Navigating a business through the 2020 horror story has (and continues to be) a tough and often companionless task for agency leaders. The stats below (which we have kindly been allowed to share with you all) from Andreas at Greenlight Digital, were taken from a poll of Andreas’s digital agency owners and were shared just before the second lockdown. They are useful both as a benchmarking tool and also to inspire a sense of solidarity. You’re doing great by the way, keep going.
See how you stack up against the feelings of other agency leaders…
REVENUES
40% said that revenues had stayed the same compared to pre-lockdown.
35% said that their revenues were higher, 21% said they were lower.
The remainder chose not to answer. Remember of course that the agencies surveyed are almost all in digital which will obviously have been more resilient than other sectors. Still, 21% seeing lower revenue than pre-lockdown demonstrates that this period has affected everyone very differently.
FURLOUGH
33% still had staff on furlough, 67% did not.
NORMAL
When asked when agency leaders thought things would feel ‘normal’ again:
Within 3 months – 7.4%
Within 6 months – 11%
Within 12 months – 37%
Within 24 months – 37%
Longer – 7.4%
FUTURE
25% were concerned about the future of their businesses.
75% were not concerned.
GOVERNMENT
When asked how they felt the government had performed during this period, agency leaders said:
Terribly – 17%
Not great – 33.3%
As good as could be expected – 26%
Pretty well – 18%
Brilliantly – 0%
I’d rather not say – 3.7%
WORKING FROM HOME
39% of you said that WFH has had no impact on staff productivity levels.
The same number (39%) felt that productivity was higher. 11% said it was much higher.
11% did not know.
Of course these stats don’t give the whole story, and since then things have continued to change, but hopefully sharing them has helped you to feel a little less isolated or simply part of the bigger picture in which many are certainly feeling challenged, but positive about the future.
If you have something on your mind, a challenge you’re wrestling with or just want an alternative point of view, I’d be very happy to lend an ear and maybe help you start to unpick the issues. I’ve set aside an hour every Wednesday morning to spend with business leaders. It’s completely free and I benefit as much as you do, finding out more about what’s happening in the industry. You can book a slot here.
As ever, if you enjoy reading these article, please take a moment to sign up to Rambling On, a bi weekly mix of high/low brow business ‘stuff’ delivered to your inbox.
Andy.