Founding a marketing agency: requirements, legal form and costs

With your own agency, you have the resources to handle larger projects for well-known customers. But how do you start an agency? We record what you should know about the requirements, legal form and costs.

Table of contents:

1. Requirements for founding
2. legal form
3. Cost

The most important answers on the topic of setting up a marketing agency

Well-known customers, lots of variety and a colorful team with different skills: founding an agency can give self-employed people an exciting day-to-day work. But what does the path to get there look like? What requirements should you meet for your agency to do so? regularly in the black ? What is the correct legal form for an agency? And what costs should you expect if you set up your own agency? We explain all the important basics that aspiring founders should know.

Starting a marketing agency: What requirements should you meet?

Whether it’s marketing, advertising, web or SEO: you don’t need to have any official qualifications to set up an agency. This means: You do not need any special training, no degree, no certificates or operating licenses. However, so that you can get started with your business, you should meet these requirements:

Have a business

You need a business license to set up an advertising agency. In practice, you register a business with the trade office. Once you have done this, the trade office will inform the responsible tax office and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). Because: As an agency owner, you must be a member of the IHK. You will then receive a questionnaire from the tax office that records your agency for tax purposes. The questionnaire determines, among other things, which services you would like to offer. This means: You should already know at this point whether you want to set up an event agency or SEO agency, for example.

Bring specialist expertise

Companies book the services of an agency because it has expertise that the company itself does not have. So, in order to set up a sought-after agency, you should have the expertise in one or more areas. As a rule, you acquire this over a few years of professional experience. If you are planning to set up an advertising agency or web design agency, it is helpful if, in addition to your professional expertise, you are also creative and can always surprise customers with extraordinary ideas.

Bring entrepreneurial skills

To start and run an advertising agency or event agency, you need entrepreneurial skills. Because: You not only have to be technically competent, but you also have to have a basic commercial and business understanding. You need this to manage projects, create offers and do the accounting to be able to.

Choose specialization

There are full-service agencies that manage projects with all facets – from web design to marketing to sales. However, when starting an agency, you should decide on a specific specialist area. In this way, you have to organize less at the beginning and can concentrate fully on the technical aspects of projects - and thus deliver high quality. This secures you new orders. So determine in which area you have a lot of knowledge, practical experience, contacts and motivation before you decide on a type of agency.

What is the right legal form for your agency?

First of all: There is no one correct legal form for setting up an agency. Each legal form has its advantages and disadvantages. Which one you choose affects, for example, issues of personal liability, internal organization, taxation and bureaucratic burdens. These four legal forms are particularly common for an agency:

one-man business

If you are setting up a chat agency on your own, for example, choose a sole proprietorship. You do not need any share capital and do not have to submit any balance sheets at the end of the financial year. The disadvantage: you are liable with your private assets.

Community under civil law (GbR)

If you set up an agency together with others, a community under civil law (GbR) will automatically come into being - unless otherwise agreed. You can then freely regulate tasks, profits and losses in the partnership agreement. The disadvantage here: you are all liable to the outside world together with all of your assets. In practice, this means: If in doubt, you also have to answer for your partner’s mistakes.

Limited Liability Company (GmbH)

With a limited liability company (GmbH), you are not personally liable, but only with the contributions you make. However, in order to set up the GmbH, these must be at least 25,000 euros. And: you have to keep a balance sheet.

Entrepreneurial company (UG)

You can found an entrepreneurial company (UG) with one euro in capital. As soon as you have saved 25,000 euros with your services, you can convert the UG into a GmbH. The UG is therefore considered the little sister of the GmbH. Strictly speaking, it is not an independent legal form. Important: Before you rack your brains about which legal form is right for your agency: You can also start with a sole proprietorship and later set up another legal form.

Starting a marketing agency: what costs you should expect

In order to set up a marketing agency, you should calculate the costs involved in advance. Because: Only when you know how much you have to pay to start in the agency world and what running costs you will have will you also know what prices you should estimate for your services. So what costs do you need to keep in mind?

Costs of setting up an agency

To start a marketing or advertising agency, you need to budget for costs

• Incorporation, licenses and permits,
• Purchases such as office equipment and computer equipment,
• Advertising costs such as for a website to be programmed,
• Insurance such as occupational disability insurance,
• ongoing agency operations such as renting office space and employees as well
• financial reserves for the first months of self-employment.

The exact costs incurred for setting up an agency depend on the type of agency and the legal form chosen.

Financing options for setting up an agency

Not everyone has the wherewithal to start an agency. So if you need start-up capital, you have these financing options, for example:

Bank loan The classic variant: You borrow money from a bank and pay it back over a fixed period of time.

Find an investor If you have a promising business plan, you have the chance to attract an investor to start your agency. This gives you the necessary starting capital and usually receives company shares in return.

Crowdfunding With crowdfunding, you receive small grants from hundreds or even thousands of people for your start-up. Depending on the crowdfunding model, you pay the amounts back gradually or issue a small thank you to the donors.

Promotional loan Some banks and federal states grant so-called development loans. To do this, you have to apply with your project and a little equity. You will then receive a loan at particularly favorable conditions.