Working Without Pants - Creative Entrepreneurship

On this episode of Working Without Pants, I had the pleasure of interviewing the former President of Crew, Michael Sacca. When Michael came to Crew, he was the head of partnerships, and we get to talk a lot about how he worked on creating valuable partnerships in that role.

We also get an in-depth look at some of his outbound campaigns and how he crafted these to best reach his audience.

This was a fun interview with a ton of insight, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/081 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

Pia Silva and her partner are the owners of Worstofall Design, an agency that builds badass brands without the bullshit.

Pia's model is extremely unique. Instead of being a traditional branding agency, her and her partner work in a unique way. They do 1-2 day intensive branding sessions with their clients called "BrandUps" where they build the client’s entire brand and strategy right there in person.

They charge $10k per Brandup and regularly schedule 3 of these per month. That means in roughly 6 working days per month, Pia and her partner generate $30k in revenue!

In this interview, we dive into how Pia created this model, and how others can use elements of this in their own business.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/080 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

I’m a huge proponent of using podcasts to grow your business, but I know a lot of people find the idea of creating and maintaining a podcast to be daunting.

This week, I got to talk to Jonathan Green from Sweet Fish Media, and their whole company is built around the idea of using podcasts as a means to interview your potential clients and win them over as clients for your business. They produce niche podcasts for B2B companies and take all of the pain and hassle out of managing your own.

In this episode, we talk about how podcasts can be used to reach beyond just content creation and into creating meaningful connections with your target audience.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/079 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

On this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I talk to John Ruhlin about how he wins new clients and nurtures existing clients through gift giving.

John talks about how gift giving is something that is often overlooked by companies, but if it is done right, it can have a huge effect on your business relationships and bottom line.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/078 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

On this episode of the Working Without Pants Podcast, I talk to Arnie Malham about the success he has had in building multiple companies with rock solid cultures.

One of the things that I love about Arnie is that he is a big reader, and he attributes much of his success to what he calls R&D, ripping off and duplicating from the authors that he follows. And with a team of around 30 members and annual revenue around $10 million, I’d say he’s doing a great job of R&D.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/077 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

In this episode of Working Without Pants, we talk to Ryan Meo of scalesquad.com about winning new clients, outsourcing and how being focused on operations has brought them the success they have today.

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/075 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

Tom Schwab is the force behind InterviewValet.com, a productized service focused on getting people on podcasts to let the world know what it is they do.

I've done tons of podcasts but had never thought deeply about the outreach strategy and sales process to the extent that Tom does. 

In this episode, we discuss how to turn podcasts into leads for your business. 

For full show notes go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/075 ...

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

WinYourDreamClients.com

Tim Conley is a business coach, was the host of the Foolish Adventure podcast, and is a high-level consultant, helping B2B entrepreneurs, agencies and consultants (from $0.5 - 5M) scale their businesses. 

In the first half of this episode, we discuss the businesses Tim works with, which range from $500K - 5M, and what it takes for them to grow and level up. 

In the second part, we discuss Tim's business model, which is quite similar to my own business, Outbound Creative, doing high-level consulting and selling group training programs. Find out how to scale your own solo consulting practice, making upwards of $200-500K a year, while only working 9 months a year and having a whole bunch of freedom during those 9 months. 

For the full show notes of this episode go to jake-jorgovan.com/podcast/074 

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com. 

Jake has done extensive research into how agency owners win clients. After all, his business Outbound Creative is focused on winning clients for agencies and consultancies. One strategy comes up over and over again: strategic partnerships. Many agencies get 20-70% of their revenue from strategic partnerships. In this episode Jake details:

• 3 types of strategic partnership (including anecdotes of each type)
• Elements of a strong partnership
• 5 steps to creating your own partnership

The information in this podcast can be found in blog post form here.

Russ Perry is the founder of Design Pickle, a productized graphic design service. 

Design Pickle can free up your marketing team to work on bigger initiatives, while they take care of things like business cards, brochures, posters, etc. It’s amazingly simple: just sign up and get matched with a dedicated designer for unlimited designs at a flat rate of $370/mo.

You’ll really get some value out of this episode if you want to productize a service. We dive into how Russ started Design Pickle, scaled it to over $100K in monthly recurring revenue in 1.5 years, challenges he’s faced and big insights/ideas he’s discovered. His thought process in starting the business was fascinating.

[3:25] Scratching an itch: After closing his agency, Russ sought a simple way to find vetted help for quick graphic design work (ie, business cards, brochures, etc). As a consultant, he developed a system for doing this stuff (ie, business). His clients were having success with it, so he moved into branding this service and launching it to the public. Plus, Russ loves pickles. So, voila, Design Pickle.

[6:00] Starting DP was really scary. Russ was facing unemployment and dreaded getting a job. He thought long and hard about what kind of lifestyle he desired. As a consultant, he discovered that managing production design met most of his lifestyle requirements. The business structure really came out of this clarity about his ideal lifestyle.

[9:25] A financial model is the only business plan you need (how you will make money). Russ discusses how he priced the service, and quickly raised prices, allowing for investments in growth.

[11:40] To acquire initial customers, start with a very simple solution. Then it’s all about getting out there and communicating that value. Russ was the best spammer alive. Almost got kicked out of a professional organization for it. Also, be profitable, so you can invest in strategic growth opportunities.

[14:15] In less than two years, Design Pickle has steadily and consistently grown to over $100K MRR, 1000 signups and 380 active users!

[15:15] Lessons from running a crappy business, and having a strong culture, has allowed Russ to grow the business so quickly. It’s all about the people. Keep it simple and stay the course!

[18:15] On avoiding going into other directions...Why not start CopyCucumber.com? Because he’s barely scratched the surface with Design Pickle.

[19:25] Being removed from day-to-day tasks is huge in ensuring the ship is running smoothly and in moving things forward. Russ’s role: Mechanic of the Pickle Machine, Voice of the Brand, Front Line of Sales, Strategic Navigator.

[21:10] On managing a team across the world. Besides the 2 others in Arizona, all the designers and managers are in the Philippines. The team is like a family, though, Russ realized when he was able to go to Philippines for the first time. Moving forward, he’ll be investing in meetups, conferences.

[24:20] Clients’ deserve respect and to be shown that their work is important. Put your all into the work and build relationships.  

[26:15] To grow your agency, get out and meet people in the flesh. Be real. Russ’s secret: he goes to conferences and gives out free pickles. People eat them up.  

[28:20] Everyone want to have fun, connect with real people. Plus, engaging people with authenticity and developing real relationships helps if things go sideways.

[29:40] Going forward, it’s all about finding more people they can help, taking the time to reach them, and communicating the value in Design Pickle.

[32:30] Cash flow is a challenge in expanding with sales/marketing/advertising. Always stay ahead of hiring, so you can handle the work if you take on new clients. The current model can handle doubling or tripling, but beyond that, it may need investments in software and other things to continue growing.

[35:25]Design Pickle offers a 14-day, risk-free trial. If you email Russ and let him know you signed up from the podcast, you’ll get a free pickle!

[37:10] For agencies: You can use DP for client work...but Russ recommends getting a feel first, so the team can get to know you and your brand before taking on your client work.

• DesignPickle.com
• Instagram: @designpickle
• Instagram: @russperry
• Snapchat: @designpickle
• The E-Myth, by Michael Gerber 

Outbound Creative helps agencies and consultancies win their dream clients through eye-catching outreach campaigns. Learn more at OutboundCreative.com.