You understand what OFM agencies do and why the model works. Now it is time to actually build one. This module walks through every practical step of setting up your agency business — from legal foundations and contract frameworks to hiring your first team member and establishing the operational systems that allow you to scale.
How Should You Structure Your OFM Agency Legally?
Before you sign your first creator, establish a proper legal entity. This protects your personal assets, gives you credibility with potential creators, and creates the framework for professional operations.
Choosing a Business Structure
Most OFM agency operators choose one of these structures:
- LLC (Limited Liability Company) — The most common choice. Provides personal liability protection with minimal administrative overhead. Recommended for most new agencies.
- LTD (Limited Company) — The UK/EU equivalent of an LLC. Same benefits of liability protection with formal company structure.
- Sole Proprietorship — Simplest to set up but offers no liability protection. Not recommended beyond the very earliest stage.
Register your business entity before entering into any contracts. This is not optional — professional creators and their legal advisors will verify your business credentials.
Essential Legal Documents
You need three core documents:
- Creator Management Agreement — The contract between your agency and each creator. Must cover commission rate, service scope, term length, exclusivity, termination clauses, and intellectual property rights.
- Team Member Agreements — Contracts or agreements for your chatting team and other staff, covering confidentiality (critical — your team will have access to creator accounts), compensation, and termination.
- Privacy Policy / Data Handling — Document how you handle creator data, subscriber information, and account credentials. This is increasingly important as privacy regulations tighten.
Have these documents reviewed by a legal professional familiar with digital marketing or talent management contracts. Template contracts from the internet are a starting point, not a final solution.
What Pricing Model Should You Use?
As covered in Module 1, the commission rate is your core pricing mechanism. But there is more nuance to pricing strategy than picking a percentage.
Three Common Pricing Models
| Model | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Commission-only | Agency takes 15-30% of creator earnings | New agencies building initial roster |
| Retainer + commission | Monthly fee ($500-$3,000) plus lower commission (10-20%) | Established agencies with proven results |
| Flat retainer | Fixed monthly fee regardless of earnings | Agencies offering specific services only |
Most new agencies start with commission-only because it reduces risk for creators. As you build a track record, transitioning to retainer + commission provides more predictable income.
Use our free Pricing Calculator to model different pricing structures based on your services and team size.
Setting Your Commission Rate
Your commission rate must cover:
- Team salaries (chatters, account managers)
- Tool subscriptions (CRM, scheduling, analytics)
- Marketing costs
- Business overhead
- Your profit margin
As a rule of thumb, your operational costs should not exceed 60% of commission revenue. If they do, either raise your commission rate or improve efficiency.
How Do You Build Your First Team?
You cannot run an OFM agency alone beyond 1-2 creators. Hiring is one of the earliest and most important decisions.
Your First Hire: A Chatter
Your first hire should almost always be a chatting team member. Chatting is the most time-intensive activity in OFM management and the hardest to do well yourself when you are also handling strategy, marketing, and business operations.
Where to find chatters:
- OFM-specific job boards and Discord servers
- Freelancer platforms (Fiverr, Upwork) — look for candidates with “OnlyFans management” experience
- Social media communities focused on remote work
- Referrals from other agency operators
What to look for:
- Strong written communication skills
- Sales ability without being pushy
- Reliability and consistency
- Comfort working with the content type your creators produce
- Ability to maintain the creator’s voice and personality
Compensation Structures for Chatters
- Hourly rate — $8-$20/hour depending on experience and location. Simple to manage, predictable costs.
- Performance-based — Base rate plus bonuses tied to PPV sales or revenue milestones. Aligns incentives.
- Revenue share — Small percentage of revenue generated during their shifts. High alignment but harder to track.
The performance-based model tends to produce the best results because it rewards the behaviors that drive revenue.
What Operational Systems Do You Need?
Systems are what allow you to scale from 2 creators to 20 without proportionally increasing chaos.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Create written SOPs for every repeatable process:
- New subscriber welcome sequence — What to send, when, and how to personalize it.
- Daily chatting workflow — How to prioritize messages, response time targets, escalation procedures.
- Content scheduling process — How content is organized, approved, and scheduled.
- PPV campaign execution — Content selection, pricing, timing, and follow-up.
- Weekly reporting — What metrics to pull, how to format them, when to deliver.
- Creator communication — Frequency of check-ins, what to discuss, how to handle issues.
SOPs ensure consistency regardless of which team member is handling a task. They also dramatically reduce training time for new hires.
Tools Stack
A professional OFM agency typically uses:
| Category | Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Agency CRM | Xcelerator | Multi-creator management, revenue tracking, team coordination |
| Team Chat | Discord or Slack | Internal communication, shift handoffs, announcements |
| Project Management | Notion or Trello | SOPs, onboarding checklists, content calendars |
| Financial | QuickBooks or Wave | Invoicing, commission tracking, expense management |
| Analytics | Your CRM + spreadsheets | Performance dashboards, trend analysis |
The most critical tool is your agency CRM. As you grow beyond 3-4 creators, managing everything through spreadsheets and group chats becomes untenable. Investing in a purpose-built OFM platform early saves significant pain later.
How Do You Find Your First Creators?
With your business structure, team, and systems in place, you need creators to manage. This is where your creator pipeline begins.
Getting Your First 3 Creators
The first few creators are the hardest to sign because you have no track record. Strategies that work for new agencies:
- Offer favorable terms — Lower commission rates (15-18%) or trial periods to reduce creator risk.
- Target underperforming accounts — Creators earning $500-$2,000/month who have growth potential are the sweet spot. They have enough of an audience to work with but are not yet attractive to larger agencies.
- Provide a detailed strategy pitch — Instead of a generic “we can help,” prepare a specific analysis of what you would change about their account and the expected impact.
- Leverage social proof — Even before you have creator results, showcase your industry knowledge through content (like blog posts, helpful comments in OFM communities, or free advice).
Red Flags When Evaluating Creators
Not every creator is a good fit. Watch for:
- Inconsistent content creation history
- Unrealistic earning expectations
- Reluctance to give account access
- Negative reputation within the industry
- Already under contract with another agency
What Are the First 30 Days Like?
Once you sign your first creator, here is a realistic week-by-week timeline:
Week 1: Account audit, strategy development, team assignment, content vault organization, welcome sequence setup.
Week 2: Begin active chatting management. Implement content scheduling. Launch first PPV campaign. Establish baseline metrics.
Week 3: Analyze first results. Adjust chatting scripts, posting times, and PPV pricing based on data. Start promotional content on external platforms.
Week 4: Deliver first monthly report to creator. Review what is working and what needs adjustment. Begin planning month 2 strategy.
Use our ROI Calculator to project the financial impact of your first month’s tools and time investment.
Key Takeaways
- Establish a proper legal entity and contracts before signing creators.
- Start with commission-only pricing and evolve as you build a track record.
- Hire a chatter as your first team member — chatting drives the most revenue.
- Build SOPs for every repeatable process from day one.
- Invest in a purpose-built CRM early to avoid scaling pain.
- Target underperforming creators for your first signings — they are easier to close and have the most growth potential.
Ready to learn how to systematically grow your creator roster? Continue to Module 3: Building Your Creator Pipeline.
For additional agency setup guidance, visit OnlyFans Agency Guide for in-depth articles on specific operational topics.