EP 393: An accidental agency owner’s guide to scaling your business effectively with Herb Cogliano
Apr 17, 2023
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Herb Cogliano, expert in scaling agencies, shares his insights on overcoming barriers to growth for accidental agency owners. He discusses hiring according to core values, finding general manager-level leaders, and remaining profitable. Learn how to go from accidental to intentional agency owner.
The three major barriers to growth as agency owners are hiring people in line with core values, identifying general manager-level leadership, and remaining profitable as the agency adapts to changes along the way.
To effectively scale an agency, it is crucial to focus on key areas such as people, strategy, execution, and cash flow, and to continuously adjust strategies, build a strong leadership team, and implement effective systems and processes.
Deep dives
Scaling Your Business Effectively
Scaling your business effectively is a critical challenge faced by many agency owners. As businesses grow, they often struggle to keep up and face barriers that hinder their progress. These barriers can include leadership succession, communication breakdowns, and the inability to adapt to changing markets. To overcome these challenges, it is important to focus on key areas such as people, strategy, execution, and cash flow. By building a strong leadership team, aligning core values and purpose, implementing effective systems and processes, and continuously adjusting your strategies, you can navigate the complexities of scaling and achieve your vision for a successful and profitable agency.
Understanding the Scaling Process
Scaling a business is not a one-size-fits-all process and requires a customized approach based on the specific needs and goals of your agency. It starts with identifying the current state of your business and assessing areas for improvement. This can be done through diagnostics and evaluations that help identify gaps in areas like people, strategy, execution, and cash flow. By understanding where your business stands and where you want to go, you can develop a roadmap for scaling, which includes setting clear goals, establishing processes and systems, and continuously tracking progress through regular check-ins and adjustments.
Building a Strong Leadership Team
A strong leadership team is essential for scaling your agency effectively. It is important to select team members who align with your agency's core values, bring the necessary expertise and skills, and have the potential to grow into a general manager mindset. By involving key leaders in decision-making, creating a clear vision and purpose, and providing opportunities for growth and development, you can build a cohesive and capable team that drives the agency's success. Regular communication, alignment of goals, and a focus on accountability can further strengthen the leadership team and ensure everyone is working towards the same vision.
Developing Effective Systems and Processes
Implementing effective systems and processes is crucial for efficient scaling. This includes evaluating and optimizing your current processes, improving labor efficiency, streamlining communication and collaboration, and ensuring alignment across departments. It is important to identify bottlenecks, areas of inefficiency, and opportunities for automation or technology integration. By establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and metrics for success, you can create a more organized and streamlined agency that can handle growth without sacrificing quality or profitability. Regular evaluations and adjustments are necessary to adapt to changing needs and continue optimizing your systems and processes.
Many of us didn’t initially set out to become agency owners when we first started working in the business we’re in now. It sort of happened accidentally, and we put our agency together on an as-needed basis as the clients kept coming in and our services and offerings evolved. As accidental agency owners, we’re left with a lot of room for error as we try to scale our agencies to fit our core values while also turning a profit. That’s where Herb Cogliano’s expertise comes in.
As an entrepreneur for over 30 years and a consultant helping scale and grow businesses, he knows all the pain points for agency owners as they navigate growing an agency.
Herb will teach us three major barriers to growth: hiring people in line with your core values, identifying general manager-level leadership, and remaining profitable as you and your team adapt to changes along the way. Herb wants us to run our business rather than the business running us. Tune in to learn how to go from an accidental agency owner to an intentional one.
A big thank you to our podcast’s presenting sponsor, White Label IQ. They’re an amazing resource for agencies who want to outsource their design, dev, or PPC work at wholesale prices. Check out their special offer (10 free hours!) for podcast listeners here.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
Three major barriers to our growth as agency owners
The decisions around people, strategy, execution, and cash that we need to get right
What we often get wrong about scaling
How to improve cash flow and profits inside the business
How to evolve the business in the right direction
Establishing your core values and sticking to them
What to look for in good leadership as you plan your leadership succession
Creating processes to boost efficiency
How to take the fear out of change for your employees
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Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode