59. From Corporate Sales to Mission-Driven Agency: Mike Farag from Fervor Marketing

59. From Corporate Sales to Mission-Driven Agency: Mike Farag from Fervor Marketing

Mike Farag did not set out to run a marketing agency. He was 30, newly divorced, jobless, and on a mission trip to Haiti when a kid named Daniel changed the trajectory of his life. That moment, and the obedience that followed, became the foundation for Fervor, a Kansas City agency that has now served nearly 1,000 faith-led organizations.   In this episode, Mike and Courtney get into the operational reality of running a mission-driven agency, including what it actually takes to build a niche, what happens when clients graduate out of your services, and why the marketing in the pro-life and nonprofit space has been, in Mike's words, absolutely horrid.   They also talk through what Mike calls the agency swings, the unpredictable revenue and client cycles that can steal your focus for a whole quarter, and what he has learned after 17 years about how to weather them without pulling everything back in and going it alone.   What you will hear in this episode: * The three-question marketing framework from his book Marketing with Fervor: who's it for, what are you going to tell them, how do you get more of the right ones. * Why Mike gave away the framework in a book instead of keeping it as proprietary agency strategy. * The Two Lines Pregnancy Clinic case study, including 40% donor growth and more than doubling clinic volume in 15 months, and what made that possible. * Why Fervor intentionally builds clients toward graduation rather than long-term dependency on the agency.   Resources and Links:   Fervor: www.createfervor.com [http://www.createfervor.com] The Bonhoeffer (event space in Kansas City): www.thebonhoeffer.com [http://www.thebonhoeffer.com] Marketing with Fervor by Mike Farag (available wherever books are sold) Connect with Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefarag/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikefarag/] Monarch COO: www.monarchcoo.com [http://www.monarchcoo.com] Follow Courtney on Instagram: @monarch_coo [https://www.instagram.com/monarch_coo/] Monarch COO Inquiry Form [https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/69b4af9e3ac23b55897ce038]

58. Small Team, Big Mission: How Karen Stubbs Operates Birds on a Wire

Karen Stubbs is the founder of Birds on a Wire, a ministry built to equip and encourage moms with practical, biblical wisdom. What started as a small group of seven moms in her basement has grown over 15 years into a worldwide ministry with a podcast, curriculum, books, and a conference. In this episode, Karen joins Courtney for a candid conversation about the real operational challenges of running a lean faith-based nonprofit, from managing a small team to diversifying revenue to launching a brand-new curriculum for grandmothers.   Karen shares how she learned to read her team's temperaments and adjust her leadership accordingly, why she started a Patreon subscription tier to offset podcast production costs, and how she thinks about the generational ripple effect of pouring into moms. She also opens up about what she prays every single morning and the season she chose her family over her biggest fundraising window, and what happened as a result.   If you are building something with purpose and feeling the weight of wearing a lot of hats, this conversation will encourage you and give you a few things to think about practically.   In this episode:   * How Birds on a Wire grew from a basement small group to a worldwide ministry * Managing a small team and knowing when to pump the brakes on new ideas * Balancing the roles of founder, grandmother, and mom in the same season * The Patreon model Karen built to offset podcast production costs * Why Birds on a Wire is launching a grandmother-focused curriculum * What Karen talks to God about in her business every single morning   Episode Links:   Birds on a Wire: www.birdsonawiremoms.com [http://www.birdsonawiremoms.com] Wire Talk Podcast: Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Wire Talk Plus (Patreon): Available through the Wire Talk podcast feed Monarch COO: www.monarchcoo.com [http://www.monarchcoo.com] Instagram: @monarch_coo

57. Productivity for Founders

Most productivity advice was written for people with too much free time. In this solo episode, Courtney cuts through the noise and shares seven of her most important productivity practices, the ones that have actually moved the needle for her as a founder and fractional COO working inside other founders' businesses.   Courtney breaks down not just what to do, but why your current approach is probably costing you more than you realize.   In this episode, Courtney covers:   * Why your brain is your biggest productivity killer and what to do about it * Why running your life across multiple systems creates gaps that cost you * How to block focus time before anyone else can take it * Matching your work to your energy, not just your schedule * Why a weekly planning session is the single highest-leverage habit for founders   Want all 14 productivity tips? I've pulled together the full list — including how to use AI as your admin layer, how to build a real shutdown routine, and how to guard your calendar like a business asset. Download it free: Productivity Tips [https://docs.google.com/document/d/18k2YjF5uww5qhktXoKjVp9-9PPOd748KYf1_aGL__rA/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1mkfrbeuqi0w]   Episode Links   Full Productivity Download: Productivity Tips [https://docs.google.com/document/d/18k2YjF5uww5qhktXoKjVp9-9PPOd748KYf1_aGL__rA/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1mkfrbeuqi0w] Monarch COO: www.monarchcoo.com [http://www.monarchcoo.com] Instagram: @monarch_coo

56. Jacob Willis: Running Lean, Giving Big, and Trusting God With the Rest

Jacob and Christin Willis are the founders of We Heart Nutrition, a research-backed supplement company on a mission to help people live energetic, joyful lives. They are also pro-life and proudly donate 10% of all sales to pregnancy care centers across the country.   Jacob is back for a second conversation, and a lot has changed. He and Courtney dig into the team and agency structure that is keeping the business lean but functional, what it actually took to fix a manufacturing and fulfillment crisis that was tanking customer experience, how Christin is managing creative direction as the brand scales, and the decision to launch a nonprofit to create sustainable, multi-year support for pregnancy care centers instead of one-time donations.   There is also a real conversation about faith and what it looks like to release the pressure of growth targets and trust that the labor is yours but the increase belongs to God.   Episode Links We Heart Nutrition: weheartnutrition.com [weheartnutrition.com] Monarch COO: monarchcoo.com [monarchcoo.com] Monarch COO on Instagram: @monarch_coo [https://www.instagram.com/monarch_coo/] monarchcoo.com/ops-health-check [monarchcoo.com/ops-health-check]

55. What Your Onboarding Process Says About Your Business

You closed the deal. You made the hire. Everyone's excited. And then the first two weeks happen and something feels off. Files are coming from three different places. The kickoff call agenda is being built in real time. Your new hire is spending their first three days tracking down login credentials that should have been ready before they walked in the door.   Most founders file this under "we'll get better as we go." This episode is about why that's a mistake.   Courtney breaks down why your onboarding process isn't just a logistics task. It's the first time someone experiences your business from the inside, and what they find either confirms or contradicts everything you showed them to get them to yes.   In this episode: * Why onboarding is a brand moment, not an admin task * The four messages a chaotic onboarding sends, whether you intend to or not * How disorganized client onboarding creates doubt before you've delivered a single result * How disorganized employee onboarding trains your team to operate in ambiguity * The three honest reasons founders haven't fixed this yet * What it looks like when onboarding actually works, and what it makes possible for your business   If your process lives in your head and gets reconstructed from memory every time, it's time to make some changes. This episode is your push to fix it.   Ready to build an onboarding process your clients and team members actually rave about? Fill out a quick intake in the link below and let's talk about what that looks like for your business specifically.   Episode Links Work with Courtney: www.monarchcoo.com [http://www.monarchcoo.com] Instagram: @monarchcoo Monarch COO Inquiry Form [https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/69b4af9e3ac23b55897ce038]