Have you moved from being the bottleneck with client work and management to being the bottleneck when it comes to implementing internal operational projects and leading your team? If so, you may be in a position to need higher level support inside your business. Enter: the Leadership Team. In this episode, Nicole walks you through example leadership configurations and the three phases she implements with her clients when establishing their leadership teams. What’s in this episode: How much reven...
May 10, 2023•16 min
Are you thinking about hiring a team for your business or do you already have a team and want to delegate some higher level responsibilities? If so, this episode is for you! Today we’re talking through 4 hiring myths that are hurting your businesses growth. As a service provider, your time, energy and finances are limited! Let’s make sure you’re taking action on activities that will move your business forward, not backwards! What’s in this episode: Why it’s important to restructure before you hi...
Apr 26, 2023•24 min
So you’re looking to make a change that impacts your clients. Maybe it’s transitioning their work to your team members, increasing their pricing, or releasing them all together. These conversations can feel super awkward… so awkward that maybe you’ve been avoiding them all together. Listen, I despise awkward conversations as much as you probably do, but I also know that going through the process of having these interactions helps us grow – and ultimately helps the other person too. What’s in thi...
Apr 19, 2023•26 min
Your Agency Financials are one of the four most important shifts you need to make to grow an agency model business. By making this shift, it will ensure that you have the right delegation and financial strategy in place to pay a team and continue to pay yourself too as you continue to grow. I’ve heard so many times from business owners that they’re afraid to have an agency because of the expense. This episode will help you feel more confident by giving you the information and tools that you need...
Apr 12, 2023•27 min
Is one of your goals for this year taking more time off in your business (without it burning down?!) If so, you’re not alone! Most service providers and Agency Owners are way past due when it comes to taking some much needed time away from their business. But how do we do this in a way that will still support our clients, team and ourselves too? The answer is: streamlining your operations! In this episode, I share the top three things you can do to make your business run more efficiently without...
Apr 05, 2023•22 min
Have you thought about growing and scaling your agency, but feel like you’re getting stuck? Maybe you’re still wondering if an agency model is even for you or maybe you feel like you don’t know the steps to take to make it happen. In this episode, I talk about the top reasons I see business owners NOT scaling their Agency and how you can overcome these hurdles. This is not to convince you that an agency model is the right fit for you. It's to share information so that you can use it to make an i...
Feb 22, 2023•24 min
This episode was inspired by a conversation that I had with an Agency Owner that generated $1M in revenue last year and is projected to do the same this year. She shared that over the past few months she had to stop taking on more clients because she hit an operational ceiling and needed to make some changes before bringing on more business. This reminded me of another conversation I had with an Agency Owner that was making about $180K in revenue and had to stop attending live in-person events (...
Feb 15, 2023•26 min
Are you a service provider who’s looking to grow beyond 1:1 services and wondering if an agency model could work with your business? Or, did you “accidentally” start an agency and are still trying to figure out if it’s the best model for you? If either of these is true, this episode will help you work out whether or not your service is currently set up to scale with an agency model. If it is - great! The option is there for you. If it’s not - don’t get too bummed. Even if it’s not set up now, th...
Feb 08, 2023•22 min
Leadership is something you can’t avoid if you’re wanting to grow and scale with an Agency Model business. Removing yourself from client work and management is going to take both personal and professional leadership development. That’s why I’m so excited to have Aisha Crumbine on the podcast with me today to share her expertise on what it takes to be a great leader - for yourself and for your business and for your team. We dive into how your personal leadership impacts your work, the qualities o...
Feb 01, 2023•45 min
Are you wondering how you can keep your business running while you take time off to have a baby? Maybe you’re pregnant now or wanting to have a baby or looking to adopt and want to understand what goes into keeping your business running without you. Every pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience is different… for each and every parent and also for each and every child. The needs of your agency are also different from other agencies. In this episode, Nicole will give you questions to consider t...
Jan 25, 2023•37 min
Hiring takes time, energy and money, and when Agency Owners are already strapped for time, hiring can feel like an impossible endeavor. From figuring out who to hire, to creating the job post, to hosting interviews, to creating everything needed for successful onboarding… the hiring list can seem endless. It may have you feeling like you’d rather just stay stuck then add even more work to your plate! In this episode, we break down the mindset behind the hiring process and how your thoughts can i...
Jan 18, 2023•18 min
Being the bottleneck in your agency can feel frustrating to say the least. It can cause deadline issues with client work, force you to have to do even more work because things are running behind and hold up your team from being able to do the jobs that you’ve paid them to do. However, it’s important to know that being the bottleneck in your business is not a bad thing. It’s actually something to be expected as you continue to grow. Being the bottleneck is simply an indicator that something needs...
Jan 11, 2023•14 min
Are you someone who is craving more income without having to work more hours? A way to productize your services so that you can completely take yourself out of delivery? Or at least be less involved? Enter the “magic” solution that everyone’s talking about. A solution that solves all your problems and more: passive revenue. When service providers think about creating passive revenue they usually consider creating one of the following: a product, e-book, or course that they can sell on evergreen....
Jan 04, 2023•23 min
Are you committed to growing your Agency next year, but trying to figure out what support you need to get there? Maybe you’re wondering what to invest in to help you reach your goals and vision in 2023 in the most effective way. There are so many options out there it can feel overwhelming! From masterminds to free content to hiring a consultant or even an implementer – what is really going to help you move the needle in your agency? This episode gives you step-by-step guidance on what questions ...
Dec 21, 2022•21 min
Have you ever wondered what it takes to grow an agency from $200K to $1M? You may be wondering: what do I need to do when it comes to marketing, sales and operations? What should I prioritize first? While there isn’t a one-size fits all approach to every business, this episode breaks down the 5 Operational Components that you need to have in place to get your agency to $1M+. It also goes in depth with what’s needed specifically at different revenue tiers: $100K - $300K, $300K - $600K and $600K -...
Dec 14, 2022•31 min
Do you feel stuck when it comes to planning for next year? Maybe you’re so deep in client work right now that you’re just trying to get by. Maybe you’ve mapped out a whole year in the past only to find that you changed all your plans 1 month in. While, yes, understanding your goals are important to provide direction for you and your team, we want to be flexible with the projects we’re implementing so we can easily adapt to events outside our control. In this episode, Nicole shares what’s more im...
Dec 07, 2022•23 min
Does the world of Human Resources (HR) overwhelm you? Maybe you think that you’re too small of a company to have HR. Or maybe you had a bad past experience with the “HR department” in the past. In this episode, I talk about all this and more with HR Agency Owner, Julissa Martis. We dive into bringing the “human” back into Human Resources, how to start integrating HR practices no matter the size of your agency and ways to make your business more inclusive. Whether you have contractors or employee...
Nov 30, 2022•2 min
Every agency experiences cycles of growth and sometimes growth can stagnate or even decline. It can feel frustrating and sometimes even defeating, especially with all the mixed messaging out there around how to deal with it. Do you focus on a new marketing platform? Or sales strategy? Do you reach out to your referral network? Or find new ways to serve your current clients? In this episode, we talk about the real reason why your agency might not be growing (hint: it has nothing to do with sales)...
Nov 16, 2022•21 min
Do you crave a day-to-day routine you can follow to keep everything moving along in your business? A plan that you can consistently follow so that you know what to expect and where your time will be spent? Maybe you’ve even tried creating a regular schedule for yourself, but then feel totally defeated when your plan goes up in flames because something “popped up” that threw everything else off. Does this sound familiar or is Nicole the only one? :) In this episode, Nicole dives into why creating...
Nov 08, 2022•23 min
Do you want to be able to fulfill client work without being stressed about clients requesting last minute work and potentially ruining you and your team’s holiday plans? Are you such a “good boss” that you take on client work so that your team can have time off over the holiday and then feel like you’re drowning in deliverables? Does taking time off from your business feel depleting because you know you’re just going to have to work twice as hard when you return? Taking a break or time off shoul...
Nov 02, 2022•24 min
Are you at a point in your business where you know you need to be more consistent with your marketing content, but don’t know where to start? Or perhaps you already produce content regularly, but know that it could be better? In this episode, Latasha Doyle, Founder and CEO of Uncanny Content, a content and copy studio, will share with you her tips for creating a content strategy and plan that works for your revenue goals. This is the process she takes her clients through and that she follows for...
Oct 26, 2022•48 min
Do you have a Manager on your team and want to be able to manage them better? Or are you thinking about hiring or promoting someone to be a manager inside your Agency? If so, today’s episode is for you! We’re going to chat about how you can get better at leading the Managers on your team so that they can feel empowered to make decisions, handle issues and help you grow your business. A Manager is such a valuable role inside of your business that can absolutely change the tradetory of your Agency...
Oct 19, 2022•34 min
Have you delegated client work to a team and are now wondering – what the heck do I do now? What is my role? What is my job? Where do I fit in? This is such an incredible moment to celebrate. You made a decision to have a team, you hired, delegated, created lots of procedures – you have spiraled up , my friend! While spiraling up is something to be proud of, it also comes with a lot of “next level” questions. Questions like: what do I do with my time now that I’m out of (or almost out of) client...
Oct 12, 2022•22 min
“Oh, so you have too many clients wanting to work with you at once, what a great problem to have.” We’ve all heard it. And while yes, it’s nice to know our services are in demand, it also presents a brand new set of challenges. Many Agency Owners start to wonder: How many clients can I actually handle at once? How can I hire quickly to meet this demand? Will I have to step into client work to get everything done? What happens if I hire and then demand goes down and then I have to fire everyone? ...
Oct 05, 2022•18 min
Welcome back to Season Two of the podcast! We are happy to announce that we have a brand spankin’ new name: UPLEVEL YOUR AGENCY! Have you ever felt deep down like something needed to change in your business? Maybe it was an offering or a delivery process or a marketing channel? That’s how I felt about our podcast. We had recorded 103 episodes of Season One and while I loved the topics and interviews, something felt off. After a lot of reflection, I realized it was the name! In this episode I div...
Sep 28, 2022•13 min
We talk a lot on the podcast about delegating 50% - 90% of client work in 12 months or less and strategies for “delegating for good.” But the reality is that many times Agency Owners will need to step back into client work. When this happens it can feel so frustrating and disappointing. Thoughts pop up like – “I’m not good at running an agency” or “I’m doing something wrong.” This can send us into a downward spiral. If this has happened to you I want you to know you’re not alone. And if this has...
Apr 06, 2022•14 min
Have you outsourced different pieces of client work, but still more involved than you would like to be? Maybe you’re answering a ton of team questions or jumping in to finish client projects at the last minute. Whatever it may be, one thing is true – you know you can’t continue to grow the way things are currently operating. In this episode I share exactly what to do if you’re in this situation. We talk about the three areas that you must address regularly in order to allow your agency to grow a...
Mar 30, 2022•14 min
Have you ever hired a team member and felt like it took forever for them to get up to speed? Maybe you had to spend hours on calls with them or felt like you couldn’t close out of Slack because of all the time-sensitive questions they sent you. Looking back you know that you probably could have given them more guidance when they first started. Maybe you didn’t know what information to share or didn’t want to micro-manage. Whatever your reason, you know that one this is true: you need to make it ...
Mar 16, 2022•10 min
Are you an Agency Owner who’s good at delegating and outsourcing, but still struggling to grow? Maybe you have team members implementing some or most of your client work, but somehow you’re still working 40+ hours per week, getting sucked back into client communication, and feeling the weight of your entire business on your shoulders. If you’re in this position right now, I want you to know that it’s going to be ok. Seriously. This is so common when growing an agency model business and the good ...
Mar 09, 2022•12 min
Did you recently have to step back into client work after you already delegated it to a team member? Maybe a team member quit or needed more training or maybe your business took a financial hit and couldn’t sustain the expense. Whatever the reason, it can feel really defeating to have to step back into doing things you thought would be off your plate forever. In today’s episode, I share why Agency Owners sometimes have to step back into client work, why this doesn’t mean that you have failed by ...
Mar 02, 2022•14 min
