Reflecting on five years of running my creative agency, Shoreditch Design, I’ve gathered some quick learnings that have helped me grow. From a team of just me in my bedroom to three global offices, twenty-five designers, and hundreds of clients, it’s been a journey.
1. You can’t please everyone.
It’s impossible to make every client, partner, or employee happy. Of course, you should always try, and I always will, but to keep your sanity—especially in the design agency field—you need to know when to walk away from partnerships that aren’t working.
Balance is everything. You have to pick your battles, know when to stand your ground and when to let things slide. If you fight over every little detail, you’ll burn out fast, and so will everyone around you. But if you leave some breathing room and go the extra mile when it really counts—giving them the Silver Service—the work speaks for itself. At the end of the day, creating something great that everyone is proud of matters far more than personal egos.
2. It’s easy to tell clients what they want; it’s hard to tell them what they need.
Still something we wrestle with daily as a design agency. The real challenge isn’t just giving clients what they ask for but convincing them to take a chance on what they actually need. It takes industry know-how, a deep understanding of their audience, and the ability to show them why playing it safe won’t set them apart. Good design isn’t just about looking nice—it’s about solving real problems, fitting the brand, and making things work better. The best work happens when clients trust the process, and we as an agency, nail our client communications.
That means doubling down on creative collaboration, user-centric thinking, leveraging scalable design systems, and ensuring every touchpoint aligns with branding strategy and conversion goals. Great design isn’t just aesthetic—it’s functional, intuitive, and backed by data. The trick is bridging the gap between what feels comfortable and what actually moves the needle, and that’s a skill that makes or breaks the creative industry game.
3. Do what you’re best at, delegate the rest.
Might sound like it’s straight out of a business book, but I still have to remind myself of it daily. As a design founder, it’s far too easy to fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself and ending up stretched too thin. When you’re juggling too many things, you risk burning out and missing the bigger opportunities that actually move the business forward.
The real game-changer is knowing when to delegate, streamline, and focus on high-impact work. That means trusting your team, building scalable processes, and avoiding getting lost in the weeds. Founders who spend all their time putting out fires rarely get to build something that lasts. I’ve learned the startup lessons, to focus on steering my company’s long-term vision and our online presence, while trusting my team to take care of the rest.
4. Culture is important, but talent will stay for work that challenges them.
I’ve hired dozens of people over the last five years. I used to think keeping a team happy meant making work fun—pub nights, team trips (we miss Ibiza, we really do), all that good stuff. And while that helps team building, it’s not what actually makes people stick around. What truly keeps talent engaged is work that challenges, excites, and pushes them to grow.
The best teams thrive when they have ownership, creative freedom, and the space to fail without fear. A strong culture isn’t just about perks—it’s about trust, autonomy, and making sure people feel like their work matters. The more I focus on that, the more I see real commitment and long-term investment from the team.
5. Sometimes you just need to put the hours in.
I was lucky to start Shoreditch just as the pandemic hit, which meant there wasn’t much to distract me. With long evenings and weekends in lockdown, I had nothing but time to throw myself into the business. I was easily putting in 70 to 80-hour weeks, with the occasional break for Mario Kart and Peep Show, of course. That level of focus and effort gave us early momentum and allowed the business to take off. Maybe if I’d learned some of the other lessons earlier, it would have been a smoother ride.
In such a competitive agency space, that early grind made all the difference. It set the standard for the kind of work ethic and ambition that still drives the team today. The challenge now is less about putting in endless hours and more about inspiring the team, enabling business growth, having adaptability in business, and ensuring we’re always pushing for work that actually stands out.
Andrew Burton is the founder of Shoreditch Design, a global creative agency. Follow him on LinkedIn for more posts on interface and brand design: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-burton-shoreditch/
