Do what you love!
I think we are the privileged few. We all got into this business – nobody got into owning an agency or working at an agency to be wealthy. So we got into this because there was something about the work we loved. And I want to remind you to make sure that whatever it is that drew you to this work—for me, it was the writing; for you, it might have been something different—you bake some of that into your day and your work. We are privileged. We get to control how we spend our days. Yes, there are things we have to do. We have to do team meetings. We have to look at the books. We have to pursue new business. And for some of you, that may be precisely what you love. But for others, there's some other element of the work that really fuels your passion. And I want to remind you that you don't let the burden of owning or helping run an agency keep you from doing the parts of the work that fill your heart, give you passion, fire you up, and inspire you and your team. Make sure you bake that into your day because we're the lucky few who get to do that. Watch »
Your agency owner summer learning program
How are you going to use this summer to sharpen your saw? That might mean some downtime, some family time, some vacation, catching your breath, getting inspired again, and getting all of the minutiae of the day out of your brain so you have a chance to really think about the business. For others, it might be some digging into some classes or learning or books. For other folks, it might be watching some videos, some TED Talks, some educational materials, or some new podcasts. But one thing I do know is that we, as leaders and owners of agencies, cannot slow down in our focus on getting smarter and better. We have to keep adding to the repertoire of what we know, what we know how to do, what we wonder about, what makes us curious, and what we're learning about. Agency life is all about lifelong learning. And I always think of summer as a chance—remember when we were kids, and we did the book reading clubs through the summer, and you got credit for how many books you read? Maybe that's why. But I always think of summer as this opportunity for us to deep-dive into some learning. So my question for you is, should you spend some time this summer really elevating your game and sharpening your saw? Watch »
Butterflies are good
We have our big event, the Build A Better Agency Summit coming up. One of the things that makes me anxious about this event is that I have to do a keynote. Danyel and I teach workshops throughout the year, and I teach in videos like this and on the podcast, and I'm super comfortable with that. But a keynote: 45 minutes, no slides, it's supposed to be aspirational and inspirational. That makes me nervous. And somebody asked me today, does that make me feel like I'm not prepared? And I was like, no, actually, it's part of my prep process. I welcome the butterflies. So back when I was pitching, when I was playing baseball and pitching, before a big game, I got nervous, anxious, and had butterflies. Why? Because the game was important. Because my performance was important to me. I didn't want to let my team down. And I look at stepping on a stage exactly the same way. It's a team sport. Not just me on the stage. It's me and the audience. It's us working together to create an experience, and I want to do my part to ensure we win the game. Watch »
Timesheet specifics
Let's talk to you about timesheet codes, the function codes you use to track and define how time is being spent when you do your timesheets. Many agencies have these big black holes, particularly around your non-billable time. It's uper important that you track both billable time and non-billable time. Why? Timesheets aren’t really about billing. They're about understanding what your team is doing. How long it takes. It's about looking for efficiencies and effectiveness. Who needs more training?Are our estimates accurate? It answers a ton of questions that actually have nothing to do with billing. But it starts with A) doing your timesheets every day and B) having the right function codes so you know how people spend their time. Watch »
Internal growth goals
We believe that every agency employee should have a growth goal for every quarter. What we mean by that is that they should get better at something, they should learn something new, they should add to a skill set. They should invest in themselves to be better for themselves, the agency, and the clients. The first one is what am I going to learn that's going to benefit me? I'm going to get certified in Google AdWords. I'm going to take a presentation in class, or take an online webinar on how to use AI to take better notes, whatever it may be. Number two, what is my growth goal in terms of serving our clients better? So that might be that I'm going to sit in on a sales meeting for a client to learn more about their objectives and learn what the salespeople hear when they're on the road. Or I'm going to go to a part of a trade show day with a client and sit in their booth and listen. And then the third one is how am I going to get better? How am I going to grow to benefit the agency? So that might be I'm going to write an extra blog post for the agency. How am I going to help the agency grow? I'm going to contribute to our thought leadership. I will start spending time on LinkedIn, sharing and liking my colleagues’, my coworkers’, and my clients’ posts. Watch »
Breathe
One of the ways we can help our team, but we can also help ourselves is to think about what we need to do to ease some of that stress, ease some of that unrest, and give ourselves literally and figuratively, some breathing room. Drew McLellan, CEO of Agency Management Institute, offers a weekly agency management tip to agency owners. Watch »
Recoup your professional development investment
Here's a simple but effective way to make sure your agency really benefits from the professional development dollars you spend on your team. Watch »
Profitability by client
If you're not making at least 10% profit on a client, you have to ask yourself, why are these people why is this business still a clients? Now, there may be reasons why an unprofitable client — even a client that you're paying for the privilege of doing the work — is worth keeping. They may be a great referral source. But you have to make that decision consciously. You have to be intentional about that decision. And, by the way, and I know this is not going to surprise you, they can't all be less than 10% profit. So profitability by client by month, by quarter, and annually. Watch »
Unreimbursed Partner Expenses
Let's talk about unreimbursed partnership expenses. An unreimbursed partnership expense are expenses that you pay for out of your personal pocket that you don't get reimbursed for. Let's say you're a start-up, or let's say you've had a tough year and you couldn't run all those pass-throughs through the business like normal. You still can take a tax advantage. The way it works is, first of all, this has to be covered in your operating agreement between your partner, in your partnership, or in your S Corp if you are a sole owner. Watch »
You can’t carry the load forever
For many of you, you've been riding the profit line really tight since probably fourth quarter of 2022, and then all through 2023, things have been tight and a struggle for you and you have kept your good people and you have been waiting and kind of betting on the come, hoping that the work would come because clients and prospects were saying, “Yep, we're going to do it. Yep, we're going to do it.” But how long can you carry the load and not make money? Watch »
