An owner with three photographers on the team got on a call with me in September. A couple of months earlier the agency had done $84,000 in a month. The month before the call it did fifty-something. Some of his clients were leaving because they wanted him on the shoot and could not always have him. When he sat down at the computer there were ten things he could work on and no clear reason to pick one.
Why do I feel like I can't let go? You know, is it a me problem or is it a team or SOP problem that is, like, I feel like I'm constantly having to, like, look over at someone's shoulder to, you know, make sure it's done right.
His question is the one this model exists for. Usually it is a systems problem, and he had correctly noticed that nobody on his team owned the systems. You can build that layer yourself, hire someone to build it, or plug into a team that already runs it for another agency.
What the model is
The Growth Partner model is the third option. ACRE Agency, the operating company behind ACRE Seattle, runs the back office of your agency under your brand and charges a share of what you collect.
Here is how I described it to another owner in September.
They already bought the equipment, they already have the team. We're just coming in and replacing the shit that gives everyone a headache.
The headache list is specific. The public page names twelve functions: systems and workflow setup, scheduling and rescheduling, project management, client communication, team management, photo editing, video editing through Cliffside Cuts, quality assurance, revisions and feedback, file intake and delivery, SOPs and team onboarding, and reporting with operating reviews. Which of the twelve your agreement covers gets written down before anyone starts.
What you keep
Your brand. The core model runs as a white-label service, so agents keep booking with your company under your name. Nathan Brown, who runs ACRE Agency operations, said it in one line on a planning call in August: "They keep their own branding. They don't rebrand as Acre."
Your market and your client relationships. The page is direct that sales, marketing and coaching are not included unless they are scoped separately. The agents who book you keep dealing with you.
Your shoots and your field team. Field capture stays with your local team unless your agreement expressly moves it. You keep hiring and training shooters against the calendar the partner runs.
Your company. No equity is required for the core service. Any equity arrangement is a separate conversation with a separate agreement, and the page says of its own equity illustration that using it "accepts no equity term."
