Travis Makes Money Make Money with Agencies | Eli Rubel
Eli Rubel is a serial entrepreneur, best known as the "Agency Profitability Guy." Since 2020, his portfolio of agencies has produced over $9.8M in profits—all while maintaining part-time hours and full-time freedom. In this episode, Eli breaks down exactly how anyone can build (or scale) a service business—plus what it takes to turn it into a lifestyle asset that runs without you.
On this episode we talk about:
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Eli’s entrepreneurial roots: setting up a photo studio in his parents’ garage, learning the lessons of low-wage jobs (room service at an hourly motel), and how early initiative shaped his career vision
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Starting and scaling agencies: from his first agency, Matter Made (a B2B performance marketing shop), to No Boring Design (brand/design for SaaS companies), and Profit Labs (helping agency owners boost profit margins)
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Why agency services are the ideal scalable side hustle: you can start solo as a freelancer, ramp up to replace (or surpass) your day-job income, and ultimately build a seven-figure company with qualified operators
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The proven roadmap for new agency founders: identify in-demand services (paid media, design, marketing automation, sales support, cold email, etc.), connect with industry experts, and model the playbook on what works—no need to reinvent the wheel
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Eli’s personal story: pivoting from CEO of VC-backed startups and e-commerce turnarounds to building cash-generating, low-stress agencies that let him spend more time with family ("the tricycle life")
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The playbook: how Eli went from $0 to $40,000/month in personal net income within three months by leveraging his network, hiring great operators, and focusing on what he does best—relationships, vision, and assembling world-class teams
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The agency profit formula: stop doing the technical work yourself, hire/partner with people you trust, and empower them to do what you can’t (or won’t)
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Why AI is about to disrupt agencies—why you should “make hay while there’s hay to be made,” but prepare for a new wave where niche expertise and AI/automation consulting become the next big opportunities
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How AI agencies (helping local businesses implement and automate with tools like HighLevel) could be the new “social media agency” gold rush for ambitious, young, or tech-savvy entrepreneurs
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Eli’s advice: focus first on what’s proven to bring in revenue, then use your earnings and freedom to pursue higher-purpose projects or passion businesses down the road
Top 3 Takeaways
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Agencies Offer Scalable, Flexible Income: Proven models like paid media, design, and marketing are easy to start and scale—no reinvention needed, just execution and networking.
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Play to Your Unique Strengths: Don’t force yourself to do what you hate—partner with those who are better at the technical work, and focus on your unique edge (relationships, vision, operations, deal-making).
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AI is the Next Massive Opportunity: Traditional agencies will be squeezed by AI, but that creates demand for those who can help small businesses adopt, automate, and run leaner-than-ever operations.
Notable Quotes
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“Within three months we’d already surpassed my goal—$40,000 a month net income—and by three years, we’d produced $7M in profit.”
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“I have never deployed a single client dollar or been inside of a client’s ad account since 2020. My superpower is assembling great people and letting them win.”
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“Soon, AI will put 80% of agency businesses out of business. But if you get great at implementing it for specific niches today, there are millions to be made.”
Connect with Eli Rubel:
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Website: https://www.elirubel.com/
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