You absolutely do not need to work at an agency before starting one of your own! I have never worked in the industry at all before and just started offering digital marketing to companies a few months ago and already have 9 clients - literally starting from nothing.

You don't even need to know HOW to do the marketing like Adwords, SEO, etc, because you can outsource all of that. You just need to start by reaching out to companies with over $500k/yr in sales that have a poor internet presence, and have an average sale of over $800 and you can help them grow for sure.

If you need help, I can set you up with the contractors to outsource to, and give you some pointers on how I landed my first client 3 months ago. You can do it!

It doesn't hurt to learn the ropes on someone else's dime.

I started a web development company right out of school in 2002. The hardest part was winning business because I didn't have much of a network. If I were to do it again, I would prefer to work somewhere first for a couple of years.

However, if you can't find the right opportunity and you feel ready to start a business, then go for it! It worked out okay for me :)

It is not necessary in todays world. Many people take the "middle man" view which is to out source or sub contract the actual work. While you remain the name and the brand of the agency.

Technically you could start with zero marketing experience and contract the work out when you get it.

This way of doing it is actually really smart business practice.

Feel free to call me if you require a more in depth / step by step guide

Hey! I really think you need some previous background before running your own business. It is good to have experience working with experts in the field to understand the principles of the main pillars of digital marketing. It is not easy to understand the global picture. However, if you need to start intermediately your own agency, low your prices and learn with your first customers. Be honest and say, hey, I will low your prices but I will show you benefits in the coming next 5 months...later on lets bargain again.... If you get more leads, they will pay you more, it is pure ROI. Measure and tell them what are you achieving for them. After this, when you get a clear understanding of your strength and weaknesses then think in subcontracting, but please, do not outsource the core of your business. It must be under your control. And be mindful...if you want to subcontract a service, it is recommended to have previous experience to take advantage of the service offered by you subcontractor. Hope it helps

If you have to ask, it probably means that you may be short on the skills and knowledge to start your own agency or service offering. That doesn't mean you can't do it, but be prepared for an up hill battle. When you work for someone else, you learn the pros and cons of doing it on your own--as well as getting a glimpse of all the moving parts of running a business. I had worked for a variety of companies before hanging out my shingle. It took many years of hard work and a lower salary before the company really started working right, and even then, we probably continued to make mistakes (small and large) for the first decade. When you start your own business you need to be able to actually perform the service you offer and do it well. You also have to understand and perform some level of business management, financial management, specific business processes that apply to your service. Winging it can work, but remember people pay for expertise, not just passion. You should also realize that running your own show is more than a full time job (sometimes it is 3-4 full time jobs), so make sure you are truly passionate about what you do, so you can weather all the not so sexy/fun work that comes with running your own business.