Creative Agency Success Show

“There are so many agency owners doing great work, and I think if they can solve some of these challenges that are inherently hard for an agency, they can actually get back to why they started their agency, which is to do good creative work or to make a difference. That helps eliminate so many of those business challenges that I think either forces a lot of agencies to shut their doors or make people tired. If you can position your agency and learn to be truly effective and provide value, I think it inherently solves some of those challenges.” –Russel Dubree

The finer details of this episode:

• Unique challenges of running a creative marketing agency
• Benefits of having a business coach for agency owners
• Leveraging unique strengths and thought leadership to generate leads

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Russel Dubree - Growth Advisor - Performance Faction

 “I love having the opportunity to help an agency owner see how much easier their lives can be, how much bigger their bank accounts can be, if they put a little time and attention into being proactive about putting measures in place, such as making sure their teams are well trained about the legal issues that matter to them and the work that they put out every day.” -Sharon Toerek 

The finer details of this episode:

• Benefits of proactive contract management for agency owners
• Exploring Common mistakes in agency legal contracts
• The benefits of working with a lawyer who understands your business and industry

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Legal + Creative (legalandcreative.com)

“If I’ve learned anything in my agency journey, it’s to figure out your numbers. It took us probably two years to dial in the formulas and figure out what we wanted to see when we looked at theoretical revenue generated. And now we know what works for the business, and we check our metrics once a month.” – JD Graffam
 

The finer details of this episode:

• Benefits and risks of agency life
• Importance of understanding your business’s financials and metrics

Resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Simple Focus | Web Design, Interface Design, User Experience

Episode Notes:

“Any business, whether it's startup, tech, any business across the board, should really have a strategy of diversification of the funds that they don't particularly need on a 90-day basis to a six-month basis. If they've got that cash flow, let's start to diversify the rest of those funds.” –Paul Rhea

The finer details of this episode:

• Risk vs. Reward: Diversifying funds for optimal returns
• Exploring strategies for diversifying excess cash
• Bank protection strategies for business owners
• Bank security and diversification strategies

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]

“I talk to a lot of business owners who have created something fabulous, and sometimes it becomes stale to them because they don't understand what their place is now that they've scaled their company. I hope this book will help them reconnect with their ‘why’ and reconnect with who they are so that they can play a new, fresh role in their company. Or maybe go ahead and follow that next dream and start the next company.” – Traci Barrett 

The finer details of this episode:

• The importance of leadership, recognizing potential, and finding new ways to grow.
• Following your dreams at any point in your career and making necessary changes to achieve them. 
• Exploring the mid-career crossroads and how to live a meaningful life beyond just checking all the boxes and going through predetermined mile markers. 

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Traci Schubert Barrett
• Navigate The Journey

“If an organization views human resources as the “HR police” that only values and enforces compliance, it's a disservice not only to HR as a discipline, but to each employee's experience of what work ought to be like.” – John Baldino

The finer details of this episode:

• Career mapping vs. one career map
• Human resources as a service, not a department
• Boomerang employees and adding skillsets for opportunities 

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Human Resources Outsourced, and more. - Humareso

“I think right now the biggest problem is people, whether it's hiring or internal leadership challenges—people understanding how to lead generational shifts, work-from-home shifts, or cultural shifts. So, people in general is a constant; turnover is huge right now. The job market in the agency space is very cutthroat. People are getting stolen from agencies at premiums.” Steve Guberman

The finer details of this episode:

• Today’s biggest challenges in the digital agency industry 
• Benefits of having a coach for agency owners (culture, leadership, operations, procedures, growth, etc.) 
• Evaluating the health of your agency and when to bring in a coach

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Outsight (agencyoutsight.com)

“Don't stop challenging yourself. It's really easy to get comfortable, especially if your business is doing well. We always need to be pushing and stretching ourselves and thinking about our mindset. Look for what's changing and stay open to that; be receptive to changing what we do and how we do it.” – Chuck Mollor 

The finer details of this episode:

• Understanding how leadership roles have changed so dramatically over the past decade
• Establishing trust and building relationship with your team in a virtual environment 
• Implementing resources like a business coach and time-management practices to boost both morale and success within your business

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Chuck Mollor – The Rise of the Agile Leader

“GTD® doesn't deliver a solution; it delivers hope. How much people want to take advantage of that is up to them. GTD® and implementing these best practices—capture, clarify, organized, reflect, and engage—of how you get stuff under control in your life and work, they don't give you more time. They give you more room. What you do with that room is unique to you.” – David Allen

The finer details of this episode:

• Meeting management and setting boundaries for back-to-back meetings  

• The need for GTD® in a team environment—not just individually  

• The importance of setting and understanding what your priorities are  

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net

• Email us with questions – [email protected]

• Getting Things Done® – https://gettingthingsdone.com/

I learned that most small business owners never hired before doing it within their own business, or they were coming from corporate jobs where they had HR departments, senior leaderships, and job postings that were already created. They were pretty much being given everything that they needed, and now that they needed to create it on their own, they were lost.” 

– Jamie Van Cuyk

The finer details of this episode:

• How to improve your hiring strategy
• How to know when an employee isn’t a good fit in a position
• How to find the right candidate when it’s time to hire 

Episode resources:

• Summit CPA website – summitcpa.net
• Email us with questions – [email protected]
• Jamie’s website – GrowingYourTeam.com