[matthewcford]

I’ve run a 15-person agency for 14 years (bootstrapping), and the stress can’t be underestimated.

I know plenty of agencies who have either switched to products or just sold up / closed.

Using associates is a good option if you have a good network, however, it can be just as stressful if they don’t deliver.

[devoutsalsa]

I had 15 people, including myself, at one point. I wasn’t terribly good at marketing, and all of our business was word of mouth in a cyclical industry. It was always stressful to not know where future business was coming from, and the overhead meant I often kept less, rarely more, than I would have by just remaining a solo entrepreneur.

[commonlisp94]

> switched to products

This is always a temptation for agencies which almost never works out. They underestimate the effort to build a product. They also typically don't have the skill or experience to build a high quality product that can compete with the whole world.

[matthewcford]

Perhaps, I know around 5-6 agencies that have made this work.

I don't think they underestimate the effort or lack the skills; the issue is trying to do both - grow the agency and launch a product.

The ones which made it either split the agency or stopped doing client work.

[j45]

Paying wages can be a less well known side of wage slavery.

An associate model is great, allows everyone flexibility and participate in killing what they eat along and together