Denzil Duke

Start Freelancing Not A Social Media Marketing Agency (SMMA)

Denzil Duke -

SMMA: how many times have we heard this being the best business model to start in [insert year]?

To start, my name is Denzil Duke. I'm currently a freelance digital marketer looking for a full-time marketing role.

Two years ago, I spent $2500 on an SMMA course. Reflecting on my experience, this is what I think is the better path for myself as a digital marketer, ultimately as an entrepreneur.

And, it has to do with skills and freelancing.

So, I'm going to cover 3 points:

  • The fundamental question you must ask yourself
  • The advantages of being a freelancer
  • When do I become an agency?

Stick around if you're thinking of:

  • Starting an SMMA
  • Becoming an entrepreneur
  • Becoming a digital marketer

Do You Even Know How To Market?

That is the fundamental question.

Call me crazy. But, isn't it better to understand your fundamental service delivery and business model?

Sure, you can arbitrage it by hiring someone from Fiverr to fulfil these services while you get leads.

But, how would you know the person you're subcontracting is doing a good job? If you have never marketed yourself?

By asking this question we can create a solution:

Learning marketing by actually doing it.

For example, two years ago when I followed this course on starting my SMMA, I went in there:

  • Never having run a paid ad
  • Not knowing how to professionally video edit
  • Or, how to create actual content people would consume

Thus, my lack of fundamentals abandoned all ideas of starting my own agency.

Fast forward two years, and here I am with a better plan. Here's my train of thought:

If I don't know how to market, then let me market myself through a personal brand.

What other opportunity will let me work on my marketing skills 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year? Getting a marketing job.

I need experience for a marketing job, where do I get that? Freelancing.

Starting an SMMA is not even in the equation when start my marketing career.

Personally, it makes more sense working in the industry for a good decade. Growing my character and skills before starting my company.

As Alex Hormozi puts it,

"You're in a season of learning, not earning."

Advantages Of Being A Freelancer

So, if you are starting out freelancing to get a digital marketing job:

What is the big advantages you have against the big guys?

Here's 3:

#1 Personal Relationship With Clients

When the client talks to you, they're talking to the whole agency. They are talking to the same person who is in charge of their marketing and service delivery.

Ultimately, they feel like they're not being treated as a number.

#2 Self-Management

When you start scaling a company, you begin to focus on leadership and delegation rather than core service delivery activities. In our case, digital marketing.

This shift in focus can add risk, especially the lack of skill around leadership. Therefore, I think managing your tasks as a single employee initially is a step in the right direction.

#3 Selling Your Time

Okay, wealth gurus will be telling you:

You can't become wealthy if you sell your time.

If you got a lot of it, you might as well sell it!

Unlike larger companies, you do not have to worry about having enough capital to run the business.

The other advantage with selling your time is as you get better, the value of your times goes up as well– rather than the value of the company growing.

You yourself as an individual grow in value through skill.

When Do I Become An Agency?

You become an agency when the demand for your services is more than what you can supply.

That's when you start hiring people to carry out the tasks you once did yourself.

Still thinking about starting an SMMA? I'm going to give you a good reason why you'd want to start as a freelancer rather than as an agency.

It has to do with personal brands.

For example, when I tried my first SMMA, I called it 'Iron Eagle Advertising'. The whole idea is you can separate yourself from the business. Ultimately, to let it run without you.

However, you are denying yourself the leverage of having a personal brand. It's easier to connect to someone rather than a brand.

That's why Nike partners up with Michael Jordan. Because people connect with athletes rather than companies.

Thus, influencers and people become the middleman between customers and brands.

And, if having a human connection to your services means more business, why wouldn't you want that?

(I might go into depth on how to overcome our fears when starting a personal brand. I've been there, don't worry.)

Why People Use SMMA And Not Freelancing

The reason why I believe people like using the word 'SMMA' and not 'freelancing' is because of the idea of freedom.

People sell the SMMA idea as a one-way ticket for financial, time and location freedom. You get to work on your business rather than being in it.

In contrast to freelancing, it invokes the ideas of self-employment and 'creating yourself another job'.

End of the day, which path you choose both require work.

My goal, maybe similar to yours, is to acquire skills that makes me valuable today. And a better entrepreneur in the future. Particularly with digital marketing, I'll learn these skills either by myself, freelancing, or getting a job.

Yes, I do want to become financially wealthy. But if I can enjoy myself in every step of the way, I'm fine if it takes a decade before I see my first million.

So, to summarise:

  • Actually learn to market before starting an SMMA
  • Start freelancing first
  • There are advantages to freelancing: personal client relationships, self-management and selling your time
  • Leverage the human connection of your personal brand to bring more clients
  • Start hiring once demand for your services exceeds your supply
  • Enjoy the journey of an individual who can create value for others