The idea that there’s a single “right” way to build and run an agency is deeply ingrained – and deeply unhelpful. While agencies often face similar challenges, no two are operating under the same conditions. Founders bring different goals, levels of capacity, personal priorities, and definitions of success. Treating them as interchangeable only leads to…
As 2026 begins, there’s one question every founder should pause to ask: What does success really look like – and how are you measuring it? For too many agency founders, success has quietly become code for longer hours, constant availability, and earning time off instead of designing for it. When the agency dictates the founder’s…
What is a lifestyle agency? Well, a bit like quantum computing, it’s complicated. Over the years the term has been used almost like a dirty word. Weekly I hear stories where founders have been told they’re “just” running a lifestyle agency, and often felt looked down on for that decision. The message of growth has…
They can be highly profitable and highly specialist. But there’s such a stigma around the term ‘lifestyle agency’ that people are afraid to say that that’s exactly what they want. The message of growth has been pushed so hard in the agency world and in business – that we’re scared to say that’s NOT what…
I have always had a mentor. They have made a transformational difference to my life. He often describes his role as being my cheerleader, reminding me there’s always someone on your side wanting and pushing you to do ‘the thing’. The thing that’s scary, the thing that feels outside your reach, the thing that’s holding…
I thought running an agency was tough, but then life threw IVF into the mix and things got really wild. Running a business and trying to create a human at the same time is mind-blowingly hard whatever path is yours to follow. What I didn’t realise when the IVF path was the only one available…
When I set out to support agency founders, I didn’t want to be yet another agency advisor pushing growth for the sake of growth. It’s exhausting. I spent time reflecting on my own agency journey. Rubber Cheese was built on the foundations of being a truly great place to be. It was fun, we produced…
Please don’t all run for the door clients, I can totally help you make decisions. But I do often find it tough to make big decisions for myself. Not decisions like, what I’m going to have for dinner tonight? (Salmon). Or should I eat that last easter egg in the fridge that Edie has forgotten…
There’s an extremely low number of women agency owners in the UK. It’s been difficult to pinpoint an exact percentage, but speaking to my network, Robert Craven of The Directors Centre, and The Wow Company, it sits somewhere between 12% to 27%. The Wow Company’s recent survey of 471 agency owners across the UK has the…