What Agency Owners Never Tell You About Creative Work

The Three Versions of Every Client Project 

As a marketing and creative person, I’ve learned over the course of my career to have very tough skin. I used to love every design I made with such passion, that when feedback and criticism came, it would completely eviscerate me. I’m not saying that I don’t love the design work I’m doing now, I’m simply saying I’m open to feedback without making it personal. 

Let me take this a step further and share the inside scoop of what no one will tell you about owning an agency …

One of the hardest parts of running an agency is not the long hours. It's watching something you know could be exceptional get watered down and altered after you've invested your brain, your creativity, and your reputation into it.

It's because we spend so much time caring that it stings so much. 

Imagine you plant a seed. You give it proper soil, make sure you put it in the correct place for sunlight. You tend to it, pulling out weeds, and taking care of any insects that could decimate your plant. You water it, and add fertilizer so it will grow roots, and become sturdy. Expectedly, it grows, flourishes, produces fruit, and it is beautiful. You beam with pride. Then one day, someone comes along and decides to chop a branch off under the guise that “it looks better like this.” 

What you created and nurtured from a seedling is now marred. 

But is it devastating? Yes. No doubt. 

Can it be improved? Possibly. Time will tell. 

Bottom line, can I still be proud of it? That’s the big question, and the hardest pill to swallow.  

At BAM!, we really immerse ourselves into our clients’ market space. We analyze competitors, we craft positioning, we build messaging, we develop a brand voice/identity, and we synthesize all of that into a website design or campaign to differentiate them. To us, it’s not just production work, it’s intellectual property, strategic thinking, and a lot of caring. My whole team is very passionate about what we create.

Another thing agency owners will never tell you is that there are three versions of every project:

1. The version the strategist would build. 

2. The version the client is comfortable approving. 

3. The version that actually launches. 

Admittedly, concept-to-reality is a long journey, and not one without many twists and turns along the way. 

BAM! does not crank out generic marketing deliverables. We build narratives. We think about positioning, differentiation, SEO, AEO, PR, thought leadership, customer psychology, customer journey’s, competitors, and business outcomes, not just "making things look pretty." At the end of the day, the customer experience when they visit your site is paramount for us. 

So, what have I learned after all these years? I have to let clients own the consequences of overriding the strategy.

That my worth isn't defined by whether every client follows every recommendation I make.

My responsibility is to bring my best thinking to the table, to ask the hard questions, challenge assumptions, do the research, care deeply, and create work with purpose. Once I've done that, the decisions no longer belong to me. They belong to the client.

That doesn't mean it won't sting when strategy gives way to preference or when great work takes an unexpected turn. It probably always will. But I've learned that I don't own the outcome, I own the quality of my advice.

And maybe that's the real lesson for anyone who creates something from nothing. Whether you're a marketer, designer, writer, engineer, entrepreneur, or gardener, there comes a point where you must let go. You can plant the seed, nurture the roots, and give it every opportunity to thrive. What happens after that is no longer entirely within your control.

So, I'll keep planting. I'll keep caring. I'll keep showing up with the same passion that got me here in the first place. Because even when the branches are trimmed differently than I envisioned, I know the roots were planted with intention, and that's something no one can take away.