How to Set Up an Advertising Agency

Once you have made a decision to go into advertising, firstly you need to setup a business.

The government has a guide you can follow in order to do so, whether you want to start up a full limited company or simply work as a sole trader – https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business

Do not forget that if you take people on, you will need to be responsible of running payroll, paying their national insurance (you can claim an allowance however), and providing workplace pensions to eligible staff.

After this, you need to create a goal and a mission statement in order to create a valuable business. As a marketer, this is very important as it gives direction to the business as well as how customers and suppliers will perceive you.

There is also a need to understand the type of Agency you want to be:

What Type of Agency Are You?

• Creative / Design Agency
• Advertising Agency
• Brand Consultancy
• Strategy Consultancy
• Channel Planning
• Retail Specialist
• Media Planning
• Media Buying
• Media Strategy
• Outdoor Specialist
• Digital Media Planning /Buying
• Digital / Interactive Marketing
• Web Design / Development
• Search Marketing (Paid)
• Search Marketing (SEO)
• Mobile Marketing
• Digital Creative
• Social Media Marketing
• Apps Development
• Platform Development
• Email Marketing
• Customer Relationship Marketing

• Strategy Consulting
• B2B or B2C Agency
• Media Analysis / Reporting
• Database Design
• Database Management
• Direct Response Agency
• List Creation & Sourcing
• Point of Sale
• Promotions Agency
• Government Relations
• PR / Media Relations
• Internet Communications
• TV Specialist
• UX Design
• Strategic Counsel /Consultant
• Crisis Management
• Packaging Design
• Branding & Identity
• Signage
• CRM Agency
• Video Production
• Direct Marketing Agency

• PR Agency
• Custom Publishing Agency
• Sales Promotion Agency
• Experiential Agency
• Sampling
• Entertainment Agency
• Event Marketing
• Shopper Marketing
• Social Marketing
• Sports Marketing
• Sponsorship
• Telemarketing / Call centres
• Radio Specialist
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• Online Research
• Concept Testing
• Brand Tracking
• Inbound Agency
• Customer Experience Management
• Content Marketing

This will help you find your client base as well as your staff.

You will need to gain popularity and therefore have a good website. Perhaps look into generating SEO in order to do this and to make sure that you get the right people looking at your website.