- Storytime
Entrepreneurship
"How can I prepare now to build a career in marketing and eventually run my own agency?"
This week marks an exciting milestone: University of Utah just launched Protopia! It’s a moment worth celebrating because Utah represents exactly the kind of institution that thrives as a truly networked university. Students here aren’t just preparing for their first job. They’re thinking long-term about impact, entrepreneurship, and how today’s decisions shape tomorrow’s opportunities.
Stories like the one below show why a networked approach matters. When students can tap into alumni insight early, career questions become clearer, paths feel more navigable, and ambition turns into action. That’s the power of connection at scale. And it’s the idea we explore in our latest ebook on the networked university: how institutions can move beyond transactional career support to build living, breathing networks that support learners at every stage.
Question
I’m a marketing student with the long-term goal of starting and scaling my own marketing agency. I’d love to understand what full-time marketing work is really like, how agency owners or freelancers attract clients, and what steps I can take now, while I’m still in college, to prepare for that path.
Thank you for your time!
Response
Most of my experience comes from working on the client side, where we hire marketing and advertising agencies when needed. Agency work tends to require a broader understanding of a client’s audience, challenges, products, and goals, along with the ability to build strategy, execute effectively, and clearly report results.
In a full-time marketing role, much of the work centers on making sure marketing efforts support the organization’s mission. That means collaborating closely with stakeholders, aligning initiatives with strategy, and constantly measuring and refining what’s working. There are often many meetings, but the people who stand out are those who quickly turn decisions into action.
If you want to run your own agency, you’ll also need to market yourself. It’s a results-driven business, so being comfortable with reporting, self-promotion, and especially sales is essential. Developing strong selling skills early will serve you well, no matter which path you take.
Ready to connect your community?
Let’s find a time for Max & team to show you just how smart, simple, and scalable it can truly be for alumni and students to connect to one another for advice and support. We promise you’ll be inspired by how artificial intelligence can be a force for good.