Regardless of whether you're searching for greater opportunity and self-sufficiency in your TYPO3 career, or are prepared to transform your outsourcing gig into a full-time activity proceeding with your own TYPO3 Agency with most favorite TYPO3 CMS.
Beginning your own TYPO3 agency can be an energizing and happy attempt. The precarious part is sorting out some way to begin a TYPO3 business. With our own experience of beginning a TYPO3 agency from start to Award-winning agency for 9+ years, we’d love to guide and motivate you with your goals of having your very own TYPO3 agency!
Luckily, it's most likely not as difficult or complex as you would suspect. With the correct techniques and direction, beginning your own personal TYPO3 business is altogether conceivable.
In this post, we’ll discuss the benefits of starting a TYPO3 agency or business. Then we’ll walk you through how to do it in 12 steps. Let’s get started!
What is a TYPO3 Agency?
There’s a big difference between a TYPO3 freelancer’s business and that of a TYPO3 agency. Well, there’s even a difference between a small small business and a full-service agency.
Here are just some ways the three differ:
Freelancer | Small Business | TYPO3 Agency | |
Team Size | 1 person | < 10 people | > 10 people |
Team Dynamic | You = Responsible for everything | You + small team = Closely dealing team where everyone pitches in | You + team leads + team members = Everyone has a clear role to play |
Quantity of Clients | Based on your individual capacity | Based on your team’s capacity | A recurring base of big-budget clients + steady influx of new ones |
Earning Potential | Depends on the number of hours you work | Depends on the number of hours your team can work | The sky’s the limit |
Clients come from | Cold outreach, responding to job listings, word-of-mouth | Word-of-mouth, lead magnets, c ontent marketing | Word-of-mouth, lead magnets, sales funnels, content marketing, remarketing, affiliate partners, guest blogging, and other high-profile press ops |
Why Do You May Want to Start a TYPO3 Business?
The first reason is that you love TYPO3! Many TYPO3 developers start out working for small agencies or as freelancers. However, there may come a time when you want to explore on your own or to increase your profits.
Starting your own TYPO3 business or agency provides you with flexibility and freedom to work for yourself, while also enabling you to have more control over the products and services you provide to clients.
You can absolutely make a worthwhile pay as a TYPO3 freelancer, scaling up to maintaining a TYPO3 business or agency to amplify your benefits. You can get in touch with potential customers and employ a group of similarly TYPO3 interested people to support you.
One of the greatest concerns – in some cases – is the expense related to the initial investments. Be as it is, since TYPO3 is open source and free, beginning a TYPO3 business is generally affordable.
Today, there are more open doors for web experts than any other time, presently is an ideal chance to begin a TYPO3 business.
Step: 1 State Your TYPO3 Business Plan and Mission Statement
Starting your own TYPO3 agency becomes very easy to manage and function when you have a clear plan in place. Therefore, the first step is to decide on a mission statement for your business.
Put simply, this is a brief overview of your purpose, who you serve, and why. Consider the following mission statement by TYPO3
It's likewise suggested that you consider both your short and long term goals while building your business strategy and plan. Making a clear vision and finalizing these details early is essential else it will impact different parts of your TYPO3 business, including marketing, brand, costs, etc.
Roadmapping and defining goals for your business is anything but a one-and-done thing. They will probably change over the long run and that is completely fine.
Step:2 Explore, decide, and finalize what TYPO3 Services You’d offer
When you explore with the 'who' and 'why' of your TYPO3 skills and business plans, you'll be more ready to address the 'what' and 'how'. Above all, you have to figure out what services you'll offer to your customers.
Here are some TYPO3 services you might consider:
- TYPO3 Consulting
- TYPO3 Development
- Becoming TYPO3 vendor at TYPO3 Marketplace
- TYPO3 Theme and plugin development
- TYPO3 maintenance care plans (updates, monitoring, etc.)
- TYPO3 website Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- TYPO3 SLA, Reporting and analytics
- Migration to TYPO3
We would recommend you going through the blog on TYPO3 services and earning methods that would help you with service ideas you can include in your TYPO3 service list.
Of course, the services you offer will depend on your skills and specialties. Moreover, you can also outsource certain parts of services from the project if you are not confident or available to do it on your own.
For example, NITSAN offers support and maintenance services that you can brand as your own for your project:
When you’re first learning how to start a TYPO3 business, you may not feel ready to offer a full suite of solutions. That’s okay. You can always scale up your TYPO3 agency and build out your services down the line.
The goal right now is to consider your target audience and what essential services they need most. You might also research competitors to help you identify areas where you can stand out.
Step: 3 Selling Your TYPO3 Products at TYPO3 Marketplace
Another innovative approach to earn from TYPO3 is by selling your amazing TYPO3 products as TYPO3 Extensions and Templates at TYPO3 Marketplace like T3Terminal.
T3Planet has a vision of helping people around the world to get creative, share, care and earn while flourishing the TYPO3 community simultaneously.
Do you know?
Becoming a Vendor at T3Planet is FREE! There are no membership fees at T3Planet. Just deducting vendor's fees i.e 20% per sale.
By becoming a vendor at T3Planet, you avail following benefits,
- One time development, unlimited earning
- Your TYPO3 products get exposed to lots of TYPO3 lovers & audiences.
- Freedom of choosing the prices for your products.
- You can raise good money on adding extra support services for your product.
- Provides you freedom of resource selling with a flexible schedule, hours and location
- Joining a limited group of high-quality vendors
- Being supported by marketing & promotion from T3Planet
#1 Branding
Creating a decent and strong brand identity is a key step in the early stages of starting a TYPO3 agency. Brand elements that you should pay attention to at this point include:
- Your brand name.
Aim to keep it simple yet memorable.
- Your domain name
Leads and clients will come to associate your web address with your business. Purchase and register a domain from popular registrars and some hosting providers.
- Your logo
This is a visual icon that will resemble your brand name.
- Branded social media accounts
Social media provides unique opportunities for you to connect with clients and leads.
- Brand Document
This document will contain details relating to various TYPO3 services you provide with in-depth insights into project development technologies, portfolio, project methodologies you follow, communication tools, etc.
#2 Choose TYPO3 Hosting Plan
The next thing you’ll need to start your TYPO3 business is a hosting plan.
However, choosing a hosting solution we recommend doing research to compare companies, such as reading reviews and considering the features included in each plan.
Opting for a convenient solution like TYPO3 SaaS can be a fruitful solution though if you wish to sit back relax, completely focusing on your TYPO3 business, and let the SaaS experts manage your website! T3Planet’s SaaS solutions are extremely fast, secure, and user-friendly and all-in-one TYPO3 solutions like Installation, Templates, Hosting, SLA, and Support.
#3 Create Your TYPO3 Business Website
With your domain name and hosting plan purchased, now it’s time to create your TYPO3 business website.
Make sure to include easy ways for clients to contact you, by phone, through the contact form, CTA, chatbot, or a combination of these.
It’s also smart to publish an About page. This gives visitors some background about your TYPO3 company, Your TYPO3 Expertise, history, and a brief introduction to you/your team.
Of course, you’ll also want to include a portfolio that showcases your skills and past successes.
We suggest you go through the following guides before proceeding with your TYPO3 Business website,
Step 5: Become a TYPO3 Association Member
I'd suggest you become a TYPO3 Community member by giving back a little to the community 7.92 EUR (of course, it’s not compulsory), You will be part of the TYPO3 association.
By becoming a TYPO3 member, you are boosted by exciting opportunities
- Using the membership logo at your website
- Your brand gets a trust signal
- Participate in the yearly T3A General Assembly
- Participate at official votings (EAB, BCC)
- See and discuss the yearly budgets.
There are various association membership program plans by TYPO3 association according to the size of your business and underlies different benefits for the same,
Explore them in-depth here.
Step:6 Get your TYPO3 Business noted at TYPO3 Professional Service Listing
Getting your TYPO3 business listed at the official professional Service Listing (PSL) is the perfect gateway to making your business known to a broader audience and to help it grow.
This platform enables you to get what you need to promote your products and services.
You’re able to do more with your Professional Service Listing subscription. It's a great stage to show off your competence, skills, service offerings, certifications, and case studies concerning TYPO3 CMS.
Whether you are a full-service agency, development professional, freelancer, or hosting provider, the Professional Service listing is the right place for you to gain awareness and to present yourself in a way that pushes both your business as well as the entire Project.
Step 7: Invest in TYPO3 Business Tools
The next step is to gather the tools and software you’ll need to help manage and run your agency. These fall into multiple categories, including business administration and project management.
The important tools you’ll want to invest in is one for project collaboration and management. Platforms such as Trello or Slack can make team communication and task management easier, and help projects run smoother.
Aside from administrative and project-managements tools, there are some additional platforms you might need to execute your client projects. This will vary depending on the specific type of TYPO3 business you have, but some examples include:
- Text and code editors such as Visual code, Sublime, etc.
- Premium templates and plugins
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as Hubspot
- Website Analytics tools as Google Analytics, Google Trends, etc
- SEO auditing software as SEOSiteCheckup, Ubersuggest, etc.
- A stock photography site membership
And the list would not end here! We suggest you go through a great collection of 66 Tools & Techniques for Productive TYPO3 Agency.
Step:8 Set Prices for Your TYPO3 Services
Exploring and Identifying how much to charge your clients can be a tricky step in starting a TYPO3 agency. If you’ve freelanced in the past, you may already have an idea of your rates and whether you prefer to charge hourly or per project.
However, if you’re new to TYPO3 design and development, you might be completely clueless about how much to charge.
If this is the case, you might consider using a tool such as the Bonsai Freelance Rates Explorer or explore platforms such as Upwork, Fiverr to identify what your competitors are charging their clients for the similar service you are going to provide.
Of course, the structure that makes the most sense depends on your specific products and services. We recommend doing research to get an idea of how other TYPO3 businesses and agencies price their products and services.
However, as an agency, there are other factors to consider that beyond freelance rates. For example, you might charge a one-time fee for web design, but what about monthly packages, subscriptions, and recurring payments for ongoing services?
Also, it’s important to consider your overhead costs. The goal of your TYPO3 business is to make a profit, so it’s crucial to account for the costs of starting and running your business.
Step 9: Take Care of the Finance and Legal Aspects of Your Business
After you finalize your business plan and get your brand and website up and running, you’re in good shape to start looking for clients.
First, you’ll want to create a client contract. This document helps manage expectations for both parties and can minimize the risk of miscommunication or understanding disputes. Therefore, it’s important to ensure it covers all essential areas, including:
- Project scope (description of work to be completed)
- Payment terms (amount due, acceptable forms of payment, due dates, late fees, etc.)
- NDA (Non-disclosure agreement)
If your website collects and stores user data, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) best practice is to implement a cookie policy on your website. In some countries, it’s a requirement.
You can easily add a cookie and privacy policy notice to your website by using a free Simple Cookie Bar TYPO3 extension.
Learn More about TYPO3 Cookies.
Start 10: Start Promoting Your TYPO3 Business
At this point, you are ready to start promoting your TYPO3 business and sourcing clients! Of course, it won’t happen overnight. However, there are some strategies you can use to help grow awareness about your new brand.
One is to build your social media presence on the channels where your target audience is most active. Similarly, creating a strong SEO strategy will help increase your search engine visibility and attract clients who are looking for the services you offer.
Other ongoing marketing techniques include:
- Creating email campaigns to promote services to leads
- Purchasing paid ads on Google, Facebook, or other popular platforms
- Writing guest posts for industry blogs
Which strategies make the most sense for you will depend on your target audience, the types of services you’ve chosen to offer, and your budget. We recommend going through 40+ Essential TYPO3 Marketing Extensions that would help you with brand awareness and methods.
Step: 11 Begin Engagement and Building Relationships with Your TYPO3 Community
Engaging, Involving, and most importantly contributing to the TYPO3 community should be your heartfelt interest. As you are thinking of making TYPO3 your life career, contributing and appreciating it should be your tribute.
TYPO3 community is a very open and welcoming community. There are so many opportunities to connect with others and partner up, too!
TYPO3 professionals have gone and created their own communities around the web as well as out in the real world. You’ll find them in the form of:
- TYPO3 Meetups
- TYPO3 Developer Days, Camps, Conferences, and Sprints
- Live educational events
- Facebook groups
- Local meetups
- And more
Not only are these valuable resources to learn more about running a business with TYPO3, but they give you the chance to ask questions of others who’ve been where you are.
The world is going to change a bit, more and more people will prefer to connect and work remotely on digital platforms.
Official TYPO3 social media channels
Un-Official TYPO3 Groups
- TYPO3 Facebook Group
- TYPO3 Facebook German Language Group
- TYPO3 Users Group at LinkedIn
- TYPO3 Developer Group at LinkedIn
- TYPO3 Group at Xing
Live chat with TYPO3 + Slack
To connect with any person, team, or group, the TYPO3 Community highly recommends using Slack for TYPO3.
Some of the popular TYPO3 slack channels like;
- #announcements: the TYPO3 project announcement channel - you will automatically join this channel, but you can not post there.
- #typo3-cms: TYPO3 CMS Support-Channel
- #typo3-cms-coredev: TYPO3 CMS core development channel
- #random: have fun, share anything you like
Reach personally and in-groups to ask your questions, ideas, help, or support.
You must read How to connect with the TYPO3 community.
You might find abundant opportunities to learn and adapt new skills, practices, and build lifetime friendships! You might meet your favorite developers and decide to partner with them. Or you could meet another agency owner who wants to share referrals.
You never know who you’ll meet, how you can help one another out, or what you’ll learn from spending more time in the TYPO3 community.
Step 12: Get TYPO3 Certified & Stay on top of the knowledge game
Most important thing is to stay updated with the latest TYPO3 trends, Market practices, and technical knowledge. To keep your prospects and business growing you must regularly practice and keep updating your technology and research skills.
Another thing is, to keep yourself feeling proud and show your agency’s resource expertise, we’d suggest you have TYPO3 Certification.
It will make you aware of how strong your TYPO3 Skills are (more hint of if you’re ready to start your agency with TYPO3 as expertise :P ). Plus it gives a personal proud feeling to a person who passed and gets a certification badge.
We suggest you reading articles that will give you a glimpse of TYPO3 Certification,
- TYPO3 Certified Developer
- TYPO3 Certified Integrator
Wrapping Up!
Working in TYPO3 development can be an exciting, fruitful, and rewarding career. However, if you’re looking for more freedom, responsibility, and control than what’s available in your current role, you might consider starting your very own TYPO3 agency.
In this post, we taught you how to start a TYPO3 business in twelve steps. Once you create your TYPO3 business website and begin attracting new clients.
We wish you always inspire people to share and contribute!
What are your views? Let us know in the comment box below!
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- Wow! Thank you very much for sharing this insightful realistic information regarding the TYPO3 business. I was thinking of building my own TYPO3 Web Design team and your information really helps a lot. I am looking for more.
- Lovely blog for TYPO3 Start-up!
Dhyana Chauhan
Tech Expert & Customer ManagerDhyana Chauhan is the customer support manager at T3Planet, having vast experience as an technology lead who loves exploring everything that’s in trend, especially TYPO3. Being a TYPO3 fanatic, in her free time, she loves…
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