Chasing The Bigger Fish

The lure of the large contract.

Many traditional agencies operate on a model that inherently prioritizes landing the next, larger client. It’s not necessarily malicious, but it’s a structural reality driven by their business goals, revenue models, and the constant pressure to grow. Understanding why this happens can help you recognize the signs and find a partner truly invested in your success.

1. The Billable Hour Model

When agencies charge by the hour, larger clients with bigger projects and retainers translate directly into more billable hours and higher revenue. A $50,000 project simply looks better on the books and contributes more to growth targets than a $5,000 one, even if the smaller project is more efficient or rewarding in other ways. This model incentivizes maximizing hours, not necessarily efficiency or value for smaller accounts.

2. Growth Expectations

Design agencies, like many businesses, are often focused on scaling. Landing a major client provides a significant revenue jump, helps meet investor or internal growth targets, and justifies expanding the team. It’s seen as the quickest path to perceived success.

3. Prestige & Portfolio

Landing a well-known brand or a large corporation is a status symbol. It looks impressive in the agency’s portfolio and helps attract other big fish. Small, local businesses, while the backbone of the economy, often don’t provide the same level of “bragging rights.”

4. Resource Allocation

Agencies naturally assign their top talent – the seasoned strategists, star designers, and senior developers – to their largest, most lucrative accounts. Smaller clients often get assigned to junior staff, less experienced team members, or even outsourced overseas, potentially leading to less strategic thinking and lower-quality execution.

How it impacts your business:

• De-prioritization: Your project gets pushed back when a larger client has an urgent need.
• Slower Communication: Emails and calls go unanswered for longer periods.
• Inconsistent Teams: Frequent changes in your point of contact as resources are shuffled.
• Cookie-Cutter Solutions: Less time invested, leading to generic approaches rather than custom solutions tailored to your unique needs.
• Scope Creep & Unexpected Costs: Costs can escalate beyond initial estimates, especially if the project isn’t managed efficiently.

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We take a different approach.

We saw firsthand how the traditional agency model often failed small businesses. The billable hours, the complex processes, the stalled projects – it wasn’t working for the clients who needed reliable, expert help the most.

In 2017, we made a conscious decision to focus exclusively on providing high-quality, custom websites for small businesses. This isn’t just a marketing angle; it’s the core of our business model and philosophy.

• Dedicated Expertise: Websites are all we do. We’re not juggling social media campaigns, print ads, and PPC bids. Our in-house, US-based team are experts solely focused on creating, hosting, and supporting exceptional websites.
• No Billable Hours: Our fixed monthly subscription plans mean our focus is on delivering value and results, not racking up hours. You know exactly what you’ll pay, guaranteed for five years.
• Guaranteed Quality & Support: We stand behind our work with a 60-day money-back guarantee, reliably fast hosting, WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards, and guaranteed support responses.
• Optimized Processes: We’ve spent years refining our workflow specifically for the needs and budgets of small businesses. It’s efficient, transparent, and designed to get your high-performance website launched typically within four weeks.