This small but mighty agency owner used the Upwork platform to grow his animation agency to multiple six figures in under two years. Going from solopreneur to a team of nine, Guillermo Chan went from a 9 - 5 job to building the business of his dreams, where he gets to do what he loves and make an impact on the lives of others. In this episode of the podcast: Using Upwork to grow a service-based business to high multiple six figures Immigrating to a new country, taking risks and following his pas...
Mar 30, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 34
How are creatives, consultants, and marketers making multiple six figures thriving in an increasingly crowded marketplace? The great resignation left a door wide open for more businesses to consider working with freelancers, contractors and boutique agencies because employees were leaving like never before, which created demand in the marketplace. On the other side of that same coin, the pool of writers, designers, and animators either freelancing or starting their agencies widened, creating a s...
Mar 17, 2022•11 min•Season 1Ep. 33
Are you stuck in your business feeling like client work is dependent on just you, and you worry it will all go down the tank when you stop working? If you don’t know how to change that – or maybe you do, but it hasn’t turned out how you thought it would? Tune in to discover: Why do some business owners remain the bottleneck even after getting systems and processes in place? Where do you start when documenting systems and processes and get it done without overwhelm The method to get processes in ...
Mar 02, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 32
What makes a creative agency excel past its competition? Nurturing and protecting the creative spirit in the team. The creative spirit is the secret sauce for an agency to do outstanding creative work. Some call it “strategic magic” or “zone of genius.” I like to think of it as the art that makes their craft possible. Let me explain The craft is the production, it's 80% of the work, but the creativity, the strategy, the zone of genius is the 20% that makes the 80% excellent. That 20% is the...
Feb 16, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 31
When this seven-figure agency owner surveyed 50 of his clients about what they valued when working with a small agency, the response was a surprise. It wasn’t the price and it wasn’t even quality. The top three things the clients of this seven-figure agency want to see from an agency are experience, communication and processes. Yes, processes. Processes are like guardrails. By definition, a guardrail is a barrier placed along the edge of something such as a staircase to keep you from falling off...
Feb 02, 2022•27 min•Season 1Ep. 30
Is it worth the time to cross-train your team? Even the most talented people in your team can’t succeed if your entire team follows their own processes, and communication is a mess. Cross-training leads to better communication, and communication leads to a business that is less dependent on you. In this episode of the podcast, we’re exploring how this agency owner hires the right people, streamlines communication and cross-trains his team so that he can spend more time in creativity instead of p...
Jan 19, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 29
These four concepts are how I’ve helped grow agencies to multiple six figures and beyond. I’ve supported an agency owner to grow, sell and exit his business, doubled the gross revenue of clients with small but mighty agencies and helped owners have more time off. To kick off 2022 on the podcast, here are the concepts that always show up. If you’re bumping up against capacity in your business, you can’t miss concept number one. Concept number one is the pillar to bringing in other people to do th...
Jan 05, 2022•8 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Is it possible to run an efficient agency with eight part-time contractors while working part-time? For this CEO mom, the answer is yes. Although this may not be a way of running a business for everyone, Kara demonstrates that how you choose to operate your business can 100% fit your priorities. Kara’s priorities are her three kids and her mission to employ young moms by providing as much flexibility as possible in her business. In this episode, you’ll hear how she makes it all work and how smal...
Dec 22, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 27
What does it mean to streamline a business for growth? At its core, it means simplifying or eliminating unnecessary work-related tasks to make running the business easier. While eliminating things may sound simple, streamlining a business can involve hard decisions. In this episode, we connect with Kyle who streamlined his business by restructuring his remote team. In the case of this small business, restructuring involved removing one job role and as a result, navigating changing scopes of work...
Dec 08, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Today, we explore how Amisha Shrimanker started an online copywriting agency three years ago and has since worked with some prominent names in the industry. Amisha shares the juicy details of her strategies that have landed her dream clients. Together on the podcast, we explore: Her cold pitching strategy, the one she uses to get on dream podcasts and work with dream clients How she leverages results into case studies to amplify her competitive advantage How she uses project debriefs not only to...
Nov 24, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 25
What is the fastest way to grow a service-based business to seven figures? Not a trick question 🙂 It’s to help your clients get results faster. Meet Lisa Genovese, five years into building her marketing agency, Lisa discovered the 20% of activities driving results for her clients and decided to go all-in on the service offering, In this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency, we dig into the 80/20 rule that helped Lisa catapult her business to a seven-figure agency and why getting support to di...
Nov 10, 2021•28 min•Season 1Ep. 24
How do you build a collaborative partner network that actually works and can help you grow your business? In this week’s Small But Mighty Agency podcast, we connect with Jon Allison, the owner of a Branding Studio with a track record of using authentic relationship marketing to grow his business and deliver exceptional work. What’s impressive is that 70% of the work Jon currently does in his business involves his collaborative partners. Together we explore: Growing a business with collaborative ...
Oct 27, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Focus is a superpower. But distractions are everywhere. You’re short on time, and you want to grow your business with less overwhelm. How do you steer clear of shiny opportunities and ideas that are vampires to your time and energy? How do you make better strategic decisions? I rarely share about how I arrived at my mission and my why. That’s because, for the longest time, I didn’t know how to share something so personal. My deep connection to my mission and why (I started my business) keeps me ...
Oct 13, 2021•7 min•Season 1Ep. 22
How do you engage and inspire younger generations in your service-based business? Today we’re exploring Generation Z, the most entrepreneurial generation of our time. Generation Z is disrupting the traditional ways of entering the workforce by choosing entrepreneurship over being an employee. In this episode, I speak with Julie Wang on embracing being a Generation Z agency-owner and her insights on employing her Generation. On this episode of Small But Mighty Agency: Why being a Gen Z agency-own...
Sep 29, 2021•26 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Are you a marketer, consultant, or creative who started your business with a specialized skill? You have steady revenue, a solid client base, and work coming in. It’s more than you can handle by yourself, but you’re saying yes to everything. You’re working 24/7, and it isn’t the life you dreamed of as a business owner. If that’s you, you’re not alone. in this episode of the Small But Might Agency, we explore Trevor’s trajectory from: Transitioning from freelancer to an agency over a course of 6 ...
Sep 15, 2021•25 min•Season 1Ep. 20
What does it take to grow an agency from 0 to 7 figures in four years? The first thing I noticed about Joel, founder of KARMA jack is his joy and zest for life. He has an uncanny ability to make conversations about almost any topic lighthearted yet packed with insights. In this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency, Joel shares how he grew his agency to 7 figures in four years, and that includes: Finding a north star in his business and creating a business with more meaning How to keep the auth...
Sep 01, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 19
What if the traditional rules of productivity and work are broken because they are outdated? Meet Brittany Berger, she’s on a unique mission to help neurodivergent individuals work smarter, not harder, whether a business owner or not. Brittany believes that the traditional rules of productivity and work that people learn are inaccessible for many. She speaks candidly about her neurodivergent brain and how she has leveraged it in her business to be more productive and focused. In this episode of ...
Aug 18, 2021•42 min•Season 1Ep. 18
How does diversity drive progress and creativity in marketing agencies? And why will agencies who don’t address the call to action on diversity and inclusion get left behind? In this Small But Mighty Agency episode, I connected with Mooren Bofill, Partner of 123West, an award-winning agency, to explore the topic of diversity and inclusion and what Morren is doing to champion initiatives that are not just band-aide approaches. Tune in to gain insights on: Why diversity and inclusion make an agenc...
Aug 04, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 17
What are some of the biggest fears business owners I work with having about building a team? It’s normal to have fears, it doesn’t make you less likely to have an effective team but understanding how these fears track and what’s true instead will help any business owner become a better leader and grow a more profitable business whether you have a team of one or many. In this solo episode of the Small But Mighty Agency Podcast ▪️Discover the two ways of thinking that self-sabotage business owners...
Jul 21, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Lots of companies and corporations say they are people first but are they? Talk is easy. Alignment of business decisions to the principles and values of people first isn’t that simple. Meet Kate Strathmann; she thinks of her business as an incubator for building a company that gives her team the freedom and flexibility they need. In her bookkeeping agency and consultancy practice, Kate makes decisions in alignment with the actions and values of the cooperative economy where her goal is not to ma...
Jul 07, 2021•36 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Raising your rates? Andréa Jones is the CEO of Online Drea a social media marketing agency that brings in between $70K - $80K per month with high ticket retainers. But that wasn’t always the case. Listen to how Andréa transitioned from a $500 retainer service by leveling up her offer and then raising her retainers that now range between $2500 to $5000 per month. Join us in this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency to explore: ▪️When is the right time to raise your rate? ▪️How to raise your rat...
Jun 23, 2021•37 min•Season 1Ep. 14
When you think of having a multiple seven-figure marketing agency, you might also think to reach this revenue marker; you need to serve many clients or have a big team. Think again. Rita Barry of Rita Barry & Co. has built a digital marketing agency that serves 15 clients with a team of 7 people and makes multiple seven figures. Rita keeps things simple by focusing on one core service. In this special episode, get an inside peek at: ▪️ How offering fewer services has led to more revenue and ...
Jun 16, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Have you hired somebody into your business before and felt burned because it didn’t work out? Michael did, and it cost him $60,ooo. In this episode, we explore the hiring and leadership insights gained from the costly mistake and how the mistake he made 6 years ago informs his approach to hiring and building his team today. On this episode of Small But Mighty Agency: How to avoid making $60,000 in hiring mistakes The leadership skills that are necessary for team building Creating KPI’s to help t...
Jun 09, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 12
If you’re a service-based solopreneur bumping up against capacity, what might feel scary but necessary is to de-prioritize business-building activities like marketing and visibility for business-stabilizing activities like systems, process improvements, and building your team. If onboarding two more clients in your business with the current structure you have now creates anxiety about servicing them with excellence, it's time to look at your operations and team. Karen Seymour was a solopren...
Jun 02, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 11
While partnership in a business isn’t for everyone, it has its benefits. Darian Kovacs started his agency from a storage closet in the start-up days and now has a thriving agency of 80 clients. Jelly Digital Marketing and PR who serves clients like La-Z-Boy and Splash Down Waterpark went from an agency of one owner -- Darian Kovacs -- and towards his vision of an agency owned by a team by bringing in business partner, Sarah Clark. In this special episode we speak with Darian and Sarah about what...
May 26, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Having a full service agency was not a business that Jenn Ennis planned for when she started offering graphic design services as a freelancer back in 2014. Jenn credits a series of small pivotal moments in her journey adding up to the business she has now. In this episode we explore the small but mighty moments, including a lesson in pricing that set her up for success, and how one project can change your confidence and the trajectory of your business. Jenn is the proud wife of an actor, and mom...
May 19, 2021•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Do you feel like delegation is a struggle and you have a hard time trusting the people you’ve hired, BUT you still have hope that you can build a team that doesn’t rely on you to function? When that happens, you know you will regain time freedom and bandwidth. Yes, it's possible. Tune into this episode to hear the four things that might be holding you back from having a self managing team On this episode of Small But Mighty Agency Podcast, you will Recognize the hazards of the self employme...
May 12, 2021•11 min•Season 1Ep. 8
How is this Leader of the Year named by Marketing News Canada making the competition irrelevant? While most people know that consultant-type businesses don’t scale, this marketing agency owner isn’t too concerned with scaling right now, instead he’s focusing on what he calls building a defensible model. In other words, he would rather be in an uncontested marketplace solving a unique challenge for his clients than compete in a crowded one solving the same problems as everybody else. He’s carved ...
May 05, 2021•35 min•Season 1Ep. 7
If you can set yourself up to avoid the Self Employment Trap of owning an agency in the first few years of business, the result is a business that sets you up for more time freedom. What’s the Self Employment Trap? It’s when you the business owner become the chief of everything by day juggling all the responsibilities and firefighter by night fixing all the problems, and feeling like you don’t have a team that you can trust. Meet Shannon, she is a consultant turned agency-owner. We explore why s...
Apr 28, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Making a pivot in business can be extreme or it can be very natural. Hear how Christine pivoted her mom blog to provide services that her advertisers didn’t know they needed until she naturally connected them to her digital marketing service-offerings. And then faced with an opportunity to change a competitive environment. Christine shares why she evolved her service offerings again to offer CMO for hire services. PLUS if you’ve ever thought about bringing your significant other into your team, ...
Apr 21, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 5
