FIVE THINGS LEARNED IN FIVE YEARS

In April of 2020 the nagging need of a 20+ year dream became reality via the persistent nudges of my now business partner, Ken Hall. This was the start of the pandemic after all and (despite evidence to the contrary) we felt it was EXACTLY the time our soon to be clients and fellow ad friends needed us to do Here Be Dragons.

Any endeavor like this sets off with the abundance of optimism, enthusiasm, and pluck that you’d expect when an experienced, creatively driven, and eternally hopeful ad pro strikes out on their own. (If you remember the pandemic’s early days, all those things were in high demand as temporary working from home arrangements began to morph into weeks sequestered from polite society.)

Well, here I am now, proudly looking back on five years of progress at Here Be Dragons. I’m certainly thankful for the support of my partners (definitely the one I have at the office and certainly the ones I have at home) and excited about what the future holds for Here Be Dragons.

Reflecting back on those five years, I’ve collected some thoughts for those who may feel inspired to make the same leap. (Or maybe they’re just for those perversely interested in what goes on inside the head of an independent agency founder. That’s for you to decide.)

It’s not what you do. It’s how.

Depending on who you ask, there are between 6,000 and 14,000 advertising agencies in the U.S. That’s a not insignificant number of businesses reaching out to clients and answering the basic question, “Well, what can you do for me today?” The answer to that from the majority of those agencies is always, “We do whatever you need us to do.”

We’ve found a better question to ask is, “How does your agency work with clients?” Therein lies the true difference from agency to agency. Ultimately, any good agency should be able to work across channels and disciplines. The how they get to the ideas and executions that are deployed across those channels is where the magic lies.

Once we began to lean on that fact, we found we were matching up better with clients and enjoying the process of creating with them.

Inertia is worse than a whiff.

Comfort is the death knell for any business based on inspiration. Trying new ideas, approaches, and people keeps an agency fresh. Having it blow up in your face keeps the shop smart and nimble. We’ve cherished those moments because that’s motion, learning, and progress. It’s when nothing is happening that things gets dicey. Stagnation sets in, the moss starts to grow, and the rock loses its roll.

As a small, independent shop we’ve embraced being a creative operations laboratory. We’re not saddled by having to reorg to try out a new way of working or run an idea up the corporate flagpole to see if it can be invested in. Ken or I simply ask each other the question, volley the answer around a bit with the team, and then put together a plan to try something out with a good sense of what we want to learn from it.

That’s how we’ve molded our operational model based in sprint-style collaboration; built out quick-to-channel cost-effective production capabilities; developed fruitful agency partnerships nationally and internationally; and integrated AI into the workflow to help improve output without dulling creative sharpness. Every idea we try helps strengthen our cultural DNA.

Sell it like you bought it.

This is a lyric from Saint Motel’s “Preach”—a song about embracing what you love and not holding back in your enthusiasm for it. That pretty much nails what Ken and I wanted to bring to our agency when we started Dragons. 

We came into this thing loving the storytelling power of advertising and passionate about teaming up with great people (clients and crew) to squeeze the best energy we could from it. Along the way, we’ve shown ourselves that you can be real, genuine, and humble without losing the fire and passion that pushes everyone to do their best work.

That’s manifested in taking on some non-traditional tasks to help clients bring teams on board; going the extra mile to make sure concerns are addressed; and being an empathetic advisor that provides perspective without always dictating solutions. This has built a space for understanding, vulnerability, and trust as fellow collaborators. Which, in turn, has given us space to enthusiastically push and pull ideas into the kinds of uncomfortable places that drive momentum.

You’re going to eat a shit sandwich at some point. Decide what flavor you like.

There’s this idea out there that starting your own shop means it’s going to be sunshine and roses in a world where you never have to compromise because you get to call all the shots. We knew this was NOT going to be the case, but admittedly there existed a bit of that idealized approach when we kicked off. Well, I’m happy to report that our suspicions were correct. There ARE indeed times when you have to make the uncomfortable compromise to protect your integrity, your team, or your sanity.

That does bring up an interesting point about that word “compromise.” We do NOT think it a bad word. In fact, it may be the BEST word. As long as you’re not compromising your values, compromise is a way to ensure everyone has skin in the game. Rather than worrying about creating situations where everyone wins a little, we think of “compromise” as creating a situation where everyone has enough on the line to make sure the right decisions are made to succeed a lot. We’ve come to think of this as the Art of The Compromise and know that winning as a team always ends up tasting great.

Never give up, never surrender.

I’ll close with this pop culture reference from the under appreciated cinematic gem “Galaxy Quest.” Often a new agency pops up with a ready for press announcement of some major first client. We’ve become so accustomed to hearing this that a kind of stereotypical playbook has developed. One that runs this general flow: gather partners with big shop pedigree then get a sexy name client then announce agency in trades. It’s become such a common storyline that it can seem like space is limited for anyone else.

Well, we took a more fluid approach when we kicked off Dragons. We knew the kind of work we were passionate about. We knew the kinds of people we wanted to work for and with. And we knew what we were capable of. Knowing all that, finding our way was simply a matter of applying our experience, a desire to experiment, and willingness to adjust to the moment. (Simple does not mean easy, by the way.)

That has set us up for creating an agency ethos built on curiosity and collaboration with a culture that celebrates a belief that together we are better. Our agency “way of being” allows us to explore undiscovered space because we know we never go it alone. As a result, our clients trust us and our process; our teams have confidence in themselves and their work; and my partner and I have faith in one another’s approach. Armed with that level of commitment we know we can go anywhere and accomplish anything, fearlessly.