Brian Anderson had his agency wake-up call during a two-hour drive to get screamed at by his only client. That Thursday afternoon changed everything—not just for The Perception, but for how he’d approach building meaningful relationships in the agency world.
Anderson, founder and chief creative officer at The Perception in Philadelphia, joined Christian Gani on the Year 1 show to discuss the realities of first-year agency ownership. What emerged was a conversation about building an agency around empathy, authenticity and what Anderson calls “altogether human” thinking.
The moment everything clicked
Anderson’s path to agency ownership wasn’t linear. After years climbing the creative ladder, he left advertising to start a clothing line. When the 2008 housing crisis hit, he pivoted to fashion in New York. When that failed, he asked to be laid off and started freelancing back in advertising.
“I freelance for a bit, and more work became more work became more work,” Anderson explains. “And then I realized that, hey, I think I could start an agency and make it an agency that we all cared about each other, not department driven, but as a collective.”
But it was that brutal client meeting that crystallized his approach. Driving to face an angry client who hated their radio scripts, Anderson had his entrepreneurial moment of truth.
Just get to Friday
“I remember saying to myself, the buck always starts here stops here,” Anderson recalls. “Whatever mistakes any employee makes at your business, you are always accountable for it as the owner.”
That drive led to what became Anderson’s mantra for first-year founders: “Just get to Friday.” No matter how brutal the week gets, if you can make it to Friday, you at least get Saturday or Sunday—even if you’re working through the weekend.
“You at least get all your other clients to not be calling you and asking for things at the same time that whatever emergency’s going on is happening,” he explains.
Building altogether human
The Perception’s “altogether human” philosophy emerged from Anderson’s belief in treating everyone—end users, clients and employees—as real people rather than data points or resources.
“We want to make sure that we are treating end users like real people. We’re not just seeing them as data points or nodes. We see them as our neighbors,” Anderson says. This extends to the marketers who hire them: “There are individuals that take a bet with their career to say, I’m going to bring you in.”
Most powerfully, it applies internally. “If I’ve convinced you to take a bet with us and join our agency, I have to treat you like a human being, and know that you have people counting on you on the other side.”
The entrepreneurial gut check
For anyone considering the leap to agency ownership, Anderson offers a reality check that goes beyond romantic notions of independence.
“Are you okay with no help? Are you okay with not knowing the answers to something and knowing you still have to move forward?” he asks. “Think about the time you’re going to lose there with family, and what is going to be worth it on the other side.”
His advice comes with the hard-earned wisdom of someone who’s been screamed at in conference rooms and driven home questioning every decision. But it also comes with the satisfaction of building something that matters.
“No one cares how hard it is. Just keep moving forward,” Anderson concludes. “It’s a grind, but it’s very rewarding when you see it all come together.”
Key takeaways for agency founders
- Develop thick skin—getting yelled at comes with the territory
- “Just get to Friday” mentality for surviving tough weeks
- Treat everyone as human beings, not business functions
- The entrepreneurial gut check: are you ready for no help?
- Building meaningful relationships over checking boxes
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