The year of the ‘indie’ agency?
The Drum might frame 2026 as ‘the year of indie’, but for me it was 2015.
I came out of an agency job where I'd made senior in five years. I’m somebody who doesn’t stay in one place for very long. I was ready for change.
I’d spend 2014-16 meeting my creative heroes and in person networking before choosing to set up a company of one rather than join a network or household-name agency. I was in my late twenties; I had everything to prove, and it felt like I’d already seen behind the curtain of agency life.
I joined a long line of people who all claim they had pioneered this 'new way' to run a design agency.
The model? A consultant and a network.
No fixed hours, no fixed address and no fixed team.
I called my fledgling studio [a] design agency because the name wasn’t taken and I liked the idea of being at the top of the yellow pages. It was 2015 and everyone had a default name. Almost eleven years on, this has only benefited me once (to my knowledge).
I knew what I was against. I was quite determined that I wasn’t a freelancer and had recently learned what a sole trader was. Beyond that, my business plan could have fit on a beer mat!
I set out to work for myself, free of time sheets, traffic managers and daily meetings. I only craved two things: creative freedom and independence.
It didn’t take long to build a network of like-minded individuals! 2016 felt like there were just as many talented folks working for themselves as today. It also felt a lot easier to find them before social media turned anti-social.
Year one was rough. I worked on a fair few projects and developed my consultant + associate model. I also had the time to watch every single episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
I'm approaching the start of my twelfth year now. Still [a] consultant + associates. Will 2026 be my year?