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....
This episode came out of the frustrations the guest had in building websites for clients (see the book link below that addresses these topics). In particular, there was no plan before beginning a new website build. In fact, few agencies will do a Needs Assessment or Discovery before embarking on the work of building the right site, while this could be a life changing event for the client. Many clients may think, "what I'm doing is working" instead of thinking, "what new thing am I not doing that...
Richard did video interviews with smart design leaders across the profession. This desire to know what other design leaders think led to a book called Design Leadership. Richard gets transparent in this interview as he talks about how he had to change as a leader - focus and patience were his initial downfalls that he had to change. True creative leaders will stop doing many things, and will instead focus on the one thing only they can do well. Creation of a vision, and the values that support t...
Hear how the founders of Forefathers Group started an agency as partners without having ever met. Still, 5 years later, they have never met face to face, and are still prospering and growing together. We discuss how it happened, their struggles to overcome, and why it's been successful. They learned: - how to create great work together, instead of on their own, - how to setup taxes in a multi-state environment, - how to take each other's feedback, - how they matured in their respective work and ...
Nate and his co-founder, Connor Hood, have found a way to provide white glove service to those needing full stack development, or monthly web maintenance services on Wordpress. But they had to figure out who their client was so they can focus on selling their services for a profitable price. They focus on large agencies and large Fortune 500 enterprise companies. It seems the design/web/code profession is de-coupling as service providers are seeing the value in focusing on what they do best, and...
One Great Studio is giving life to ideas through websites, web applications, graphic design & branding. They have 3 core beliefs... Don't Be Greedy Think Long Term Do Good In January 2015, the studio began the transition to value pricing & have experienced some amazing changes in the agency and their lives as a result. Currently, partners Djuvane & Gina, and the team at One Great Studio are working on their first SaaS product – Buildt, a web & mobile service app for churches sche...
Tom Greever is the UX Director at Bitovi Agency. They help companies create better web applications, and have worked with clients such as WalMart, T Mobile, and Cars.com. Tom Greever's book, Articulating Design Decisions, helps designers justify design to non-designers.
Mike talks about Onboarding becoming a great way to align not only new clients, but existing clients as well. We discuss the steps Rauch Brothers Animation uses to onboard their clients.
In this episode, we discuss the difficulties of an agency that has to balance design for clients, while at the same time aligning digital strategy with the goals of the client. At Brolik, the team is always working internally to give their clients great design on top of a strategy that drives traffic and business. Other topics discussed: -Brolik is finding that clients need business growth strategists to uncover client needs, and not just agency owners to lead design. -Brolik is building their o...
Even though Matt builds products, he doesn't want to leave the service of clients in his agency. He just wants larger clients to help him sort through what types of products to build. As he points out, there aren't 7 quick steps to building a product. But you can solve your own itch. Matt's product strategy is to "build for yourself first, then package it for the masses and see if they like it." In this strategy, there is no market research required as long as you know you need it first. Also, l...
Jamie goes deep with us in this episode to talk about the anxiety he faces while running a creative company. Undoubtedly, many people face this at the head of their own creative companies. We also discuss mentorship, and the beauty of serving such an amazing team. He loves his team, and the work that they do.
We kicked off this episode by diving into how Erik defines design, and how it may be different than how his team defines design. The first step is to find out how the customer designs their own business. Once Focus Lab understands how the client's business was designed, they can then 'design' a solution to meet their needs. They will even perform the DISC profile with their clients so that they can speak to the client in a way that they understand. Among other things, Erik also discusses how pro...
We touch on so much in this episode! Tim runs a video production company to help clients tell their stories. Since we don't have too many video production company owners on the show, we took time to compare a video production company to a web/design agency. There are similarities and differences, and we glean some learning from this fact. Things Tim Ryan is always working on: - Consistency in keeping the work coming in. - How clients buy video production services (is it a commodity?). - How Tim ...
We talk in depth about Octopus' move to become a virtual agency, why they want to make this move, and what beliefs drive their commitment to virtual work.
In this interview, we dive deep with Jim to find out why they merged with another company to create a large marketing powerhouse, how you know when to merge, and how this affects team growth. We also touch on how to hire fast, how partners should argue, and how to create roles for each partner to fulfill. A question posed by Jim on the show maybe the listeners can help answer: "how do you effectively hand off a relationship from a salesperson in an agency to Account Management to have that clien...
Kade discusses what it's like to manage your time and energy as you manage a big, overwhelming client that can never be satisfied. Primitive Social's lack of an effective onboarding process led to a lack of clarity with this client on an ongoing basis. There is so much more to this episode. Enjoy!
Is there a difference between these two critical functions? Find out what Dan and Jason have to say about it on this episode!
Dan and Jason are back with their 2nd episode about Business Models. What are the 10 questions you should ask yourself when assessing your current business model? Listen here to find out!
Dan and Jason are back to kick off the first episode of Season 3! Join them as they discuss the importance and definitions of business models, how they designed each of their respective company's models and the pros and cons of each.
Dan and Jason are back for the Season 2 Finale of The Businessology Show. What a great season we’ve had! A huge thanks to our amazing listeners, our incredible guests and our awesome sponsors. Listen to the finale here and stay tuned for Season 3 in January. Thank you for being a part of this incredible season!
Dan and Jason are back with another listener Question & Answer show. We’re wrapping up Season 2 with our fourth and final episode on Onboarding. We just love these Q&A shows. Not only did we receive questions about Onboarding, but also about the other topics we’ve covered throughout the season. Listen here!
In this episode, Rodney Northern joins Dan and Jason as their final guest for the Businessology Show’s onboarding story arch. Rodney has a unique onboarding perspective having spent 20 years on the client-side and now serving as the Director of Client Services for Sanders/Wingo on the agency-side. Working both sides of the fence has given Rodney a wealth of knowledge and experience in onboarding. What is the process of alignment and refinement for choosing the right clients? What are the most im...
In this episode, Matthew Smith joins Jason and Dan for Businessology’s second show on onboarding. From his experiences at companies like Relay Foods, to a brewery in Colorado, Matthew has gained a wealth of knowledge about onboarding for services and products. Why is onboarding intimately related to experience? How do you build a customer experience that instills both confidence and trust and what is the difference between the two? Listen to the episode for answers to these questions and more!...
In this episode, we define onboarding and talk about the impact it can have on bringing in new customers. Dan and Jason also give their own examples of onboarding and how it has helped their clients. So what exactly is onboarding and why is it crucial for design businesses? Dan and Jason kick off the first Businessology Show on onboarding with a discussion about this important strategic process and function. Hear their personal insights and experiences with onboarding at their own firms and how ...
Dan and Jason are back with another listener question show! These Q&A episodes are some of our all-time favorites! We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – we’ve got the most intelligent listeners around. Hear their insightful pricing questions on everything from why you shouldn’t tie payments to deliverables, how to deal with changing scopes, the pros & cons of project-based work vs. retainer-based work, how to draw the line between pre-sale, discovery, and "fork over the money”, p...
In this, the final pricing episode of the season, Dan and Jason speak with the Technical Director for Sparkbox, Rob Harr. Hear his perspective on pricing and why pricing hourly works for Sparkbox.
In this episode of The Businessology Show, Dan and Jason speak with value pricing mastermind Ron Baker. Discover how Ron became a value pricing guru not from the economic side, but from the customer service and experience side. Learn the 8 steps to implementing value pricing, why we all need to get rid of time sheets (“the only place that time spent should matter, is in prison”) and how ultimately, value is a feeling not a number. Huge thanks to our sponsors this week, Harvest and ZenPayroll!...
