Monday, April 13th, 2009
City Talent, Close to Home
In most small or mid-sized companies you are working with talent from the bigger agencies that either left for a better work/life balance or to get the opportunity to be more creative. Clients are getting the same level of thought and creativity found from larger creative firms, without the larger overhead and costs.
Senior Management Supervision
At Intake Studio, the principals are involved in the daily activities on each project. Quite often, at larger firms, a junior account staff is responsible for important decisions about a client’s vision. Navigating today’s economic climate is too important to be left to a less-seasoned staff.
Can I Have That Yesterday?
A boutique company is used to being more nimble and responsive, and can adapt to the changes that need to happen quickly in times like these. In larger firms, they are just not equipped to turn new ideas around as quickly.
(more…)
Monday, March 30th, 2009
Many businesses that are in trouble are in trouble for a simple reason: they’re the wrong size. A newspaper that only had a few dozen employees would be doing great today. But they have hundreds or thousands of employees because that was an appropriate scale twenty years ago. When I started my first web company fifteen years ago, the idea that you could be successful with six or ten employees was crazy, but today many of the most successful companies have not many more than that. That’s 15,000 fewer employees than eBay has.
It’s tempting to get bigger. But is bigger better?
In many cases, it’s worse, particularly when you can leverage reliable systems that are cheaper and faster and more stable in the outside world.
(more…)
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Q:
Boutiques really do seem like a more economical business model. Not only do they have all the benefits listed, but it also seems like there is less start up cost. This in turn makes it less expensive for them to get started during an economic crisis. However is there ever a point in time where the market can become over saturated with too many boutiques? At what point do these boutiques begin to get bought out by larger companies? -Chris, Wichita
A:
Great question. We think that the boutique industry regulates itself in that weaker companies are weeded out during difficult economic times. As for being bought out, we have no desire to become the biggest video production company. We simply strive to be the best, no matter our size. Our goal is service to our clients, above all. We look at it as 50% product, 50% customer service and have no interest in growing huge or being bought. Thanks for the comment! -Intake Studio
Ian from Springfield, Missouri made some excellent points in his comment on IntakeStudio.com:
Smaller can be better, especially in a hard hit economy. Everyone is thinking about saving the environment, their checkbooks, and keeping their downtowns alive. Small locally owned businesses can contribute to all three. They provide variety and a uniqueness that can’t be found in other towns. They typically keep the money within the community, thus expanding the local economy and boosting everyones bank accounts. They help the environment by not having to ship large amounts of product across oceans or strip large swaths of resources. Ideally local businesses would work together to share resources and production.
We appreciate the participation. Leave a comment or shoot us an e-mail with a question of your own.
Friday, February 27th, 2009
How do boutique companies maintain maneuverability to help avoid economic disaster?
- Lower overhead costs
- Lower rates
- More flexibility to accommodate clients looking to cut costs
- Little to no major debt
What are the advantages to working with smaller firms?
- Fewer clients = more attention
- Often the owner or president ensures quality work
- No layers of administration, account managers and lower level employees
These are questions we get asked often. Have a query of your own? Leave a comment here in the next week, we’ll answer it in a new post and give you a free Intake Studio hat just for your curiosity.
The question must be related to Get Your Budget Back or Intake Studio. First 10 comments with valid e-mail addresses: a baseball cap in the mail to you by March 6th!