Debate: Is bigger always better when it comes to agency size?

I had this run-in with a guy named Dave at a small coffee shop in Austin last month. He runs a one-man agency and was telling me how he turns down clients who need a full team because he thinks big agencies just waste money on overhead and fancy offices. But then I got to thinking about my own experience with a 50-person agency in Dallas that handled my SEO for 6 months. They had a dedicated account manager, a content writer, and a tech specialist all on the same call for a single issue. That level of coordination saved me like three hours a week compared to when I tried working with a freelancer. Dave was dead set that small agencies give you more personal attention, while I argued bigger ones can actually respond faster because they have backup when someone gets sick. What do you all think? Have you had better luck with a solo operator or a larger firm when it comes to getting real results?

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perry.jessica5d ago

The coordination thing you mentioned is huge. I worked with a 12 person agency once and they were always emailing each other on CC instead of talking face to face because they were spread across two floors. Might have been a fluke though. Curious you brought up sick days because that is actually a bigger problem than people admit. Solo guys are great until they disappear for a week with the flu and your campaign goes dark. When you had that Dallas agency handling your SEO, did you ever run into them being too rigid with their process compared to how a smaller shop might pivot faster?