Bigger doesn’t mean better: How moving to a contractor-led model boosted my bottom line
In an industry where bigger often equals better, Lisa Burling, founder of Grass is Greener Marketing Communications, has taken a different route, and it’s paid off.
After running a PR agency with a huge in-house team for years, she restructured her business and pivoted to a contractor-led model. And as a result, she’s watched her profit margin soar.
Lisa Burling
Bigger doesn’t always mean better. In fact, in the agency world, it can be the fastest way to kill profit, creativity and even passion. For years, I chased the traditional playbook -grow the team, expand the office, add more clients – and for years I quietly wondered why success felt so heavy.
On the surface, everything looked fine. A big team, national awards, plenty of clients. But behind the scenes, the overheads were suffocating, HR dramas never stopped, and my margins were paper-thin. Worst of all, I was disconnected from the work I loved. Instead of being a leader and strategist, I had become a full-time manager of problems. I’d often be heard saying “I thought I studied PR not HR” as I walked into the office each day, ready for another round of The Ego Olympics.
So I did the unthinkable. I tore it down and rebuilt. I rebranded the business to reflect what we truly deliver, and I pivoted to a contractor-led model.
