The Most Dangerous Lie Agency Founders Tell Themselves

Avoidance of 'The Numbers'

Are you running your agency on gut feel and crossed fingers instead of data?

Too many agencies are.

In fact, when we researched underperforming agencies, the most consistent behaviour we found was avoidance. Specifically, avoidance of “the numbers.”

I’m talking about finance. Forecasting. KPIs. Margins. The stuff that, yes, feels a bit dry - but is absolutely fundamental if you want to run an agency that’s profitable, resilient, and aligned with your ambitions.

We studied eight key behaviours that show up again and again in agencies that aren’t hitting their stride. This article unpacks just the first of those: Avoiding the Numbers. Because if you’re not on top of your numbers, you’re not really in control. You’re just hoping for the best.

Let’s break down why this happens, what it looks like in practice, and what to do instead.

First: What Does "Underperformance" Actually Mean?

Let’s get something straight. When we say “underperforming,” we’re not talking about failure in the traditional sense. The agency might be ticking along. Clients are happy. Staff are busy.

But underperformance, in our definition, is about not delivering on the founder’s personal goals. Maybe they:

• Aren’t earning what they should be for the risk they’re taking.

• Feel constantly stressed and on the edge of burnout.

• See peers growing faster and more profitably - and wonder, “Why not us?”

• Realise the business is fragile, vulnerable to market shocks or client churn.

That’s underperformance. And more often than not, it’s rooted in a refusal (or inability) to get close to the numbers.

Let’s be generous. It’s not always laziness or ignorance. There are some understandable reasons why agencies dodge the data.

1. The Fear Reflex

They’re afraid of what they might find.

If you look too closely, you might discover you’re charging too little. Or over-servicing clients. Or burning cash. And then you’d have to do something about it - raise prices, reduce headcount, change your model. That’s hard. So many just... don’t look.

We’ve seen agencies say “we’re doing OK” based on a hunch, then panic when they realise their margins are half what they thought.

2. The Illusion of Busyness

Some agencies think activity equals progress.

The team is flat out. Slack is buzzing. There’s work on the board. So things must be going well... right?

Not necessarily. If you’re bashing the keyboard all day but not making a decent profit - or worse, losing money on projects - you’re just busy being broke.

3. The Knowledge Gap

Finance can feel like another language.

Many agency founders come from creative or technical backgrounds. They’ve never been taught how to read a P&L or calculate gross margin. They hear “utilisation” and glaze over.

So they delegate it - or ignore it - and carry on guessing.

What This Looks Like in Practice

Here are the most common symptoms we see when an agency is avoiding the numbers:

• No forecasting. No forward view of revenue, profit or cash. Just reactive, month to month.

• Poor pricing discipline. Fees set on “what feels right” rather than data. No link to margins, capacity or value delivered.

• No capacity planning. Workload isn’t mapped to team availability. Projects overrun, staff burn out.

• Low gross margins. They don’t know what a “healthy” margin should be - and theirs isn’t.

• No financial leadership. Maybe there’s a bookkeeper or accountant doing tax returns, but no FD-level thinking to guide decisions.

• Bad KPIs - or none at all. What gets measured gets managed. So if nothing’s measured, chaos tends to follow.

In short, they’re flying blind. Or worse, flying with instruments they don’t understand.

So What’s the Fix? A Simple Numbers Framework

Let’s not overcomplicate this. You don’t need an MBA. You just need a handful of critical financial concepts and habits. Think of this as your Agency Numbers Starter Kit.

1. Know Your Gross Margin

This is the bedrock. It’s the difference between what you sell your team’s time for, and what you pay them.

Aim for at least 50–60% gross margin across services. If you’re way off that, you either need to increase prices, improve efficiency, or both.

2. Track Utilisation

This tells you how much of your team’s time is billable - and how much is productive.

Utilisation isn’t just about being busy. It’s about being busy on the right things. Don’t aim for 100% (that leads to burnout), but you do need to understand the balance.

3. Forecast Revenue and Profit

Even a simple 6–12 month forecast is better than none. You need to know:

• What’s committed?

• What’s likely?

• What’s in the pipeline?

And how that translates into revenue, cost, profit, and cash.

4. Do Capacity Planning

How many hours do you have in the team? How many are booked? Are you over or under?

This helps avoid “oh crap” moments when you win a big project and realise no one’s free - or lose one and realise you’re overstaffed.

5. Price for Margin and Value

Gut-feel pricing is a great way to kill profitability.

You need to know:

• Your breakeven day rate.

• What your competitors charge.

• What the client values (not just what they expect to pay).

6. Get Financial Leadership

If you don’t understand this stuff, get help.

That might mean a part-time FD. Or coaching. Or just finding someone to translate the numbers into insight. But don’t stay in the dark. It’s costing you too much.

What Happens When You Get This Right?

Let me share a story.

One agency we worked with had strong creative chops but were struggling financially. They’d win work, work hard, then still be short on cash at the end of the month. Every month.

They thought the problem was sales. It wasn’t. It was margin.

Once we helped them understand their numbers - really understand them - they made a few changes:

• Increased prices on legacy clients.

• Streamlined delivery to reduce over-servicing.

• Introduced a monthly forecast and weekly margin tracking.

Six months later, same revenue, but double the profit. Stress levels halved. They stopped feeling like a “busy fool” operation and started feeling like a business with a plan.

A Quick Word on Culture

Some founders resist the numbers because they think it’ll “kill the culture.” They worry it’ll make things feel too corporate, too cold.

The truth? It’s the opposite.

When your team knows you’re on top of the numbers:

• They trust you more.

• They understand why decisions are made.

• They feel safer, not less creative.

Good financial hygiene doesn’t kill culture. It protects it.

So, Where to Begin?

If this article felt uncomfortably familiar, good. That’s a sign you’re ready to face the reality - and do something about it.

Start simple:

1. Get clarity on your gross margin.

2. Forecast the next 3 months.

3. Track team utilisation weekly.

4. Set aside time each month to review the numbers, not just the work.

And if you feel out of your depth? Ask for help. You don’t have to become a spreadsheet wizard. But you do need to be accountable to the truth.

Final Thought: You Can't Grow What You Can't See

Here’s the brutal reality: if you avoid the numbers, the business is running you - not the other way around.

You’re reacting. Hoping. Guessing. And hoping some more.

But once you get close to the numbers, you see the business differently. You make clearer decisions. You price better. You sleep better.

So here’s the challenge: Pick one number this week. One KPI you’ve been avoiding. Face it. Understand it. Act on it.

That’s how change starts. Not with a 50-tab spreadsheet. Just one honest look.

You’ve got this.

Want to chat about it? Email me on Janusz@gyda.co