Ep 144: How a Former Designer Learned to Run an Entire Agency Through COVID | with Dominic Wong of Invoke

Ep 144: How a Former Designer Learned to Run an Entire Agency Through COVID | with Dominic Wong of Invoke

Summary: What happens when the thing that made you successful becomes the thing holding your agency back? For Dominic Wong, the transition from designer to agency leader wasn't about strategy, it was about identity. Suddenly, the skills that got him promoted weren't the skills required to run the business. This episode is a masterclass on leadership transitions, relationship-building, sales, and navigating the messy realities of agency ownership. Takeaways: * Why most founders stay trapped in their specialist identity for far too long. * The operational surprises waiting behind the curtain when you take over a business. * How Dominic rebuilt his approach to networking after years of ignoring it. * The mindset shift that transformed sales from a necessary evil into a growth engine. * Why agency owners should spend more time communicating ROI and less time talking about deliverables. * How innovation teams measure success when outcomes can't be predicted in advance. * The lesson COVID taught Dominic about resilience, leadership, and transparency. Check more of Dominic here at Invoke [https://www.builtbyinvoke.ca/] Watch: Free Training - How to Build a Sellable Agency [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi7WPWdtPD0] 👉 Get new episodes right to your inbox - click here [http://agencyuplift.co/podcast-subscribe] 👈

EP 143: Stop Asking Your Team For Updates! Do This Instead

Summary: Most agency owners think asking for updates is part of leadership. It's not. If you're constantly sending Slack messages asking, "Where are we at with this?" you're not managing a team, you're compensating for a broken operating system. In this episode, I break down one of the most common scaling mistakes agency owners make and explain why your team's lack of visibility isn't a people problem, it's a systems problem. Takeaways: * The hidden cost of becoming your agency's reminder system * Why ownership has nothing to do with task completion alone * The reason your team waits for instructions instead of taking initiative * A simple framework that makes project status visible without meetings * The dangerous habit that trains employees to become reactive * Why most agency meetings waste time before they even start * The one rule I use to identify broken operational systems instantly 👉 Get new episodes right to your inbox - click here [http://agencyuplift.co/podcast-subscribe] 👈

Ep 142: How Becoming the Loudest Voice in a Tiny Niche Creates Unlimited Leads | with Tim Minzer of Tidal Maketing

Summary: Most agency owners know they should niche down. Almost none of them actually do it. In this conversation, Tim Minzer shares the story of resisting specialization for years before finally committing to a niche and discovering it was the single biggest growth lever in his business. From getting laid off at Amazon during COVID to helping a furniture brand grow from $7,000/month to over $1 million/month in revenue, Tim breaks down the decisions, mindset shifts, and operational changes that transformed his agency. This episode isn't about theory. It's about what happens when you finally stop trying to serve everyone. Takeaways: * The exercise that finally convinced Tim to niche down after years of resistance * Why prospects started reaching out pre sold after he specialized * The hidden danger of building an agency entirely on referrals * How to create a daily lead-generation habit that compounds over time * Why most founders wait too long to hire an executive assistant * The Dan Martell lesson that completely changed Tim's growth ambitions * How premium positioning attracts better clients, better projects, and better talent Check out Tim here at: Tidal Marketing [https://www.tidalmarketing.com/] Watch: Free Training - How to Build a Sellable Agency [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi7WPWdtPD0] 👉 Get new episodes right to your inbox - click here [http://agencyuplift.co/podcast-subscribe] 👈

Ep 141: The 9 Step Agency Design Sequence Most Founders Never Learn

Summary: Your agency doesn't struggle because of lack of growth, it struggles because of lack of intentional design. Most founders think more clients, more hires, and more revenue will solve their frustrations. In reality, those things often amplify the problems already hiding inside the business. In this episode, I walk through the 9 step sequence for intentionally designing an agency that produces profit, creates leverage, and doesn't require you to hold everything together personally. This isn't another conversation about lead generation tactics. It's about building the machine that makes growth worthwhile. Takeaways: * Why revenue targets alone are setting agency owners up for disappointment * The economic model every offer must pass before you sell it * How to audit your client roster and identify who should stay, leave, or pay more * The warning sign that your service delivery model is fundamentally broken * How Profit First creates instant financial clarity inside an agency * Why complexity is often more expensive than bad marketing * The founder mistake that becomes the final bottleneck to growth 👉 Get new episodes right to your inbox - click here [http://agencyuplift.co/podcast-subscribe] 👈

Ep 140: The Black Friday That Made Him Quit the Agency Model Forever | with Thomas Lalas of The Art of eComm

Summary: Most agencies sell deliverables. The best operators solve expensive problems. In this conversation, Thomas Lalas explains why he walked away from both the traditional agency model and full time executive roles to build a retention business that helps 8 and 9 figure brands recover millions in unrealized profit without retainers, endless meetings, or years long contracts. What makes this conversation fascinating isn't just the retention strategy. It's the business model behind it. Takeaways: * Why most agencies are financially incentivized to solve problems slower than their clients would like * The retention leak quietly costing many eCommerce brands millions in unrealized LTV * How a simple 10% improvement in retention can create a compounding profit waterfall * The sales framework Thomas uses to close six figure projects in under 30 minutes. * Why value based pricing becomes easier when you make invisible losses visible. * The reason Thomas deliberately refuses to call his company an agency * How he designed his business around family, freedom, and mental health instead of endless scale Check out Thomas here at: The Art of eComm [https://www.theartofecomm.com/] Watch: Free Training - How to Build a Sellable Agency [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi7WPWdtPD0] 👉 Get new episodes right to your inbox - click here [http://agencyuplift.co/podcast-subscribe] 👈