Build a Better Agency Podcast

For many of us, agency ownership means that most of our time and energy goes into our work. Even when trying to sleep, we’re replaying a frustrating conversation we had earlier that day, doomscrolling, or even dreaming about everything on our to-do lists. When we can’t turn off our minds at the end of a long day, we set ourselves up for occupational burnout. As some of you know, I learned the hard way that staying overly connected to our work can have severe consequences. I brought Dr. Gerry Farris on the podcast today to talk about how we can take care of ourselves to feel better daily, stay mentally strong and healthy, and why taking breaks is so important. With many years as a physician and working with patients who have experienced occupational burnout, Dr. Farris is the perfect person to educate us on how to be smarter about living our overly-connected lives. Dr. Gerry Farris has been an Emergency physician for 30 years and a Functional Medicine physician for 10 years. His current practice focuses on healthy living and age management and he is a former triathlete who competed for 31 years. His goal is to help patients and persons be healthy, mitigate disease and aging, and live well for a long time. He is a double Board Certified physician with a wealth of experience and knowledge. He is practicing the “Medicine of Tomorrow, Today!” 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: How to know if you’re experiencing occupational burnout or heading in that direction How information overload leads to hypervigilance and why it happens The effects that elevated cortisol levels have on our brains and bodies How to build resilience against neuroinflammation and bodily dysregulation What does burnout recovery look like? Why sleep is one of the most essential things for recovery and burnout prevention What 37 minutes a day can do to improve your overall health How to make healthy lifestyle changes that you can stick to

Some of the most significant innovations have been born out of the most challenging hardships, and agency innovations are no different. For the past two years, agency owners have been through the wringer. Some of you have even wondered if it’s time to shut your doors and move on to something different. You’re all. Just. Exhausted. I often use the analogy that your agency is a ship, and you are the captain. It’s your responsibility to make sure that the ship doesn’t sink. For the past 24 months, this meant finding shelter and waiting out the storm. But we must rethink that analogy for the new times we’re finding ourselves in. With pandemic days easing up, I’m now telling you it’s time to head back into open waters. While things haven’t completely settled down yet, this is our time to shine. We’ve spent the past two years adapting, changing the game plan, and moving through a figurative storm of hardship. But that has primed us for greatness and equipped us to move forward into a new renaissance of ideas and agency innovation. It’s time to relinquish control, take new risks, and see that these hard times have made you and your agency stronger and ready for brand new ventures. 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: I made a mistake in overemphasizing the importance of finding a safe harbor to get us through the pandemic. We need to rethink this. Where your focus should be turning now to drive your agency innovations Why control and leading with a type-A personality was suitable for the pandemic but might not be as supportive now Why creativity and agency innovation is so important right at this moment How taking risks will push your agency forward into the new era What past tragedies and renaissances can teach us about where we’re heading in the future That your only choice as an agency owner right now is to leave safe harbor no matter whether you’re ready to close up shop or move forward as an agency The questions you should be asking yourself as an agency owner to be a renaissance leader

As agency owners, we’re often dedicated to the niche we’ve carved out for ourselves and can get very comfortable serving our clients within those parameters. It’s easy to become highly committed, and stubbornly so, to that one niche. When it stops working for us the way we want it to, deciding to pivot can be difficult. Today, the CEO of PredictiveROI, Stephen Woessner, came on the podcast to share his experience with this exact situation. His agency had been working in a niche for many years as a podcast shop that helped clients produce content. After some time, it started to become clear to the team that there was a better way they could be approaching business. Thus, a new agency niche was born, which began their great pivot to becoming the authority in teaching clients how to be the authority of their industries. Stephen shares with us what led to the decision to pivot, the decisions he and his team made during the shifting process, and how they re-established their cornerstone content to align with their new niche. If you take nothing else away from this very transparent and open discussion today, you should at least know that you have permission to think differently about how you want to position your agency to potential clients and that it’s okay for your agency niche to not be permanent. Sometimes, to build better, you need to pivot. 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: Why choosing your agency niche doesn’t have to be a permanent decision How Stephen Woessner of PredictiveROI knew it was time to pivot to a new niche Why sometimes throwing out the playbook and rebuilding in a different direction is a better move for your agency, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first What pushed Stephen and his team to rethink their agency niche and the value they were providing to their clients How to know which types of clients you’re already serving the best (this could be your new niche) What is cornerstone content, and why is it so important to establish? The importance of building a community of people wanting to learn from you and others to make more effortless sales You have permission to think differently about your agency and how you want to position it in your industry

We all know the phrase, “what we don’t know, can’t hurt us.” But, it also can’t make us any more money. That’s why this week, we’re kicking things off with another solocast episode where I’ll be discussing the two agency growth secrets that are guaranteed to put more money in your pocket and bring clients to you effortlessly. To demonstrate this, I’m using Flying Camel as an example of how a few small tweaks can up-level you from an A– to an A-grade agency. They’ve already established themselves as an agency that has honed its expertise within a niche, they’re sought-after to speak at events all over the world, and are overall doing everything right. But, they knew they could be doing more, and they contacted me to help them figure out how to tackle it. While we didn’t need to change much, we still gave them two areas to work on that will almost instantly make their agency even more attractive to potential clients. And on today’s episode, I’m going to break down those topics so that you can start up-leveling your agency, too. 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: The agency growth secrets that can uplevel your agency, even if you’re already doing everything right Two ways that you could easily improve your agency’s profitability and bottom line every year The value of understanding the money metrics in your agency, even if you’re not a numbers person Why carving out a niche and honing your expertise will establish you as a leader in your industry The reasons you should not be dismissing your own expertise, but rather, magnifying it How to be sought-after specifically for your expertise with very little change to your day-to-day operations Why being a thought leader matters when running an A-tier agency How to carve out time to create content that sets you apart from other agencies

This holiday week, the idea of freedom is at the forefront of many people’s minds. It’s a topic that touches so many facets of our lives every day. In today’s episode, I want to turn my focus to agency owners, and what freedoms we should be taking full advantage of that will ultimately benefit your agency culture. Many of us chose to start our own agencies because it granted us privileges that being an employee did not. And while we may think we’re taking full advantage of them, the reality is that we could be offering ourselves so much more. Today, I’ll cover seven freedoms that agency owners can (and absolutely should) be taking advantage of. From who you work with and hire, how you spend your work time, to your own role in your agency, and more. You chose to work for yourself, and now is the time to reflect on if you’re making it work for you. 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: Why we should take full advantage of our freedoms as agency owners What specific privileges we have, and how to leverage them to work for you and your agency Why agency owners shouldn’t hire employees based solely on their talent Why it’s important to share your vision when choosing who you hire How putting up with bad attitudes from employees limits the freedoms we have as agency owners Why we should have more freedom than our employees when it comes to our schedules Why your time should work for your life, and not the other way around What you should be doing when it comes to leveraging your financial freedoms as an agency owner The freedoms agency owners have when it comes to walking away or staying in the business Why agency owners take on the risk of running a business but aren’t comfortable taking the rewards

We all wish we had more time in our schedules, right? We long for a day without interruptions so we can just focus and do our best work. Or, even worse, we’ve finished all of our work, and now we don’t know what to do with ourselves. These are two different problems, but, according to today’s guest, both have the same solution that starts in our agency operations. This is where Joe Martin has a thing or two to teach us. He changed how his entire agency operates and meets its goals by switching to a 6-week cycle work schedule. This means four weeks on, two weeks off, and a lot of room for adjustment and flexibility for maximum efficiency. Today, he teaches us how this benefits every level of agency culture, how to begin implementing it into your agency, and why it’s so effective. We’ll also learn why it might not be the best idea to bring this structure into your dating life. 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: How to maximize efficiency and productivity in your agency Why it’s not about the hours we’re buying from employees, but rather their skills and ability to accomplish tasks How to break the 40-hour work week mindset and have more productive employees Why it’s important to learn what value you are offering to clients before implementing a strategy What is a 6-week cycle, and why does it work so well for agency operations? How to begin implementing this structure into agency culture Why this structure is even better than the popular 4-day work week model

This week on Building a Better Agency, we’re jumping right back into our breakdown of 2022 Marketing Trends. Last time, we talked about noticeable trends in agency spending, shifting client expectations, and not missing out on opportunities for business development. This time, we’re taking things a bit closer to home by talking about trends we’re seeing in our own marketing tactics, in our employees, and in ourselves as agency owners. If you didn’t catch Part 1 of this conversation during our last solocast episode (#345) — no worries! There’s still plenty of time to go back and catch up. Then join us here for Part 2 of our discussion on the industry trends, insights, and predictions that agency owners should know about before entering the second half of the year. 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: The marketing trends we’re seeing with agency owners, employees, and tactics Why agency owners across the board are so dang exhausted (nope, it’s not just you!) Why Drew believes that agency owners aren’t just tired, but tired of being afraid Where are agencies at with the whole “work from home” situation? What’s working and what isn’t? Why employees have never been more expensive than they are right now — and when that pendulum will swing back. Which marketing and sales tactics are working best for agencies right now

The market right now for attracting and retaining the best employees is insane. It feels like only three people on the planet are looking for work, and they all want $3 million, plus a signing bonus. Owners are in panic mode when they think about attracting and retaining the best employees. They’re struggling to find good candidates. Or, by the time they get a candidate through their 12-step process, they miss out because they accepted a different position. So how in this environment should we be hiring? What should the process look like? I invited Heenle Turner to join me for this episode of Build a Better Agency because she holds the golden ticket to your agency having a great rest of 2022. She believes that not only should we all have a 5-star employee, but that we should have ALL 4- and 5-star employees in our agencies. She believes that this is absolutely possible and critical to our success. 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: What does a 5-star employee look like, and why Heenle believes you can have an agency full of them How you can level up your employees, especially in this market when it’s hard to find anyone to take a job How you can find, hire, and keep 5-star employees What are the five distinct qualities of a 5-star employee What are the 11 universal qualities 5-star employees share What questions should you ask during an interview to ferret out if someone is a 5-star candidate before you hire them

As agencies, we tend to overlook certain platforms and channels when it comes to their perceived relevance to our audiences or bottom-line ad potential. That bias is one that Lindsay Shearer overcame to help her clients win new business and earn 2-3 times their initial ad spend on what most of us would consider an unlikely platform — Pinterest. During our conversation on this week’s episode of Build a Better Agency, Lindsay talks about what led her to experiment with Pinterest in the first place and why she quickly adopted the platform into her agency’s diversified ad strategies. If you’re wondering what advertising on Pinterest looks like, how it works, and why you might want to consider incorporating it into your ad strategies, then you’re in the right place. Join Lindsay and I as we talk about using Pinterest — part social channel and part interest-based search engine — to win high-quality, top-of-funnel business for ourselves and our clients. 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: What led Lindsay to experiment with Pinterest in the first place Why an entire department of Lindsay’s agency is now devoted to Pinterest ad strategies specifically How Pinterest functions as both a search engine and a social media site — and why that’s a game-changer The major role Pinterest plays in consumer behavior and the intentional purchasing decisions of its users What types of brands play well in the Pinterest space — and why How to set expectations for yourself, and your clients, about this channel that plays a bit differently than most Where Pinterest could fit into your current cross-channel ad strategies and how to get started

What happens to our agencies when something happens to us? No one likes to think about the day that they’re no longer around, and it’s no secret as to why. The conversation can feel more than a little uncomfortable. But as agency owners, it’s one that’s far too important for us to avoid or ignore. If we want to ensure that our businesses —and more importantly —our people will be taken care of should the unexpected happen, then we need to make sure that we have a plan in place that allows our agencies to keep living on even after we’re gone. On this episode of Build a Better Agency, I sit down with attorney Andrea Shoup to start the conversation and hopefully, to help you all do the same. Andrea holds a depth of expertise in both estate planning and business law — making her the perfect person to help us wrap our heads around this tricky but critical subject. During our conversation, Andrea offers up her invaluable insights into navigating different succession plan options, learning how, when, and with whom those plans need to be created and communicated, and what happens when we don’t have a contingency plan in place. 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: How legacy planning can protect your business —and your people— should something happen to you The key differences between a will and an estate plan Everything that goes into a contingency plan — and how to get yours started Who needs to be involved in your contingency planning, and how those plans should be communicated How long it will take you to gather the information you’ll need for your plans What happens when we DON’T have a contingency plan in place When is the “right time” to start planning your agency’s succession?