At a recent Second Wind JAM Session, we opened with a simple question: what's actually working right now? The conversation covered new business momentum, acquisitions, platform strategy, and the ongoing challenge of managing software costs. Here's what came up.
New Business Is Starting to Move
After a quiet stretch, several members are seeing activity pick up. A few patterns behind the shift:
- Agencies investing in SEO and GEO work are beginning to see inbound activity. The connection isn't definitive, but the timing is notable.
- One owner described a meaningful shift in just the last few weeks. She had organized a peer group of local agency leaders that met that same morning, and was hearing the same thing from others in the group: new opportunities starting to move after a long quiet stretch.
- Another agency saw new business soften after a fall acquisition, then start to recover as integration settled and new capabilities came online.
Acquisition as a Growth Strategy
Two agencies in the group completed acquisitions within the past year. Both described similar motivations and similar realities on the other side.
- One owner's path started at a Second Wind conference, where a conversation about acquiring a new business pipeline planted the idea. A Second Wind email flagging opportunities in the Northeast came shortly after. The deal closed March 1 and doubled the agency's headcount to 12.
- The other acquisition added video and content production capabilities to a creative shop, immediately expanding what the agency could offer existing clients.
- Both were candid: integration is heavy, billable time is lighter, and that's the deal you make going in.
- One observation that resonated: 95% of how two agencies operate tends to be similar. It's the 5% that differs where you actually learn something.
Second Wind played a role in connecting one of the deals. If you're thinking about acquisition or have considered putting your agency on the market, reach out.
Getting the Software Stack Under Control
The SaaS model is creating a real cost management challenge, especially post-merger. A few approaches that came up:
- Do a full subscription audit. One owner had someone from the art department build a spreadsheet of every license the agency was carrying. It surfaced duplicates, unused tools, and services being paid for twice.
- When merging, consolidate onto one agency's accounts. The accounts that don't transfer get cancelled after files are backed up.
- One agency dropped traditional phone infrastructure entirely for a soft phone system. Same direct dial numbers, everything through an app. Significant savings, minimal disruption.
How Agencies Are Using Workamajig
Most members use Workamajig in some form. How far they've taken it varies.
- One agency is fully consolidated: project management, finance, and billing all in Workamajig. They ran parallel books through 2023 before cutting QuickBooks. Cleaner data, better reporting.
- Another uses Workamajig for project management and keeps QuickBooks with outsourced bookkeeping. It works, though deeper integration would give better client-level reporting. The hesitation is practical: outside bookkeepers rarely know Workamajig.
- On CRM: the consensus was functional but limited. HubSpot came up as the standard, but several noted it has priced smaller shops out. Most are managing prospect databases through MailChimp or Constant Contact.
The typical path is project management first, financials later. Running parallel systems indefinitely adds work without adding insight.
Putting Project Management Inside Account Service
One structural change worth considering: moving project management out of a dedicated PM role and into account service.
- When the account manager owns both the client relationship and the project timeline, accountability doesn't get diffused. The person who made the commitment is the one tracking it.
- A daily morning huddle and a two-to-three week forward view can replace a lot of what a standalone PM was doing, without the handoff friction.
- The honest caveat: the model works when workload is manageable. The real test comes when business accelerates.
Making Deliberate Moves
Acquisitions, consolidations, subscription audits, structural changes to how work gets managed. Some moves were significant, others were small. The agencies that come through uncertain periods stronger aren't the ones who waited for conditions to improve. They're the ones who kept working on the business while running it.
