Should I start my Web Design Agency with my Personal name?

[@TioAlessander]

I believe that the best thing to do is to work in pairs. One has the creative part and the other has the business part. One is the web designer and the other looks for new customers and manages the billing system.

[@poussiere404]

Today I found the right balance. I'm using my full name as a freelancer, and I've also created a freelance agency to handle larger projects. And it's working.

[@rinodeboer]

Nice, but my question then is: why do you handle larger projects under an agency? Is that not possible as a freelancer?

[@poussiere404]

@@rinodeboer Yes, it's possible as a freelancer. However, in my country (France), some companies prefer working with agencies because they want a stable structure, especially to ensure they are supported and not left behind later. I have received a lot of feedback from clients who were disappointed with their previous webmasters who no longer respond to emails and calls.
Regarding the freelance agency, I have teamed up with a graphic designer/illustrator and an SEO/SEA expert. Together, we form a complete team to handle larger requests. This concept is appealing to companies because they get freelance rates with the execution quality of a traditional agency, or even better.
From an SEO perspective, I have one site to promote myself as a freelancer and another for my agency, which allows us to reach a larger number of projects/clients.

[@poussiere404]

@@rinodeboer Yes, it's possible as a freelancer. However, in my country (France), some companies prefer working with agencies because they want a stable structure, especially to ensure they are supported and not left behind later. I have received a lot of feedback from clients who were disappointed with their previous webmasters who no longer respond to emails and calls.
Regarding the freelance agency, I have teamed up with a graphic designer/illustrator and an SEO/SEA expert. Together, we form a complete team to handle larger requests. This concept is appealing to companies because they get freelance rates with the execution quality of a traditional agency, or even better.
From an SEO perspective, I have one site to promote myself as a freelancer and another for my agency, which allows us to reach a larger number of projects/clients.

[@poussiere404]

@@rinodeboer yes, it's possible as a freelancer. However, in my country (France), some companies prefer working with agencies because they want a stable structure, especially to ensure they are supported and not left behind later. I have received a lot of feedback from clients who were disappointed with their previous freelancer who no longer respond to emails and calls.
Regarding the freelance agency, I have teamed up with a graphic designer and SEO & SEA expert. Together, we form a complete team to handle larger requests. This concept is appealing to compangies because they get freelance rates with the execution quality of a traditional agency, or ever better.
From an SEO perspective, I have one site to promote myself as a freelancer and another for my agency, which allow us to reach a larger number of projects and clients.

[@EdgarVasconcelos-ld2mg]

@@rinodeboer i believe its possible, but, larger projects require methode and process to do things, alse not so much contact with the client, they just want things done. With smaller projects its more personal, so its ok not be so methodical and rigid in the process. My experience tells me that. Less contact with the client require more methode, deadlines, more contact with client, more talk, more customer engagement and more flexibility

[@fishfrom96]

Hey Rino, these are some useful questions! I would add some questions approaching it from the clients' side:
Who is my ideal client? Company size, industry, role(s), location etc.
What types of services do they need?
What do they value from their service provider?
Answering questions like these can help you formulate a targeted branding and help in considering the type of name.

[@jonacempelule9876]

I've had this very question for a long time. I wanted to have it under my personal name, but all these things you have pointed out, are exactly what's been making me think of using an agency name. Now thanks to your video. I will use my personal name . 👍🏾

[@Kris-xh6wk]

After I switched from freelancer to agency, my revenue grew 5x as I acquired much larger customers who would only work with serious agencies 👍

[@anthonyreikai]

About 4 years ago I had an agency with +9 employees, and it was very successful. In the end, I ended up hating the whole process of having an agency as such. Now I am alone and even if it is less money, I prefer it a thousand times.
I prefer the solopreneur style much more.

[@rinodeboer]

Really cool to hear that we have a similar story

[@davidrbrtsn]

Interesting video! I started my business in the pandemic under an agecy name. It was so tough to market! One of my clients told me 'i recommend YOU, David, not your business' and this made me switch to marketing under my actual name.
What a great decision! It had an immediate effect. I still run satellite projects that get their own branding when it makes sense, and I can still outsource work whenever I need to. I still use my business name as like a 'holding company' that is in the footer of my website and on my invoices - people seem to like me using it that way. Summary: personal name = marketing brand. Business name = financial 'holding' brand so people pay my invoices! Perfect combo 😊

[@rinodeboer]

Thanks for sharing your story, interesting to read how you've combined it.

[@davidrbrtsn]

@@rinodeboer I appreciate you sharing your journey, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next 🤓

[@folka_studio]

Some questions are "How long you will work?" and "Who will continue your personal brand?"

[@younisibrahim4562]

Thank you, Rino. I completely understand your dilemma because I've experienced it myself for quite some time.
My conclusion is similar to yours-there's no one-size-fits-all solution. We need to evaluate ourselves after listening to others.
After that, some find themselves better aligned with a separate brand, while others align more with a personal name. I'm going to follow the latter.

[@madebysafwan4180]

You've helped me a lot with my website. Enjoy Bali bro, greetings from Indonesia!

[@henstradesign4802]

I'd say go for de Boer Design. I don't know how businesses in the Netherlands work, but here in Canada you should be Inc. (Incorporated) or Ltd. (Limited), because if anyone ever sues you, you don't want to be personally sued, so having your name Rino de Boer as your business name could leave you in a vulnerable position if any one chooses to sue you. The only thing with a name like de Boer Design is that you'd need a qualifier tagline after your name, because "Design" could be anything...interior design; architecture; furniture, etc.

[@JohnJohnson-su5hi]

The same goes for the US. Always incorporate because corporations don't go to jail. Only individuals do.

[@rinodeboer]

Thanks for sharing. In terms of business structure we have something similar in my country. I am not going to register a separate business for this client work. I am just going to create a name I can trade under within my existing business (that also runs my UA-cam channel. That gives me some safety, and I also have insurance for that kind of stuff.

[@Ralph_Appel]

Ich liebe Ihre Art, Fragen zu klären. Ich hatte wirklich das gleiche Problem in der Vergangenheit und begann die Agentur Weg.

[@karim_frikha]

I totally Agree with you !

[@tonybp]

Rino is a unique name, it can be used as a Brand and personal name... you can choose how to approach potential clients accordingly.

[@veritochan17]

I love your videos man. I can always relate and learn a lot. Thanks!

[@RyanSP]

Thanks for sharing the dilemma Rino, it's something I grapple with too. I look at my mentors and I like the way Todd Herman does this. I like the idea of using a personal brand (page/site) as as jumping off point for the various services you offer your clients.

[@rinodeboer]

Thanks for the resource, I will check him out. And yes, that's a good point. I want to do something like that with a subdomain or something. That's also the reason why my UA-cam channel is now my personal name, so that I can link to my agency, but also my courses, etc.

[@dominikliss]

It's super nice to hear that the Emyth is not 100% correct 😊 I also liked the book "The Company of One" by Paul Jarvis

[@terigb]

When I started freelancing 25+ years ago, I worked to create a solid brand identity, and because I often worked with teams of sub-contractors, I used the royal "we" when discussing project work. I later found out that some clients didn't choose to work with my company because they thought I was "too big/too expensive" because their perception was that I was an agency with a big staff and a lot of overhead, not a single designer with a lot of hustle and very little sleep. There are benefits to just being yourself. It can help manage client expectations for time/availability. But either way, good luck!

[@PicSta]

Running a business alone doesn't mean do all the work alone. There are technical ways to help, and you can create a network, like a team with combined forces. I connected to many similar people do web development or web design. It's great to share thoughts or even brainstorm together.

[@user-lw5hm5cz9k]

Thanks for the knowledge, it really gave me a good starting point.

[@zaydahmad9169]

Actually Rino, in my opinion, we get tired physically at some point, right?
I read the book (Sell Like Crazy by Sabri) and he talked about automating your business. So, from what I can deduce here it's about personal preferences and doing what you love doing but keeping in mind that at some point you will definitely need helping hands. If you are going for a personal brand, create courses to teach others you can trust to handle some jobs when you need some time away from it all cause having a brand is on another level, you get to hire others.

[@Ditispeter]

There are a lot of big brands that use their own name. Like Albert Heijn, Heineken, Heinz, McDonald's to name a few. So no worries when you want to grow in the future. 😉 But what can you do if your name is already claimed as a domain name on the web?

[@MrHump]

The Problem I find with most of the points made in this video against using an agency name, is that they assume the business is already successful. You have a choice to scale your agency, just because you use an agency name it doesn't mean you need hire people and become a "Manager" you can stop there and have just as much success as you would have if you just used your personal name.
Realistically if you are worrying about a team and hiring people and scaling, then for me at least I would call this a success!

[@rinodeboer]

Yea alright, good point. At the end of my video I also frame it that the solution for me is the "one-man-agency", meaning that you can still use systems and outsource things if you want or need to, but you are keeping things small to keep it simple to manage.

[@chupabloescobar4049]

how do you reach clients?

[@tonystarkmowa]

I wanted to provide my services with my surname but there are web design agencies with my surname but other domain extensions are available and in my surname these is also a big company we all know and there is just a single letter change so can I register the domain or not?

[@Perpetuallearner1]

Rino how do u edit your videos? Also i've debated this in my head so many times and come to the same conclusion. If you are a youtubers, agency doesnt really work. The sweet spot is to have a rolodex of good freelancers to help you once in a while

[@rinodeboer]

I used Adobe Premiere Pro for 10 years, but I just switched to Davinci Resolve, because I didn't like Adobe's privacy policy with Ai. So now I am struggeling a bit learning Davinci Resolve tbh haha

[@omerta3393]

Very nice video as alwaye

[@Line-vw5io]

Niet echt mee akkoord. Ik heb zelf 2 bedrijfjes die ergens wel aan elkaar gelinkt zijn (enkel door wat ze doen) en geen van beide zijn gelinkt aan mijn persoonlijke naam. (beide bedrijfjes hebben ook geen personeel). Ook niet akkoord dat een naam bedrijf niet gelinkt aan je persoonlijke naam er moet vanuitgaan dat je met personeel werkt. Het is een brand die naam.
Ik vond het net super om nieuwe logo's te ontwikkelen, nieuwe site, naam uitvinden...
En je weet nooit wat de toekomst brengt, dat je er 1 kan verkopen... Dan kun je dit perfect zonder veel boeha. Je bent er zelf niet aan gelinkt.
Als 1 voorbeeld, kijk naar het probleem Halston had in de tijd. Uw persoonlijke naam verkopen zet uwzelf voor blok als je nog iets nieuws wil beginnen nadien.
Als 1 bedrijf goed draait door je persoonlijke naam, doet het gerucht vanzelf de ronde dat je gelinkt bent aan het andere.

[@nikkinikolow8344]

Hi Rino, why did you stop your Mailtime episodes?😢

[@rinodeboer]

Yea, you are right. I should make a new one. Let's do it.

[@MbonisiM]

It's still a hard design to make , but for now going with personal brand

[@macarthy]

Well I suggest no - just went through this and it was a mess because it got bought and it’s ugly

[@colourberry]

Agency name.

[@heikorudi6105]

e-myth writer is not wrong. custom and creative work "agencies" are a garbage business model that cannot be scaled, because you have to scale with people and that's a nightmare

[@michaels1761]

First comment!

[@albezar]

Do it yourself = less money

[@Lilieni]

I can't believe you dared to challenge the gospel of the eMyth (revisted) one of the most revered books on business and entrepreneurship! 😮 lol.. But you make an excellent point...i cant think of a worse job than to be a manager, and some of us like to be technicians. The sweet spot these days is using those systems they talk about to be the creative as well as the boss (of your time and your work). Maybe the eMyth should be revisted again.

[@manankanani321]

I just unsubscribed you.. because I think your content has changed a lot & I am not seeing any useful information in it for anyone. Bye

[@aaronalan1279]

You must not have been paying attention, because Rino informed us all that he IS changing his focus and content. Don't act like you weren't informed...

[@manankanani321]

@@aaronalan1279 yes I was informed but.. he didn't mentioned that he will create trash content from now

[@JamesKerwin]

It's not an airport - why are you announcing your departure and being rude to boot?
The business side of any business is very important - as is theory.

[@manankanani321]

@@JamesKerwin I followed him for long.. & now I find his content trash so it's my duty to let him know that... In rude or the way I actually feel whatever you want to call it..

[@VasylynaHushevska]

Hi Rino! I'm Vasylyna.
I wanted to contact you with a collaboration opportunity that aligns perfectly with your UA-cam channel. What email can I write to you? I wrote to your e-mail, which is indicated in your information, but I didn't receive a response.

[@rinodeboer]

We check all collab emails coming in, but I don’t do a lot of collabs. So if I see a fit and I have time for a collaboration then I will reply. Thanks for your understanding 🙏🏻