Utilization is fine. Margin is not.

The starting point

Where it gets stuck

In companies that sell projects, the expensive places are almost always the same ones. They just never show up in a report.

The proposal costs three days

Proposals are written by hand, from scratch every time, usually in the evening. The effort appears in no calculation, because nobody is ever billed for it.

The number arrives too late

That a project is not working out becomes visible in the post-calculation. By then it has been decided for weeks, and no one can say at which point it tipped.

AI is running, but everyone does it differently

The tools are already in the building. Everyone uses them on their own initiative, quality varies accordingly, and no one can say what the effort has returned. And the first clients are already asking why they should pay the same price as before.

How we work together

Advisory

I work backwards. First the process that costs money or nerves, then the technology, then the people who have to work with it. What I recommend runs in my own companies first.

Assessment

two days

I go through your workflows and your numbers and name the two or three places that are genuinely worth it. The result is a list of effort and expected savings, sorted by priority. No concept paper.

Rebuild with numbers

six to eight weeks

One process is rebuilt and measured. The number that has to move for the rebuild to count as a success is agreed beforehand. I build alongside you instead of writing requirements.

Executive Advisory

ongoing

A fixed monthly appointment for the decisions between technology, law, staffing and pricing that otherwise stall. For executives who have no one to talk these through with.

Where training is part of the work, it runs through Edura Akademie, my own accredited training provider.¹

Scope

Who this is for

For companies whose product is the working time of qualified people: agencies, studios, production companies, consultancies, planning and engineering offices, IT service providers. The person to talk to is whoever owns the numbers.

If your company is not on that list but the problem sounds familiar, write anyway. The mechanics are the same across many project businesses.

Background

I did this from the other side for twenty years

From 2016 to 2025 I was co-founder and managing director of the social media agency Granny. What started as a Berlin newcomer became four offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam and Los Angeles with up to seventy employees. I was responsible for operations, the pitch teams and clients including Spotify and Netflix Global. Before that, from 2007, my own development agency with up to fifteen engineers.

In 2024 and 2025 I served as Interim COO at WIN Creating Images, which is exactly the brief I advise on today, only from the inside.

I know the Monday morning when utilization does not add up, and the week when a major client does not pay. That is why my recommendations rarely start with the tool.

Full career history, positions, and ventures in the Vita

Initial consultation, complimentary

Contact

Write and tell me where it is stuck on your side. A short paragraph is enough to start. If it fits, I will give you the order of magnitude in the first conversation.
hohn@hbc-berlin.com