IT’S not obvious from the outside, but behind an inconspicuous yellow door in Subiaco is an advertising agency and marketing consultancy that features a new business model called the ‘creative cooperative’.
Four years ago, Nigel Moyes was working in a traditional, large advertising agency based on a permanent employee model when he developed Fiix, an agency made up of hand-picked small business owners and freelance creative directors.
“We are all business owners, there is not one boss here,” Mr Moyes said.
“At our fingertips we have a whole crew, your art directors and creative directors, everything, except they are individuals – it is like a cooperative.”
Nine freelance operators work in the New York-style warehouse space in Subi; four own a share in the office space and five are on long-term rental arrangements in a group that includes marketing, branding, design, online and public relations consultants, and a commercial photographer.
“We wanted an environment where they were working for Fiix, but they could still work on their own projects and clients they want to work on. It is all about the freedom,” Mr Moyes said.
“I got out of the big agencies because I was sick of meeting clients in the boardroom, we would all be wearing suits, you would never get to meet the creatives.”
He said the arrangement worked well for small business owners and consultants who preferred to be in a dynamic environment surrounded by people in similar industries but couldn’t necessarily operate with overheads.
“The difference for the subbies when they are in here is, there is no boss, there is no-one telling them what to do, they come and go, they work whatever hours they want,” Mr Moyes said.
The arrangement also opens up the opportunity for small business owners to have access to other services as needed.
Some of the freelancers in the co-op gain up to 50 per cent of their workload from Fiix-generated work, and Mr Moyes said while it was not a traditional structure, clients were enjoying the contact with creatives.
