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ESSAY 001

The accelerator

If you've got this far, you're probably already bloddy good at what you do. But you might be stuck in the same loop. Underquoting. Overdelivering. Always one quiet month from taking work you don't want.

You didn't spend twenty years getting this good to execute someone else's decisions, take round seven of changes, or chase invoices from people who never saw what you brought.

You got into this to do work that matters. With people you respect. Paid properly. And to enjoy the life you built around it. Which yes, includes making money.

That's the whole point of the Accelerator.

This isn't a course you watch once and forget. It's twelve weeks of advisory work with a small group of experienced creatives, building the position that gets you called first instead of last.

Here's everything you get inside:

Your Position
one line the right client recognises. Not what you make. What you think, for whom, and why it matters.

Your first engagement
an offer that sells your thinking, so the conversation stops opening with "how much".

Your publishing rhythm
one idea a week, in your voice, so people know what you think before they call.Your way in — a real process for reaching the people who hire people like you, before the brief exists.

A private onboarding call
just the two of us, mapping where you actually are and what you build first.

Live session every Thursday
You bring your work, I read it back to you honestly.

A challenge every Friday

one asset, one week, due Sunday, in the group.

Office hours
for when you're genuinely stuck, not when the calendar says so.

Monthly Paradiso guests
past guests include Radim Malinic, Héctor Ayuso, Danae Gosset, PJ Richardson, Santiago Carrasquilla, Enric Godes.

The Room
small, vetted, senior. People who've been at this as long as you have.
Everything you build stays yours — the position, the offer, the rhythm, the process.


I'll also tell you the parts I normally leave out:
— How I built a motion studio to thirty people and seven figures, and why it was the least free I've ever been
— How one repositioning turned a five-figure execution brief into a seven-figure project with the mandate to lead
— What it's like to sell a company, have clients waiting for you to start again, and say no because the thought of it makes you feel empty

Twenty-five years in. I'm still learning. But I know where this ceiling is now, and I know what I wish someone had told me at year five.


Here's the thing though — I don't take everyone.
Thirty places, then the doors close. That's not a marketing trick, it's just how the work runs. Any bigger and I can't give you the attention that actually moves anything. So we keep it small and keep the room good.

The investment is €300/week for the twelve weeks, or €500/week if you want me to help you in provate calls. I made it week by week so you have no risks. Come in, look under the hood, and if it's not for you can cancel anytime. No hard feelings.  No questions asked.

So here's how it works.
Click apply below and answer the questions. Takes about three minutes. Put some thought into it. Low-effort applications rarely get through, and the questions are there because your answers tell me whether I can help.

I read every single application myself. Within 48 hours I'll come back to you either way.

If it's a fit, you'll get on a call with me. Not a closer. Not a sales rep. Me.

If it isn't, I'll tell you that too, and I'll tell you why.
If you've read this far and you're nodding along, odds are this is for you.

You already know you're capable of more. What's missing isn't skill, it's the position and your offer, and someone who'll be straight with you about where yours is off.

That's what the Accelerator gives you.

There's no reason you can't be paid for how you think and guide your clients. You just need to be shown how it works.

Hope to see your application come through.
Marko Pfann

Pfann GmbH, Schwärzenbach 6, 83703 Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany
Copyright ©2014-26. All Rights Reserved.
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Mindset

Being creative is not your job — Why so many creative studios fail

I probably have the following conversation once a week. It never ceases to amaze me how studio owners dilute themselves. Often on a deep subconscious level.

by Marko Pfann
Feb 21st, 2022

The biggest problem we as consultants for creative studios have to deal with never ceases to amaze us. It's commitment.

Although studio owners are aware of their problems, approach us, ask us for help and even put money on the table for our services, they don't take the time necessary to make things happen. Their focus, as well as their schedule, are fractured. Ongoing projects always seem to be more important than business development calls. And filling the pipeline with new leads is constantly put on the back burner.

So, why this behavior? Why ask for help and even pay money when you don't make things happen? There are many reasons. Deliverables need to be met, fires need to be put out, and clients need to deal with. Freelancers didn't perform as expected, and now the studio owner himself has to do the layouts or animate himself. Obviously, these are subconscious excuses of your mind to skilfully evade the responsibility. Almost all studio owners open Photoshop or Houdini instead of working on new business development tasks. Why? Because it's simply is outside their comfort zone, AND they are scared of change.

You want to stay creative. Because that's what you live for. We get it. You draw your energy and your personal validation from your creative work. All the other nonsense, such as strategic planning, professional outreach, customer care, accounting, taxes, you name it, will be done in the evening (or never). Therefore, 60-hour weeks are the rule and not the exception. Most creatives are even proud of their behavior because they believe it is a sign of quality or that only they can live up to their own standards. Which, of course, is complete self-deception and a big fat lie.

Here's our message: If you are running a creative studio, it's NOT your job to be creative!

It's not YOUR job to immerse yourself in the day-to-day business. You pay good people a lot of money to do just that. And if not, then start doing it already! As the head of a company, YOUR JOB is it to show your face and, even more so, to BE the face of the company. To reach out and land NEW JOBS. This is YOUR responsibility. And yours only.

Clients and prospects want to talk to the big boss. They want to have a conversation at eye level. They see personal contact as a matter of respect.
But if the big boss himself sends through the latest changes at 2 a.m. in an e-mail peppered with typos, then respect is quickly and indefinitely lost.  Look, if you put more than 50% of your time into project work, who then goes out and wins new clients and lands dream jobs for your company? Who sits down with your existing clients and discusses the marketing strategy for the next 3 years? Who works on your vision and creates a plan of action? This is a FULL-TIME JOB. And you can not outsource it to your project managers.

It's what we see every single day. Studio owners don't take the time to perform such essential tasks. They don't work on their business because they take their role in the creative process too seriously. They take themselves as too important. They hand over unloved tasks such as marketing, customer acquisition, and even customer meetings to their project managers (who are already overwhelmed with tasks) or bring interns into the company, so they can hide behind the 27-inch monitor.
REALLY NOW? You want to get million-dollar projects from leading brands and expect your intern or junior project manager to land these jobs for you? Should they talk to seasoned decision-makers about their problems and goals? Do you expect them to build trust in YOUR studio? Talking about respect and conversations on eye level. An intern cannot generate high-ticket leads.

Sounds ridiculous?! But that is the situation in the creative industry. The solution? Don't take yourself too seriously for the creative process. Delegate the creative decisions to your creative directors. Provide them with the authority and trust to make creative decisions on your behalf.
And what do you do? You spend about 30% of your time acquiring new projects from existing clients or generating new leads. You invest 30% of your time in marketing & PR, and the rest you take care of the development of your studio and your team.  

Don't know how to get started? No problem! Bring in a mentor. Let them guide you. Let them help you implement processes into your studio. Find someone like us, plenty.business – We grow creative companies.

Read more_

The creative risk factor — How creative studios stand in their own way

The creative risk factor — How creative studios stand in their own way

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