The KitchenTable Method: From Solo Creative to Agency Owner

by John Ashton

Overview

Do you like the idea of starting your own creative agency, but don’t know where to start? Does the idea of having staff and offices put you off? Are you worried that you lack the necessary business-savvy? And do you fear that it will consume your every waking hour? Then this is the book for you.

When John Ashton started an agency from his kitchen table in 2012, he had no clients, no cash and, worst of all, no clue. Yet within a few years he had hit half a million pounds turnover and had a huge roster of clients. Better still it was a lifestyle business that really worked for him – he only worked a 25-hour week and was better off and happier than in his previous solo career.

The key to his success was building a fully flexible agency model that utilised remote-working freelancers. He calls it the KitchenTable Method.

Whether you’re a designer, a marketer, a developer, a copywriter, a video maker, or one of the numerous other professions that fall within the commercial creative industries, if you follow , you can easily build a thriving agency from your own kitchen table – or, if you prefer, your back bedroom, garden shed, or co-working space.

Funny and irreverent, The KitchenTable Method is a down and dirty guerrilla guide by someone who’s been there and done it.

The book has four sections or ‘Legs’:

• Leg 1 Culture explains how building your agency around positive values is fundamental to its success.
• Leg 2 Clients tells you how to position your agency and how to win and retain quality clients.
• Leg 3 Collaborators shows you how to nurture and manage your freelance employees
• Leg 4 Cash sets out the fundamentals of financial good health.

The KitchenTable Method is your blueprint for building a successful agency without the biggest headaches that afflict conventional agencies.

So order a copy now and grab yourself more time, more money and more fun!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781527246577
Publisher:	Freedom of Information Ltd T/A Write Arm
Publication date:	08/30/2019
Pages:	138
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

John Ashton is a former journalist and researcher. In 2012 he abandoned his old career and set up his own copywriting agency, Write Arm, despite having no clue how to go about it. To his amazement, within a few years the company was turning over half a million pounds a year. The secret of its success was the flexible model that he developed - which he calls the KitchenTable Method - using remote-working freelance talent.

In 2019 he established The KitchenTable Community, which aims to encourage other solo creatives to establish their own agencies using the same model.

He lives in Brighton, England with his family.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Leg 1: Culture

Chapter 1: The foundations of company culture

Chapter 2: Building your company culture

Leg 2: Clients

Chapter 3: Honing your offer

Chapter 4: Identifying client type

Chapter 5: Getting clients

Chapter 6: Keeping clients

Leg 3: Collaborators

Chapter 7: Your greatest asset (and your greatest liability)

Chapter 8: Finding talent

Chapter 9: Some ground rules

Leg 4: Cash

Chapter 10: A bit of terminology

Chapter 11: The basics of financial health

Chapter 12: Pricing

Epilogue

Quiz – Are you ready to start your own agency?

Acknowledgements