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Hello to all. I am IsomanX16. My wife doesn't know that; it's just between us. Anyway, I run a small but growing advertising agency. The world of advertising is undergoing massive change, a large part of which is the "media agnostic" approach to reaching people. The Web is a vital channel that should be a part of almost any media campaign. As the lead strategic, long range thinker-type dude, I am trying to understand the best way to staff our agency to support all that is the Web. There's traditional Web site programming, banner advertising, interactive marketing sites (e.g. subservientchicken.com), ecommerce, email marketing, Web media planning/buying (i.e. purchasing ad space on Web sites), etc., etc. In the midst of all this is the need to be TRULY CREATIVE. First and foremast it's visualizing how to use the Web, then it becomes the technical challenge of implementing the BIG IDEAS.

I welcome any and all opinions on how best to staff a small agency in a way that supports the creative side and the technical side.

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Good question, — the problem isn’t just hiring people who can build a web page, it’s hiring a small team that reliably turns big, web-first ideas into measurable work. is right: be picky about mindset and ask candidates for concrete ideas. And a quick note on ’s point — jokes aside, keep internal and client communication straightforward; it saves time and friction later.

A compact, practical core for a small agency:

  • Digital Strategist / Creative Lead — owns the idea, user experience goals, and measurement plan.
  • UX / Visual Designer — turns strategy into flows, comps, and interactive specs.
  • Front-end Developer — builds HTML/CSS/JS deliverables and prototypes quickly.
  • Back-end / Integration Engineer — handles ecommerce, CMS, APIs and deployments.
  • Producer / Project Manager — scopes, budgets, schedules, and keeps creative + tech aligned.
  • Media/Ad Ops + Analytics — plans buys, traffics campaigns, and proves ROI.

Staffing tactics that work: hire senior generalists first (they’ll mentor and move fast), keep an on-call roster of specialists and freelancers for animation, rich media, video or heavy backend integrations, and require a short practical test in interviews (a brief mock brief + execution outline — echoing ’s idea). Make the producer the gatekeeper for scope and the analytics person part of the brief from day one so measurement is baked into the creative.

Watch for common pitfalls: hiring too many specialists before steady revenue, letting creative and dev work in silos, and under-investing in project management. Prioritize collaboration, curiosity, and the ability to explain tradeoffs — those traits scale better than a long resume.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hi,

Don't hide things from your wife. I do not know what extent that you have corruption, but she is your life and business partner, and should not be pushed aside as such.

Christian

Member Avatar for isomanx16

The line about my wife was meant to be funny. As to how much corruption I have, I'd say just enough to keep life interesting.

Member Avatar for Danny

The line about my wife was meant to be funny. As to how much corruption I have, I'd say just enough to keep life interesting.

I found it funny. :p

Staff can really sculpt how a company operates (and ultimately succeeds or fails), so be very picky and choosy when finding staff. As this season of the apprentice is telling us, educational experience doesn't necessarily mean the candidate is better.

When interviewing individuals, ask for ideas they have for your company. Its a great way to see if they can think 'outside the box'.

Theres no shortage of development people, the key is finding creative ones. ;)

Good luck.

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