Get Social launched in 2020 after an immediate demand for social media in a higher form. That’s what it’s about, finding the specialty that separates you from others. As a Black-owned agency, we are looked at to have mastered faster and more efficiently than our other counterparts.
While starting your own agency is never easy, I’m here to share the best tips for starting your own agency as a Black woman in 2022.
- Apply for an AMEX card. Thankfully, I could survive with a steady cash flow, but I would have been a lot wiser to immediately apply for an AMEX after filing for my DBA/LLC. Cash on hand can be used for expenses like Slack, Dropbox, Asana, and other key apps that help flow communication through your agency. Plus – you can benefit from the points push of spending 15k in the first three months; an AMEX always comes in handy!
- Hire full-time staff, contracting sounds nice and easy, but it’s hard to keep quality employees around not offering benefits, PTO, and any type of perks. Look into companies like Gusto that do the work for you! These are expenses that cash is important on hand!
- Hire an accountant. Here’s where I made my mistake! Hire someone to make sure you have filed the proper business documents and have the correct paperwork and bank accounts. Taxes are a different beast when you are a business owner, and you can not fix them later!
- Remember that the work speaks for itself. We often feel like we need to spend to have the best logo and website, and we often forget that the work is the most important part. Don’t be shiny on the outside and broken down on the inside because you exhausted your energy wanting to present nicely. Let clients know your service and delivery it when the time comes. Most of your work will come from word-of-mouth/recommendations, and they often don’t care what our deck looks like. For my agency, in particular, you can go to an Instagram we run, and the proof is in the pudding!
- Make an hourly rate and a flat rate that will keep your business afloat. Pricing is competitive these days. We’re all worried about overpricing and not getting business or underpricing ourselves and not getting compensated correctly. Budget yourself constantly and work with your accountant on what your prices should be to reflect your bigger dreams/ideas. You’ll never get to the next level staying at the same level.
There are millions of other ways to start your agency and must-haves that people want. But remember, everyone’s model wont be the same! Do what is best for you and makes you feel confident. As a Black woman in a white male social justice space, I take pride in letting clients know we are Black-owned and Woman of color ran + ensure a diverse and intentional contract when working with us. That’s what separates us from others! If you’re interested in learning more about Get Social and what type of Social Media services we offer, visit us at getsocialwithteja.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Teja Smith, is the owner of Get Social. Get Social is a social media agency founded by a Black Woman that employs other women of color. Outside of the make-up of the employees being a unique factor, the agency is behind some of the biggest social justice organizations like Rock The Vote and She The People, social media presence. Her team was very pivotal in getting Vice President Kamala Harris on President Joe Biden’s ticket. She also ran the social media campaign for See Us Unite, the special designed to fight AAPI hate that premiered on MTV.
She is the only Black woman whose agency specifically looks to move social justice causes forward in the digital space. I believe your audience could benefit greatly by knowing a lane for this work exists and how vital social media is to the current political landscape. With important gubernatorial elections like Georgia’s and Texas’ coming up, Teja can speak to your audience to motivate them to stay involved in the political process.
