Owning or leading an agency can feel like a never-ending high-stakes poker game. There’s always something to worry about. Too often, we’re so focused on what could go wrong that we don’t truly appreciate the things that go right.  Of course, I’m not saying agency owners should stop looking at the numbers or worrying about new business, nor am I suggesting we don rose-colored glasses and ignore the hard realities of owning an agency. I’m merely challenging us to stop and appreciate the good, too. The steps I’ve taken to overcome the constant anxiety are simple but powerful. I challenge you to slow down and be grateful for how much fun you’re having. Acknowledge the wonderful wins that occur in the midst of the daily grind. Let’s not wait until our careers are over to notice the good stuff. The full article was originally published on Forbes.com

Every time you use a digital assistant, receive a recommendation from Amazon or use an app to find the fastest route, you’re using artificial intelligence. AI has changed our lives in countless ways, but I’ve noticed most agencies still struggle to harness its power to improve their business. In truth, AI is already a part of agency life — and its influence will only become more profound. According to a recent report, AI in marketing is predicted to be a $21 billion market by 2023. Clearly, this growth means agencies may want to get on board. They also may need to grapple with determining what data to collect, how to analyze it, which tasks to automate and how AI can help clients. In my agency, we typically use AI to analyze the content, context and outcomes of client calls. Our findings, ideally, lead to higher profitability and retention rates. If you feel behind when it comes to AI, don’t stress — there’s still plenty of time to integrate the tools to optimize your agency operations and strategy. With that said, choosing not to use AI may not be the best option. It doesn't seem to be a fad, and the future of your agency may depend on it. The full article was originally published on Forbes.com 

I was recently a guest on B2B Growth’s podcast discussing how to use the CARES Act to your agency’s benefit. I hope you take a few minutes to look at the overview of this podcast and listen to the full episode soon. I look forward to hearing what you think! Sweetfish Media — Paycheck Protection Program: What it Means for Your Business Let’s talk about the CARES Act—the federal government has approved a $2 trillion relief bill. One aspect of this bill is the Paycheck Protection Program. Through this, we do not have to let our employees go due to lack of income. By presenting simple documents showing your expenses, you can apply for a forgivable PPP loan. The loan is 2.5 times your monthly expenses (loaded salaries, utilities, rent, mortgage, etc.). That amount (times 2.5) will be deposited into your checking account. As long as you do not change your staffing in those 2 months, the loan is forgiven. Two trillion dollars sounds like a lot of money, but remember the money is scattered into several subcategories within the CARES Act. Talk to your CPA, call your banker, and apply as quickly as possible so you can get your share of money before it runs out. The goal is no debt; you have to try not to go into the red this season. Use the resources the federal government is providing to care for your business, your employees, and yourself. We want to be a resource to agencies as we all manage our way through this pandemic. We have resources available to you on our website here. This podcast was originally published on sweetfishmedia.com on April 2, 2020.

I was recently a guest on B2B Growth’s podcast discussing how agencies can still prosper during COVID-19. I hope you take a few minutes to look at the overview of this podcast and listen to the full episode soon. I look forward to hearing what you think! Sweetfish Media — Surviving COVID-19 Working from home is changing how our industry functions every day. I have seen agencies gain more clients or working time as a result of COVID-19, but I have also talked to agency owners who have lost close to half of their clients because their specific market is no longer needed during this pandemic. There are also some agencies that fit right in the middle, who have not seen any loss or gain. In all of these scenarios, working from home during a pandemic is altering how our industry functions and who is coming out for the better. Right now, each agency is like a ship that is getting pummeled in a storm. For some of us, it’s the roughest storm you have sailed through; others have been through worse. Our goal is to make it to calm waters alive. To do that, we must remain calm, confident, and compassionate while surrounded by chaos. Unfortunately, we will have to make sacrifices in one way or another. Some clients will leave, and some employees might be unsatisfied with their amount of work right now. Remember that we are all going through challenges right now, and we must show up as strong leaders.  Let’s focus on metrics, specifically your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Fifty-five percent of that goes to loaded payroll, 25% is spent on overhead, and the last 20% should be profit. For those [...]

Agency owners constantly ask me why they are always busy but are not making more money. The answer?—we write off too much time and overservice our clients to the death of our agencies.  How do we figure out how badly we are writing time off? What is your billability, and what is your utilization? Billability is how many hours your employees are working doing billable tasks, tasks that can be billed directly to a client you already have. Utilization is “hours” you actually assign to an invoice to a client. You do not have to bill by the hour, but it still starts with figuring out how many hours a task will take and adjusting your flat fee you charge your clients accordingly. Billability should always be more than your utilization. Your goal should be 65% of all available hours are utilized, meaning your billability average should be 75%. Keep in mind you will almost always overservice your clients. Every billable hour will not actually be billed, and that is okay as long as you stick to the goals above. One problem could be that your agency has too many people and employees are taking more time than necessary to complete tasks. This is called Parkinson’s Law. Each task you assign with a due date or time will use the full amount of time available to complete it, even if it can be completed quicker. You might have too many people, and there is not enough work to keep each of them busy at a pace that is reasonable. Another problem is overservicing your clients. Be clear with your team about how many hours there is to work on a project. People go over because [...]