3 Key Factors Digital Agency Owners Need to Consider While Heading into Recession

6 minutes read
How Digital Agency Owners can make Recession-Proof Agency

There are several strong indications that a recession is on its way. In the last few months, many high-profile US tech companies announced layoffs. While Meta laid off 11,000 workers, Amazon let go of 10,000. The ongoing purge at Twitter could see its employee base of 7,500 shrinks by about 75%. Around 42,000 workers in US tech companies lost their jobs in November alone, according to layoffs. These numbers are indicative of a recession.

Amidst the layoff, Mark said, “We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1.” This indicates that new hiring will remain frozen for Q1 of 2023. Stripe CEO Patrick mentioned they were over-optimistic about the growth, which led to hiring more people. However, 2023 represents the beginning of a different economic climate.

These are challenging times for sure. But oncoming recessions shouldn’t limit your growth. If anything, the show must go on. And a few key factors will help you sail through these difficult times.

1. Don’t Stop Growing But Look For Alternatives

Growth never stops. But during the testing times, you should look for different ways to grow consistently. Your tired-and-tested methods may not work, but there is always a solution around the corner.

One of the factors that can make a difference is getting the right people to do the job. However, hiring new talent may be difficult as it increases your overhead. So, options like having an on-demand remote team could work wonders.

That’s where E2M’s white-label monthly plans come in. We provide you with the flexibility to have a team as and when you need it. Here you get access to an expert team and a dedicated point of contact (POC) to take care of all your projects.

Isn’t that great?

You have your team just an email away. As you see more business coming your way, get your on-demand remote team working on it. But most importantly, save yourself the trouble of hiring full-time talent.

2. Add a Recurring Revenue Business Model

Another way to increase the profitability of your agency is to add a recurring business model. Many agencies face a dry spell in one quarter while they are overwhelmed with too many projects in the next. You need to find stable revenue streams if you want consistent cash flow.

You will need to re-evaluate the offerings. Find out which service could be provided every month and turned into a subscription model. This will help you to forecast the revenue.

For example, if you are selling website maintenance OR SEO OR Content as a service, you can create a monthly subscription model for this set of services. This could help you generate stable revenue and avoid dry spells.

3. Finding Less Expensive Alternatives

Switch your current software and tools to lesser expensive ones. It can help you boost your profitability. Just make sure switching to these alternatives won’t affect your productivity. In short, they should offer the same results but lower costs.

In this regard, AppSumo is the best place to find a less expensive alternative. This online deals website offers exclusive discounts on digitally distributed goods. You can get lifetime deals (LTDs) on many tools and applications. Getting a lifetime deal can help you save thousands on monthly subscriptions.

We have done this, resulting in significant monthly savings. We have been using ClickUp, a project management tool, for a while. The platform raised its monthly subscription by nearly 50% before the renewal was due. This encouraged us to look for less expensive alternatives.

Today, we have moved to an open-source platform. It helped us save around $1700/Month. That’s more than $20,000 a year. But most importantly, moving to the new open-source platform didn’t affect our productivity. If anything, we can customize the platform as we grow, making this a viable long-term solution.

Finding cost-effective alternatives isn’t limited to software and tools alone. You can also find better and less expensive options for your business processes. For example, many digital agencies have FTEs or work with different contractors/freelancers. And you need to work with multiple freelancers or contractors or hire more FTEs for complicated projects. It’s not only expensive but also inefficient.

A wise decision is to hire a white-label team. A white-label team consists of a diverse group of experienced and skilled members. This helps you cut overall costs as you get access to multiple talents under one roof. At the same time, your productivity remains unaffected.

For example, if your agency builds both WordPress and Shopify websites, you are going to need two different sets of developers/freelancers/contractors. That’s double the cost and twice as much effort. Instead, why not engage a white-label partner who can provide you with both WordPress and Shopify website services at a flat monthly cost?

Moreover, building websites require different expertise, especially for customizations. You will need a multi-talented team of front-end developers, back-end developers, experienced QAs, designers, SEOs, and a server team.

Hiring individual contractors or freelancers for each expertise will send your overall development cost soaring. On the other hand, hiring a white-label partner would be much more cost-effective and efficient.

In Conclusion

When the recession hits, every agency owner thinks of cutting costs. Instead, why not use this excuse for a little more than just keeping the costs down? Why not use It to increase the profitability of your agency without adding a new business? And these tried-and-tested tips can help you do so with ease.

We hope you love reading this and find it helpful. To know more about White-label services, book a time on my calendar, and you will receive a calendar invite along with Zoom meeting details.

  • Khushbu Doshi is a dynamic and results-driven sales professional with a strong track record of helping clients achieve their goals. As VP & Partner of Sales and Customer Services at E2M, she is an essential member of the Sales & Pre-sales team, where she evaluates new prospects and recommends the best possible solutions. Khushbu understands customer needs and builds strong relationships through excellent communication skills.

    In addition to her impressive professional accomplishments, Khushbu is an avid reader and passionate traveler with an insatiable curiosity. She values hard work, creativity, passion, commitment, and integrity. With her unique blend of technical expertise, sales acumen, and people skills, Khushbu is an invaluable asset to the E2M team.