internal operations aren’t aligned with their growth strategy.
Before you chase new clients, fix your client mix.
Start by looking at where your money actually comes from:
- Which clients are profitable?
- Which projects are time-heavy but low-margin?
- Which clients give you repeat, on-time, on-budget work?
If you’re not tracking revenue by client, you can’t know who’s driving your business and who’s quietly bleeding it dry.
This audit reveals your project sweet spot; the type of work that’s both profitable and creatively rewarding.
When you know that, you can target new business that aligns with your best-performing projects, not just whoever walks through the door.
Underused people = lost profit
One of the biggest red flags we see inside studios is underutilised staff.
If your designers are running at 50–60% utilisation, you’re paying for idle time and eroding your margin every day.
The opportunity?
Sell what your team already has capacity to deliver.
You don’t need more people you need better-aligned clients.
That’s strategic new business: turning idle time into billable work without extra overhead.
Strategic business development starts within
Once you’ve mapped your client mix and utilisation, you can target growth where it matters:
- Industries that need your underused services.
- Partnerships with agencies that can refer or outsource work.
- Clients who value the kind of design thinking your team is best at.
So what?
Growth isn’t about chasing every lead it’s about building a business that runs profitably on the work you already do best.
Because the truth is: if your internal operations aren’t healthy, no amount of new business will save you.
Strategic business development doesn’t start with more clients.
It starts by fixing the cracks inside your agency.
If you want to learn more about how the DBC is helping Australian design businesses contact Greg Branson.
Greg Branson
Contact Greg Branson if you would like to learn more about the many programs the DBC offers.
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About Greg Branson
Greg’s passion is the research and development of methods that improve design management and the role of design in business.
His longevity is in his ability to change and adapt. Greg’s career as a traditionally-trained photographer; became an academic, teaching photography to design students. He co-founded and ran Mackay Branson design (for over 25 years) until, recognising an area that he loved – design management – was not an area traditionally covered in design education. This lead to him founding Design Business Council. Since then he has worked alongside hundreds of Australian creatives helping them manage their business better.
Greg has sat on the AGDA Victoria and National councils, on a number of University and TAFE Advisory Boards and helped rewrite the VCE Visual Communication curriculum.
Outside of DBC, he is a passionate analogue photographer who spends an inordinate amount of time in his darkroom. You can follow his work on instagram @gregurbanfilm
Always happy to chat, he can be contacted here.