The Benefits of Working with a One-Woman Website Design Studio

Creative Business

Feb 1

If you’re ready to get your website up and running… or you severely need to revamp it, like yesterday, then I know you’re knee deep in research on how to hire a marketing agency, a freelancer, or someone on Upwork. But let me tell you: hiring a one-person website studio will serve you MUCH better in the long run!

There are so many benefits of working with a one-person agency, like:

Direct access to your professional
More efficient communication
Clearer expectations, and
Overall, a better solution.

In this article, I’ll explore why you’ll want to consider a one-woman studio for your website project.

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The Overwhelm of Launching A Website

Let’s say that you already have your brand aesthetic mapped out (those killer fonts, aligned color palette, and maybe some illustrations or doodles here and there)… and that your IG game is on 👏 point.

But launching a full-blown website? Sheesh.

If you take a moment to list all of the services you may need for your new site, you’ll see your list is quite long:

Website design
Website content (known as “copywriting” or “copy” in the biz)
Marketing strategy (including Search Engine Optimization and also sales funnels)
Graphic design (for those things like lead magnets, ebooks, worksheets, etc)
Design for people-first: meaning design that prioritizes accessibility, mobile-readiness (responsive design), and overall user flow (also known as User Experience Design)

That’s a lot. And it’s overwhelming. You might be going down this thought spiral:

How do I find the right website designer for me?
Oh wait, I also have to write my own website content (known in the biz as “copy”)?
I can’t write to save my life… how do I find a copywriter?
How on earth can website design AND copywriting be so expensive?
How the f❌ am I going to be able to do this in a reasonable amount of time?

The answer? A one-woman studio.

A one-woman studio is what it sounds like: one person that does it all.

Below are some benefits of working with a one-man or one-woman agency.

Immediate Access To Your Professional

One of the best things about working directly with a one-person agency is that you have direct access to talk to her. You don’t have to filter your messages through the creative team’s hurried notes of the project manager or virtual assistant.

When you have your initial meetings with your one-woman studio, all of that information goes directly into her brain, which we can all agree that firsthand experience with a conversation is always going to win over a recording, pages of notes, or a Trello card.

Yes, your well-organized one-woman studio will do her due diligence to keep aspects of the project straight through call recordings, call transcripts, and well-documented emails, but keep in mind that the finer details of your project and goals are going to be seared into the brain and heart of your professional.

A One-Man Agency Has Better Communication Between “Teams”

Having worked in an agency setting, I can tell you that inter-team communication can leave a lot to be desired.

The copywriting team may have a text layout idea in mind when writing copy, but things can get lost in translation with a barrage of meetings and a deliverable that’s missing a few key details.

And the other way around? The design team may be plugging copy into the design and realize they need a last minute fix because of space or sizing… and then there’s a constant back and forth between those professionals.

Yes, your website can be designed by an agency, but the communication will be handled in a completely streamlined way if it’s only one person.

Your One-Woman Studio Outlines The Process—And Sticks To It

Agencies have the best intentions, but because of staggered vacation schedules or asynchronous communication between their team members, the process can get muddied, especially when everything has to be filtered to you, the client, through the project manager or creative director.

A one-woman studio outlines her process and then sticks to it. Why? Because she is upholding her standards and her values.

She created the process and is quicker to make improvements to it because she inherently has an agile process.

The One-Person Agency Stays Closer To Her Values

This one-woman agency has values, both professional and personal, and because it’s just her, she sticks to them and delivers based on them.

One can argue that employees may overlap with an agency’s overall values, but there is still the ego at play. And let’s face it, a lot of creative professionals tend to be a bit disruptive and like to go against the grain.

When you start researching your one-woman agency, you will see her values communicated on her social media and her website, and those values will stay consistent throughout your entire project together (and 5 years down the road when you hire her again)!

There’s Less Time Investment and Back-and-Forth For You

Because you’re only communicating with one person when you hire a one-man agency, there will be less of a time investment for you.

You won’t have to go through 3 onboarding processes for a website design professional, a copywriter, and a marketing strategist. The onboarding is done once, and those check-in meetings are done once.

Also, there will be less waiting for you to get a response for any feedback or questions. When you work with agencies, your problem gets relayed to the project manager, which then gets passed along to your designer/copywriter/strategist, which then has to get processed and passed back up the chain.

Like I mentioned in a previous section, this immediate access to the professional will save you so much time and energy.

You Get The Best Final Product With a One-Woman Studio

Let’s face it. In agency settings, creatives are directed to stay in their own lane, whether by company policy or via social stigma.

Ideas from across the aisle aren’t always taken well. Sometimes there’s a great environment where everyone is truly collaborative and open to suggestions, but oftentimes egos or stigmas get in the way and innovative solutions are ignored.

With a one-person website studio, you get the best ideas implemented right away.

Have you worked with multiple freelancers or creative professionals before for your website projects? I’d love to know what struggles you faced, or if you have a desire to work with a one-woman studio in the future. Comment below!