The Progressive Agency Podcast

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Sara Snyder is a Certified Public Accountant with a background in accounting since 2017. Currently, she serves as an Account Manager and Outsourced CFO at Craig Cody and Company, Inc., specializing in advanced tax reduction with the designation of Certified Tax Coach.

In this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast, I sat down with Sara Snyder, our lead CFO, to discuss how technology has revolutionized our accounting services for agencies. We explored the use of tools like Bill.com for streamlining accounts payable and receivable processes.

Sara explained the benefits of outsourcing financial tasks to professionals, including cost-effectiveness, consistency, and freeing up internal resources for higher-value work.

We also touched on additional services that accounting firms can offer agencies beyond basic bookkeeping, such as cash flow projections, budgeting, and helping maintain profitability through industry benchmarking.

What you will learn in this episode: * How Bill.com helps keep invoices streamlined and organized * Streamlining approval processes for invoices for companies with remote workers * Scheduling invoice payouts ahead of time * Managing accounts receivable * The benefits of outsourcing financial services * Other services provided by finance professionals * The importance of accrual-based accounting for agencies * How proper financial reporting supports tax planning

Resources: * Website: http://www.craigcodyandcompany.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-snyder-cpa-ctc-321596191/ * LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/craig-cody-and-company/

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In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we revisit the Corporate Transparency Act and its implications for business owners. We explore the critical details of the Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements, which affect small- to mid-sized business entities in the United States.

Business owners need to be vigilant about ongoing compliance with the new BOI reporting requirements. Due to the potential for daily penalties, it’s crucial for businesses to have a system in place to track and report updates to their beneficial ownership information promptly and accurately.

To help business owners get ahead of these changes, we outline who qualifies as a beneficial owner, the four ways an individual can be considered to exercise substantial control, and the specific information that must be reported to FinCEN. We also address the ongoing compliance requirements to report any changes in BOI information in a timely manner and exemptions for certain larger businesses.

What you will learn in this episode: * When reporting must be completed by * What is beneficial ownership information (BOI)? * Four ways an individual can be considered a beneficial owner * How to report beneficial owner information * Penalties incurred for missing reporting deadlines * Being aware of potential scams * Who’s exempt from reporting? * Rules for rental properties, LLCs, and other side hustles

Resources: * Website: http://www.craigcodyandcompany.com/ * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa * BOI Report FinCEN

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Katy Boos founded Remix Communications because she’s passionate about creating impactful thought leadership programs for her clients. Brainstorming compelling topics and narratives, Katy helps bring ideas to life on stage at top industry events for clients such as Adobe, Meta, Stitch Fix and several successful start-ups. Before Remix, Katy co-founded a successful Silicon Valley marketing/PR firm which she exited in 2016. Earlier she managed PR programs at Apple for Media & Entertainment and mobile products.

In this episode, Katy shares her expertise on how agency owners can use speaking engagements and thought leadership to generate new clients and grow their businesses.

She discusses the three-stage approach to maximizing speaking opportunities — pre-event promotion, making the most of your time at the event, and post-event activities. She emphasizes the importance of choosing compelling, niche topics that resonate with the target audience, and covers strategies for landing speaking engagements.

Don’t let imposter syndrome hold you back – everyone has expertise to share. Katy has the skills and knowledge to teach agency owners how they can turn their shared knowledge into right-fit opportunities.

What you will learn in this episode: * How agencies and agency owners can use public speaking to generate new clients * Promoting your speaking opportunity before, during, and after * Finding the right topic that fits your expertise * Niching down your topic to be industry-specific * Understanding your audience and what they want to hear * Finding the events that are a good fit for you * Partnering and collaboration to boost credibility * Paid vs. unpaid speaking * How much should you give away?

Resources: * Website: https://remixcommunications.com/resources/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katyboos/ * LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/remixcommunications/ * Twitter: https://x.com/Remix_Comms * Facebook Business: https://www.facebook.com/RemixCommunications * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remix_comms/

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Marcel Petitpas is the CEO & Co-Founder of Parakeeto, a company dedicated to helping agencies measure and improve their profitability by streamlining their operations and reporting systems.

He is also the head strategic coach at SaaS Academy by Dan Martell, the #1 coaching program for B2B SaaS businesses in the world.

In this week’s episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, I’m joined by Marcel Petitpas to share the importance of understanding your agency’s financial metrics, particularly focusing on delivery margin. We discussed the challenges many agencies face in accurately calculating their profitability and how to overcome them.

Marcel provided practical advice on how agency owners can start implementing frameworks and processes around certain key data points in their businesses to get a more accurate look at how the agency is operating. He emphasized the power of small improvements in utilization and average billable rate to significantly impact bottom-line profitability.

By focusing on a few simple operational levers, agency owners can dramatically improve their profitability without necessarily increasing their revenue or changing their cost structure. Join us to learn how.

What you will learn in this episode: * Understanding the crucial difference between net income and delivery margin * The three operational levers driving agency profitability * Calculating and interpreting average cost per hour * The power of improving average billable rate * The importance of proper data structuring for accurate financial insights * Balancing precision and accuracy in financial metrics * Strategies for improving profitability by finding efficiencies in the agency

Resources: * Website: https://parakeeto.com/ * Toolkit: https://parakeeto.com/toolkit/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=CraigCody * Podcast: https://agencyprofitpodcast.simplecast.com/ * Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas/ * Course: https://parakeeto.com/Foundations-course-launch-offer/?utm_source=Podcast&utm_medium=GuestAppearance&utm_campaign=CraigCody

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Creative Strategist and Growth Accelerator Karley Cunningham develops brand leaders by taking businesses from overcrowded, competitive spaces into blue ocean territory, where

they can confidently stand out and thrive. Companies that want to be distinct in their marketplace retain Karley to sharpen their positioning and differentiation strategies to cut through the noise.

Karley’s international client base benefits from accelerated growth, increased profit and stability as her innovative Surefire Method™ provides them with an infallible business strategy and brand toolkit to stand out in the sea of sameness, attract the people their business needs to thrive, and become a brand leader in their industry.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, Karley shares her journey from graphic designer to agency owner, and discusses the importance of brand strategy for businesses of all sizes.

According to Karley, only about 28% of business owners are satisfied with their brands. This leaves a huge opportunity open for strategists like her to help find the gaps and implement new brand strategies that business owners love.

Karley emphasizes the critical role of brand and business strategy alignment. She explains how businesses often struggle with implementing their brand strategy, leading her to incorporate coaching sessions into her own model to help clients implement their newly-developed brand tools.

What you will learn in this episode: * The importance of brand strategy for businesses of all sizes * Karley’s Surefire Method™ for giving businesses a comprehensive brand strategy * Challenges in implementing a new brand strategy * The importance of values alignment in hiring decisions * Measuring brand strategy ROI * The “long tail equation” for quantifying brand value * Why only 28% of business owners are satisfied with their branding * Branding vs. marketing for small businesses — which is better?

Resources: * Website: https://www.bigboldbrand.com * Surefire Audit & Guide: https://www.bigboldbrand.com/surefireaudit/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karleycunningham/

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Casey Brown is a pricing geek, professional speaker, and President of Boost Pricing, a firm that helps companies sell at higher prices. Her passion is for organizations to be paid well for their excellence. With degrees in Chemical Engineering, Spanish, and Business, and career experience in engineering, Six Sigma, and pricing strategy for multiple Fortune 500 companies, Casey brings unmatched expertise to help audiences discover their true pricing power—and watch their profits rise as a result. Her 2015 TED talk has over 5 million views to date.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we welcome Casey Brown to teach us how to price our products and services boldly and confidently. For nearly 15 years, Casey has seen it all when it comes to agency pricing and wants to help agencies know their worth and charge for it appropriately

She shares how companies can stop undervaluing their products and services to clients (new and legacy), why overcommunication is unnecessary when increasing prices, setting boundaries around pricing and the services you provide, and more.

If you’re an agency owner, you probably already know that you deserve to be paid more for your work. Now’s the time to figure out your true value proposition and execute on it to start getting paid what you’re really worth.

What you will learn in this episode: * Getting a realistic understanding of your value proposition * How to raise your prices responsibly * Is it worth increasing prices on legacy clients, or is it time to let them go? * Having self-awareness about how you work for pricing structure * Building trust and proving value to new clients * The price-quality effect

Resources: * Website: https://boostpricing.com/ * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@boostpricing * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseybrownboost/ * Boost Blog: https://boostpricing.com/2017/06/15/price-increase-tmi/

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Corey is the owner and President/CEO of Voltage. He has spent nearly 20 years working in strategic and leadership roles focused on growing national and local client brands with award-winning, ROI-generating digital strategies. His industry leadership, client success, and community-focused work made him recipient of the KCDMA 2019 Marketer of the Year award.

Corey’s first book titled The Digital Marketing Success Plan is available now on Amazon.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we welcome Corey Morris to share his thoughts on the rapidly changing world of digital marketing and SEO from the perspective of someone with nearly 20 years in the industry.

He emphasizes the critical importance of strategic planning in digital marketing to ensure ROI and avoid common pitfalls, such as misalignment between marketing efforts and business outcomes. He also shares the START framework that he developed, which proves a structured approach to digital marketing planning and execution.

We also touch on the impact of AI on digital marketing, the need for adaptability in marketing strategies, and ways to address trust issues some businesses may have with past digital marketing or agency experiences.

What you will learn in this episode: * The massive disruption of SEO in recent years * Why agency owners shouldn’t DIY their own digital marketing * The inspiration behind Corey’s book, The Digital Marketing Success Plan * Why having a digital marketing plan is so important for ROI * Getting over agency and digital marketing distrust * The START Framework * How AI impacts SEO and digital marketing * What to do after you put your digital marketing plan into place

Resources: * Website: https://voltage.digital * Facebook Business: https://www.facebook.com/voltagekc * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreymorris/ * LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/voltagedigital/ * Twitter Personal: https://twitter.com/coreydmorris * Twitter Business: https://twitter.com/VoltageKC * Instagram Business: https://www.instagram.com/voltagekc/ * Book: https://thedmsp.com

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David Tobin is the Founder and Managing Partner of TobinLeff, an M&A advisory and exit planning consulting firm with a mission to help business owners maximize and monetize their life’s work.

David and the team at TobinLeff have worked with well over 200 companies to develop exit plans, sell to strategic and financial buyers, and build value via strategic acquisitions. He has been a Board member with multiple nonprofit organizations including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Homeless Children’s Education Fund.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we welcome David Tobin, Founder and Managing Partner of Tobin & Company M&A Advisory. David shares his expertise on exit planning and selling businesses, particularly for agency owners.

David discusses the importance of selling from a position of strength, emphasizing the benefits of advance planning and preparation. He explains the differences between selling to strategic buyers, financial buyers, and internal management teams, outlining typical deal structures and valuations for each.

He provides practical advice on managing a business to ensure a lucrative exit. He highlights key value drivers such as strong profit margins, demonstrable growth plans, and a unique value proposition.

What you will learn in this episode: * How an agency owner can prepare to sell their business from a position of strength * The most common questions from buyers * The difference between financial, strategic, and internal buyers * Internal vs. external sales and what to expect in each scenario * How an ESOP works * Managing your business today to ensure a lucrative exit * Discovering your unique value proposition * Adjusting EBITDA to benefit the buyer

Resources: * Website: https://tobinleff.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-tobin-120658184/ * Linkedin Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tobinleff-llc/ * 7 Best Practices for Managing for a Rewarding Exit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EN7nzLAQD07EmOweoEC8kA7CTiT5Uumd/view?usp=drive_link * Questions Buyers Typically Ask: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AoiK_S6wNrWX91Z5ppKfBxPvP99DNADL/view?usp=drive_link

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Corey Quinn has over 17 years in the agency space, including as Scorpion’s CMO, where he helped grow revenue from $20M to $150M in 6 years. He just published his bestselling book: “Anyone, Not Everyone: a Proven System for Agencies to Escape Founder-Led Sales.” which has been endorsed by Aaron Ross, April Dunford, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, and many others.

Today, he helps digital agency founders simplify, specialize, and escape founder-led sales with Deep Specialization.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we’re talking with veteran agency growth expert Corey Quinn about the main barriers to stepping out of the agency’s day-to-day operations, particularly founder-led sales.

Corey explains three main obstacles preventing agency founders from stepping away from sales: lack of focus, weak positioning, and inability to generate a consistent pipeline. He emphasizes the power of specialization, urging agencies to choose a vertical market focus and develop strong, industry-specific positioning.

He also shares the marketing strategies that gave him the most success during his tenure at Scorpion and how agency owners can apply those to their businesses.

What you will learn in this episode: * How to get out of the founder-led sales role * 3 things that prevent an agency owner from leaving the sales role * The importance of finding a niche * Deploying vertical-specific marketing campaigns * How to say no to money that’s not coming from a client in your niche * The 3 different types of marketing that bring specialized clients to you

Resources: * Website: https://www.coreyquinn.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyquinn/ * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coreyquinninc * Book: Anyone, Not Everyone

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Adam Carroll has spent the past decade studying human behavior, particularly as it relates to personal leadership and personal finance. He is an internationally recognized financial literacy expert and leadership workshop facilitator.

Adam is the Author of four Amazon best-sellers, a two time TED talk speaker with nearly 6 million views on YouTube, and the creator of Broke, Busted & Disgusted, a documentary that aired on CNBC. He is the Founder of The Shred Method, a cash flow management tool that is creating freedom for families everywhere.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, Adam Carroll is helping us shred our debt while keeping more of our hard-earned money.

Adam shares his method for how business owners can pay down debt and retain wealth outside their business by using the Shred Method. He explains how this strategy can save you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest, regardless of your current mortgage rate. To sweeten the deal, this method isn’t just for mortgages. Business owners can use this method for any type of debt they want to pay down faster.

If you’re a business owner looking to minimize your debt, save on interest, and build wealth outside your business, this episode is a must-listen.

What you will learn in this episode: * Saving up to hundreds of thousands of dollars with Adam’s debt-saving strategies * How this helps business owners be in a better position to sell their business * Why your money should always be in motion * How The Shred Method works * Who should use this debt payoff method * How business owners can get started today

Resources: * Website: TheShredMethod.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcarrollspeaks/ * Twitter: www.twitter.com/AdamCarroll * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.shredmethod/ * Sign up for the free The Shred Method Masterclass: https://www.theshredmethod.com/masterclass * Book a discovery call to learn more: https://calendly.com/theshredmethoddiscoverycall/discovery-the-shred-method-45-minute-call?month=2023-02&_gl=11yzkm26_gaMjk0NjM4MjE2LjE3MTc0MzMxMTU._ga_30KFHQFS2B*MTcxNzQzMzExNC4xLjEuMTcxNzQzNDA4Ni4xNi4wLjA. * Savings Calculator: https://www.theshredmethod.com/savingsanalysis

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Brian Gerstner is an agency leader who excels in providing white-label services to agencies around the globe. He has over 2 decades of experience in the industry and having partnered up with more than 50 agencies he knows what aligns with the requirements of clients. Brian ensures that he provides a commitment with an exceptional partnership that results in a win-win situation for all.

In this episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, we’re chatting with Brian Gerstner, President of White Label IQ, to discuss how agencies can benefit from strategic partnerships.

Brian emphasizes the importance of finding a partner that communicates well, understands your agency’s needs, and can be trusted. He explains how partnerships allow agencies to scale and offer new services without the major upfront costs and risks of hiring in-house. Strategic partnerships provide agencies with more flexibility, talent access, and the ability to focus on their core strengths.

He also notes how the globalized workforce today means agencies can access top talent anywhere, rather than being limited to their local area when hiring employees.

Join us to hear Brian’s insights into leveraging strategic partnerships to efficiently grow your agency.

What you will learn in this episode: * What agency owners should look for in strategic partnerships * Why communication is key in this type of relationship * How to leverage referrals to find strategic partnerships * How a strategic partnership can help in scaling your business * Why great talent is a must in order for agencies to stay competitive

Resources: * Website: https://www.whitelabeliq.com/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/white-label-iq/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteLabelIQ/

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In this episode, we discussed an issue that impacts the accuracy of your financial statements — recognizing revenue in the correct period using accrual-basis accounting.

Many agency owners think they’re using accrual-basis accounting, but in reality, they’re often doing it incorrectly. To teach us the correct way to use this accounting method, I invited Sara Snyder to give us some tips and tricks.

She explains why it’s sometimes better to record revenue as deferred or unearned rather than recording it right away. We go over a few different scenarios where this approach makes more sense than traditional revenue reporting.

While it requires some upfront effort, proper accrual-based revenue recognition provides a much clearer view of actual monthly profitability. This enables better forecasting and staffing assessments and ultimately increases the perceived value if you decide to sell your agency down the road.

Don’t continue distorting your metrics. Take the steps now to implement proper accrual accounting and revenue recognition. Your financial statements, and your business, will be much better off.

What you will learn in this episode: * What circumstances can throw off accrual-based accounting * What’s a magic spreadsheet? * Making sure your revenue is matching expenses * How to properly set up payments so they don’t mess with your revenue numbers * The benefits of doing accrual-basis accounting the right way * How long does it take to fix your numbers if they’re off base?

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Kevin Hourigan is the President and Co-Founder of Spinutech, an award-winning digital marketing agency with 160+ team members across the U.S. In that capacity, Kevin and his partners lead their team of digital experts to focus on growing his clients’ businesses.

With an entrepreneurial technology background, Kevin is an accomplished communicator, strategist, and leader. He has spoken alongside brands including Google, Facebook, Carnival Cruise Lines, and General Motors, and presented the keynote at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Summit. He has been recognized as Leader of the Year by The Tampa Chamber of Commerce; Technology Leader of the Year by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum; Marketer of the Year by Tampa Bay American Advertising Federation; and as “Ultimate CEO” by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

In this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast, I spoke with Kevin Hourigan, President and Co-Founder of Spinutech. Kevin shared his journey, starting from offering simple 3-page websites for $500 in 1996 to building a company with over 160 employees today.

Kevin takes us through some of the key lessons he’s learned throughout his career about scaling and growing a business. He emphasized the importance of having the right financial foundation and understanding the true health of your business. Kevin also highlighted the importance of tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) across various aspects of the business, from marketing and sales to delivery and collections.

Throughout our conversation, Kevin’s insights underscored the significance of finding the right balance between delighting clients, retaining top talent, and ensuring profitability. His experience serves as a valuable guide for agency owners seeking sustainable growth while maintaining a strong company culture.

What you will learn in this episode: * The financial lessons Kevin learned from the dot-com bubble * Knowing how to balance your budget in different stages of growth * Strategies for agencies looking to grow and scale their business * The key KPIs Spinutech tracks to ensure efficiency * The importance of trusting others — both clients and employees * Proactive tax planning as you grow your business

Resources: * Website: https://www.spinutech.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinhourigan/ * Facebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.hourigan * Twitter: https://twitter.com/hourigankev

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Encountering a cyber attack is extremely costly and the last place any business ever wants to find itself in. Additionally, clients get access to technicians that assist with any technical related issues as they arise. Right Click takes pride in helping its clients achieve their goals and believes that implementing the right technology is an integral part of a successful business.

In this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast, we continue our conversation with Brett Harrison, who discusses important cybersecurity measures that business owners should implement.

This time, we’re getting into the do’s and don’ts of multifactor authentication, an inexpensive and crucial step to securing your sensitive business data. Without it, you’re leaving your agency vulnerable to cyber attacks that can compromise your data and security.

Don’t leave your agency vulnerable to cybercriminals. Tune in to this episode to learn the best practices behind cybersecurity and multifactor authentication to secure your agency’s sensitive information.

What you will learn in this episode: * What is multifactor authentication? * Different types of multifactor authentication * What happens if a cyber attacker gets into your systems * How business owners should be protecting themselves and their agency * Securing your company email accounts * What does this cost? * How an IT professional can help you make your agency’s data more secure

Resources: * Website: https://www.rightclickcomputersolutions.com/ * Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-harrison-10a53825/

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Brett Harrison started Right Click Computer Solutions in 2011 with the goal of helping small businesses utilize technology to run their businesses efficiently and effectively. Right Click is a cybersecurity-first IT provider that works with businesses to make sure that their networks and data are secured and protected 24/7. Encountering a cyber attack is extremely costly and the last place any business ever wants to find itself in. Additionally, clients get access to technicians that assist with any technical related issues as they arise. Right Click takes pride in helping its clients achieve their goals and believes that implementing the right technology is an integral part of a successful business.

If your agency is using a Google Doc to keep track of shared passwords, it’s time for a security checkup. This week on The Progressive Agency Podcast, we’re talking with Brett Harrison about how agencies can improve their password protection best practices, safely perform backups on their systems, and teach employees how to identify security threats before they become an issue.

Brett shares practical advice for businesses to become more secure with tactics like multi-factor authentication, cyber awareness, and the best practices for performing regular system backups.

What you will learn in this episode: * How technology has changed for agencies post-pandemic * The best backup system to have in place * How often should you run backups? * Testing and monitoring backups to ensure functionality * How to store and share passwords securely across your company * Why employees should always work on company-owned equipment * Training and testing employees on cyber awareness to prevent cyber attacks

Resources: * Website: https://www.rightclickcomputersolutions.com/ * Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-harrison-10a53825/

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Craig Cody is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Tax Coach™, business owner, and the host of The Progressive Dentist Podcast and The Progressive Agency Podcast. Prior to his current work, Craig spent seventeen years with the NYPD, where he retired as a Lieutenant in September 2000. Craig is an expert in helping his clients legally reduce their tax liabilities and keep more of their money.

This week, we’re revisiting a research study conducted about a year ago where participants asked some intriguing questions. We’ll pick out a few of those questions and discuss them more in-depth.

The most common questions we had all boiled down to one answer: communication. Regular communication, at least monthly, between a business owner and their CPA allows the CPA to truly understand the owner’s personal financial goals, growth goals, and exit/transition plans.

Don’t treat your CPA relationship as just a once-a-year tax filing — make it an ongoing advisory partnership to receive the best advice and money-saving results that you expect.

What you will learn in this episode: * What clients want from a CPA relationship * Knowing your growth and transition goals * How to have a CPA who will ask you questions about your goals * Communication goes both ways * Giving your CPA 60-90 days to fully understand your business

Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Henry DeVries is CEO and co-owner of Indie Books International Inc., an Oceanside, CA company he co-founded in 2014, publishing over 150 titles. He works with agency owners, business leaders, and strategic consultants who want to attract more high-paying clients by marketing with a book and a speech by publishing a book they are proud of.

In the last ten years, he has helped ghostwrite, edit, and co-author more than 300 business books, including his McGraw-Hill bestseller How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett now in five languages, including Chinese. He was formerly the careers columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune. In 2024, he launched the news website AgencyOwnerNews.com. He is personally the author or co-author of 20 marketing books, including Trusted Advisor Confidential, Bringing In the Business, Marketing With A Book For Agency Owners, Rainmaker Confidential, Self-Marketing Secrets, Marketing With a Book, Persuade With a Story, Defining You, Build Your Consulting Practice, and Client Attraction Chain Reaction.

Having a book is the #1 marketing tool, but it’s the starting line, not the finish line.

In this week’s episode, Henry DeVries shares his tried-and-true method for attracting high-paying, right-fit clients without having to do all the heavy lifting of traditional prospecting. His key to success is writing a book and giving it away for free — yes, for free.

Henry shares that when you position yourself as relentlessly helpful by openly sharing your expertise, it automatically sticks in a person’s mind that you’re the go-to person for that particular topic. Next time they need someone to help them with a problem, you already are in the back of their head, and they have tangible evidence to show you’re the right person for the job.

Join us in this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast to learn more about positioning yourself as a subject matter expert to attract right-fit clients by building trust upfront by sharing your knowledge openly with prospects and clients alike.

What you will learn in this episode: * What is authority marketing and how can it generate more income? * Writing a book is the starting line, not the finish line * The Magnificent 7 of promoting your book * Building trust by being relentlessly helpful * Getting your face out there to promote your book * The ROI of digital vs print books * Getting people to experience you as the author

Resources: * Indie Books International: https://indiebooksintl.com/resources/ * Agency Owner News: https://agencyownernews.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: http://www.linkedin.com/in/henryjdevries * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085340613920

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Noel loves connecting people. Professionally, he runs JobRack.eu, where he helps businesses hire remote team members from Eastern Europe and South Africa. Personally, he loves doing weird and wonderful things to provoke great conversations.

The hiring market right now is rough. Finding and retaining top talent is more difficult than it has been in years, which leaves agency owners in a tough position. Rather than toughing it out and hoping to find a diamond in the rough, there are other ways we can adapt to still find great workers within our hiring budget.

This week’s guest, Noel Andrews, is giving us a quick overview of how agency owners can benefit from hiring remote workers from around the world. His company specializes in helping businesses transition from using only W2 employees to finding talented contractors who are just as effective as salaried employees, if not more so.

We’ll cover topics from knowing the right time to hire (especially when scaling your business) to navigating the etiquette behind hiring independent contractors in other countries.

What you will learn in this episode: * The main benefit of hiring global remote workers * Hitting the hiring sweet spot in terms of utilization * Navigating language and confidence barriers with clients * How to handle time differences — how much overlap is required? * Adapting PTO to cover varying customs and holidays on your team * How hiring remote workers can transform your business * Looking to others for help getting started

Resources: * Website: https://jobrack.eu/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelandrews/

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Serena Morse, CPC, QPA, QKC, QKA, is Co-Owner and CEO of Carpenter Morse Group, a non producing third-party administrator that has provided administrative compliance services for qualified retirement plans nationally for over 45 years. Serena has been a leading consultant and educator in this area of study for over 20 years. She has earned several respected credentials from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), including the Qualified Pension Administrator designation (QPA), Qualified 401(k) Consultant (QKC), Qualified 401 k Administrator designation (QKA), and the highest awarded designation from ASPPA, the Certified Pension Consultant or CPC designation. She is a proud Alumni of the University of Florida Warrington College of Business.

In this week’s episode, Serena breaks down tax-qualified retirement plans, the new benefits available to business owners under certain plans, and why agency owners should work with a TPA (third-party administrator) to set them up.

Under the new tax code, business owners are entitled to a breadth of tax credits for contributing to their employees’ retirement plans, but the regulations are complicated. To fully understand who is eligible, the exemptions, credits, limits, etc., finding a TPA like Serena who is qualified to advise you on these new retirement plan benefits is essential.

What you will learn in this episode: * What is a TPA, and how does it differ from a CPA? * What are tax-qualified plans, and how do they work? * What every business owner should know when setting up a new plan * Tax credits available under new plans * Who is eligible for the new tax credits * The compliance pitfalls business owners face when setting up tax-qualified plans * Using your TPA to help stay on top of deadlines

Resources: * Website (business): https://carpentermorse.com/cmg-reviews/ * Email (Serena): smorse@carpentermorsegroup.com

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George is the “Chief HubSpot Helper” owner at George B. Thomas, LLC. George helps companies streamline and grow by using the right HubSpot CRM, marketing, sales, service, operations, and CMS tools. George has more than 30 years of sales & marketing experience and has been using HubSpot since 2012. George is a vault of valuable information, tactics, and strategies with a record-breaking thirty-five plus HubSpot Academy certifications, including Inbound Marketing, Inbound Sales, Contextual Marketing, CMS Implementation, Email Marketing, and Content Marketing.

In this week’s episode, George shares how agency owners can begin integrating and implementing HubSpot tools into their systems and processes to streamline sales and marketing to make their jobs simpler.

From starting out at a small design agency, he fell in love with HubSpot and all it can do to make businesses run smoother at a reasonable price. Now, he teaches business owners how they can easily fill their sales funnels and keep up with clients with just a few clicks.

If you’re curious about HubSpot tools and integrations but feel overwhelmed about where to begin, this episode will give you a good beginner crash course on HubSpot’s capabilities.

What you will learn in this episode: * 3 major ways HubSpot helps someone run a business more effectively * Getting started on HubSpot for free and scaling up * How HubSpot can grow with your business * HubSpot tools that help free up your time * The power of learning new tools and skills as a business owner * Getting 1% better each day with a growth mindset

Resources: * Website: https://www.georgebthomas.com/ * Website (business): https://sidekickstrategies.com/ * LinkedIn (personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebthomas/ * Schedule a call with George: https://www.georgebthomas.com/get-started * HubHeroes Podcast: https://sidekickstrategies.com/hubheroes-podcast

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Bill Black has been in the pension administration business for over 40 years and helps clients work toward their retirement objectives. He works with both individual and small business owners in the areas of benefits, retirement planning, and business planning. Bill and his team have the ability to offer a wide range of financial products (tax-sheltered plans, mutual funds) to help his clients meet their retirement needs.

Helping employees save for retirement is getting a little easier this year. In this episode, Bill shares some updates to tax codes that give business owners more tax credits for employee savings plans. With these updates, business owners will either create qualified plans of their own or participate in a state-sponsored plan.

But it’s important to note that state plans come with some baggage that might be burdensome for employers who don’t already have their employees enrolled in a plan. We’ll go over what the new tax credits are, the difference between state plans and employer plans, and the rules and penalties associated with them.

Bill later explains the differences between SIMPLE plans and 401k plans and the benefits of enrolling in these types of savings plans for both employees and employers. Join us to get up to date on these new tax credits so your business can unlock new tax savings this year.

What you will learn in this episode:

The new credits available to business owners in 2024
Taking advantage of the retroactive rule for plans started in 2024
States that already have qualified plans and the rules around them
Penalties associated with not participating in, or creating your own savings plans for employees
Converting to a different plan if you already have one
Deductions with SIMPLE plans vs. 401(k) plans
Is automatic enrollment actually automatic?
How to create your own plan and grandfather in current employees
Who these plans work best for

Resources:

Website (personal):https://www.whbco.com/
Website (business): www.pensionspecialist.net
LinkedIn (Personal):https://www.linkedin.com/in/whblack/
Toll-free number: 888-412-4120

Email: bill@pensionspecialist.net

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Susan Baier is the Founder of Audience Audit Inc., which helps marketing agencies and thought leaders build ROI and reputation with research. She has been a marketing strategist for nearly 40 years. In her spare time (ha ha) she goes camping, knits, and enjoys a good bourbon.

In this episode, Susan discussed findings from two recent research studies her firm conducted. The first, called the Agency Edge study, surveyed agency clients to understand their attitudes and preferences when working with agencies. The second, the Agency Audit study, surveyed agency leaders themselves to identify the key challenges and success factors they are experiencing.

From the Agency Audit study, Susan shared that they identified five distinct mindsets or segments among agencies. The two most successful segments were the “Thought Leaders” who prioritize building an authentic thought leadership reputation and focus on a differentiated niche, and the “Loyalty Builders” who have implemented specific programs to drive exceptional client loyalty and retention.

Susan shares advice for agencies aiming to become thought leaders, emphasizing the need for new, genuinely helpful content delivered consistently, focusing that content on a specific audience niche, and utilizing tactics like proprietary research studies to establish expertise. She highlighted the significant business benefits thought leadership can unlock.

Tune in to this week’s episode to learn more about how authenticity and thought leadership for agency owners can be a key component to driving client loyalty and attracting new business with ease.

What you will learn in this episode: * More about agency owners and agency clients from the Agency Edge and Agency Audit research studies * What the Agency Audit research showed makes successful agencies unbeatable * The 5 types of agency mindsets * Why thought leaders are thriving in their niches * How having a reputation for client loyalty can supersede a niche * Thought leadership and niching go hand in hand * Thought leadership sells itself to clients * Where to start to become a thought leadership focused agency

Resources: * Website: https://audienceaudit.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanbaieraz/

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For over 25 years, Stephen Woessner has been in the trenches of agency new business strategy working alongside agencies and consultants — teaching them how to build their authority within the markets they serve, grow their audience, and fill their sales pipeline with a steady stream of right-fit clients so they can win new business.

Stephen founded Predictive ROI in 2009 and remains its CEO and co-owner, along with his business partner, Erik Jensen. Stephen hosts the “Onward Nation” and “Sell with Authority” podcasts with listeners in over 140 countries and over 1,000 episodes. His agency new business and marketing insights have been featured in major media, and he’s the bestselling author of five books, including his latest entitled, “Sell With Authority.”

In this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast, I interview Stephen about the importance of proactive tax planning for agency owners to maximize deductions and savings. Stephen emphasizes how proper tax planning and financial literacy force agency owners to think differently about money and the business.

We discuss some confusing aspects of running an agency, especially around financial operations like cash flow, overhead costs, AP, and AR. Stephen shares how it took his agency years to implement an effective system for managing invoices and finances. Now they utilize solutions like Bill.com and consistently check in with their systems and processes.

Stephen later shares his "Big 3" framework for saving time — identifying the 3 priority activities that drive both personal joy and business growth. Everything else gets deprioritized or delegated elsewhere.

What you will learn in this episode:

Reframing thinking around money and taxes
Assumptions about tax deductions that cost agency owners tens of thousands of dollars
Growing operations is a huge part of growing a business
Financial education is critical for agency owners
Time-saving tactics for agency owners
Finding experts who care about the work they do for the benefit of others

Resources:

Website: www.predictiveroi.com
Visit our newly expanded Resource Library
Join us in our free How to Fill Your Sales Pipeline Facebook Group
Stephen’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/
Order your free paperback or Kindle copy of our Book: Sell with Authority

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For 30+ years, Drew McLellan has been in the advertising industry. He started his career at Y&R, worked in boutique-sized agencies, and then started his own (which he still owns and runs) agency in 1995. Additionally, Drew owns and leads the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to grow their agency and its profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops, and more.

In this week’s episode, Drew gets right down to business with me to discuss the hardships agencies faced in 2023 and how the ones that still came out on top overcame such a challenging year. During our conversation, he shared some interesting findings from his agency’s 2023 Agency Edge Research study, including the #1 reason a client fires an agency and why agencies that focus on growing their existing book of business consistently outperform agencies that don’t.

We’ll also get into the weeds about training AEs to grow existing clients as part of their jobs, knowing when it’s time to reduce staff, and how to let clients know you’re open to connecting with them.

Those who know Drew know he’s a fountain of helpful information for agency owners, so don’t miss out on this illuminating conversation.

What you will learn in this episode: * The key difference in agencies that won last year vs. those that lost * Why agencies must be pitching new ideas to clients in order to grow * The #1 reason a client fires an agency * Retraining AEs to focus on growing the agency’s existing book of business * Helping clients solve their problems before someone else does * Setting up client growth and retention programs in 2024 * Making staffing decisions by the numbers, not by your gut

Resources: * Website: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/ * LinkedIn Personal: http://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan * Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com

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Craig S. Cody is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Tax Coach, bestselling author, and business owner with over 22 years of experience helping agencies keep more of what they make. Craig is also the host of The Progressive Agency Podcast. Prior to his current work, Craig spent seventeen years with the NYPD, where he retired as a Lieutenant in September 2000.

Craig Cody & Company focuses on proactive tax planning, small agency accounting, and tax preparation, but what really excites the team is helping agencies spot mistakes and uncover missed opportunities that cost them thousands in taxes.

In this solocast episode, Craig welcomes everyone back to the official relaunch of the Progressive Agency Podcast. He breaks down the new Corporate Transparency Act and what that means for agency owners. He explains what it is, how it will be enforced, deadlines, penalties, and who needs to file under this new act. If you’re a small to medium-sized agency owner, this episode will highlight some important upcoming changes for your business that you don’t want to miss.

What you will learn in this episode: * What is the Corporate Transparency Act? * How this new act will affect small- to medium-sized agencies * 3 things for agency owners to know under this new act * Who is exempt from filing? * How agency owners can file correctly and what needs to be reported * Upcoming deadlines and notifying FinCEN of any changes to your agency

Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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In this special episode of The Progressive Agency Podcast, host Craig Cody invites listeners to request a free copy of his book featuring great tips and information on how to save thousands of dollars on taxes.

Craig shares the top 5 things you should be doing to keep more money in your pocket.
Ways to reach out to Craig with any questions or to set up a strategy session.

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Craig shares the top 5 things you should be doing to keep more money in your pocket.
Ways to reach out to Craig with any questions or to set up a strategy session.

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Sharon Toerek, Principal of Toerek Law, focuses her law practice on helping professionals in the advertising, marketing, and creative industries monetize their intellectual capital and manage the legal risks of their work. She joins me on the Progressive Agency podcast to describe how she helps agencies protect their intellectual property.

Hear insights about:

Why it’s vital agencies negotiate good, solid, strong contracts with their clients
How Toerek Law counsels agencies on IP protection issues
The ever-evolving landscape of data privacy regulations, why they continue to change, and how they impact social media marketing
When growing agencies need to take advice on protecting their IP
Why intellectual property is the underpinning of everything that an agency does – and the importance of investing in good advice
Why Sharon advises that agencies put restrictive covenants in place in their handbooks
The difference between non-solicitation and non-compete covenants and their practical applications
Hot buttons that agency owners should be aware of, including the double-edged sword of being a specialist agency

Intellectual Property Protection A huge pain point for agencies who do new business by pitching for contracts is how to protect their work, concepts, or ideas during a relationship’s new business development phase. Sharon Toerek explains how Toerek Law helps agencies understand the legal consequences of the campaigns that they’re working on for their clients, including counseling on marketing regulations or highlighting data privacy issues in social media influencer campaigns.

The Triangle Approach * Sharon explains the importance of protecting your intellectual property (IP) as a triangle. At one point in the triangle, agencies have their content, which is subject to copyright protection; at the next point sits brand, which is a source identifier protectable by trademarks, and at the third point are transactions, or how agencies convey the rights to the work they do for clients. On the show, Sharon shares how her firm helps clients navigate these three issues.

Investing in IP Protection Intellectual property is the underpinning of everything that an agency does. It’s where they make their revenue, and it’s their most critical asset. Sharon shares why it’s well worth investing in good advice on how to protect your IP and why you will end up farther along financially if you invest the time and energy and protecting and understanding the principles of IP protection and embedding them in your agency’s culture.

How to Connect with Sharon Toerek: * + - Website: www.legalandcreative.com - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharontoerek/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonToerek

About Sharon Toerek: Sharon Toerek is the Principal of Toerek Law, where she focuses her law practice on helping professionals in the advertising, marketing, and creative industries monetize their intellectual capital and manage the legal risks of their work.

Sharon provides proactive, strategic counsel to marketing agencies on legal issues they continually face in their work, including agency-brand contracts, social media, content marketing legal compliance, and trademark and copyright protection.

Sharon also created the Legal + Creative Agency Protection System, a legal toolkit for marketing agencies. In 2018, she launched The Innovative Agency, a podcast on innovation for marketing agency leaders.

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Hear insights about:

Why it’s vital agencies negotiate good, solid, strong contracts with their clients
How Toerek Law counsels agencies on IP protection issues
The ever-evolving landscape of data privacy regulations, why they continue to change, and how they impact social media marketing
When growing agencies need to take advice on protecting their IP
Why intellectual property is the underpinning of everything that an agency does – and the importance of investing in good advice
Why Sharon advises that agencies put restrictive covenants in place in their handbooks
The difference between non-solicitation and non-compete covenants and their practical applications
Hot buttons that agency owners should be aware of, including the double-edged sword of being a specialist agency

How to Connect with Sharon Toerek: * + - Website: www.legalandcreative.com - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharontoerek/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/SharonToerek

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I’m honored to have Dan Englander with me this week on the Progressive Agency podcast. Dan is the CEO and Founder of Sales Schema and host of The Digital Agency Growth Podcast. He joins me to share the details of growing an agency and how to ensure you hire the right people into your organization. During our conversation, Dan also discusses how to balance personalizing critical touchpoints and scaling to ensure consistent and reliable growth. Hear insights about:

How Dan got out from under the sales-client-service shuffle
Why you should reframe your thinking around new hires
The most important financial lesson Dan has learned over the last few years
Why you have to integrate hiring new people into all of your processes
The two different skill sets you need to make successful hires
The most common financial mistakes that agency owners make and how to avoid them
Two key strategies that agencies can leverage to build and grow their business

Learning to Hire Effectively Bad hires are very costly. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Dan Englander, highlights the importance of learning to hire staff effectively, and shares why the ‘hire fast, fire fast’ philosophy just doesn’t work. He offers advice on how to reframe your thinking when it comes to hiring new talent, and how that will ultimately save your agency money in the long run.

Personalizing Critical Touchpoints Dan describes his early experiences in the agency space, how he got caught in the sales-client-service shuffle, the lessons he learned, and why he started Sales Schema. He highlights his agency’s evolution from cold outreach to personalizing their service where it really matters. We also discuss the specifics of why there’s more power in the squad and how fractional teams allow businesses to leverage a vast range of expertise, particularly in a tight labor market.

The Profit First Model Dan shares with us how he made sense of cash flow in his business by doing a version of the profit first model and why he has found it helpful. If you put tax and profit away first, it makes it much simpler to judge cash flow. Listen to the episode to learn why Dan believes you have to be aware of the impact of the economy on your cash flow.

How to Connect with Dan Englander: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danenglander/ * Relationship Sales at Scale: How to Find Your Virtual Tribe and Reliably Grow Your Professional Service Business: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XRD71P3

About Dan Englander: Dan Englander is the CEO and Founder of Sales Schema, a fractional new business team for marketing agencies and B2B service companies, and he hosts The Digital Agency Growth Podcast. He’s also the author of Relationship Sales At Scale and Mastering Account Management. Previously Dan was the first employee Head of New Business at the animation studio IdeaRocket. He lives in New York, and in his spare time, he enjoys hurting himself via Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Jane Pfeiffer to the show. She helps amplify nonprofit organizations and the impact that they make through meaningful marketing solutions. During our conversation, Jane shares how to avoid common financial downfalls that agency owners make. Hear insights about:

How the things that companies don’t know cost them financially
Why the concept of “ignorance is not bliss” is a crucial financial lesson to learn
What are three ways that new agency owners can avoid major financial mistakes
The three metrics Jane finds most beneficial in her business
Why it’s important to run worst-case scenarios for your agency financials
How creating separate accounts for client expenses and business revenue helps manage cashflow

The Cost of Not Knowing The things you don’t know in your agency are likely costing you the most money. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Jane Pfeiffer explains how the concept of “ignorance is not bliss” has been the most crucial financial lesson she’s had to learn. Jane is the founder of Fieldtrip, where she helps amplify nonprofit organizations and the impact that they make through meaningful marketing solutions.

Putting Your Numbers on the Table As an agency owner, it is always on you if something goes wrong. It’s important to not leave all of the financial responsibility in an employee’s hands. You must have the willingness to sit down vulnerably with other business owners and put the numbers on the table. During our conversation, Jane explains the three things that new agency owners can do to avoid common agency pitfalls.

Mistaken Cash Flow It’s easy for an agency to believe that they have a large amount of cash flow when they constantly see money in their bank account. Unfortunately, if you’re not paying close attention you could mistake your client’s expense payments for your cash flow. Listen to the episode to learn why Jane recommends separating bank accounts for client expenses and agency profits.

How to Connect with Jane Pfeiffer: * Website: wearefieldtrip.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janepfeiffer/ * https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldtrip/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janewpfeiffer/

About Jane Pfeiffer: Jane challenges and subverts expectations. Every single day. Leading by example, Jane guides the Fieldtrip team to develop sound, strategic work imbued with curiosity and significance. A previous research marketing specialist working in television, Jane started her agency with one client, Ashley HomeStore. As she built marketing strategies for Ashley HomeStore she grew new accounts and staff along the way. In her agency’s second decade, she has rebranded the agency, ready to take on the next chapter with the same vigor and tenacity that has helped Fieldtrip grow to this point. She is ferociously dedicated to ensuring everyone in and around the agency knows exactly where they’re headed and how they’ll get there. Jane says her biggest accomplishment is trusting her team to build an agency bigger than anything she could have dreamed of. But her employees know the truth of it, as she quotes Yoda — ”Do or do not. There is no try.” Jane does.

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If you’re searching for ways to lower your taxable income, learn how the pass-through entity tax could help. Listen to this episode to hear insights about:

How the 2018 tax cuts impacted personal tax deductions
What the pass-through entity tax is
Why would business owners want to take advantage of the pass-through entity tax
Which states have already enacted the pass-through entity tax
Which states have proposed the pass-through entity tax, and will likely pass it
How does the pass-through entity tax lower your taxable income

Resources: * The 12 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Agency Owners Thousands:https://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Mistakes-Agency-Owners-Thousands/dp/B088B6DPG9/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1639661450&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+Cody&s=books&sr=1-1

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Craig Cody: Craig Cody is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Tax Coach™, business owner, and the host of The Progressive Dentist Podcast and The Progressive Agency Owner Podcast. Prior to his current work, Craig spent seventeen years with the NYPD, where he retired as a Lieutenant in September 2000. Craig is an expert in helping his clients legally reduce their tax liabilities and keep more of their money. Through his podcast, Craig helps dentists grow their practices through smart financial decisions and through financial education of the kind that isn’t offered in dental school.

The 12 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Agency Owners Thousands

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Tom Schwab to the show. He helps thought leaders (coaches, authors, speakers, consultants, and emerging brands) get featured on leading podcasts their ideal prospects are already listening to. During our conversation, Tom shares how having the right conversations with the right person could be life-changing for your life and business. Hear insights about:

How guesting on podcasts can help bring your agency out of obscurity
Why systems and data are essential pieces of modern marketing
How does having a scalable system and platform impact the growth of your agency
What are the benefits of hiring within the military spouse network
Why forecasting is the most confusing part of business finances

Starting Conversations Marketing at its heart is starting a conversation with someone who could be an ideal customer.
My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Tom Schwab, helps start those conversations. He is the Founder/CEO of Interview Valet, where he helps thought leaders (coaches, authors, speakers, consultants, and emerging brands) get featured on leading podcasts their ideal prospects are already listening to.

Scalable Systems Often, agency owners begin their business attempting to “Frankenstein” their systems together to make things work. While this can work in the short term, eventually it can prohibit your ability to grow smoothly. Unfortunately, switching systems can cause a huge mess for many agencies. During our conversation, Tom explains why you should begin your agency using systems and platforms that are scalable.

Un-tapped Markets Hiring can be an agency’s greatest challenge, especially in today’s world. Tom shares his thoughts on how to approach hiring and replacing employees. He explains how he has utilized the un-tapped market of military spouses. Listen to the episode to learn more about how to make the right hiring decisions for your agency. Click here to listen:

How to Connect with Tom Schwab: * Websites: https://interviewvalet.com/ * http://podcastbooktour.com/ * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thomasmschwab * Twitter: https://twitter.com/TMSchwab

About Tom Schwab: Tom Schwab knows how to build an online business. He’s done it successfully several times, and now he helps others find online success with podcast interview marketing. Marketing at its heart is starting a conversation with someone who could be an ideal customer. Tom helps thought leaders (coaches, authors, speakers, consultants, emerging brands) get featured on leading podcasts their ideal prospects are already listening to. The Interview Valet system then helps them to turn listeners into customers.

The author of Podcast Guest Profits: Grow Your Business with a Targeted Interview Strategy, Tom is also the Founder/CEO of Interview Valet, the category king of Podcast Interview Marketing.

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Taja Dockendorf to the show. She’s built her agency, Pulp and Wire, into one of the fastest-growing, 100% woman-owned consumer packaging firms. Taja shares how to start and grow an agency as a creative rather than an entrepreneur, and the importance of fostering client relationships. Hear insights about:

Why it’s essential that creatives are directly involved in the process with clients
How to own a room and secure clients by putting yourself out there and being authentic
Why not carrying debt is the most important financial lesson that Taja has learned
What new agency owners can do to build an agency led by creatives
How to hire and replace employees strategically
Why tracking hours helps determine profitability and impacts cash flow

Creative Entrepreneur More and more agency owners began out of need, rather than a desire to be an entrepreneur.
My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Taja Dockendorf, is one of those agency owners. She began her firm, Pulp and Wire, as a designer without a business background. Now she’s built her agency into one of the fastest-growing, 100% woman-owned consumer packaging firms. Taja shares how to start and grow an agency as a creative rather than an entrepreneur.

Clients & Creatives When starting Pulp and Wire, it became clear to Taja that most agencies have a disconnect between the creatives and clients. With clients being handled by an account manager, those executing the creative work are often siloed. During our conversation, she explains how she approaches this challenge by bridging the gap between the creative and the client to produce better work long term.

Growing Slowly Often an agency owner’s goal is to achieve rapid growth. Taja has spent 20 years slowly growing her firm to the force that it is today. She explains that while exciting, rapid growth requires a level of infrastructure that many new agencies don’t yet have. Taja explains why she prioritized growing Pulp and Wire slowly, and how it’s allowed her to build strong relationships with clients. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with Taja Dockendorf: * Websites: pulpandwire.com * whatthehelvetica.com/ * LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tajadockendorf * Twitter: https://twitter.com/PulpandWire

About Taja Dockendorf: Taja, a graphic designer by education, has built Pulp+Wire into one of the fastest-growing, 100% woman-owned consumer packaging firms, with a focus on natural and organic CPG brands, in the U.S. Her accessible creative style and intuitive marketing instincts have made her a natural fit for organic and natural foods, lifestyle, and cannabis CPG brands seeking to launch new businesses or accelerate current growth.

The collaborative workflow she administers within the walls of Pulp+Wire from strategic brand ideation, to packaging, to digital marketing and revenue growth is scaled to meet each client’s unique needs, with both humor and insight. Taja’s working style is that of an eternal optimist while being grounded in reality, a combination of futuristic, optimistic, and realistic that brands and clients deeply appreciate and look to maximize when working with her. When not guiding brands or her team of twenty at P+W Taja also writes for Forbes focusing on team culture within the creative space and retreats to the woods and lakes of Maine with her husband and two kids, some rescue animals to stay grounded.

Versatility allows Taja to manage multi-million-dollar marketing accounts while also creating award-winning designs for small businesses. Her talent has built P+W into one of the most in-demand, most-referred design houses in the Northeast. Honing her creative skills in both New York and Boston, Taja’s unique approach to a client-centric (and holistic) business model has been vital in consistently earning P+W graphic design and advertising awards over the years.

Taja has also garnered numerous awards and accolades for her work and has been featured in: The Dieline, Graphic Design USA, Food Manufacturing Magazine, Packaging Magazine, American Package Design Awards, InTouch Magazine, Saveur, GDR UK, and L’Odyssee Du Pack — both Innovation trend forecasting magazines and The Dieline to name a few. Additional to this, her clients have also earned media attention on the Today Show, Good Morning America, and Fox Business Morning.

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Susan Baier to the show. She’s been a marketing strategist for thirty years and began her company, Audience Audit, in 2009. Susan helps marketing organizations understand their best audiences based on attitudes and needs, rather than just demographics or purchase behavior. Susan shares how research can build your credibility as a thought leader, and give you a year’s worth of valuable content for your audience. Hear insights about:

What is attitudinal research and how can you do it with qualitative research tactics
How attitudinal research helps marketing agencies and their clients get better results
What types of advice do consumers want from their thought leaders
Why research helps thought leaders with both strategic and tactical advice
How research adds credibility to thought leadership

Relevant and Impactful Attitudinal research can make your marketing initiatives more relevant, efficient, and impactful.
My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Susan Baier, knows that firsthand. She has been a marketing strategist for 30 years and began her company, Audience Audit, in 2009. Today, Susan helps marketing organizations understand their best audiences based on attitudes and needs rather than just demographics or purchase behavior. She shares how research can make thought leaders more credible and offer more valuable content ideas for marketers and agencies.

Proving Them Wrong Many people think that attitudinal research can only be conducted through quantitative measures, like surveys. However, Susan Baier proves them wrong with her company Audience Audit. She uses qualitative research tactics, like focus groups, to understand the reasoning behind a buyer’s decision. During our conversation, Susan explains how marketing agencies can benefit from understanding the intent of their unique audiences.

Aiding the Buyer’s Decision In today’s world, buyers conduct so much of their own research before making a purchase. Typically a buyer has already decided to work with you before you have the opportunity to sell to them. This means that your content and credibility as a thought leader are doing most of the work for you. Susan explains how conducting attitudinal research helps you create relevant content for your audience while increasing your credibility in your industry. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with Susan Baier: * Websites: https://audienceaudit.com * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AudienceAudit/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanbaieraz/ * Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/susanbaier

About Susan Baier: A marketing strategist for over 30 years, Susan Baier founded Audience Audit in 2009 to help organizations understand their best audiences based on attitudes and needs rather than just demographics or purchase behavior. She develops custom segmentation research for marketers and agencies around the world, supporting their efforts to create marketing initiatives that are more relevant, more efficient, and more impactful.

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If you’re planning to travel for work, you’ve likely thought about deducting business travel expenses. Listen to this episode to hear insights about:

How business travel documentation rules differ between corporations and proprietorships
Why you need to report your business travel on your business taxes rather than your personal taxes
The four elements you must be able to prove and therefore should keep a record of
Why travel meals are separate from other travel expenses
Which travel expenses you should keep receipts for, and if you can use credit card statements instead
What constitutes a timely kept record of your tax expenses for the IRS
How to properly submit travel expenses to your corporation
The most important piece of information that you need to keep a record of for business travel expenses
What are the two different types of tax-deductible business travel expenses
How do you know if you can deduct business trips, even if you’ll be on the trip for more than just business
How travel deductions differ between US travel and international travel

Travel Expense Rules Traveling for work can be a great way to experience more and grow your business. However, all travel is not the same. This week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, I discuss deducting your business travel expenses. I explain the differences in travel documentation rules if you’re a corporation or a proprietorship. During this solocast. I also discuss how to properly keep a record of your expenses. Listen to the episode to learn more.

Proving It If you plan to deduct your business travel, you must be prepared to prove your expenses to the IRS if needed. There are four elements that you should always keep a record of to prove your business travel. The first being the amount of each expenditure, the second is the dates of travel, departure and return. Third, you should keep a description of the location of your trip. Last, and most importantly, is the business purpose for your trip. During our conversation, I explain how to easily maintain this record.

Business or Personal When you plan a business trip, it’s possible that you may plan to extend your trip for longer. A common thought is, if you stay longer on a professional trip for personal reasons, can you still expense it? In this episode, I explain how this differs when traveling within the United States and internationally. Listen to the episode to learn how many days of your trip you’re required to work in order for it to be covered as a business expense. Click here to learn more:

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Tim Kilroy to the show. He’s founded three agencies and successfully sold two. Today, he helps digital agencies generate more revenue, more profit, and more happiness. Tim shares his forecasting and planning tips that help agency owners hire better and scale their business. Hear insights about:

The three largest financial errors that agency owners make
How to label clients to help forecast the fragility of your business
Why choosing to work with contractors over employees can be more expensive
Why agency owners should prioritize capacity planning and forecasting
How tracking hours allows you to provide more accurate quotes and profits
Why it’s important to forecast and have a plan for all of your profit before receiving it
What an agency CEO’s role should encompass, and why it doesn’t revolve around creating happy clients

More Revenue and Profit Digital agencies can generate more revenue and more profit without working a million hours.
Just ask Tim Kilroy, my guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast. Tim has founded three agencies, successfully selling two. Today, he helps digital agencies generate more revenue, more profit, and more happiness. Tim shares his forecasting and planning tips that help agency owners hire better and scale their business.

Financial Errors Tim finds that there are three large financial errors that digital agency owners make in their businesses. The first is relying solely on contractors rather than hiring employees. The second is assuming that their clients will never fire them. The final major mistake that many agency owners make is not treating themselves as a reasonable business expense. During our conversation, Tim explains these financial errors in detail – and how to avoid them.

Capacity Planning The ability to plan and forecast in your agency is critical for long-term success and scalability. Throughout our conversation, Tim discusses the importance of planning and forecasting in several ways. One of the most pertinent is through capacity-planning. He explains that capacity-planning gives you the ability to make informed hiring decisions, as well as provide more accurate quotes. He shares how tracking hours aids in capacity-planning, and why employees should not view it as a weapon. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with Tim Kilroy: * Website: TimKilroy.com * https://timkilroy.com/agency-growth-consulting/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timkilroy * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timkilroy/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/timkilroy

About Tim Kilroy: “I help digital agencies (and digital agency owners) generate more revenue, more profit & more happiness without working a million hours, being ‘sales-y’ or doing anything else gross,” Tim says of his business strategy.

Tim has worked with over 100 agencies to help them solve problems ranging from “How do I get my 1st client?” to “How do we maximize our exit value?” Tim also focuses on driving dramatic growth by collaborating with agency owners and management teams. He has helped his clients do amazing things – like grow 8x in a year, or by 3x in 90 days. In addition, Tim has helped agencies create account management structures, and coached them through various situations, such as a founder moving to another opportunity.

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome A.J. Wilcox to the show. He’s managed over $150M in ad spend as the Founder of B2Linked.com, a LinkedIn Ads-specific ad agency. A.J. shares his productivity and business tips that have helped him start and scale his agency. Hear insights about: * Why delegating is the most important thing to learn as a business owner * How hiring an accounting firm allowed A.J. to be a better entrepreneur * What is the tool AutoHotKey and how to use it to save time and become more productive * Why data analysis is a crucial part of running LinkedIn ads * What is the most complex part of running business finances * How charging lower prices initially has helped him develop a successful business model

Proving Your Business Model There are no other LinkedIn ad agencies managing as much spend as B2Linked.
My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast is A.J. Wilcox. He’s managed over $150M in ad spend as the Founder of B2Linked.com, a LinkedIn Ads-specific ad agency.

A.J. shares the unconventional way he started his agency, and how it helped him prove that his business model would be successful long-term. Listen to our conversation to hear his story and agency tips.

Sharing Your Expertise Entrepreneurs are typically self-starters, who feel at ease handling tasks on their own. My guest, A.J. Wilcox explains that he felt most comfortable taking everything on and doing it all himself. Unfortunately, that method prevents businesses from growing beyond the owner. A.J. explains that all of the knowledge and expertise he had could not be shared without expanding his team. Listen as he explains the initial difficulties of hiring employees, and when he began to see the benefit.

More than Marketing Most marketing agencies manage ads for their clients. Most of those agencies are filled with team members who studied marketing in college, or have been self-taught through the various sources found online today. During our conversation, A.J. explains that although he works as a marketer, he would have chosen not to study marketing in school if given the chance to go back. He shares the importance of data science as an ads manager, and why it’s difficult to learn data science on your own. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with A.J. Wilcox: * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilcoxaj/ * Website: B2Linked.com/podcast

About A.J. Wilcox: AJ Wilcox is a LinkedIn Ads pro who founded B2Linked.com, a LinkedIn Ads-specific ad agency, in 2014. He’s managed over $150M in spend on the platform, they’re official LinkedIn partners, he’s the host of the LinkedIn Ads Show podcast, and has managed 5 of the world’s top 10 LinkedIn Ads accounts. He’s a ginger and triathlete. He lives in Utah, has 4 adorable kids, and his company car is a wicked-fast go-kart.

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Lindsey Huettner to the show. After starting and selling multiple businesses, she decided to start the marketing agency that she needed as a young entrepreneur. Lindsey shares her pricing structure and operational methodology that helps her business grow and run with ease. Hear insights about:

What limitations are found when hiring in-house employees for marketing
What are fractional marketing agencies, and how they differ from traditional agencies
How to set and implement a pricing structure when charging the same price for all services
The “profit first” accounting method, and how does it help entrepreneurs begin making a profit
How to save more time with the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) methodology
What is the most confusing part of finances in relation to running an agency
What number should you check weekly to ensure that you are being paid on time
Why obtaining a line of credit can help you be more proactive financially

Create What You Need After building, growing, and selling multiple businesses it becomes pretty clear what an entrepreneur really needs from a marketing agency. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast is Lindsey Huettner. Lindsey is a serial entrepreneur who decided to create the type of agency that she always needed. Lindsey shares the structure for her fractional marketing agency, and her operational tips and strategies.

Developing New Options When it’s time to prioritize your marketing efforts, most entrepreneurs find that they have two options — outsource to a traditional marketing agency or hire help to work in-house. Unfortunately, both solutions have their downsides. Traditional agencies offer help at varying prices, and if at any time your needs change, so does your price. On the other hand, in-house employees have their limitations. There will always be a capacity issue, and any time you have a project that is outside of your team’s expertise, you’ll find yourself outsourcing again. During our conversation, Lindsey explains how her fractional agency is an alternate solution aimed at solving the limitations within traditional agencies and in-house teams.

Becoming Proactive Much of the stress that agency owners face is due to a lack of process, organization, and structure. During our conversation, Lindsey shares how she has implemented the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) to help build foundations within her business that increase efficiency and allow her to feel at ease. She also explains how following a “profit first” accounting method and securing a line of credit allow her to be proactive financially. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with Lindsey Huettner: * Website: www.theitcrowd.com * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theitcrowdmarketing * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-huettner-ba095b16/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/theitcrowdmktng?lang=en

About Lindsey Huettner: Serial Entrepreneur, Lindsey Harrison is a seasoned veteran of starting and selling businesses. She seized her first opportunity to make it in the real world with a job in commercial real estate for a UK firm. Juggling key territories (Manhattan, Chicago, D.C.), Lindsey’s initiation was a trial-by-fire sort she loved every moment of the fast-paced, jet-setting lifestyle! When she was presented with an opportunity to stay closer to the Big D, she jumped at the chance as an advertising exec with an impressive book of clientele.

Lindsey learned a tremendous amount working in the corporate world but banker’s hours weren’t her thing. While climbing the corporate ladder, she was also finding her wings as an entrepreneur. Her pet sitting hobby turned into a 1,200-client empire, she bought a snow-cone stand and DVD-rental machines, and while those were fun and profitable, she felt the undeniable pull of the tech world. She sold the 25,000-subscriber online deal-a-day website she created to a national brand after just 2 years. That payday allowed her to purchase Krimson & Klover, which she transitioned from one small clothing store to two buzzworthy brick-and-mortar stores and a thriving e-commerce store.

In 2014 it was time for the next chapter, Lindsey is putting her business acumen to work helping other businesses to achieve success with a fractional marketing agency, The it Crowd. The agency started small but has exploded as the word has gotten out on how different their approach is to marketing. Lindsey has been positioned as a national marketing expert and regularly gives speeches as well as radio and tv interviews based on marketing. She also gives seminars in coordination with microloan programs around the world to teach and promote business ownership to climb out of poverty.

If you’ve always wanted to be part of the “it crowd”, consider yourself IN. Lindsey and her team are ready to jump right in and help you achieve your goals just say the word!

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This week on the Progressive Agency podcast, I welcome Cris Rodriguez to the show. After building a successful martial arts business, she accidentally fell into digital marketing. Now Cris shares her tips and strategies for running multiple growing businesses. Hear insights about:

What caused Cris to look to paid digital ads as a brick and mortar business
Why Cris chooses to have her entire team in person rather than remote
What is the biggest financial lesson that Cris learned building a digital marketing agency
Why martial arts champions often struggle to keep their business running
What is the #1 strategy that Cris would recommend to new agency owners
What three things can you implement to make the most of your time
Why the #1 productivity hack is delegation
How being mindful of your habits can help you manage cash flow

Accidental Agency Owner Running multiple businesses presents unique challenges. Accidentally running multiple businesses takes skill. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast is Cris Rodriguez. After building a successful martial arts business, she accidentally fell into digital marketing and started an agency. Cris shares her greatest time-saving and productivity hacks for entrepreneurs running multiple businesses.

Speed of Implementation In the past year, Cris has grown all of her businesses exponentially. She credits part of her success to taking advantage of her resources and finding knowledgeable mentors. She also acknowledges her rapid consumption of courses and lack of fear when it comes to simply Googling things to help hone her skills. Cris advises that the difference between a good entrepreneur and a great entrepreneur is their speed of implementation. Once you learn new skills and strategies, it’s crucial that you take action and begin implementing them.

Prioritizing Cash Flow Successfully running an agency is tough, but running multiple businesses successfully cannot be done without the ability to manage time. Cris makes every productive minute count so that she can still spend time with her family and enjoy her life. During our conversation, Cris shares how she is able to work regular 9 to 5 hours after implementing three steps to make the most of her time. She also shares her best productivity hacks for entrepreneurs. Listen to the episode to learn more:

How to Connect with Cris Rodriguez: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CristinaLeeRodriguez/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cris-rodriguez-803bb13b/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/midgettwister

About Cris Rodriguez: Professor Cris Rodriguez has 27 years of Martial Arts experience and 20 years of teaching experience. She is a 1st Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, 3rd Degree TKD Black Belt, and Co-Owns Gracie PAC MMA, a BJJ & MMA School in Tampa, Florida, with her wife Stephanie.

She has been obsessed with Internet Marketing for the past 10 years and is the Founder of Grow Pro Agency, a Digital Marketing Agency for Martial Arts Academies with over 240 clients. As a Partner in Marketing with Schools, their core focus is to help school owners gain the freedom they want in their business.

She is also the Digital Marketing Consultant for the Martial Arts Industry Association and runs her own Mastermind Program called The A-Team and Business Event called 7 Figure CEO.

She earned her Elementary Education Degree from the University of South Florida which has helped her to become an expert in Children’s Jiu-Jitsu Training & Development.

Cris lives in Tampa, Florida with Stephanie and their three sons Darion, Nate, & Cruz.

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This week, I welcome Aalap Shah to the show. He is a CPA turned marketer and is now on his fourth successful business. Aalap shares his insights and tips on building an agency with predictable growth. Hear insights about: * How Aalap transitioned from being a CPA to a marketer * How a disciplined approach to goal setting aided Aalap in his fourth business * The most common financial mistakes made in the marketing industry * Why new agencies should operationalize their business processes and standards to build predictable business growth * How setting expectations with clients and your team impacts success outcomes * Why agency owners should prioritize maxing out their 401k

Making it Happen Building a business that is successful enough to exit is difficult. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast has made it happen multiple times. Aalap Shah is an entrepreneur currently on his fourth business. As a CPA turned marketer, he shares his insights and tips on building an agency with predictable growth. Taking a Disciplined Approach Every agency owner’s goal should be to build a business that is built to sell. To ensure that your agency is made to sell, even if you’re not taking on more work, you need to be organizational. During our conversation, Aalap shares his disciplined approach to goal setting and developing systems and processes to set your business up for predictable growth.

Prioritizing Cash Flow Aalap has learned a lot during his years as an entrepreneur. The most common financial mistake he’s seen agencies make – cash flow. He explains that agencies are ultimately just a cash business. The higher your growth rate, the more pressure you’ll have on cash. Aalap details the importance of getting a handle on cash flow forecasting and management. Listen to the episode to learn more.

How to Connect with Aalap Shah: * Website: https://1o8.agency/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1o8Agency/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahaalap/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/aalapshah1

About Aalap Shah: Aalap Shah is a Chicago-born entrepreneur, public speaker, philanthropist, and the founder of 1o8, a fresh digital marketing start-up focused on deepening brand awareness and increasing sales for amazon + e-commerce companies nationwide. Aalap and his team at 1o8 have worked with companies like Gildan, Sweet Leaf Tea, Vetnique Labs, OHi Superfood Bars, and Tio Gazpacho—just to name a few.

Aalap happily shares his personal entrepreneurial story and his passion for crafting digital strategy, creating content, navigating the ever-evolving digital marketplace, and captaining the entrepreneurs’ life at events far and wide. As a registered CPA and the child of Indian immigrant entrepreneurs, business is a key part of Aalap’s DNA and integral to his own personal American Dream. Aalap started his first business, a toy store, at the age of 23. Maneuvering the marketplace while building his business’ brand awareness sparked a love of marketing and promotion. Aalap worked in digital marketing for years thereafter, and is now the strategic brain behind 1o8, an amazon and ecomm focused growth agency in Chicago.

He has served as a keynote speaker, workshop moderator, and panelist at engagements with the National Business Education Association, Clickz, Social Media Week, Media Post, and Bloggers Week Summit and for companies such as Sears, Northwestern University, and DePaul University.

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This week, I welcome Nick Hoard to the show. Nick is a passionate entrepreneur who has spent the last 14 years helping small businesses develop and grow their brand. Nick discusses the most common agency mistakes and how to avoid them. Hear insights about:

How Nick’s agency pivoted and found a new niche during the pandemic
The most important financial lesson of running an agency
Why it’s important to invest in your business early on (and quickly)
The biggest mistakes that agencies are making
Two useful strategies for new agency owners to grow their business
What questions should you ask to successfully filter your leads to save time
How to overcome the most confusing parts of running an agency
Why cash flow and savings is a crucial part of successful agencies

Starting On the Right Foot Starting a new business usually requires that you leverage your network. However, starting a marketing agency puts you in a unique position to leverage your unique skill set — digital marketing. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast is Nick Hoard. Nick shares how he leveraged his knowledge of running ads early on in his business with the help of his initial clients.

Nick is a passionate entrepreneur who has spent the last 14 years helping small businesses develop and grow their brand. As the Founder of Nick the Marketer and Urgent Care Marketing Pros, Nick is the chief visionary of Brands. He spends his time creating opportunities, identifying strategic business relationships, and developing leaders. Nick joins me to discuss how he pivoted during the pandemic, and shares advice for new agency owners.

Avoiding Financial Mistakes The biggest mistake that new agencies make is filtering 100% of everything through their company on the client’s behalf. This is a huge financial mistake. During our conversation, Nick shares how many agencies make the mistake of not disclosing how they disperse their services.

Nick describes how early on in his business, he took on the risk with a couple of accounts where he was left with their Google Ads bill because they decided not to pay the agency. Nick stresses that although you may be new in business, and really need a client, you must take the time to have proper documents and agreements signed to avoid paying the “stupid tax.”

Finding Qualified Leads Nick believes that running ads can be a huge driver for business. However, you need to have the systems and teammates in place to be able to handle the results of the ads. You have to capture those leads, and you must take the time to set up processes and people to effectively capture your leads. Don’t forget that you’re paying for it!

You should also put a filtering process in place for your leads. Nick explains how his agency filters through a survey. He describes some of the important questions he asks to qualify leads. Additionally, Nick shares the thank you message that unqualified leads receive after completing the survey. This process saves time and money that could have been wasted on unnecessary phone calls.

How to Connect with Nick Hoard: * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marketmenick * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-hoard-6454838/

About Nick Hoard Nick is a passionate entrepreneur who has spent the last 14 years helping small businesses develop and grow their brand. Well versed in advertising, messaging, and marketing strategy, Nick has developed a winning formula of applying traditional marketing strategies to digital media platforms.

As the Founder of Nick the Marketer and Urgent Care Marketing Pros, Nick is the chief visionary of Brands. He spends his time creating opportunities, identifying strategic business relationships, and developing leaders. This has led to multiple company recognition awards, as well as being recognized as one of the fastest-growing agencies in the Southeast.

Nick and his wife, Heather, moved from Memphis, TN to Birmingham, AL in 2009. From there they grew their family and added 3 boys and a dog to the mix. Nick is currently in the passionate throes of Aviation as he pursues his pilot’s license. When not building a business or flying, you can generally find them at the swimming pool, watching the latest Netflix show, huddled around the XBOX, or in an intense nerf gun crossfire.

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This week, I welcome Nick Kremer to the show. Nick has been a serial entrepreneur since he was 23 and has spent the last 12 years investing all of his time and effort into Driven Leads and their clients. Nick discusses how to build a successful agency by prioritizing cash flow and avoiding business debt. Hear insights about:

Why finding and staying in a niche is more efficient and financially beneficial for entrepreneurs
The most common mistake that new agency owners make when starting out
Why Nick has remained a W-2 employee and hasn’t taken any dividends from his company
How giving employees more independence can save business owners time
When entrepreneurs should develop an exit strategy
Why prioritizing cash flow and avoiding debt is crucial to a successful business

Setting Your Business Up for Success It may be appealing to start your business as a jack-of-all-trades, thinking that you’ll have the potential for more work. In actuality, the riches are in the niches — settling on a specific area of focus allows you to become a go-to expert in your industry. Choosing a niche sets your business up for success from the beginning.

My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast is Nick Kremer. He has been a serial entrepreneur since he was 23 and has spent the last 12 years investing all of his time and effort into Driven Leads and their clients. Nick joins me to discuss how he accidentally found his niche (GoogleAds), and what he did to build a successful agency around it.

Focusing on Your Cash Flow What’s the most common mistake that new entrepreneurs make when starting? Not focusing on cash flow. During our conversation, Nick shares an example of a good friend who recently started a business and almost immediately started making $30k a month. He explains why his friend should not pocket any of that money – instead, he should be investing it back into his business.

Your company needs money to be able to flourish and grow, so you need to reinvest in your business. You have to look at taking that money that you’re making now and predict where you’re going to need it in 6-12 months. Most businesses don’t fail because the person doesn’t work hard, they fail because they made the wrong financial decisions. That is the reason why it’s crucial to be educated on cash flow and business debt.

Managing for Efficiency Entrepreneurs may also want to consider remaining a W-2 employee in their business, like my guest Nick Kremer. Nick explains that he does not take dividends from his company, but instead chooses to invest that money back into his employees.

Nick values investing in his employees, but he quickly learned that he was spending too much time managing them and their tasks. He recalls, “I had my door open too often, which slows down the process of anybody that has the door open to answer questions.”

Nick discusses how he changed his process to help his employees find solutions for their questions, eventually leading them to depend on his guidance less and less. Coaching your employees to be more confident and independent ultimately leads to more efficiency in the business.

How to Connect with Nick Kremer: * Website: https://drivenleads.com/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrivenLeads/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickjkremer/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickjkremer

About Nick Kremer: Nick has been a serial entrepreneur since he was 23 and has spent the last 12 years investing all of his time and effort into Driven Leads and their clients. Many people find themselves becoming an entrepreneur for several different reasons like freedom, money, and building on an idea. Nick came to the world of entrepreneurship because he was raised in a world where most of his family were business owners, farmers, and people that paved their own path. The greatest reward of running his own business is seeing his clients and employees have a better life as a result of working with him. Whenever he is asked about his exit strategy from his current business, his answer is a quick one-worded response – death. He genuinely enjoys being able to lead his team every single day.

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Does the Great Resignation have you considering hiring out-of-state remote employees? Hear insights about:

What should you be aware of if you are considering hiring remote employees who are in a different state than your business
Why recruiting new employees is currently taking at least three to six months
What are your responsibilities as an employer to out-of-state employees
What is apportionment, and how that can impact the amount of taxes you’ll pay
How the IRS can easily determine if you have out-of-state employees

Resources: * The 12 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Agency Owners Thousands

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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This week I welcome Bill Black to the show. Bill has been in the pension administration business for over 40 years and helps clients work toward their retirement objectives. Bill discusses how to maximize your tax deductions by utilizing retirement plans to invest in life insurance. This allows you to save more money and give your survivors income tax-free benefits.

What are qualified retirement plans, and what factors help determine which is best for you
How to create a custom retirement plan to save the amount of money you pay in taxes
How the size of your deduction can vary based on your contribution
Why would someone begin to look into defined contribution plans
Why you would want to invest in a life insurance plan inside of your 401(k)
How owning life insurance inside of a defined retirement plan can save money on taxes and leave your survivors with income tax free benefits
What upcoming changes should you expect to see in 401(k) plans
Why businesses should do a health check on their retirement plans
What is the affiliated service group, and how do people often fall trap to it

Keep More Money In Your Pocket We all want ways to maximize our tax deductions that are not outside of the box and will not get us into any trouble with the government. We can use the rules that are on the books to create a qualified plan to benefit us and keep more money in our pockets.

We are constantly looking to learn different ways to legally reduce our taxes and save more of the money we make. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Bill Black, joins me to discuss how to create a custom retirement plan to maximize your tax deductions, and ultimately save the amount of money you pay out each year.

Create A Custom Retirement Plan Did you know there is a limit to how much you can put into a 401(k) plan? A 401(k) is a defined contribution plan, meaning that the law defines the contribution and benefit. Bill has been in the pension administration business for over 40 years and helps clients work toward their retirement objectives. We discuss how Bill and his team help business owners create a custom-defined plan, to maximize their tax deductions.

Were you aware that the maximum contribution amount can change year depending on inflation? For example, last year, the most that could go into a defined contribution plan for any participant was $58,000. This year, that’s been raised to $61,000. Bill explains how the size of your deduction can vary if you’re single versus if you are married. He and I discuss defined benefit plans or cash balance plans that are available to people who find that they aren’t getting a big enough deduction.

Investing In Life Insurance When people think about their 401(k) retirement plans they typically think about stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. But another investment that people don’t think about, is life insurance, particularly in a defined benefit plan. During our conversation, Bill explains how the plan can provide a pre-retirement survivor’s benefit funded by life insurance.

Why would someone decide to invest in life insurance in their retirement account? It’s more about the amount of money they could save than it is about life insurance. Bill shares his insights on how you could save thousands of dollars more than owning life insurance outside of your retirement plan. He also explains how your survivors’ benefit is income tax free.

How to Connect with Bill Black: * Website: https://pensionspecialist.net/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/whblack/?locale=en_US * https://www.linkedin.com/company/w.h.-black-&-company-inc./about/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WHBlackCoLifeInsurance/ * Phone: 1-888-412-4120

About Bill Black: Bill Black has been in the pension administration business for over 40 years and helps clients work toward their retirement objectives. He works with both individual and small business owners in the areas of benefits, retirement planning, and business planning. Bill and his team can offer a wide range of financial products and services including insurance, annuities, and investment products (tax-sheltered plans, mutual funds) to help his clients meet their retirement needs.

Education Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration, and Economics Rollins College
Professional Credentials: Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) Life and Qualifying member MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) 15 Time Court of Table (MDRT) 20 Top of Table (MDRT).

Licensed in 42 states, Bill truly has a national practice. He has marketed and administered plans in virtually every state in the union.

Bill has spoken nationally and internationally on the topics of qualified plans and is a much sought-after speaker. He has been quoted in USA Today and has been a guest on financial radio shows. Bill is certified to teach continuing education to CPAs and insurance professionals. Additionally, he has had numerous articles published in national journals.

Bill brings a professional and necessary combination to the marketing effort: comfortable with the explanation of complex ideas and able to put them into easily understood concepts, with the ability to sell.

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Are you taking advantage of the qualified business income deduction? It’s a great way to save money. Hear insights about:

What is the qualified business income deduction
Who is eligible and who may not be eligible for the qualified business income deduction
How to take advantage of the qualified business income deduction
Why do you need to make sure that your salary is high enough to qualify for this deduction if you have no employees
Where can you look on your tax return to determine if you can take advantage of this deduction
What to ask your CPA to ensure that you are not missing out on this opportunity

Resources: * The 12 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Agency Owners Thousands: https://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Mistakes-Agency-Owners-Thousands/dp/B088B6DPG9/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1639661450&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+Cody&s=books&sr=1-1

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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This week I welcome Adam Carroll to the show. Adam is a financial literacy expert, speaker, author, and the founder of the Shred Method, who has dedicated himself to helping people build a bigger life. Adam discusses how to pay off debt quickly using the Shred Method. This works to help leverage the cash flow through your personal economy to radically eliminate your debt in record time. Hear insights about:

How Craig discovered velocity banking and evolved it into the Shred Method
How the Shred Method helps the average person with a mortgage
How Craig accelerates the process of paying down debts by leveraging short term debt against compound interest with a large balance
What a HELOC is and how it can help you save money
How Craig and his wife paid off their house twice over between 2012 and 2021
Why the key to financial security is understanding wealth acceleration
Steps to leveraging the Shred Method
Who the Shred Method works best for
Why the method works equally as well for property investors
Ways to cleverly squeeze the juice out of your finances

Save Yourself Thousands of Dollars When you understand how to leverage a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) as a debt repayment model, you can potentially save yourself tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest over the life of that loan.

We all want to be as financially educated as possible to manage our finances cleverly. My guest this week on the Progressive Agency Podcast, Adam Carroll, joins me to explain just how we can save money and pay down a considerable amount of debt by using the equity in our homes to minimize the debt held against it.

Completely Pay Off Debt in 5 Years And I mean completely — mortgage, car loan, tuition all paid off in full. Adam, who is a financial literacy expert, speaker, author, and the founder of the Shred Method, explains how the average person can make their money work for them in the most efficient way possible. We discuss how the Shred Method works and how Adam’s previous role as a Mortgage advisor gave him the insight and impetus to research why owning a home can keep you in perpetual, long-term debt and how to get out of it.

Did you realize that a homeowner will pay the bank back as much as 2½ times the amount of their original mortgage on average? People are often laboring under the misconception that their mortgage is the cheapest debt they’ll ever have, but as Adam explains, there are ways to bring the interest they’re paying off to under 1%; you just have to know the right steps to take. We discuss why keeping on top of your financial housekeeping is essential if you want to save money and why to check your financial statements to ensure that your payments are allocated to bringing the principal debt down.

Squeeze the Juice Out of Your Cash Getting a little bit more juice squeezed out of your finances is something that everybody would love to do. When you get right down to it, though, it’s as much a matter of mindset and financial education as clever money management. When you think about how your best life looks, you are probably factoring in time spent with the people you love as well as having enough money for a few of life’s luxuries. Understanding that you can make your time more valuable by creating financial systems that you can rely on is key to getting the most out of your money.

When you flip the narrative on saving money and understand how to see things differently, you start to notice the business systems you could create to generate recurring savings. One of the ways you can do that is to realize that when you outsource, you’re actually making savings — in other words, don’t spend time doing the $20 an hour activities 20 hours a week, Because there’s no way that you’re going to make six figures when you’re doing activities that are beneath your paygrade. And when you don’t leverage what you have to save significant sums of money it’s exactly the same principle. When you optimize the time you spend on a task or the money you invest, you need to be as efficient as possible.

How to Connect with Adam Carroll: * Website: www.theshredmethod.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcarrollspeaks/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdamSpeaks/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/AdamCarroll

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Building a successful business can throw up many challenges, financial and otherwise. Linda Welter joins me on the show to share her advice for business owners and gives her insight into successful business strategies that help agencies thrive in the long term. Hear insights about:

What Linda sees as Caliber Group’s main niches and how having a spread of specialisms has helped the agency reinvent itself and grow
Linda’s strategy for staying resilient and surviving over the long term
How to go deep into your service line niches to be well known in a variety of industries and why it helps you pivot and survive
The most important financial lesson Linda has learned over the 24 years of building Caliber Group
The most significant financial mistake Linda ever made or saw other agencies make
Strategies Linda would recommend to others who want to build an agency with longevity
What Linda found most challenging to wrap her head around when it came to agency finances
What systems Linda has put into place to deal with cash flow in the Caliber Group

Strategies for Building a Successful Business Building a successful agency requires deploying several strategies simultaneously to be successful. One of the most important methods in our toolkit is building a successful brand reputation through positive client results and referrals.

It’s important to have a clearly defined vision, values, and brand positioning strategy. It is also essential to have a loyal, and committed team to support you in the work of growing your brand and winning quality clients. The key to running a successful business though is committing to understanding the details of how to run the business’s finances so you can develop and grow in the long term.

How to Run Your Business Financially My guest on the podcast, Linda Welter, shares some of the mistakes she made in the early days of owning a business, including operating her business on a cash basis for tax purposes. She describes why it took some time before she started to simultaneously run the business on an accrual basis, as well as a cash basis, and how she learned the process. Linda also shares why it made a difference in terms of decisions that she made for the organization throughout the year as opposed to making important decisions purely on a tax basis.

Effective agencies should be run on an accrual basis, then can convert to the cash basis for taxes. Because thriving as a business depends not only on having a great product or service and marketing it well, it also depends on you getting paid — after all, if you’re not getting paid in a timely fashion the business is going to fail.

Understanding Cash Flow All businesses will struggle with cash flow at some point in time, the pandemic was truly a test for most companies and how they managed their cash flow. Linda and I discuss why it’s essential to have two to six months of operating expenses and a line of credit in place before cash flow issues occur to protect the health of your agency. Linda acknowledges that it can be difficult to build up reserves in the early stages of building a company but goes on to share why hard choices must be made to develop this financial cushion over time.

Without reserves and a line of credit, you run the risk of falling into the trap of using the funds from clients who pay promptly to pay off the expenses for clients that are slow to pay it is just too easy to get into trouble when you operate that way. When you are intentional about both the operational and financial sides of running your company you are much more likely to see long-term success.

How to Connect with Linda Welter: * Website: https://www.calibergroup.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindawelter/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/CaliberGroup * Facebook: http://facebook.com/CaliberGroup * Twitter: http://twitter.com/welterwisdom * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CaliberGroup

About Linda Welter: As Principal and CEO of the Caliber Group, Linda is responsible for managing and growing Caliber’s AGI through strategic planning, business development, sales and marketing, product and service innovations, and talent recruitment and development. Previously, Linda served as vice president of marketing and public relations for a financial institution and an account executive for a marketing agency.

When Linda is not managing the agency and selling its services, she helps leadership teams build, reposition and protect company brands and reputations during challenging times. Her goal is to help the leaders of organizations solve complex problems, communicate effectively, manage change, and strengthen relationships with all impacted stakeholders critical to an organization’s success when a major crisis or issue hits. She has helped numerous organizations successfully navigate reputation-defining situations, including business closures, foodborne illnesses, accusations of corporate wrong-doing, hostile mergers and acquisitions, union negotiations, ethics violations, and our current pandemic.

Linda is Accredited in Public Relations and previously served as Chair of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Board of Ethics and Professional Standards. During her tenure on this Board, Linda co-authored PRSA’s Code of Ethics, which today serves as the guiding professional standards for the 20,000-member organization. She has received numerous awards for successful brand positioning, public relations, and reputation management campaigns, as well as awards for community leadership and entrepreneurial successes.

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Small agencies can often face challenges when growing their business. Chip Griffin joins me today to give insights and tips for those small agency challenges and how he provides management, consulting, and coaching advice to help them scale. Hear insights about:

The most important financial lesson that Chip has learned as an entrepreneur
The main financial mistakes that Chip sees business owners making
Why it’s imperative to understand how to calculate your profit margins
Why Chip is passionate about educating agency owners with his podcast
The best way to figure out the right pricing model for your business
Time-saving tips that Chip recommends to small agencies
The importance of creating an open and honest company culture as the owner

Know Your Numbers The most important thing as a business owner is to know your numbers. My guest this week, Chip Griffin of Small Agency Growth, joins me to discuss why far too many agency owners don’t have a comprehensive profit and loss statement to use as a reliable source of information to manage their business better.

Chip is a serial entrepreneur who has focused his business expertise on serving the PR and marketing community for over 30 years. He is passionate about educating other small business owners and sharing the insights he has gained (and the mistakes he has made) during his career. His company, the Small Agency Growth Alliance, supports agency leaders to take control of their own businesses to get the results that they want.
Chip explains how he works with small agencies to help them grow their profitability by breaking financial information and tasks down into smaller chunks. He shares the importance of educating entrepreneurs about putting individual project budgets in place, regardless of how much money they see sitting in their bank account. We dive into the long-term perils of ‘checkbook accounting’ and why small business owners get caught in that mindset instead of truly understanding that you need to know your numbers to make sound business decisions.

Think About Your Profit Margins Once you have an overview of your numbers as a small agency owner, you have to dig down into the details to understand what your profit margins are.

And how you calculate that profit margin is significant whether you’re targeting 15% or 30%. Many agencies struggle to find an accurate number for their own compensation, which can then dramatically skew their profit numbers. Or they don’t accurately account for the difference between the income and reimbursable income, primarily in the form of digital media.

Chip shares why failing to count those two things correctly makes your percentages way off base, which has the knock-on effect of making it almost impossible to calculate your profit margins accurately.

Growing the Business Agency owners can often be penny wise and pound foolish — particularly when it comes to talent and labor. Chip and I discuss some of the mistakes that small agencies make when trying to figure out how to be as profitable as possible. We talk about the dangers as an owner of either overworking their team to make the numbers look better or holding off on investing in additional team members.

As an owner, you need to ensure that your time is freed up to focus on higher-value activities, but so many entrepreneurs get stuck doing tasks that don’t allow them to make the best use of their time. If you fall into this trap, you will almost certainly hold back the growth of the business. Chip explores the necessity of a healthy company tracking finances accurately from the get-go to be on a strong growth trajectory.

How to Connect with Chip Griffin: * Website: https://www.smallagencygrowth.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chipgriffin * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chipgriffin * Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChipGriffin

About Chip Griffin: Chip Griffin is a serial entrepreneur with a track record of building businesses that serve the PR and marketing community. He founded the Small Agency Growth Alliance to help agency leaders take control of their own businesses to get the results that they want.

He has worked in a wide range of communications-related roles, starting as a junior account executive at a boutique public affairs firm and most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer for a global media intelligence agency.

As someone who has owned an agency himself, he understands the challenges and opportunities his clients see every day.

Chip lives in Bow, New Hampshire, where he can often be found officiating or photographing youth sports in his free time.

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Drew McLellan is the owner of McLellan Marketing Group and the owner and leader of the Agency Management Institute. In his fourth appearance on the Progressive Agency podcast, Drew discusses agency owners’ succession and shares tips and strategies to begin business exit planning. Hear insights about:

What hot topics for agency owners does Drew expect to see throughout 2022
How do agency owners find a balance between tax planning and building value and equity in the business
Why business owners should wait until January to empty their bank accounts at the end of the year if they are planning to sell
What should business owners do if they think they may want to sell eventually
Why owner financing is often a good option if you are selling your business to an internal employee
How long does it typically take to close a deal beginning from the initial conversation to consummation

Business Exit Strategies for Agency Owners My encore guest for this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast is Drew McLellan from the Agency Management Institute. Drew is an expert at helping agencies plan their succession, and in this episode, he shares tips and strategies to begin business exit planning if you plan to sell within the next five to ten years.

Business Exit Planning During our conversation, Drew explained that he and the Agency Management Institute team help agency owners with their succession. This includes actually helping an agency owner identify internal buyers, and then facilitating the entire process of mediating the deal and financing it.

One of the problems Drew continuously sees during the succession process is that agency owners are often very good at tax planning – too good in fact. They focus on getting their bottom line and their profitability number down to as small as possible by the end of the year so that they don’t pay tax on those dollars. The problem is, if they’ve been successful at that for many years, once they do the valuation, the agency looks far less valuable than it really is.

Drew and I discuss the importance of finding a balance between reducing your taxable revenue while still building an equitable and valuable business, if you are planning to exit. The key to business exit planning is preparing well in advance for a potential sale. It is crucial to talk to your CPA early and keep them in the loop. You will also want to be sure that you are taking proper compensation as an owner. Drew and I discuss what income range is typically good for most owners planning to sell their company.

Preparing for Valuation When looking at your profit and loss statement at the end of the year, you want to show that your business has the potential to make a lot of money. To achieve that you want to have items that you can easily move “below the line.” Adding items to the other income and expenses line on your profit and loss sheet can help you demonstrate that you could add those expenses back into the profit of your business. This will help buyers understand the business’s true value during valuation.

To learn more about Drew McLellan and the Agency Management Institute, please visit their website at https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/. And of course, please visit https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Drew McLellan * Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan * Website: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/

About Drew McLellan For 30+ years, Drew McLellan has been in the advertising industry. He started his career at Y&R, worked in boutique-sized agencies, and then started his own (which he still owns and runs) agency in 1995. Additionally, Drew owns and leads the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to grow their agency and its profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops, and more.

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Planning your 2021 taxes? It’s a great way to save money. Hear insights about:

What resources of Craig’s can help you understand basic tax planning
What steps should you take before the end of the year to help you save money on your 2021 taxes
How to add additional money into your 401(k) if your payroll service automatically caps your contributions if you’re over age 50
What is a back-door Roth IRA, why you should do it, and what could prevent you from doing it
What is the pass-through entity tax, and how it can help you get around the $10,000 personal deductibility cap

Resources: * The 12 Biggest Tax Mistakes That Cost Agency Owners Thousands: https://www.amazon.com/Biggest-Mistakes-Agency-Owners-Thousands/dp/B088B6DPG9/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1639661450&refinements=p_27%3ACraig+Cody&s=books&sr=1-1

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Marketing for dental offices offers unique challenges, but expert Chris Pistorius has mastered the art. Hear insights about:

How Chris dipped his toe in advertising by selling ads for his college newspaper, and why he struck out on his own and started his own agency marketing for dental offices
Why Chris and his team chose to narrow their focus to specializing in helping dental offices and medical professionals with their marketing
What common financial and tax-related mistakes Chris has seen agency owners make, and how to avoid those pitfalls
Why it’s crucial to set up your business with documentation, processes and systems, and how doing so can add tremendous value to your business
How Chris and his team track and project their cash flow using robust data and spreadsheets to document everything
Why developing his sales and leadership skills have been key pillars of the success Chris has been able to create for his business
What process Chris followed to hire for his own weaknesses and develop his leadership experience
How Chris developed his podcast, the Dental Marketing Podcast, and what interesting and actionable topics his show covers

How to Connect with Chris Pistorius: * Website: https://kickstartdental.com/ * The Dental Marketing Podcast with Chris Pistorius on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dental-marketing-podcast/id1553267057 * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/pistorius/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ifuse-internet-marketing-inc/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/kickstartdentalmarketing * Twitter: @KickStartDental

Additional Resources: * Website: https://craigcodyandcompany.com/ * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Chris Pistorius: Chris Pistorius is the founder of KickStart Dental Marketing. While Chris specializes in dental marketing, other medical professionals, marketers, entrepreneurs, and businesses can learn from his digital marketing experience of over 15 years. Chris has worked with countless local business owners in all industries across multiple facets of marketing, consulting, and coaching. Chris has been able to build his local digital marketing agency into one of the top marketing agencies in the country, as listed on UpCity, SEO For Growth, DesignRush, Expertise & AgencyVista. He shares his expertise by giving marketing seminars across the country and hosting a weekly marketing podcast.

Before starting his marketing agency in 2009, Chris worked for online marketing giants AOL, Time Warner, Dex & MapQuest. He holds several online marketing certifications and is trained by Google on how businesses can get the most out of their marketing efforts. He’s also the author of The Ultimate Guide to Internet Marketing for Dentists.

Chris resides in the Denver, CO area with his wife Michele and two kids, Kaitlyn & Brody.

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Know your business numbers; they are the key to identifying problems, opportunities, and when to expand your team. Hear insights about:

How Isaac founded his digital advertising business, AdVenture Media, while attaining his Master’s Degree
How Isaac’s passion for learning Google Adwords helped drive his agency’s spectacular growth, and how Isaac learned why it is so important to know your business numbers
Why cutting corners in your marketing won’t get you the results you want, and why it’s crucial to invest in and follow through with your campaigns
Why Isaac believes it is crucial to set expectations with his clients before money changes hands,
and why patience and follow-through are vital
Why the key to a fruitful partnership between AdVenture Media and its clients is for Isaac and his team to spend time learning the client’s business and expectations
Why Isaac describes himself as “risk-averse,” and why he struggled to decide to invest in hiring team members to help with the workload
Why adding team members and delegating tasks is a powerful way to grow your business, freeing you to work on the things that will truly move the needle
Why it is crucial to know your business numbers and how hiring team members affect those numbers, and why that level of clarity is the key to knowing when to hire
Why ordinary people with a powerful work ethic are far more effective and productive than extremely talented people who do the bare minimum to get by

How to Connect with Isaac Rudansky: * Website: https://adventureppc.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/isaacrudansky/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/adventure-media-group-llc/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/AdventurePPC * Twitter: @isaacrudansky * Twitter: @AdVenturePPC

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Isaac Rudansky: Isaac Rudansky founded AdVenture Media in 2012 after earning his Masters’s Degree in Industrial Psychology from Hofstra University.

Under Isaac’s leadership, AdVenture Media grew more than 100% year over year throughout its first four years in business.

Isaac and the AdVenture team have worked with 500+ companies including multiple publicly traded companies and billion-dollar brands.

Isaac’s digital advertising training is the most popular paid search and social ads training on the internet, with over 200,000 students enrolled from around the globe.

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Agency coaching? It can help you avoid common mistakes and challenges and accelerate the growth of your agency. Hear insights about:

How Brent started his first company in 1999 at the age of 17 building websites, and how he sold his agency in 2012 and moved into agency coaching
Why Brent’s goal is to help agencies avoid the same common challenges that he himself experienced growing his agency
Why the biggest financial challenge Brent faced was bootstrapping his business and not being able to pay his withholding taxes for three years as a result
Why coaching can help you accelerate the growth of your agency by learning strategies from experienced coaches who have already been where you are
Why making long-term financial investments in your leadership skills and in your business is a crucial step for the growth of your agency
How working with his own coach allowed Brent to see how much agency coaching can move the needle for an agency’s success
Why being curious, committed and open-minded are crucial traits for getting the most from agency coaching
Why Brent believes learning to delegate and developing soft skills are vital and necessary skills any agency owner needs to learn
How Brent uses data to project the profitability of his agency and to make key financial decisions

Agency Coaching As an agency owner, you probably started your business with the intent of putting your skills and experience to work in your chosen field, whether that’s marketing or research, staffing, or IT. However, at a certain point in any agency’s growth, the owner must learn to extract themselves from the day-to-day work and instead focus on the profitability and health of the agency.

Making that transition from subject matter expert to business leader requires developing many new skills that probably lie outside your area of expertise, and so it can be challenging to shift your mindset and step into a leadership role. That’s where working with a great coach can help.

This week’s guest on the Progressive Agency podcast is Brent Weaver, founder, and CEO of UGURUS. Brent’s agency specializes in agency coaching and teaching owners how to avoid common challenges and mistakes and to instead focus on growing their businesses. Agency coaching can help you accelerate your path to success by allowing you access to expert insights and experiences from people who have already navigated the path you’re on. During our conversation, Brent shared how he helps his clients level up their leadership skills, learn to delegate the day-to-day work to their teams, and better understand their business financial numbers.

The Benefits of Agency Coaching and Developing Your Soft Skills As Brent explained during his visit to the Progressive Agency podcast, the return on investment from agency coaching takes a while to show up; it isn’t a magic bullet that will instantly transform you as a leader. However, patience is rewarded in the long term, because your agency will grow significantly faster when you have the voice of experience helping you make important decisions and helping you better understand your role as a leader.

Brent says that the biggest thing that helped him boost his agency’s profitability and growth was developing his soft skills and leadership. Brent believes that it’s crucial for agency owners to be willing to invest in themselves and to approach agency coaching with a committed, focused, patient mindset. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and developing your leadership takes time, experience, and trial and error. Why would you want to go through that process alone, when you could instead have an experienced coach helping to guide you and clear your path?

To learn more about Brent Weaver, UGURUS, and the coaching programs and services Brent and his team offer, you can visit their website at https://ugurus.com/ or reach out to Brent directly at brent@ugurus.com to request a copy of his book Get Rich in the Deep End. And, as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

How to Connect with Brent Weaver: * Email: brent@ugurus.com * Website: https://ugurus.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/brentweaver/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ugurus/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/ugurusweb/ * Twitter: @u_gurus

Additional Resources: * Website: https://craigcodyandcompany.com/ * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Brent Weaver: Brent Weaver is on a mission to help 10,000 digital agency owners achieve freedom in business and life by helping them own their market.

Brent is the founder and CEO of UGURUS, a business training, and education company dedicated to this mission. He also hosts one of the leading podcasts in the business niche–The Digital Agency Show.

Brent is in partnership with UnlimitedWP–a scalable white label WordPress development team to help digital agencies grow without all the headaches of hiring and managing people. He is also a Brand Ambassador for Cloudways, a WordPress hosting company, helping them evangelize their platform.

When Brent isn’t working with agency owners around the globe, he enjoys going on date nights with his wife Emily and biking at the local skatepark with his two sons.

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Tips for scaling a business that will help you minimize risk and get more done. Bill Sebald shares his best tips for scaling a business. Hear insights about:

How an early dream of becoming a rock star musician sparked Bill’s interest in the internet and driving traffic to websites
What sets Greenlane apart from competitors in the digital marketing and search engine optimization space
What tips for scaling a business Bill picked up over the course of his career that can benefit your own agency
Why the most important financial lesson Bill learned growing his agency was that having just a few “tentpole” clients was too risky
What strategies Bill would recommend for agencies who are looking to grow and expand, and why many organizations don’t care how big your agency is if you’re creative
What time-saving tips and daily strategies Bill uses to maximize the things he is able to accomplish each day
Why pushing away distractions and focusing on the big picture is the key to making a bigger impact with your business
Why hiring the right people who are strong in the areas you’re weak in can help you unlock the potential of your business

How to Connect with Bill Sebald: * Website: www.greenlanemarketing.com * Email: bill@greenlanemarketing.com * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billsebald/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/greenlane-marketing * Facebook: www.facebook.com/greenlaneteam/ * Twitter: @billsebald * Twitter: @greenlane_team

Additional Resources: * Website: https://craigcodyandcompany.com/ * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Bill Sebald: Bill Sebald started in digital marketing in 1996, in the earliest days of SEO. Since then, he has worked with more than 100 highly recognized retailers, fashion brands, sports brands, and B2B businesses. He speaks, teaches, and writes all over the web. Today, Bill owns a Moz recommended search marketing agency (called Greenlane) focusing on growing ROI in competitive markets through search marketing.

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Know your business numbers? If you don’t, you don’t have all the info you need to make the best possible business decision. Hear insights about:

How Ryan fell in love with digital marketing very early in the field’s existence, and how he scaled up to where he is today
How The Blueprint Training came to be, and what kinds of SEO training services and resources they offer clients
Why the key financial mistake Ryan sees agencies making is classifying everything as expenses rather than separating out labor costs
Why it is crucial to know your business numbers like profit margins, expenses, labor costs, and other key metrics
Why Ryan and his team fire clients if they aren’t reaching an 80% gross margin from the client, even if it is no fault of the client’s
Why you need to reach a point where you aren’t the only one doing everything in your business, and why hiring others is a smart business investment
Why investing in coaches and training is another smart business investment, and why all your free time should be devoted to marketing your business
Why “doing more” for your clients isn’t the right way to add value, and why having one amazing offer is better than having lots of generic products or services

How to Connect with Ryan Stewart:

Website: https://webris.org/
Website: https://theblueprint.training/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/thedigitalmarketingconsultant/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/webris/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/the-blueprint-training/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hellowebris
Twitter: @ryanwashere

Additional Resources: * Website: https://craigcodyandcompany.com/ * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Ryan Stewart: Ryan Stewart is the Managing Partner at WEBRIS, a search marketing agency that helps B2B companies increase leads from Google through short term SEO sprints. Ryan is also the Managing Partner at The Blueprint Training, a training platform for SEO professionals and agencies offering templates, SOPs, video training and private Slack channels.

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Important business lessons about hiring, firing, understanding the numbers powering your agency, and more from guest expert Jason Mudd. Hear insights about:

What sets Axia Public Relations apart from its competitors, and what important business lessons Jason learned during his company’s incredible journey
How encountering the power of the internet for the first time opened Jason’s eyes and pushed him to transition from journalist to corporate storyteller
How Axia’s own podcast, On Top of PR, has grown and become a powerful thought leadership tool
Why one of the most important business lessons Jason has learned over his career is to “stay out of debt and keep your cash flow high”
How the 2007/2008 recession and losing 40% of their clients shifted Jason’s perspective on the importance of understanding the numbers powering his business
What common mistakes Jason has seen agencies often make, and why it is important to “hire slow and fire fast”
Why taking a statistics course when studying to become a journalist served Jason well years later as a business leader
Why Axio Public Relations has always been paid upfront for their work, and why that has proven to be invaluable over the years
Why Jason believes you can’t be too aggressive about ensuring that you are paid quickly and on time

How to Connect with Jason Mudd: * Podcast: On Top of PR with Jason Mudd: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-top-of-pr/id1530395967 * Website: http://jasonmudd.com/ * Website: www.axiapr.com * Website: www.reviewmaxer.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmudd/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/axiapr/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/ReviewMaxer * Facebook: www.facebook.com/AxiaPR/ * Twitter: @jasonmudd9 * Twitter: @AxiaPR

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Jason Mudd: Jason Mudd is a trusted adviser and dynamic strategist to some of America’s most admired and fastest-growing companies, including American Airlines, Budweiser, Dave & Buster’s, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Southern Comfort, and Verizon. He is the CEO and managing partner of Axia Public Relations, one of America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021, according to Forbes. Jason is an Emmy Award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner, speaker, author, podcaster, and entrepreneur.

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Project management software for agencies? There are lots of options. Learn how to find the right platform for your agency with expert Gray MacKenzie. Hear insights about:

How Gray grew up in a huge family as the fourth of twelve kids, and how ZenPilot came to be
How Gray and his team scaled their agency and used their experiences to expand into consulting and helping other agencies
Why the team decided to slowly transition out of software development and focus exclusively on their consulting work
How the ClickUp project management software for agencies became ZenPilot’s focus, and how it differs from competing platforms
What agencies should specifically be looking for when considering ClickUp or other project management software
What agencies who benefit most from ClickUp are looking for, and why ClickUp offers a superior user experience
What kind of timeframe you should expect when implementing new project management software in your agency
Why adapting new project management software for agencies is a process that requires employee buy-in, adequate training, and other considerations you should keep in mind

Project Management Software for Agencies Great project management software can be a powerful tool for your agency, but there are lots of choices available. It can be time-consuming and costly to adopt new project management software for agencies, so how do you choose?

This week’s guest on the Progressive Agency podcast is Gray MacKenzie, CEO of ZenPilot. ZenPilot specializes in helping agencies take advantage of ClickUp, an all-in-one project management platform designed specifically for agencies.

In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Gray explains what agencies should be looking for when evaluating the various project management software platforms, he outlines what sets ClickUp apart from its competitors, and he offers insights into why choosing the right project management software for agencies can make such a dramatic difference for your agency’s efficiency and ability to get more done.

Choosing the Right Project Management Software for Agencies Gray explained that evaluating your options, understanding your goals, and matching your needs to the right project management software for agencies is crucial. The onboarding process typically takes around 10 weeks to complete, plus there are financial expenses to consider. That’s why choosing the right platform is so important, because going back to square one can be costly in both time and money.

It’s important to consider the features of project management software and ensure that all your boxes are being checked. Don’t buy into the marketing and do your due diligence before choosing which project management software for agencies will best meet your needs.

Making a Smooth Transition Once you’ve selected a platform from the long list of project management software for agencies, it’s then important to get employee buy-in and ensure that everyone is trained on the new project management tools. Partnering with an agency like ZenPilot can help you make a much smoother transition and hit the ground running, as well.

To learn more about Gray MacKenzie and his team at ZenPilot, you can visit their website at www.ZenPilot.com or reach out to Geoff directly at Gray@ZenPilot.com. And, as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

How to Connect with Gray MacKenzie: * Criteria for Choosing the Right PM Tool for Your Agency: https://doc.clickup.com/p/h/1ngg-91407/4d3718c67324e85 * Website: www.zenpilot.com * Email: Gray@ZenPilot.com * Schedule a Live Demo: https://meetings.hubspot.com/gray/schedule-demo * ClickUp Guide for Agencies: https://www.zenpilot.com/clickup-for-agencies-guide/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/graymackenzie/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/zenpilot * Facebook: www.facebook.com/zenpilothq * Twitter: @sgraymackenzie * Twitter: @ZenPilotHQ

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Gray MacKenzie: Gray MacKenzie from ZenPilot has gone under the hood of over 2100 digital agencies over the past 8 years in search of the best way to build and lead healthy teams and deliver better client services. Gray is a bona fide process nerd and today helps agencies streamline their operations inside a project management platform called ClickUp. You can learn more about Gray and read his definitive guide to ClickUp for agencies at ZenPilot.com.

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Marketing for agencies? If you want to stand out, don’t be afraid of big, bold, innovative ideas. Hear insights about:

How watching his father work as a professional sales trainer provided a sales background that has served Matt across his career
Matt shares the story of the first time he saw digital marketing convert people into customers, and why marketing for agencies can be a powerful way to grow
How Matt got the idea to create America’s Best Restaurants, as a way to connect diners with new restaurants they’ll love
How Matt’s business is expanding, and how he and his team repeatedly demonstrate the value of marketing
Why much of the secret to Matt’s career success has been about identifying opportunities that others have missed
Why spending big money and doing things differently has helped Matt differentiate his company from others in his space
How Matt and his team manage the big audacious projects they’re working on, and how they demonstrate their value to clients
What challenges Matt and his team at the agency face, and how they turn those challenges into opportunities for big wins
What key skills have served Matt most effectively across his career and in running his agency

How to Connect with Matt Plapp: * Website: https://mattplapp.com/ * Website: https://americasbestrestaurants.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mattplapp/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/therealmattplapp/ * Twitter: @mattplapp

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Matt Plapp: As the CEO of America’s Best Restaurants, Matt Plapp travels the country talking to restaurant owners about what’s working and what’s not.

Matt sees why they dislike marketing, because they don’t see if it works. Since 2008 Matt has been on a mission to help restaurants figure out how to see results from their marketing. It all comes down to getting the attention of your best customers MORE often. But in order to do that, you need to know who they are.

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Social media for agencies? The only metric that really matters is the outcome your agency gets, not the number of views or likes. Hear insights about:

How Jason developed his experience and expertise in social media for agencies, and how he has found his calling helping agencies do more with their social media
Why Jason decided to leave the corporate world and step into his strengths later in his career, and why going out on his own was the right decision
How Socialistics started as a side hustle before taking off, and why creating the right runway and momentum was key to Jason striking out on his own
How Jason defines “vanity metrics” and explains why the real measure of the effectiveness of your social media efforts is the outcome, not views and likes
Why the difference between a great agency and everyone else is having the ability to navigate social media to achieve the results you want
What Jason is most afraid of, and how building in a safety net and a “business nest egg” helped soothe those fears
Why understanding your numbers and having the right team supporting your goals is crucial for your agency’s success
Why, if your business is growing, it is important to get out ahead of your need for talented team members
Why the biggest thing Jason worked on as a business owner was learning “the power of no” and getting comfortable turning away wrong-fit business
Why one of the main challenges Jason has faced was dealing with the complexities of business taxes, and why working with a trusted tax partner has helped

How to Connect with Jason Yormark: * Website: www.jasonyormark.com * Website: https://socialistics.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jasonyormark/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/socialistics/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/socialistics * Twitter: @jasonyormark * Twitter: @socialistics

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Jason Yormark: Jason Yormark is the founder of Socialistics (www.socialistics.com), a leading B2B social media agency that helps businesses turn their social media efforts into real measurable results. He is a 20+ year marketing veteran whose prior work has included launching and managing social media efforts for Microsoft Advertising, Office for Mac, the Air Force and Habitat for Humanity. Jason has been recognized as a top B2B social media influencer and thought leader on multiple lists and publications including Forbes, ranking #30 on their 2012 list. Jason is a published author having released his first book in 2017, and currently resides in Snohomish, WA. You can learn more about Jason and catch more of his writing on his personal blog www.jasonyormark.com.

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explains how viral online marketing works. Hear insights about:

Why Benton describes himself as “three careers” deep into his journey, and how his career path led to being CEO of ad agency Harmon Brothers
How Benton’s business partners, his cousins, pioneered viral online marketing on YouTube, and how this led to the innovation of YouTube’s “skip ad” button
How the “skip ad” button has transitioned the power back to the viewer and encourages advertisers to add value and earn the attention of viewers
What key financial lessons Benton learned as he and his team were growing their advertising agency
Why it’s important to value the work you’re doing as much as the money you’re making for doing it
Why the common theme to Harmon Brothers’ big wins has been the marriage of an innovative product with equally innovative viral online marketing
What time-saving tips, strategies and tools the outbreak of the global pandemic taught Benton to use to make the most of his time and energy
Which three key “hats” within the business Benton wears, and why he attempts to delegate work that falls outside of those three hats
How Harmon Brothers has the goal of moving beyond ads and into TV and movie creation, and what exciting projects they’re working on now

How to Connect with Benton Crane: * Website: https://harmonbrothers.com/home * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/bentoncrane/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/harmon-brothers * Facebook: www.facebook.com/harmonbrothers/ * Twitters: @harmonbros

About Benton Crane: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Benton Crane: Benton Crane is the Chief Executive Officer of Harmon Brothers, a Provo, Utah-based ad agency behind the most viral ads in internet history. Since 2013, the agency has collectively driven more than 1 billion views and over $300 million in sales through its groundbreaking social media spots.

Crane believes in bringing excellence to everything he does. Starting his career as an automotive repair mechanic, he was honored as the #1 student mechanic in Utah and #2 in the nation. This knack for diagnosing and solving problems led him to study economics and data analytics. In 2011, he was hired by Deloitte in Washington DC where he served as a consultant with various clients across the national intelligence community.

In 2013, he joined newly formed Harmon Brothers for a campaign to promote Poo~Pourri, an internet ad that transformed the way products are marketed. Harmon Brothers went on to produce the most viral ads in internet history, including Squatty Potty, FiberFix, OraBrush, Poo~Pourri, and Purple. The renowned spotmakers just rolled out another already viral sensation, a brand-new spot for Chatbooks, a new product taking scrapbooking to the digital age.

Crane has managed the agency’s growth from its infancy to one of the most sought after ad agencies in the world.

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Profit First Method? It’s a better way to manage your agency’s money. Hear insights about:

How to participate in Craig’s Q&A sessions that take place each Tuesday at 2pm Eastern time
What the “Profit First Method” is, and how agency owners can take advantage of it to ensure that you always have money left over
How the Profit First Method uses different bank accounts to allow you to “sequester” your profits into different buckets
How the Profit First Method leaves money aside for operating expenses and for taxes and eliminates confusion
Why using the Profit First Method can be advantageous to both new agencies and to existing agencies looking for a better way to manage their money
How you can adapt the Profit First Method to better navigate challenging times such as the global pandemic

Resources: * Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz: https://amzn.to/3CdwWeM

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Key business metrics are vital to follow to minimize your tax burden and make your business more profitable. Hear insights about:

Why it’s vital to know your key business metrics and numbers so that you can make good business decisions
Where to look and which key business metrics to track that can help you save money on your taxes
Why your business cash flow is crucial, and why you should always be aware of your Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and Profit and Loss analyses
Why you should be checking your numbers and key business metrics on a regular basis throughout the year
What “basis” is and why it is an important tax concept to understand, and what actions will give you basis or cause you to lose basis
Why taking too much money out of your business can be an unexpected surprise that can cost you by disallowing you to take loss offsets
Why you can have a strong, viable business and still have zero basis even if you’ve got great cash flow
Why the type of business structure you’re operating under can impact whether or not you have basis
Why understanding your numbers and following your key business metrics can help your business operate more smoothly and become more profitable

Know Your Numbers: Key Business Metrics In this week’s solocast episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, I discuss why it is so important that you track your key business metrics and understand the numbers that power your business. If you aren’t following your numbers and regularly checking in with your tax professional, you could be in for unexpected surprises at tax time that could cost you.

Your Profit and Loss analysis, Accounts Receivable (AR), and Accounts Payable (AP) provide powerful information and insights into your business, and so understanding and tracking these key business metrics is crucial. Not only will it help you make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes, understanding your numbers can increase the profitability of your business and open new opportunities you would have missed out on otherwise.

Do You Have Basis? Your tax basis is another vitally important figure. Basis is typically calculated as how much you’ve invested in your business, and it’s calculated differently between business structures. But having positive basis is important, because if your basis goes into negative numbers, it could prevent you from taking deductions to offset losses your business has experienced. Basis can fluctuate based on various factors including how much you’ve paid yourself out from your business over the course of the year, and so it can be helpful to consult with an experienced tax professional to help you understand how much basis you have (or don’t have) and what the tax implications will be.

I invite you to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns about your key business metrics and tax basis, my team and I will be happy to help you better understand these concepts. And of course, please visit https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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R&D tax credits? They can save your business a lot of money…if you meet the four-part requirements. Hear insights about:

What R&D tax credits are, what qualifications the IRS expects a business to meet to qualify, and how R&D tax credits can help agency owners pay less in taxes
What four tests your R&D expenses must pass to qualify, and why the technological test is a crucial bar to pass
What sorts of R&D projects and initiatives would qualify for R&D tax credits, such as website redesign or AI implementation
How customizing an off-the-shelf marketing database for internal use does count as an R&D expense that would qualify for these tax credits
Geoff shares other example activities that would qualify as eligible R&D expenses that would meet IRS requirements
How 42 of the 50 states also offer state R&D tax credits, with varying and individual state requirements
Why checking your business activities against the four-part test is the first important step for getting started claiming eligible expenses as tax credits
Why market research does not meet the technological requirement and so would not be an eligible expense

R&D Tax Credits There are lots of ways your agency can save money on taxes, and too often agency owners leave money on the table for the IRS just because they aren’t aware of their options. R&D tax credits can be huge potential tax savings, but you have to meet a four-point list of requirements to qualify. However, there are many types of qualifying expenses that meet the requirement threshold and you might be surprised at the tax savings you’re missing out on by not taking advantage of R&D tax credits.

In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, expert Geoffrey Kimmel from Engineered Tax Services discusses these four key requirements and shares the many varied types of R&D that can qualify for R&D tax credits. If you’re looking to claim every credit and deduction available to you to minimize your tax liability, this episode explains a key type of credit you won’t want to overlook.

The Four Requirements for Claiming R&D Tax Credits As Geoff explained during our discussion, the IRS wants you to meet four key requirements for any R&D tax credits you wish to claim. To qualify for these credits, the expense you’re claiming must:

Improve a component of your business
Be technical in nature (website, internal use software, etc.)
Involve research that eliminates some degree of uncertainty (testing, etc.)
Involve “trial and error” to model the activity and evaluate its effectiveness

In other words, a website redesign would meet these requirements, for example. It involves improving a component of your business, it meets the technical standard, it involves research and the elimination of uncertainty, and it involves trial and error, tweaking and adjusting.

As Geoff explained, the technological bar is the main one you need to be certain to clear. Something like market research wouldn’t qualify, even if it involved the use of technology, because the technology isn’t the focus of the improvements.

If you think some of your business expenses might qualify for R&D tax credits, the first step is to check against those four key requirements. Of course, working with an experienced tax professional can help you ensure that you’re meeting the threshold for qualification, so talk to your tax advisor if you aren’t certain.

To learn more about Geoff Kimmel and his team at Engineered Tax Services, you can visit their website at https://engineeredtaxservices.com/ or reach out to Geoff directly at gkimmel@engineeredtaxservices.com. And, as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

How to Connect with Geoffrey Kimmel: * Call Geoff: (609) 915-1607 * Email Geoff: gkimmel@engineeredtaxservices.com * Website: https://engineeredtaxservices.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/geoffkimmel * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/engineered-tax-services * Facebook: www.facebook.com/engineeredtax/ * Twitter: @EngineeredTax

Additional Resources: * + FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download + Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com + Twitter: @CraigC2742 + LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Geoffrey Kimmel: Geoffrey Kimmel has an extensive financial services background including service in the specialty tax, commercial banking, and insurance industries. Since 2010, he has consulted heavily with ETS clients to identify, qualify, and capture tax benefits. Prior assignments included managing Treasury Management consulting teams serving clients ranging from Small Business to Fortune 500 companies designing and delivering custom-developed operational, systems and process improvement solutions. He has personally consulted with American Express, US Air, Comcast and Merrill Lynch as well as numerous firms ranging from small business to Fortune 500. As CFO and Board Member for a regional bank, he managed all bank operations and financial activities. He was part of a select team that redesigned all treasury practices for the City and County of Denver. Geoff is a frequent speaker at industry events, with individual and firm wide CEU and CPE sessions on a variety of topics.

Geoff holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Drexel University.

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Small business tax saving strategies? Expert Craig Cody gives an overview of the many ways your agency can save money on taxes going forward.

In this special episode, you’ll hear audio from the Build A Better Agency podcast, where Craig Cody is interviewed by host Drew McLellan from the Agency Management Institute. Hear insights about:

How the onset of the global pandemic brought many changes to tax code including the PPP loan, EIDL and other small business tax saving strategies
What key considerations to keep in mind about the interaction between the Employee Retention Credit and the Paycheck Protection Program loan
Why expenses related to the global pandemic may be able to be deducted, and what qualifications to be aware of
What the “Augusta Rule” is, and how business and agency owners can take advantage of the rule to move funds from their business to themselves with no tax liability
Why a home office is the first step toward significant tax deductions, such as putting in a pool or a home gym
Why it is important to check in with your tax strategist throughout the year, and why strong communication and proactivity are crucial
What a Defined Benefit Program is, how it can benefit agency and business owners over the long term, and how it can be the ideal companion to your business exit strategies
Why too few business owners take advantage of the Qualified Business Income Deduction, and what to ask when evaluating a potential new tax advisor

Small Business Tax Saving Strategies This week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast is a bit different. In it, you’ll hear audio from a conversation I had with Drew McLellan on his Build A Better Agency podcast. Drew’s focus and passion are directed toward helping agency owners of all kinds grow, strengthen and scale their businesses.

During our conversation, I was able to give Drew’s audience a high-level overview of the many potential credits, deductions and other small business tax saving strategies that many business owners don’t even realize are available to them.

The saying goes, “you don’t know what you don’t know”, and so this week’s podcast episode will hopefully open your eyes to money that you’re leaving on the table for the IRS unnecessarily. My goal is to dispel some of the myths around small business taxes, help you keep more of what you make, and ensure that your agency is on sound financial footing and that you’re fully prepared for your eventual retirement.

PPP, EIDL, ERC and the Augusta Rule There are so many ways that you can reduce your tax liability and credits that you can apply for that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, a great tax professional can help you make sense of things and can often help you find money you’re leaving on the table.

Ask yourself, is your current tax pro actively seeking deductions? Are you checking in with them regularly, throughout the year, to strategize about ways you can be saving money? If not, you’re almost definitely missing out on deductions, credits and other smart financial solutions.

That’s because, to make the most of PPP, EIDL, ERC, the Augusta Rule and other opportunities, you have to be proactive. Once you wait until it’s time to file, it’s probably too late. That’s why you should be talking to your tax professional regularly, giving them a very clear overview of your business and what has changed since you last spoke, so that they can be looking for these solutions. As Drew mentioned in our conversation, he’s very good at what he does, but he’s not a tax specialist. So, having a trusted advisor in his corner can make a big difference in the amount of his money he gets to keep.

I know you’ll find my conversation with Drew helpful. This is a great opportunity to get up to speed on some of the options available to you, and I urge you to speak to your tax advisor and ensure that you’re taking advantage of every available opportunity.

Additional Resources: * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Drew McLellan: For 30+ years, Drew McLellan has been in the advertising industry. He started his career at Y&R, worked in boutique-sized agencies and then started his own (which he still owns and runs) agency in 1995. Additionally, Drew owns and leads the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to grow their agency and its profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops and more.

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Challenges faced in talent acquisition? The global pandemic has made them even more difficult to overcome, but expert Art Boulay is here to offer advice. Hear insights about:

How the outbreak of the global pandemic has created new and unique challenges faced in talent acquisition that all agency owners are being forced to deal with
Why so many employees are now wanting to work from home, change careers or go back to school
Why, prior to the pandemic, it took an average of 90 days to fill a position, and how since the pandemic that time frame has shifted to 4-6 months
Why salary expectations have gone up, and why agencies must adapt to this fact along with work-from-home expectations
Why now is the right time to take a hard look at your company culture, the speed of your hiring process, and your interviewing and screening process
How Art helps agency owners address their blind spots and recognize weaknesses within their teams
Why expediency and focus are crucial for finding the right employees and offering them a position before someone else does
What steps you can take to improve your talent retention, and why open communication is crucial for making your team feel valued
Why genuine connections are crucial, especially during and after the pandemic, and why remote tools like Zoom can be speed bumps for relationship-building
How to conduct a great and informative exit interview that ensures you’re getting value from your exiting employee’s feedback

Challenges Faced in Talent Acquisition The media has recently been devoting a lot of time to the challenges of this unprecedented job market. Employees have greater salary expectations, increasingly want to continue working from home post-lockdown, and are leaving their positions in greater numbers than ever before. This is a universal issue for agency owners who are often desperately competing with each other for talented candidates.

In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, expert Art Boulay from Strategic Talent Management and I discuss these common but difficult hiring and retention challenges, and Art shares valuable wisdom on how to strengthen your relationships with your team members to ensure that they feel valued, how to be flexible in meeting their expectations, and how to speed up and improve your hiring and onboarding processes.

The Pandemic: Magnifying the Challenges Faced in Talent Acquisition Many of the trends we’re seeing today were already beginning, even before the outbreak of Covid-19. However, as we collectively scrambled to begin working remotely during lockdown, these trends were quickened, for a number of reasons.

Many employees have been hesitant to return to working in an office, due to concerns about health safety as well as having enjoyed greater flexibility and freedom during work-from-home. Many people during the pandemic found that they appreciated not having to commute to the office and being able to be home with their families during lockdown, and they are reluctant to give those things up as we begin to return to our workplaces.

Likewise, employees’ salary expectations have climbed over the pandemic. During our conversation, Art said it’s important to recognize these expectations and to be flexible about meeting them. After all, if you’re forcing your team to work in the office and aren’t offering them a salary increase, your competitor begins to look more appealing.

Also, many employees are choosing to leave their careers right now. Perhaps they have experienced the unexpected during the pandemic, or perhaps they are reevaluating their career goals. Some are choosing to go back to school or shift gears altogether. Art says it’s important to remember that this isn’t your fault… every business is having to deal with these same challenges faced in talent acquisition and retention.

What Can Be Done As far as retention goes, Art says flexibility will certainly help. But it’s also important to put in the time and effort to develop real relationships with the members of your team. Employees want to feel valued and appreciated, so taking the time to meet with them and periodically check in is key.

If a team member does decide to leave, an exit interview can be a useful way of finding out what has prompted the change. Perhaps something in their life circumstances has changed, or perhaps it’s something to do with the role itself. Either way, be open to the feedback. What you learn can help you adapt your company’s culture and your expectations.

As far as hiring, Art says it’s important to act swiftly. Identify areas where your hiring and onboarding processes could be accelerated or streamlined. With so many agencies competing for candidates, how quickly you can pull the trigger can often mean the difference. Be very clear and intentional about the vacant role and interview a few high-quality candidates quickly.

How to Connect with Art Boulay: * Blog: https://strategictalentmgmt.com/blog/ * Website: https://strategictalentmgmt.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/artboulay/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/strategic-talent-management/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/Strategic-Talent-Management-77066671390/

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Art Boulay: Art Boulay, MBA, is CEO of Strategic Talent Management, a consulting firm he co-founded based in Maine with clients all over the US. Like you, he recognizes that organizations spend lots of money solving problems caused by a lack of soft skills among their leaders, managers, employees and new hires. He is an expert in solving those people challenges.

Art brings practical ideas, humor and common sense solutions to each assignment. He specializes in organizational planning, succession & leadership, and is a certified behavioral and leadership coach. He is an expert in applying assessment tools to solve real-world challenges in coaching & development, hiring, promotion and recruitment.

Art has lived in Maine most of his life and enjoys hiking and camping in the beautiful north woods of his home state. He currently makes his home in Brunswick, Maine with his wife Lori.

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How to improve efficiency at work? It’s about managing your time and focusing on your numbers and metrics, says agency owner Jessica Hughes. Hear insights about:

Why Jessica decided to run an agency, and how early childhood experiences pushed Jessica and her husband Randall to consider specializing in food and beverage
How Jessica and Randall’s passion has led to running their businesses differently and taught them how to improve efficiency at work
How focusing on their business allowed Jessica and Randall to have a “light at the end of the tunnel” through the pandemic
Why budgeting projects and understanding the financials behind them is a crucial part of Jessica’s work
Why focusing on developing a strong understanding of your metrics and numbers is crucial for growing your agency
How Jessica and Randall’s open efforts to manage their finances inspires their team to be budget conscious too
How Jessica structures her week to ensure that she’s managing everything, including setting meetings during her “business development Mondays”
How appearing on Good Morning America created a huge amount of work for Jessica’s spice business, and how her family pulled together to get through the challenge

How to Improve Efficiency at Work Efficiency isn’t just about getting more done. Being efficient with your time can save you from headaches and blind spots in your agency. Being efficient with your finances allows you to stretch them further and can make your agency more profitable.

In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Jessica Hughes, Managing Director of food and beverage-focused content agency Viscul, shares how to improve efficiency at work by dividing up your time into focused “buckets”, by managing your expenses and tracking your metrics, and by instilling these values into your team.

How to Improve Efficiency at Work — Time Efficiency As Jessica explained during our conversation, her life was already hectic as a wife and mom, through her work at Viscul, and running her family’s other business, Calicutts Spice Co. And that was before the pandemic shook everything up. With so many plates spinning in the air, Jessica hsa found it crucially important that she divides up her work week into “buckets” of time. For example, Jessica said that Mondays are designated as her business development days.

Carving up time to devote to every important aspect of the business is vital, and Jessica even tries to schedule meetings during appropriate time buckets. This way, she’s dedicating a portion of her time to all of the things that need her attention, without letting anything critical slip through the cracks.

Statistically speaking, women live an average of 6-8 years longer than men do. However, they typically retire with only ⅔ of the money men retire with. That’s precisely why Katie says it’s crucial for women to begin planning for their retirement with intentionality and clear goals in mind.

However, as Katie explained during the podcast episode, many women consider their finances to be extremely private information. In fact, Katie said that many women are more comfortable talking about their sexual health than their financial health. This stigma can be harmful, because “you don’t know what you don’t know”. You could be making serious financial mistakes without being aware of it. That’s why working with an experienced professional is so crucial.

How to Improve Efficiency at Work — Money Efficiency One of the other key pieces of advice Jessica shared during our conversation is how important it is for agency owners to truly take the time to understand their financial situation, expenses and other metrics. When you know how much you’re spending on a project and you also know how much you’ll profit from the project, you can better manage the spread. It makes no sense to produce a widget for ten dollars and then sell it for eight dollars, for example. The more detailed and granular your view of your important metrics, the better decisions you can make for your agency.

To learn more about Viscul and Jessica Hughes, please visit their website at https://visculcreative.com/. And, as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

How to Connect with Jessica Hughes: * Website: https://visculcreative.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessicarhughes/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/viscul/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visculcreative * Twitter: @viscul

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

About Jessica Hughes: Jessica Hughes is the Managing Director of Viscul, an award-winning creative content agency specializing in food and beverage as their bread and butter, located in the rural town of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The Viscul team, including Randall, her husband and the agency’s Creative Director, serves retailers, growers and manufacturers up and down the east coast. In her spare time, she keeps things spicy with their other growing business – Calicutts Spice Co. Jessica has been named among Central Pennsylvania’s 40 under 40 and Women of Influence.

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Expert Katie Keating from Fancy LLC discusses financial challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and key money info women need to know. Hear insights about:

Katie explains founding Fancy LLC in 2011 during the “3% Movement” that was created because just 3% of creative directors at the time were women
How the fact that 80% of buying decisions are made by women illustrated a real opportunity for Katie and her co-founder to meet that challenge
How Katie and her co-founder were passionate about doing business right but struggled with the financial side because they had no training
What important, unique challenges faced by female entrepreneurs can be overcome with an increase in financial literacy and understanding the value of your work
How Fancy conducted a survey of women over 40 and gained extraordinary insights into this important demographic
Why women over 40, on the whole, are happy being the age they are, and why brands too often target women as if they wished they were younger
How women typically retire with 2/3 of the money that men retire with, even though they live on average 6-8 years longer than men
Why it is crucial for any business owner to begin thinking about their retirement future now
How Fancy LLC focuses on “taboo” products and services for women, and how this surprisingly includes financial issues

Challenges Faced by Female Entrepreneurs We all know about challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and business leaders, such as the pay gap between what women are paid and what their male peers are paid for the same job. However, there are many other, less obvious disparities that women in business face. Too often, women business owners are left to “figure finances out” themselves. And it’s not just in business, either. For example, in the world of advertising, did you know that the vast majority of creative directors are male? This is surprising, especially considering that 80% of buying decisions are made by women.

Katie Keating has a deep understanding of these issues. As the co-founder of women-focused advertising agency Fancy LLC, Katie recognized that these disparities created a unique opportunity to position women-owned and operated Fancy within the industry.

In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Katie shares some of the key facts and considerations women business owners, especially women over 40, need to be aware of. And she shares some of the important challenges and lessons she experienced in building and growing her own agency.

Understanding Women Over 40’s Unique Financial Concerns Statistically speaking, women live an average of 6-8 years longer than men do. However, they typically retire with only ⅔ of the money men retire with. That’s precisely why Katie says it’s crucial for women to begin planning for their retirement with intentionality and clear goals in mind.

Improving Your Financial Literacy There are many different methods of improving your financial literacy to make more informed decisions about your long-term financial needs. Sitting down with a professional can be powerful, but you can also explore free and paid online training to shore up your knowledge. Katie and her co-founder felt like they were floundering and had to figure out the finances of running a business on their own, and this created a number of early headaches and struggles for their business. By taking the time to educate yourself on your finances and your options, you can avoid many of the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and business leaders.

How to Connect with Katie Keating: * Website: www.fancynyc.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/katiekeating/ * LinedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fancy/ * Twitter: @whatwefancy

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Tips for scaling a business that can help you build a powerful foundation for your business and its growth. Hear insights about:

Why Sean created Whiteboard Marketing in an effort to leave the corporate grind and be more present in the lives of his family
How Sean grew Whiteboard Marketing from a solo operation in 2005 to more than 30+ team members today, and why he was attracted to the dental practice marketing niche
What key tips for scaling a business Sean learned when creating and growing Whiteboard Marketing
Why you should focus on building your revenue to support the growth of your business before you build out your team and office
How mastering your execution on your offerings and streamlining your processes is crucial for helping your business thrive
Why Sean wishes he had hired someone early on in the life of Whiteboard Marketing whose focus was solely on business development
Why one of Sean’s biggest tips for scaling a business is that discipline is a crucial time-management and business leadership skill
Why surrounding yourself with the right clients whose businesses are capable of weathering storms is key to long term success

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Sean White: * Website: https://whiteboard-mktg.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/seanwhitewm/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/whiteboard-marketing/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/WhiteboardMktg/ * Twitter: @Whiteboard_Mktg

About Sean White: Sean White founded Whiteboard Marketing in 2005 and since has continued to flourish as one of the top dental marketing firms in the country. With its unmatched level of personalized service, Whiteboard Marketing continues to fulfill the original mission of providing comprehensive marketing solutions to dental practices. The Whiteboard Marketing team includes account executives, social media specialists, online reputation specialists, a web development team, SEO and Local SEO specialists, pay-per-click specialists, graphic designers, and more. The Whiteboard Marketing team loves finding new and innovative ways to help dental practices attract, acquire and retain patients.

Sean credits his clients for where Whiteboard Marketing is today! Since 2005, Sean has built relationships with dental practices throughout the country and dental association partners such as The Paragon Program, ACT Dental, and The Seattle Study Club, helping them meet their sales and marketing goals. Sean is a graduate of The Ohio State University. His wife Jody is an Account Executive at Whiteboard Marketing and they have three very active teenagers and Lacey-a golden retriever that serves as Chief Barketing Officer.

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Employee Retention Credit 2021? Here’s everything you need to know to take advantage of this powerful tax credit. Hear insights about:

How the Employee Retention Credit was made available in the first CARES Act, and how in the second version it was made available in conjunction with PPP
How the Employee Retention Credit 2021 version works, and how the rules have changed since the first version
How you can qualify for the Employee Retention Credit 2021 if you had at least a 20% drop in revenue compared to the same quarter in 2019
How the Employee Retention Credit pays 70% of the first $10,000 in wages paid to an employee
Why you automatically qualify for the credit in a quarter following the quarter in which you experienced the revenue drop
Why the intent of the Employee Retention Credit is to help subsidize your payroll and offset losses
How the owner of a business qualifies for the credit, as does their spouse and any employees not related to more than 50% of the owners of the business
How the qualification depends on if you suffered a 50% reduction in receipts in 2020, or a 20% reduction in 2021 and are in a trade or business
Why you should make sure that you aren’t using the same salaries to qualify for both the Employee Retention Credit and either round 1 or 2 of the PPP
What important differences exist between the Paycheck Protection Program and the Employee Retention Credit

Employee Retention Credit 2021: Everything You Need To Know In this week’s solocast episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, I discuss the ins and outs of the Employee Retention Credit, one of the two programs created for businesses as part of the CARES Act to aid them in paying their employees during the global pandemic. The intent was to subsidize employee pay for businesses that experienced a large financial loss due to the pandemic.

The Employee Retention Credit has gone through a few changes since its inception; it was updated to work alongside the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). However, it is important to make sure that you aren’t using the same employee salaries to qualify for both programs. The credit equals 70% of the first $10,000 of a qualified employee’s salary.

So who qualifies for this credit? Business owners do, as do their spouses. However, their children do not, as anyone related to more than 50% of the owners of a business are ineligible. To activate this credit, you must have experienced a 50% reduction in revenue compared to the same quarter in 2019, or a 20% reduction in 2021. You must also be in a trade or business, so most agencies would qualify.

To learn more about Employee Retention Credit 2021 implications for your taxes, please reach out to me. And of course, please visit https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Employee recruitment strategies that can help you overcome staffing challenges during the pandemic is the key topic. Hear insights about:

How Drew and his Agency Management Institute recognized a need for a conference specifically designed for small agencies
How the Build A Better Agency Summit, being held in Chicago on August 10th and 11th, is being tailored to teach small agency owners how to run their businesses better
What exciting and informative topics will be covered at the Build A Better Agency Summit, and what health and safety precautions have been put in place
Drew offers employee recruitment strategies for agencies that are struggling to retain and hire new team members
Why it is important to make sure that you are investing in your staff and constantly recruiting, and why you should be flexible and understanding
What strategies Drew recommends, including augmenting your team with freelancers and streamlining and speeding up your hiring process
How more than 50% of employees in the US are presently considering leaving their current jobs, and what factors are contributing to that statistic
Why taking care of your team members is crucial, especially given the challenges they may be facing in their personal lives due to the pandemic

Employee Recruitment Strategies for Agency Owners Due to the unprecedented challenges of the global pandemic, many agencies are experiencing challenges recruiting and retaining talented employees. My encore guest for this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast is Drew McLellan from the Agency Management Institute. Drew is an expert at helping agencies tackle the tough challenges they face, and in this episode, he shares employee recruitment strategies and tips to help agencies deal with their staffing challenges in these difficult times.

Employee Recruitment Strategies As Drew explained during our conversation, employees are facing major life challenges and it is inevitable that some employees will make the decision to leave. That’s why it’s crucial that you are flexible and accommodating with your existing employees. Show them that you want to help them address these challenges. Employees who recognize that their employers are looking for solutions are more likely to stay.

Additionally, Drew says it’s important to find ways to speed up your hiring process. Sky-high levels of job openings mean your prospective employees have multiple options. The quicker you can speed them through the interview and hiring process, the better your chances of being the first to offer them a position. You might also consider adding freelancers to your team to help cover any gaps as we slowly begin to emerge from the pandemic.

Most importantly, understand that employees may be leaving not because they choose to but because they have to due to circumstances outside of their control. Some of those employees may return at a later time once things settle down again; some may not. Showing empathy and understanding will go a long way toward encouraging these employees to return once their circumstances improve.

The “Build A Better Agency” Summit On August 10-11, 2021, Drew and the Agency Management Institute are offering a one-of-a-kind conference specifically designed for small agencies with fewer than 100 employees. There will be numerous guest speakers and experts who can offer you valuable insights into how to grow your agency, overcome the challenges you’re facing, and best practices for maximizing your productivity and improving your profitability. You can learn more about the upcoming event at https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/babasummit/.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.craigcodyandcompany.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Drew McLellan: * Learn More About the Build A Better Agency Summit August 10-11 in Chicago: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/babasummit/ * Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan * Website: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/

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Creating cash flow by investing your agency profits into real estate or other vehicles can help you grow your wealth. Hear insights about:

How Gumas Advertising found its niche in “Challenger Brand Marketing” focused on helping businesses compete with huge, well-funded competitors
How John got involved in real estate investing with the goal of creating cash flow that could support him even after he sold his agency
How the first real estate purchase John made was the building his agency’s office was located in, so that he could be his own landlord
Why John strongly recommends you consider buying your office, even if your team is working remotely for the foreseeable future
How buying one building allowed John to continue buying other buildings and further growing his monthly cash flow
Why John believes it is important to use the money your agency generates to further grow your assets and investments
How John has invested in new construction projects, and why it is important to make connections with people you can trust when investing your money
How using your non-taxable accounts to fund your investments can save you big money in taxes
Why it is important to build the right team with the right real estate, legal and financial advisors who understand your goals and how to get you there
Why John considers it less risky and more profitable to spend a little more money buying properties in better areas

Creating Cash Flow for Agency Owners As I’ve discussed before, investing some of your money to generate reliable monthly income independent of your agency’s work can be a powerful way to build wealth. Creating cash flow through your investments gives your money the power to grow itself. My guest for this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast is John Gumas, a branding and marketing expert and the founder of Gumas Advertising. During our conversation, John shares powerful tips for creating cash flow and making your money work harder for you by investing in real estate, and he explains the benefits of smart real estate investing.

Why Real Estate? John wanted to create passive investment income that would pay him as much each month as what he was making through his agency’s work, so that if he decided to sell his agency he wouldn’t be caught flat-footed. His first real estate investment was buying the office building his agency was working in, so that he could become his own landlord.

He then set up a second business to oversee his real estate investments. Essentially, John’s agency was paying John’s real estate business rent each month, allowing John to keep his money by transferring it legally between businesses. This had an unexpected upside when the global pandemic caused John’s agency team to begin working from home, because John was able to repurpose the agency’s former office and bring in even greater wealth.

The Power of Creating Cash Flow John’s first building purchase was a smart one, and it allowed him to then reinvest his money into a second building purchase nearby. This snowball effect has resulted in John owning multiple buildings and even being able to invest in new construction. All the while, he’s still drawing in money from his agency in addition to his rental income from his properties, dramatically increasing the value of John’s investment portfolio. John truly is putting his money to work to build his wealth by creating cash flow through real estate investing, giving him financial freedom in a way that his agency work alone wouldn’t have been able to achieve.

If you would like to learn more about John Gumas, Gumas Advertising or challenger brand marketing, visit their website at https://gumas.com/.

And of course, please visit https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with John Gumas: * Website: https://gumas.com/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/john-gumas-08046/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/gumas-/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/Gumas.Advertising/ * Twitter: @Gumas_SF

About John Gumas: A veteran of the advertising and interactive marketing industry, John Gumas founded Gumas Advertising in 1984. Today, the award-winning firm is consistently named as one of the top branding and interactive marketing firms by the California Business Times.

John is recognized as one of the country’s foremost authorities on challenger brand marketing. He is the author of the popular books “Marketing Smart” and “Challenger Brand Marketing” which describe how challenger brands can effectively develop marketing strategies to take on their larger competitors. In addition, John has been an adjunct professor of branding, advertising and interactive marketing, a sought after speaker and a regular columnist for several publications and blogs.

John currently sits on many boards, including the San Francisco Giants CF, The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, San Francisco State University Foundation, The Greater San Francisco Advertising Club, The Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame and The Elios Society.

John was recently inducted into the San Francisco State University Hall of Fame, and was Alumnus of the Year. John has also been recognized for his extensive community service and leadership by the U.S. Senate and the San Francisco Giants.

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Employee lives in another state? Expert Craig Cody explains the complex tax and compliance issues when hiring remote employees. Hear insights about:

How hiring out-of-state employees and the increasing prevalence of remote work can impact your taxes and cause compliance issues you need to know about
Why the first thing you’ll need to do is register with your employee’s home state for withholding tax and potentially unemployment tax
Why compliance requirements may vary from state to state, and why there may be various types of insurance you’ll need to have depending on the state
Why you should also research what types of leave coverage you may be required to have, and why an experienced CPA or a trusted payroll company can help
Why more often than not, you’ll also need to register in your employee’s home state as a “foreign corporation”
Why most states will require a minimum tax amount you’ll have to pay, depending on your organization’s entity type
How each state uses its own unique formula to determine how much of your income you’ll need to allocate to that state
Why many businesses “flew under the compliance radar” in the past, and why the pandemic and growth of remote work is likely to result in increased compliance scrutiny
How hiring out-of-state employees may create personal filing responsibility for you in the employee’s home state

Employee Lives In Another State: Tax and Compliance Concerns With the global pandemic, more and more employees are working remotely. When you have an employee that is working in a different state, it can create some very important tax compliance issues that you need to be aware of. In this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, I go over some of these concerns and explain key concepts that often differ from state-to-state.

What to Know When an Employee Lives In Another State If you hire an employee that resides in a different state from the home state of your business, you’ll need to register with that employee’s state for the purposes of withholding tax, and possibly even unemployment tax. You may be required to have various forms of insurance as well. Most states will have a minimum tax you’ll need to pay, and each state’s requirements for payment vary.

Working closely with an experienced CPA or a payroll company can help you navigate these requirements and ensure that you’re compliant with your employee’s home state tax rules. Though in the past, many businesses failed to take these steps and managed to fly under the radar, the increase in remote work due to the global pandemic means that many states are beginning to crack down on non-compliant businesses. Doing the necessary work to ensure that you’re meeting the requirements when an employee lives in another state can save you a huge headache down the road.

If you’d like to learn more about out-of-state tax and compliance issues, please feel free to reach out to me. And as always, please visit my Progressive Agency podcast archive at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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Real estate cash flow tips from master investor Chris Prefontaine. Terms real estate deals can be a powerful way for agency owners to start investing. Hear insights about:

How Chris first got involved in real estate in 1991, and how he reinvented himself and his business model after the real estate crash of 2008
Why it is important to learn from people who have navigated real challenges and survived (and thrived) through them
What the real estate “terms” deals are, how it differs from other forms of real estate investing, and how it can help you build long-term wealth
How Chris has designed his strategies to be the ideal cash flow stream regardless of what the real estate market looks like
How Chris’s model creates three distinct “paydays” over the course of a deal, and what kinds of profits Chris and his students typically make from their deals
Why the real secret to finding success with Chris’s real estate investing methods is to come in serious, committed, and prepared to commit for 36 months
Why real estate terms deals don’t require huge amounts of money to get started, and why Chris suggests you choose an investing niche and then learn from the right teacher

Real Estate Cash Flow for Agency Owners Investing your money is crucial for growing your wealth and creating real monthly cash flow, and real estate can potentially serve as a powerful vehicle for growing your portfolio. However, it’s crucial to learn from someone who has truly thrived through every challenge. Chris Prefontaine is a master real estate investor and coach who teaches people how to use “terms” real estate investing to create generational wealth for themselves and their families. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Chris shares how his “terms” niche works, how it creates three separate “paydays” per deal, and how his methods have been designed to be safe and reliable…no matter how chaotic the real estate market becomes.

Learning from Someone Who Has Been There No matter what sort of investing you’re interested in doing or what new skills you want to learn, Chris says it is crucial to learn from someone who has been through tough times and weathered them. Chris himself got started in real estate investing in 1991, and the real estate market collapse and Great Recession of 2008 hit his business hard.

Rather than give up, Chris took what he learned from these challenges and modified his systems and processes to become much more resilient, no matter what the larger real estate market was doing. In going through the challenges of the Great Recession, Chris was able to learn and grow and become an even stronger business leader and coach. That’s why Chris believes that learning from someone who has survived their own challenges is much more beneficial than learning from someone who has never had to navigate hard times.

Real Estate Cash Flow Can Help You Grow Your Agency Investing in the real estate market doesn’t have to be overwhelming when you learn from an established coach like Chris Prefontaine, and adding real estate to your investment portfolio can be a powerful investment in yourself and your agency. Not only are you helping safeguard against disaster by adding an outside source of income independent of your business, you can use the cash flow your portfolio creates to further invest in your agency, add new team members, and accelerate the growth of your business.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris Prefontaine, his family team, his coaching and his unique “three paydays per deal” real estate investing strategies, you can visit his website at www.SmartRealEstateCoach.com.

And as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Chris Prefontaine: * Free Webinar: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/webinar * Free Strategy Call with Chris’s Family Team: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/action * Free Book: www.freesrecbook.com * Get a free chapter of Chris’s newly revised book “Real Estate On Your Terms”: www.smartrealestatecoach.com/thriving * Facebook: www.facebook.com/smartrealestatecoach * Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/chrisprefontaine * Twitter: @SmartRECoach

About Chris Prefontaine: Chris Prefontaine is the best-selling author of Real Estate on Your Terms: Create Continuous Cash Flow Now, Without Using Your Cash or Credit. He’s also the founder of SmartRealEstateCoach.com and the Smart Real Estate Coach Podcast.

Chris has been in real estate for over 30 years. His experience ranges from constructing new homes in the 1990s and owning a Realty Executive Franchise to running his own investments
(commercial & residential) and coaching clients throughout North America.

After the crash of 2008, Chris reengineered his entire business to weather all storms and economic cycles. Understanding these challenges, he helps students navigate the constantly changing real estate waters.

Today, Chris runs his own buying and selling businesses with his family team, which purchases 2-5 properties monthly, so they’re in the trenches every single week. They also help their Associates and students do the exact same thing all across North America, working together on another 25-30 properties every month.

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Business time management tips from special guest Elizabeth Sutherland can help you and your team get more done in less time…and with less headache. Hear insights about:

How Elizabeth and her business partner merged their competing agencies to create Sutherland Weston
What sets Sutherland Weston apart from its competitors, and how understanding Maine and the communities they serve help them stand out in the market
Why watching the organization’s macro and micro finances at all times proved vital for their growth, and what business time management tips have made the most difference
What common financial mistakes agency owners often make when they’re growing their businesses, and why Elizabeth believes it’s crucial to think broadly and with bold vision
Why it is crucial to be willing to take risks as a business owner, as long as you’re focusing on the right risks
How Sutherland Weston prides themselves on being a “one-stop shop” full-service agency that doesn’t need to outsource work very often
How the outbreak of the global pandemic has impacted Sutherland Weston, and what key pivots and transitions the organization made to navigate the challenges
What business time management tips and strategies Elizabeth uses to accomplish more during her day that help her move the needle for her business
Why effective time management is a crucial skill to develop, regardless of what industry you’re operating in

Business Time Management Tips Elizabeth Sutherland is the CEO and Brand Strategy Director of Maine-based marketing agency Sutherland Weston. In merging and growing her agency, Elizabeth has learned many important skills and strategies that have helped her excel in her role, including business time management tips that have allowed Elizabeth and her team to get more done and really differentiate themselves from their competitors throughout Maine.

The Importance of Time Management No matter what kind of agency you run or what industry you operate in, time management is a crucial business skill that you must develop to be a successful leader. Especially in today’s highly competitive and ever-shifting market, time management is one of the crucial ingredients you need to be able to swiftly adapt your business to overcome its challenges, especially in the age of pandemic.

One of the biggest business time management tips Elizabeth shared during our conversation is the importance of focusing on the right priorities. It can be very easy to get distracted by the little things and lose sight of the big picture. As Elizabeth explained, her organization at one point had a bookkeeper who was extremely focused on tracking and managing all of the small office expenses, down to how many paperclips the team was going through. However, the bookkeeper was spending so much time on the little expenses that she wasn’t getting all of the billing done. She lost track of the big picture stuff by wasting too much time on less important priorities… and this in turn impacted the overall success of the agency.

Business Time Management Tips for Moving the Needle One of the key strategies Elizabeth employs is that she takes time out each week to make a fresh list of major priorities. It isn’t a simple “to-do” list but rather a high-level view of her week and where she can best spend her limited time. At the end of each evening, Elizabeth writes down the three most important things she needs to accomplish the next day, and the next morning she works hard to ensure that those three key priorities are accomplished before noon. This way, Elizabeth is preventing herself from losing track of the things that matter amidst the many small things that are trying to shift her attention away throughout the day.

I hope you enjoy this week’s episode of the Progressive Agency podcast with Elizabeth Sutherland. Her business time management tips and thoughts on vision and risk-taking are sure to help you in your own work. If you’d like to learn more about Elizabeth Sutherland and her team at Sutherland Weston, please visit their website.

And as always, please visit me at https://craigcodyandcompany.com/agency-podcast/ for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Elizabeth Sutherland: * Website: www.sutherlandweston.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/esutherland/ * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/sutherland-weston * Facebook: www.facebook.com/SutherlandWestonInc/ * Twitter: @SWMC_Inc

About Elizabeth Sutherland: Elizabeth Sutherland, APR is the Sutherland of Sutherland Weston Marketing Communications. Originally from Maine’s largest and most northern county, Aroostook (affectionately known as “The County”), after college Elizabeth worked for the United States Senate, the American Red Cross, and Northern Light Health in increasingly complex public relations and marketing roles before launching out to create her own firm in 2003. She is a graduate of the Bangor Region Leadership Institute and winner of the Mobilize Maine Momentum award in 2014, the 2016 G. Clifton Eames Leadership Award and the Girl Scouts of Maine 2017 Juliette Award for Leadership. She serves on several non-profit boards and in leadership roles for a variety of local and state-wide organizations including the International Women’s Forum, Bangor Symphony Orchestra, United Way of Eastern Maine, the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors’ Board, and the Advisory Board for Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center.

Elizabeth is an experienced marketing professional with expertise in campaign strategy development, budgeting, research, and measurement. She is also an avid reader, writer, runner, mother of two teenage boys and wife to a radio-talk-show host.

As a Maine entrepreneur, Elizabeth directly understands the challenges many Maine-based businesses face and has made it her mission to help grow Maine’s economy whenever she can.

Sutherland Weston is a Maine-based integrated marketing and advertising firm. With a staff of 17, Sutherland Weston strives to provide strategic and creative approaches to their clients’ toughest business issues.

Elizabeth believes the key benefit Sutherland Weston can offer its clients is to provide practical advice on how to be persuasive and prepared to achieve measurable results.

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Better billing solutions can make a big difference to your agency’s bottom line. Guest Benjamin Philabaum from Biddyco explains how. Hear insights about:

How the team at Biddyco helps e-commerce brands get more customers and revenue through Facebook and Google advertising
How Ben and his wife first got into the marketing and agency world before founding Biddyco, and why Ben decided to take the entrepreneurial leap
Why autobilling rather than invoicing clients by hand has been a crucial financial step Biddyco made that has streamlined their cash flow
How Biddyco made the shift from credit card billing to ACH draft, saving the business several thousand dollars a month using better billing solutions
What common financial mistakes Ben has seen other agency owners make when they’re trying to grow and scale
Why Ben feels it’s important to figure out how to best differentiate your agency from your competitors, and how Biddyco has done so by emphasizing their creative side
Why growing the Biddyco team has been a crucial step for saving time and minimizing effort, and why Ben blocks time out and closes his calendar one day a week
Why being able to partner with his wife and share the daily workload has been a great resource for Ben

Better Billing Solutions Benjamin Philabaum is the founder and CEO of Biddyco, an agency specializing in helping e-commerce clients market through Facebook and Google ads. In this episode, Ben shares how changing the way his business bills their clients has had a dramatic impact both on the consistency of their monthly cash flow and on their bottom line.

Ditching Invoicing There’s a lot of cost associated with manual invoicing of clients. Not only are you spending labor hours on the tedious process, it also slows your monthly cash flow. Ben and his team at Biddyco switched to automated billing, so clients are now charged consistently on the same day of every month. This eliminated the need to dedicate time to billing, and the regular cycle means that Ben and his team know when money is coming in and know in advance how much they’ll be receiving. Better billing solutions really can make a massive difference in the profitability and efficiency of your agency.

Switching to ACH Drafts The other big tip Ben offered was that Biddyco switched away from credit card billing and moved toward ACH direct bank drafts. When you’re billing a client hundreds or thousands of dollars at a time, those merchant fees the credit cards charge can add up to a huge, unnecessary monthly expense. Instead of paying a percentage of every transaction for credit card processing, Biddyco now pays a small flat fee per ACH transfer. This had the impact of saving Biddyco thousands of dollars every month…a number that directly impacts their bottom line and profitability.

As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Ben Philabaum: * Website: www.biddyco.com * Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/ben-philabaum-0938756/ * Facebook: www.facebook.com/BiddycoAdvertising * YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPdl5Yu6BviPryT1jwd9lg * Instagram: www.instagram.com/hellobiddyco/ * Twitter: @benphila

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Drew McLellan discusses the best approach to the succession planning process so agency owners can build a realistic exit strategy.

How to approach the succession planning process
Why succession planning is a long game, and how to set yourself up for success
Common mistakes that agency owners make in the succession planning process and how to avoid them
How each type of exit strategy impacts the agency from a financial perspective
The drawbacks to succession planning for smaller agencies
How to approach the later stages of succession when you are ready to find a buyer

The Succession Planning Process for Agency Owners For 30+ years, Drew McLellan has been in the advertising industry. He started his career at Y&R, worked in boutique-sized agencies, and then started his own (which he still owns and runs) agency in 1995. Additionally, Drew owns and leads the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to grow their agency and its profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops and more. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Drew joins us to share his journey and talk about the succession planning process for agency owners.

Running Your Business in Alignment with Your Exit After the pure chaos of 2020, many agency owners have begun the succession planning process with a great sense of urgency. The problem is that a lot of the people who have approached Drew to get advice on this process are not ready. In order to have success with succession planning, you have to start running your agency through a slow transition. This can take years to accomplish, but in doing so, you will prepare your agency for the drastic change of changing hands, changing leaders, or even dissolving completely.

Preparing for Change The average agency size in the U.S. is 8 employees. Size is an important consideration in the succession planning process because smaller agencies are not necessarily going to attract the same opportunities or buyers as larger ones. In addition, the owners are often an integral part of the business, so when they step away from the picture, the value of the business is greatly diminished. In this scenario, wealth-building outside of the business is an extremely important piece of the exit. The moral of the story is that each and every type of exit requires an entirely different approach from a financial perspective. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Drew McLellan: * Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan * Website: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/

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Jeff Eisenberg discusses the importance of the time management process in project management for agency leaders. Hear insights about:

Jeff’s journey into advertising and entrepreneurship
How to build a time management process in project management systems
The tools Jeff and his team use to run EVR more efficiently
Why agency owners should be running their agencies with data and metrics
The four categories of time that Jeff and his team track for measurement
What it takes to implement an effective time management strategy in your agency

The Time Management Process in Project Management Jeff is President and CEO of EVR Advertising, a full-service agency located in Manchester, NH. EVR specializes in marketing services for hospitals in the northeast, Senior Living, and businesses residing in or doing business in the state of New Hampshire. Prior to acquiring the agency in 2010, Jeff spent many years in the professional sports industry, including with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Buffalo Sabres. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Jeff joins us to share his journey and talk about the importance of the time management process in project management.

Running an Agency by the Numbers EVR is an Agency Management Institute (AMI) agency and Jeff has been working with them since purchasing EVR in 2010. He believes that to run a successful agency, you have to surround yourself with people who are smart about the business aspect of advertising. This is where he learned to run his agency using data systems and processes that enable him to keep a finger on the pulse of everything that is happening under the EVR roof. In fact, Jeff and his team have been able to master the time management process in project management to meet the unique needs of their agency and its goals.

Track Your Time! The importance of the time management process in project management is paramount to the success of any agency. Even with the right tools and software in place, it took Jeff two years to build a culture around time management and get a collective buy-in from his team. If time and activity is accurately being tracked in an agency, agency owners will have all of the data they need to make sound leadership decisions and grow the business. The more detailed you can get, the better. Jeff and his team break time management into 4 categories: billable hours, non-billable hours, biz dev, and professional development. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Jeff Eisenberg: * Website: https://www.evradvertising.com/ * LinkedIn: + https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffeisenberg1/ + https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/evr-advertising * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EVRadvertising/ * Twitter: + https://twitter.com/jeffEVR + https://twitter.com/EVRadvertising * Download the Staff Utilization Time Report Example

About Jeff Eisenberg: Jeff is President and CEO of EVR Advertising, a full-service agency located in Manchester, NH. EVR specializes in marketing services for hospitals in the northeast, Senior Living and businesses residing in or doing business in the state of New Hampshire. Prior to acquiring the agency in 2010, Jeff spent many years in the professional sports industry, including with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Buffalo Sabres.

He arrived in New Hampshire in 2000, hired by the LA Kings to launch an American Hockey League team in a newly constructed arena. The Manchester Monarchs quickly became an iconic state-wide and industry brand, setting attendance records and winning numerous awards under his direction. He won the James Hendy Award as the AHL’s Executive of the Year in 2004 and was inducted into the NH Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010. All this in hockey from a kid who grew up in Tennessee worshipping baseball.

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Jon Tsourakis shares tips for running a digital marketing agency in the post-pandemic landscape. Hear insights about:

Jon’s journey into marketing and entrepreneurship
The different products and services that make Oyova unique
Jon’s perspective on running a digital marketing agency with a growth mindset
How Jon found additional revenue streams beyond the typical agency business model
Marketing, technology, and the relationship that ties those two things together
The most important financial lessons Jon has learned in building an agency
Strategies Jon would recommend to agency owners who want to grow their businesses

Running a Digital Marketing Agency in 2021 Jon Tsourakis is the President of Oyova, a web app and digital marketing agency, recently featured on INC 5000’s fastest-growing companies list. He also hosts a podcast, The Climb, produced by the Digital Mastermind, a mastermind group of digital agencies from around the world. In this episode of the Progressive Agency Podcast, Jon joins us to share his experience with running a digital marketing agency. He also discusses some of the top strategies agency owners can use to grow their business.

Creating Revenue Streams Running a digital marketing agency has enabled Jon to work with a broad spectrum of clients ranging from $2 Million to $200 Million, offering everything from digital marketing packages and retainers to application/web development and technology services. In addition, Jon and his team at Oyova work with other marketing agencies in a white label capacity or strategic partnership to help them with web development, integrations, and a handful of other specialized processes. They also help clients sell their deals for a premium, which is another added bonus of working with Jon and his team. If there’s one thing we can learn from this, it’s that there are always additional revenue streams out there if you’re willing to look. This is especially true when you look at your agency’s differentiators.

What Sets Your Agency Apart? One of the reasons Oyova has been able to find and maintain unique revenue streams is because they are an authority figure within their niche. Jon and his team have deep expertise in marketing and technology, as well as the relationship that ties those two things together. They are not afraid to make that known in client meetings, but they do it in such a way that it highlights their ability to collaborate with others. Positioning is a major element of business development, and Jon’s insights are a testament to that. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Jon Tsourakis: * Website: + https://www.oyova.com/ + https://www.digitalmastermind.com/ * LinkedIn: + https://www.linkedin.com/in/jontsourakis/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/oyova/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oyovausa * Twitter: https://twitter.com/oyovausa * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9O1NbZS3JpkXCIm5dpSdnQ

About Jon Tsourakis: Jon Tsourakis is the President of Oyova, a web app and digital marketing agency, recently featured on INC 5000’s fastest-growing companies list. He also hosts a podcast, The Climb, produced by the Digital Mastermind, a mastermind group of digital agencies from around the world.

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Duane Carey explains how to pivot your business during a pandemic so you can stop surviving and start thriving. Hear insights about:

Duane’s role as the owner and lead strategist of IMPACT Marketing & Public Relations
How IMPACT pivoted during the pandemic, and what that looks like today
Why Duane chose to take an aggressive stance on gaining market share and talent share during the pandemic
How to find opportunities amidst the chaos by getting in front of your clients and providing value
What Duane’s team has done to transition into the remote workforce
The most important financial lesson Duane has learned as an agency owner

How to Pivot Your Business During COVID Duane is the owner and lead strategist of IMPACT Marketing & Public Relations, a 16-year old, Maryland-based, digital marketing company with clients from California to India. IMPACT is a national leader in digital marketing for the pet care industry, which includes pet boarding/daycare/grooming/training, veterinary services, and nutritional supplements. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Duane joins us to share his journey and explain how to pivot your business during a pandemic so you can stop surviving and start thriving.

Pivot and Double Down During the pandemic, Duane’s agency pivoted to keep its momentum while the global economy came to a screeching halt. IMPACT established itself in the public health sphere, providing marketing and PR strategies for contact tracing, flu vaccines, and many other talking points that continue to overwhelm public health offices to this day. In addition, Duane and his team doubled-down on their core offerings, providing content creation and digital strategy driven by analytics and economic indicators. These are just a couple of examples Duane recommends for how to pivot your business in times of crisis.

Get Aggressive If you are a relatively healthy company right now, it is time to take an aggressive stance and gobble up your share of the market and talent pool. Clients are moving around, nepotistic ties are being severed by lay-offs, and tons of new opportunities are springing up. This is the time to put yourself in front of your prospects and clients and be a resource to help them navigate through the pandemic. If you want to learn more about how to pivot your business to build momentum in the midst of a pandemic, Duane’s episode is a great resource. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Duane Carey: * Website: www.impactmarketing.net * LinkedIn: + https://www.linkedin.com/in/duanecarey/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/impact-marketing-&-public-relations/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImpactMarketingPR/ * Twitter: @Impact_MD

About Duane Carey: Duane is the owner and lead strategist of IMPACT Marketing & Public Relations, a 16-year old, Maryland-based, digital marketing company with clients from California to India. IMPACT is a national leader in digital marketing for the pet care industry, which includes pet boarding/daycare/grooming/training, veterinary services, and nutritional supplements.

Duane holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from Johns Hopkins University. He’s an avid football fan (Ohio State Buckeyes and Baltimore Ravens) and enjoys cooking and spending time with his wife and three high-schoolers.

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Crisis management strategies and tools are critical to the survival of your agency. Learn what you can do to prepare for any scenario with M&C’s Diane Mulligan. Hear insights about:

Diane’s journey in the communications industry
Why Diane Chose to niche her business in the CBD industry
The top crisis management strategies agency owners should follow
Why it is so important to plan for crisis scenarios
What Diane’s Brand Protection Tool is, and how it works
Understanding normalcy bias in the context of crisis management
The most important financial lessons Diane has learned as an agency owner

Crisis Management Strategies in the Agency World Diane Mulligan is the President of M&C, a public relations firm committed to representing inspirational people, organizations, products, and services. Diane founded M&C in 2009 following eight years as VP of National Communications for the National Stroke Association. Recently, M&C developed the Brand Protection Tool™ to teach brands where to focus their crisis management strategies by working through likely crisis scenarios and crafting responses that will protect their businesses. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Diane joins us to share her expertise and talk about crisis management in the agency world.

The First Steps are Critical Crisis Management Strategies are critical to the survival of your agency, especially in the wake of 2020. If you can prepare your team for potential challenges and issues that may come down the pike, you can create a basic response plan that will make all the difference. This doesn’t have to be a complicated process. The goal here is to prevent yourself and your team members from freezing. All you need is a plan that enables you to take the first few reactionary steps in response to a crisis so you can pivot. If you take action, doors often open up, and that is what planning will accomplish.

Prepared for Any Scenario Diane and her team created the Brand Protection Tool™ to demystify this process. It provides an opportunity for brands to brainstorm potential crises, from the most absurd to the most likely scenarios. Then, brand leaders can use the tool to rank them and create a pilot checklist they can use if a particular issue, challenge, or crisis hits the organization. Planning for crisis scenarios helps us overcome normalcy bias so we are prepared for anything. Diane walks us through all of the details for this process during our conversation. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Diane Mulligan: * Website: https://www.mandccommunications.com/ * LinkedIn: + https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianemulligan-apr/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/mandccomms/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MandCComms * Twitter: https://twitter.com/MandCComms

About Diane Mulligan: Diane Mulligan, APR is president of M&C, a public relations firm committed to representing inspirational people, organizations, products, and services. Diane founded M&C in 2009 following eight years as VP of National Communications for the National Stroke Association.

Diane was News Director at Channel 7 in Denver, notably managing the newsroom during coverage of the Columbine High School shootings. As Senior News Editor for NBC News in New York City, Diane oversaw coverage of countless major stories.

Diane led the M&C team to a 2020 PRSA National Silver Anvil award for crisis communications and a 2017 PRSA Colorado Gold Pick Award for brand-building on behalf of the Rocky Ford Growers Association. She also served as the 2018 Western District Conference Chair for PRSA Colorado, and board member for Therapeutic Riding of Tucson and co-founder of the nonprofit group CHART (Children’s Help and Assistance for Residential Treatment).

M&C Communications has developed the Brand Protection Tool™ to help you focus on your three most vulnerable areas, so you can make the most of your crisis management plans.

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Not all of us plan on becoming a small business owner in the agency world. Michelle Ashby’s story will help demystify the common challenges. Hear insights about:

Michelle’s journey of becoming a small business owner in marketing and public relations
How Michelle started her own communications agency
Why Michelle chose to buy out the media division from her employer instead of starting her own shop from scratch
What AGI means, and how you can use it to measure the health of your agency
The benefits of building a team of coaches and mentors to help you run your agency
What agency owners should be doing to grow

Becoming a Small Business Owner in Marketing and PR Michelle Ashby is the founder and CEO of Tipping Point Communications, an award-winning data-driven marketing firm dedicated to connecting businesses with their audiences. With twenty-five years of marketing and public relations experience, she is committed to demystifying the ever-evolving changes and emerging communications trends that clients struggle to keep up with. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Michelle joins us to share her story. She explains how she overcame the common challenges of becoming a small business owner in marketing and public relations.

Tipping Point Communications Before becoming a small business owner, Michelle started her agency career in print media. She quickly expanded her reach into every corner of the industry. After stints with a newspaper and various rock radio stations, Michelle landed in the television side of the business. This was the final piece of the puzzle, completing a full-spectrum of media experience that gave her an opportunity to split off and run the media department for an ad agency. Within two years of serving as a department head, Michelle purchased the media division of her agency and built it into the entity now known as Tipping Point Communications.

Build Your Tribe When Michelle purchased the media division, she started with a staff and a handful of clients instead of starting from scratch. This was a sound strategic decision because of her expertise, but she had never anticipated becoming a small business owner. Michelle had to learn quickly and navigate many new hurdles. This is where she began to understand the value of building a tribe and surrounding herself with people who could help her excel. She currently works with Drew McLellan as an Industry Coach, Tom Merkel as a business coach, and myself as a tax consultant. You are never in this alone, and working with experts in fields that you do not have time to focus on will free up your time for revenue-generating activities.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Michelle Ashby: * Website: https://www.tippingpointcomm.com/ * LinkedIn: + https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleashby/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/tippingpointcommunications/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TippingPointCommunications/ * Twitter: @tippingptcomm

About Michelle Ashby: Michelle Ashby is the founder and CEO of Tipping Point Communications, an award-winning data-driven marketing firm dedicated to connecting businesses with their audiences.

Michelle has over 25 years of online and offline media experience, including content marketing and public relations.

She is committed to demystifying the ever-evolving changes and emerging communications trends that clients struggle to keep up with.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio University for Advertising Management and Journalism. After 15 years on the media publisher side, Michelle moved into the agency world. Her passion for the industry propelled her desire to create Tipping Point Communications. Tipping Point is a New York State certified WBE and member of the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council with locations in Rochester and Buffalo, New York and a remote workforce across the East Coast.

Michelle was recognized for outstanding community service and leadership by the Rochester Business Journal as a “Forty Under 40” in 2006 and as Business Person of the Year in 2014. Tipping Point received the “Ethie Award” in 2016 for their commitment to ethics in business. She serves on the board of directors of the Construction Exchange in Buffalo, the CEL Alumni Association for the University of Buffalo, St. Ann’s Community, and is on the advisory board for the Roland Williams Champion Academy and marketing committee for the Buffalo chapter of Habitat for Humanity. She has two active sons who are the light and loves of her life.

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Choosing a niche for your agency might seem counterintuitive at first. In this solocast, Nicole Mahoney explains how niching down creates predictable growth. Hear insights about:

Nicole’s journey into entrepreneurship in the travel and tourism industry
How Nicole chose to pivot her business in response to the pandemic
How choosing a niche saved Nicole’s agency during the pandemic
What we can do to build a position of thought leadership and authority within our niche
The most important financial lessons Nicole has learned from building an agency
Nicole’s take on the most common financial mistakes agency owners make

Choosing a Niche for Your Agency Nicole Mahoney is the Founder and CEO of Break the Ice Media, a Rochester, NY marketing communications agency focused on the travel and tourism industry. Entrepreneurship is in her DNA, and she has an immense passion for helping small businesses excel through the use of creativity and collaboration. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Nicole joins us to share her entrepreneurial journey and explain why choosing a niche to build thought leadership is something every agency owner should consider doing.

Thriving Against All Odds Travel and tourism are central to the hospitality industry. This includes restaurants, hotels, live events, and virtually every other subsect that was devastated by the pandemic’s protocols and regulations. When the world stopped turning, all of the businesses relying on the traveling public lost significant amounts of revenue. As an agency that serves those businesses, Break the Ice Media was forced to pivot. Q2 and Q3 were extremely difficult, but Nicole and her team persevered by focusing on their niche. Even though travel and tourism was at a standstill, Nicole continued to bring her clients value by any means necessary. This paid off in the long run, and BTI grossed its highest net profit since its inception.

Building Thought Leadership We have talked a lot about building a position of thought leadership and authority. The reality is that it’s much easier to become a thought leader after choosing a niche. When you niche down and embed yourself in a particular industry, you begin to see patterns, form opinions, and develop expertise that your generalized competitors can’t offer. Nicole looked for ways to give voice to the things she was learning about travel and tourism, which started with a blog and developed into a full-blown digital platform with a podcast and live events. When you become the go-to expert in your field and you’re focused on adding value, business will come knocking on your front door. Niching down is a great starting point as you develop a growth strategy for 2021 and beyond.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Nicole Mahoney: * Email: nicole@breaktheicemedia.com * Website: www.destinationontheleft.com/summit * Website: https://breaktheicemedia.com/ * Twitter: @Break_TheIce * Facebook: @BreakTheIceMedia

About Nicole Mahoney: In 2009, Nicole founded Break the Ice Media, a Rochester, NY marketing communications agency focused on the travel and tourism industry. Whether it’s a destination adding to the economic impact of their community, an attraction enhancing the visitor experience, or a business creating jobs for the travel & tourism industry – Break The Ice Media helps their clients create impact!

As CEO, Nicole is responsible for working with clients to understand their marketing needs, developing strategic marketing plans, and leading a team of professionals to execute those plans. Her dedication to the tourism industry keeps her team informed on current trends and best practices, regularly attending tourism conferences and travel shows.

In 2016, Nicole launched the weekly podcast Destination on the Left, interviewing tourism professionals from around the globe on creativity and collaboration in the industry. In 2019, she introduced the Destination on the Left Virtual Summit for tourism marketing featuring presentations from previous podcast guests in a new and innovative format. Nicole was recognized as 2019 small business-person of the year by the Small Business Council of Rochester.

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Entrepreneurial skill does not come naturally. Drew McLellan explains what agency owners can do to master the business side of running an agency with insights about:

Why Drew founded AMI, and how he works with agency owners to drive revenue and growth
What agency owners can do to develop their entrepreneurial skill set and master the business side of running an agency
The biggest mistake agency owners make from a business perspective
Why it is so important for agency owners to understand agency math and work with a CPA who understands their industry
Key metrics that should be driving agency owners’ business decisions
How AMI’s peer group functions, and what you can do to participate in the Build a Better Agency Summit

The Business Side of Running an Agency Drew McLellan is an advertising veteran with more than thirty years of experience. He currently runs McLellan Marketing Group and the Agency Management Institute, which advises hundreds of small to mid-sized agencies on how to achieve growth and profitability through agency owner peer groups, consulting, coaching, workshops, and more. He is also the host of the “Build a Better Agency” podcast, and in this episode of the Progressive Agency, Drew joins us to share his story. He explains how he helps agency owners develop their entrepreneurial skill sets so they can focus on doing what they do best.

Entrepreneurial Skill is Earned, Not Given Entrepreneurial skill seldom comes naturally, and Agency Management Institute has confirmed that many agency owners are accidental business owners. Most are great at the client-facing work and whatever creative trade they developed working for someone else, but they are not keen on the business side of running a business. P&L sheets, hiring, and legal processes are not things that agency owners go to school for, and they have to become masters of experiential learning while working in the trenches simultaneously.

The Biggest Mistake Agency Owners Make One of the biggest mistakes agency owners make when they are flying by the seat of their pants is failing to understand agency math. Generalist CPAs do not understand the specific metrics that drive healthy agencies. They provide technically accurate information that is right for many small businesses but wrong for agencies. This causes many agency owners to build their businesses on false assumptions, and it can lead to a lot of financial trouble down the road. Agency math is a critical entrepreneurial skill that every agency owner needs to live by, and working with a CPA who understands your industry can make that skill much easier to learn.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Drew McLellan: * Email: drew@agencymanagementinstitute.com * LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drewmclellan * Website: https://agencymanagementinstitute.com/

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Stephen Woessner shares his business growth strategy called “niching down.” Learn how agency owners can drive revenue by establishing their authority position with insights about:

His journey as an agency owner, podcast host, and author
Why niching down and becoming the go-to thought leader in your industry is the key to achieving growth and scalability
Different ways you can carve out your niche and develop thought leadership
Why niching down results in more efficient use of an agency’s time and resources
Why any agency is fit to begin the process of niching down
How he managed to become more helpful to clients by focusing on a specific superpower
The most important financial lesson he learned in building an agency

Business Growth Strategy: Niching Down Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency that specializes in building thought leadership and authority to drive growth. He is also the host of the “Onward Nation” podcast and a bestselling author of two books. In this episode of the Progressive Agency podcast, Stephen joins us to share his journey as an agency owner, podcast host, and author, and he talks about his unique business growth strategy of niching down. If you want to learn how you can focus your sales and communication efforts to generate cash flow, this episode is for you.

Planting Your Flag of Authority In Stephen’s latest book with Drew McLellan, “Sell With Authority,” he teaches agency owners how to plant the flag of authority and establish themselves as the go-to thought leaders within their respective industries. This business growth strategy enables agency owners to sell with confidence to right-fit clients while carving out their own unique slice of market share. It is not just limited to industries either. Agency owners can brand themselves with a particular specialty or “superpower” as well. Narrowing the focus results in more efficient use of the agency owner’s time and resources. This is something that anyone in any industry can implement with relative ease.

Anyone Can Carve Out a Niche I understand why agency owners might be hesitant to shake up their business growth strategy in Q1, but niching down works and anyone can do it. Niching down is an easy decision to make, however, the work is difficult and it takes time. That is why agencies should start now. Even if 60% of their revenue comes from accepting any work that comes through the door, you don’t have to start turning that away. Catering your brand position to a specific niche is a long-term play, and niching down is the key to building a position of financial strength from which you can navigate the ups and downs of any market.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

How to Connect with Stephen Woessner: * Sell With Authority by Drew McLellan and Stephen Woessner: https://amzn.to/39y7x18 * Predictive ROI Free Resource Library: https://predictiveroi.com/resources/ * Stephen Woessner’s LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stephenwoessner/

About Stephen Woessner: Stephen Woessner is the founder and CEO of Predictive ROI, a digital marketing agency, and the host of Onward Nation — a top-rated daily podcast for learning how today’s top business owners think, act, and achieve. Onward Nation is listened to in 120 countries around the world with over 28,000+ email subscribers.

Since the advent of the commercial Internet, Stephen has collected tens of thousands of data points that have given him the ability to identify what he calls the “8 Money Draining Mistakes” and the “8 Money Making Opportunities.” Darren Hardy, then-publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, interviewed Stephen to discuss how business owners can identify and fix the mistakes.

Stephen served in the United States Air Force, spent six years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse as a full-time academic staff member and taught digital marketing classes to small business owners throughout the state including the prestigious School of Business at UW-Madison, has owned five businesses, and is the author of three books, “The Small Business Owner’s Handbook to Search Engine Optimization,” “Increase Online Sales Through Viral Social Networking,” and “Profitable Podcasting.”

His digital marketing insights have been featured in Forbes.com, Entrepreneur.com, The Washington Post, and Inc. Magazine.

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Learn the conditions of the Paycheck Protection Program Round 2 as you create your PPP plan for 2021. Hear insights about:

The key requirements to receive funding for the second round of PPP
How # of employees and # of locations impact your eligibility for PPP funding
What financial metrics to use in creating your PPP plan for 2021
How your use of the first-draw funds affects your eligibility for the second draw
Understanding and calculating declining gross receipts
Changes to the CARES Act and employee retention credit

Round 2 of the Paycheck Protection Program is part of the Appropriations Act of 2021. As you build out your PPP plan for 2021, it is important to note that the last date you can submit an application is March 31st. You can also submit an application for round 1 by that same deadline if you did not apply for the first round of aid last year.

The second round of PPP funding is intended to help businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. When putting your PPP plan together, these are some of the conditions that must be met:

300 or fewer employees per location
25% gross receipt decline in any quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019
You have used or will use the full amount of your first-draw funds

The documentation required to receive second-draw funding from the PPP plan is going to be about the same as it was in the first round. In the solocast, I proved a detailed overview of all the requirements, including tips for performing the calculations you need to qualify. As always, please visit me at www.theprogressivedentist.com for more informative, money-saving podcast episodes like this one.

Additional Resources: * FREE COVID Loan Grant Calculator Download * Website: www.theprogressivedentist.com * Twitter: @CraigC2742 * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcodycpa

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The Progressive Agency podcast covers the latest tax saving strategies agency owners can use to keep more of what they make in 2021 and beyond. Here’s what the show is about:

The objectives of the Progressive Agency podcast
How my tax saving strategies have helped agency owners save thousands
Why you should be working with a specialized CPA who understands the agency business instead of a general CPA
How tax planning helps agency owners keep more of what they make
A case study where I helped an agency owner significantly reduce their tax liability
The importance of cash flow forecasting in the agency world
What other agency owners have done to master the business side of running an agency

The Progressive Agency Podcast: Recent Episodes

Craig Cody