Bahlr Is Too Expensive

And that’s only salary.

That doesn’t include payroll taxes, benefits, medical insurance, PTO, sick days, onboarding, training, management, office space, equipment, operational overhead, or the sheer emotional and logistical responsibility of employing another human being full-time.

So when businesses say an agency is expensive, I often think to myself: compared to what?

Because in many cases, hiring an agency like Bahlr is actually significantly less expensive than hiring a single experienced employee internally.

One of the biggest problems in my industry—and honestly, probably one of the main reasons people initially think Bahlr is expensive—is because many business owners genuinely cannot distinguish the difference between an advertising agency and a person who does marketing.

Those are two completely different things.

And I understand why the confusion exists.

The United States, and really the entire world, has experienced an unbelievable technological leap over the last decade. Digital tools have become inexpensive, accessible, and incredibly easy to use. Cameras are everywhere. Editing software is everywhere. Apps like Canva and simplified Adobe products have allowed almost anyone to create visually appealing content within a few hours of experimentation.

As a result, many young people have discovered they can buy a camera, learn a few editing tricks, make a flashy social media reel, and suddenly feel confident enough to approach legitimate, successful business owners as “marketers” or “agencies.”

But creating content and understanding advertising are not the same thing. Not even close.

The truth is, marketing at its core is communication. Advertising, however, is something much deeper. Advertising is the harmonious understanding of psychology, systems, communication, timing, positioning, media placement, emotional response, visual language, repetition, momentum, and strategy all working together to move a human being toward a decision.

A real advertising agency understands the relationship between the agency, the client, the medium being used, and the end user consuming the message. It understands how to guide emotion, trust, perception, and momentum over long periods of time across multiple platforms and touchpoints.

That is an entirely different level of thinking than simply creating a cool video.

Most young people disguising themselves as “digital marketers” or “creative agencies” don’t even like the word agency because it feels too corporate, too serious, or too established. So instead they position themselves with softer titles like freelance videographer, content creator, social media manager, or digital marketer.

And to be blunt, many of them are simply car salesmen of the digital world. People selling aesthetics without truly understanding communication, business psychology, or long-term growth systems.

That does not mean they are bad people. It simply means they are often operating far beyond their actual understanding of business communication.

And this is why businesses need to become much more serious about how they interview advertising professionals.

You should interview an advertising agency the same way you would interview somebody responsible for the future growth of your company—because that’s exactly what they are claiming to help with.

If they cannot clearly explain their process, communicate their value, understand your industry, articulate strategy, and genuinely convince you why their systems work, then they are probably not strong advertisers in the first place.

Because think about it.

If an advertiser cannot effectively sell you on their own communication systems… how are they supposed to sell your company to the public?

In fact, one of the strangest indicators of a great advertising meeting is sometimes leaving the conversation thinking:

“I wish I could hire them, but I can’t afford it.”

Because often, that agency actually did an incredible job communicating their value.

The limitation is not them.

It’s simply your current position, readiness, or resources.

But if you leave a meeting saying:

“Well… I’ll just give this kid a shot and see what happens.”

You should probably run as fast as you can.

Because there is a massive difference between somebody who knows how to make content… and somebody who understands how to build communication systems that actually grow businesses.