Prescription for a Stalled WordPress Agency: Mario Peshev’s Advice for Growing Development Services

photo credit: Alejandro Escamilla

WordPress agencies provide a critical connection point between users and the software by building custom solutions and guiding some of the more complex implementations. Yet client work is challenging, and many developers who work in it are concurrently planning their escape into product businesses.

Growing an agency reliably is one of the more difficult business endeavors one can embark upon in the WordPress ecosystem. That’s why many attempts linger at one or two person shops, and very few grow to become the powerhouse agencies that can accommodate enterprise level clients.

Mario Peshev, an agency owner specializing in SaaS solutions, wrote an excellent piece on Outsourcing and Hiring Remote Talent. As strategic hiring is the lifeblood of any agency, it’s a skill that owners are eager to refine.

“Small businesses are not easy to run,” he said. “Growing from a one man show to two people is really hard.” Peshev’s article includes a wealth of advice from the trenches on topics that every WordPress agency owner has struggled with, especially in the beginning. He covers the following topics in depth:

Tips on hiring technical people remotely

Strategies for hiring experts, junior developers, and trainees

Scaling a business and growing a team via outsourcing

When and why you might hire a consultant

The benefits of leasing employees

Outsourcing to another agency

When it makes sense to hire a freelancer

How to find WordPress talent

Peshev blogs regularly on WordPress development and business topics, and this post is a must read for any business owner who is struggling to grow a stalled agency. There’s no simple recipe for success when you’re in the business of helping clients harness the power of WordPress. Peshev’s post doesn’t offer a single magic formula for growing your agency but instead outlines various strategies and scenarios where they might be beneficial.