Advertising is the wave of the future. There are more Ad Agencies sprouting up today than any other form of business. People now prefer to be better informed about the product choices in the market and who better to tell them that than the very people making that product - through their advertising agency, that is. The demand for quality advertisements and related functions hold a lucrative and promising alternative for those looking for an independent career option.

But be warned, advertising is not for everyone. Creativity is an obvious essential and along with that you must possess a charming personality as well as being good with finances. Keep in mind that a professionally designed ad is far more complex than a pretty face with a slogan.

Do you fit the bill? You do, if you have a flair for creating new ideas and themes. You also need to be able to market your agency or products and must possess a knack for effectively convincing a prospective client to come to your agency. You need not possess any prior qualification to go into advertising though, if you are interested, a lot of professional institutes offer short-term courses, diplomas and degrees in advertising.

Once you have decided that advertising is the career for you, the next step is the creation of an office. Initially, if your finances are limited, you can even begin at home. Once that is settled, you can start by designing brochures and leaflets for small clients. You need not even employ any people for that. But, if you are starting an agency (whether individually or on a partnership basis) dealing with the releasing of ads and also designing part of it, then you will require artists, visualisers, copy writers, media managers, studio managers, an art director and a DTP operator. A client service executive may be required if you don't want to handle the clients on your own. Thus, you have to necessarily organize a small team to get started. If the finance for all this is a problem for you at the moment then consider commissioning freelancers for at least some of the functions. Your initial investment won't be much, provided you have a small place to start your business. But, it is advisable to keep a kitty of about Rs. 2,00,000/- for the various salaries, stationary, and other incidental expenses in the first few months when there may not be any income generated.

Your growth depends exclusively on your own hard work and determination. Always be on the lookout for new business opportunities. Try to keep a good number of contacts in the media business with people who are willing to recommend you to the clients. Don't concentrate on multinationals from the beginning; instead try to establish a good rapport with the small scale sector. SSI units like spices, handicrafts, instrumentation; resellers, etc. are far better in the beginning because they prefer new or small agencies. The larger agencies either reject them or their budgets. As in any other business, team-work is one of the single most important factors in determining the success or failure of a company. You must strive to bring together ideas to develop into a Unique Selling Point (USP) that'll lead a particular campaign. If the ad has been properly designed, even a poorly created product will sell, bringing your agency into the limelight. Don't relax after tasting the initial success and your business will increase by leaps and bounds. You have to continually prove your dependability and trustworthiness to your clients to get their trust and of course their billing.