Through-the-window spy photo of bar area in Black Design offices in Minneapolis.

Although it’s a fragile economic recovery in these late days of 2009, there are numerous indicators that the business cycle could be on something of an upswing – maybe an up-saunter.

For example, marketing and advertising spending is in a guarded comeback – or so say the brands that pay the bills. Super Bowl advertising is completely sold out, even at pulse-quickening premiums, and agencies are hiring again.

I don’t know about you, but I’m eager for good news however nuanced the optimism.

So, are you ready to hit the ground running? Not willing, mind you, but truly p-r-e-p-a-r-e-d. Then ready, set…wait.

If you cut too deeply in the downturn, particularly if you suspended new business efforts as many small and mid-sized agencies did, then your willingness to forge ahead might be hobbled by your actual ability. There is no judgment implied here. Lots of businesses did what they deemed prudent to get through an extended period of depressed billings. It’s been painful, but remember that picking yourself up and brushing the dirt off is a little harder than it sounds.

Tina Wilcox, founder of Black Design in Minneapolis, is making it look easy with her eye-popping new offices taking shape at 12th Street and Harmon Place. As a marketer exclusively serving retail clients she was in what would have seemed to be a double bind. Her two key industry, marketing and retail, were brutalized in the past year. But Wilcox has a reputation for being gutsy. The large new digs are stylishly furnished and flaunt impeccable finishes. (Yes, I have chair envy.) The joint even has a sinuous bar (pictured above), a curving banquet and an enormous aquarium left over from previous restaurant tenants that she’ll no doubt turn into a statement. There is a shark in her company’s logo if that offers a hint.

While not every agency has the wherewithal to do what Wilcox is doing, there are ways each agency can make a smart return to form. I’ve banged the drum here before: strategy, purpose, focus, selectivity, unity and a dollop of patience.

How is your agency preparing to hit the ground running? Feel free to share your thoughts.