Tips on Building Your Remote Marketing Agency with Tyler Pigott

Gray MacKenzie talks with Tyler Pigott, founder of Lone Fir Creative, about the practical realities of building and running a remote marketing agency. Tyler built Lone Fir as a remote-first agency because he wanted the flexibility to spend more time with his family. Over time, he grew the team from a solo operation to a 6-8 person team of both part-time and full-time contractors.

Why Go Remote

Tyler’s motivation for building remotely was personal - he wanted to be present for his family while still growing a business. But he quickly discovered that the remote model offered business advantages as well. Without a physical office, overhead stayed low. And the ability to hire contractors from anywhere meant access to a broader talent pool than any single geography could offer.

That said, Tyler is honest about the tradeoffs. Building a remote contractor team requires more intentional communication, clearer processes, and a different approach to management than a co-located team.

Finding the Right Contractors

Tyler’s approach to hiring starts with self-awareness. He identified the areas where he and his core team were strongest, and then looked for contractors who could handle everything else. This prevents the common mistake of hiring generalists who overlap with existing capabilities.

For finding quality contractors, Tyler recommends tapping into professional communities. The HubSpot partner ecosystem, for example, is a rich source of vetted professionals who already understand inbound methodology. Personal referrals from within these networks carry more weight than job board applications.

Testing Before Committing

One of Tyler’s key lessons: do not bring a contractor into a major project without testing the relationship first. Start with a smaller engagement to evaluate not just skill level but cultural fit. Does the contractor communicate proactively? Do they meet deadlines? Do they handle feedback well? These qualities matter as much as technical ability when building a distributed team.

Managing Communication and Culture

Tyler acknowledges that the two biggest challenges of a remote contractor model are communication and culture. When your team is distributed, information gets siloed more easily. Client ownership becomes ambiguous. Onboarding new contractors takes longer because they cannot learn by osmosis the way an in-office hire would.

To address these challenges, Tyler recommends over-investing in documentation and communication tools. Every client project should have clear ownership, documented processes, and regular check-ins. The goal is to make information accessible without requiring constant real-time communication.

Building culture with remote contractors is harder but not impossible. Tyler suggests finding ways to create connection beyond the transactional - whether that is regular team calls, shared Slack channels, or occasional in-person meetups. The agencies that do this well find that their contractors become more invested in the agency’s success, not just their own deliverables.