The Businessology Show

We asked Maria Rapetskaya some great questions about serving narrowly:- why would you narrowly define your services?- is their fear in saying no to a broader range of services?- does narrowly defined services mean you are paid like an expert?- how did you start out working with such large clients?Maria was also brave enough to share her history of building companies, her failures, and the solid lessons she learned that makes her successful now. And she shares a beautiful balance between doing your great art, and running a business wisely. Maria also believes strongly in giving back by mentoring younger designers, and doing specific Pro bono work when possible. See her mentoring site in the show notes, defineyourpath.co.

We discuss 2 key problems a lot of agency owners face: (1.) they don't understand their financial metrics ('Agency Math'), and (2.) the agency owner is too entrenched in the day to day operations of the agency. AMI helps agencies solve these problems.Here are some key ways to build a better agency:- agency owners must move into their client's sales funnel, and begin helping their clients not only with websites and branding, but sales creation and documentation.- after assisting with the sales funnel, the agency can go deeper into the sales funnel to: (1.) retain and delight the customer, (2.) obtain customer feedback, and (3.) upsell and add more value to the customer. - though many agencies feel overwhelmed and want more team members, most agencies are actually overstaffed. Solving the problem involves creating better processes, not necessarily hiring more people.- agency owners are too slow to make decisions to remove legacy clients or legacy team members that are no longer moving the agency forward.

In this episode, we discuss Kevin Hoffman's view on the Freelancer vs. the Agency. Which one should you be? Both? Neither? The Experienced Freelancer (aka independent design consultants) can do what agencies do because their network is so deep, and their overhead is so low. Those working in a design business on their own can build amazing teams, and still work with Fortune 100 clients. Maybe you can too.Other topics discussed:- freelancers as mercenaries,- freelancers may take orders, but independent design consultants ask the client "how do you even know you have a problem?"- pricing clients up front as a consultant,- how he does project management,- taking risks by saying 'No' to certain work and services,- and much more!

In this episode, we discuss: - whether you should specialize in target markets, or strategic services - what integrated marketing actually is - creating services by trial and error - delivering a full brand experience for a client - how to chose what services you offer, and what to say no to - performing up front persona discovery to develop a brand - discussions on project vs. recurring revenue

In this episode, we cover agency growth questions like:- What is an agency?- What hinders an agency from growing?- Should agencies consider merging or selling?- Should agencies sell out to Facebook, Google, and IBM?

We talk about how to move out of freelancing, watching project and financial trends so you'll know when to hire, the value of migrating to a CRM to monitor your sales funnels, and moving revenue from project-based to retainer-based.The last half of the podcast was about a pricing ideal Tim discovered called Golden Mean Pricing. This pricing is the perfect point between two extremes, and you can get the free eBook and Excel tool at the link below.

In the last half of the podcast, Jason and Brad talk through what it means to truly build culture through intense change in an agency. Brad talks through the creative way they have developed their core values to balance each other, and the three key components any good list of core values has.Other topics discussed are:- delegating as you grow your business,- managing change and maintaining culture through change, and- using social media channels to attract new talent and new clients.

Hear how Grain & Mortar prices their projects, and how that relates to their project management processes. Here Kristin's view on tracking time, how they actually scope projects while they price it, and how the technical partners are also involved in the up front pricing.

Learn how 352 noticed it was time to move their agency to a team model. What were the signs that let them know its time to change their business model? Learn how 352 built their teams, changed their teams, and ultimately moved the whole organization over to a new team model.

In this episode, we explore many agency leadership issues such as what it takes to solve large business problems with clients. One example you'll hear is how Clearleft transformed Penguin Books recently.We also explore:- what is an agency,- why the CEO should be the least talented person in the agency,- finding the right team,- documenting your agency's core values,- how to allow the client to become an engaged part of your agency's team, and- how to grow slowly.