The Agency Growth Podcast

Hosted by Agency U

Business Marketing

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Episodes

220

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

The Agency Growth Podcast

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60 recent

August 21, 202659 min

How to Stop Undercharging for Creative Work (ft. Jasmine Sotiropoulos w/ ReWorded) | Episode 220

We sat down with Jasmine Sotiropoulos to talk about the reality of undercharging, learning how to sell services, and niching down without torching your main agency. Jasmine started like a lot of agency owners, taking cheap jobs on task sites, grinding nights and weekends, and saying yes to everything. Everything shifted when she stopped treating design like "making pretty things" and started learning how to communicate actual business value to her clients. That shift in communication allowed her to step away from low-ticket work and start closing $10,000+ branding projects. We also talk about how she launched a second agency entity to capitalize on founder-led branding without trapping her original business in a single box. Plus, she breaks down why she skips lazy automation for personal voice memos and chooses tech stacks that make client handoffs painless. If you are stuck undercharging or terrified of making the wrong strategic pivot, this conversation offers a grounded look at the boring work behind building a real business. Check it out and let us know what you think. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Contact Jasmine: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-sotiropoulos/ ReWorded: https://www.reworded.com.au Red Bow House: https://www.redbowhouse.com ----- PREMIUM: Join the Patreon and get exclusive content from this episode with more in-depth advice and hours of bonus content each month: https://www.agencygrowthpodcast.com/premium ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

August 14, 202659 min

Competitor Interview: From White Label to Niche Agency (ft. Mark Kelly w/ Inbound Revenue) | Episode 219

Mark Kelly built Inbound Revenue by doing the work other agencies were selling. For roughly a decade, white-label Google Ads made up most of his business. It reduced the sales burden and gave partner agencies a productized fulfillment system, but it also meant his team had to jump between completely different industries. Mark is now shifting toward direct relationships with outdoor living contractors. We talk about why narrowing the niche gives him more control over budgets, client communication, and lead feedback. We also discuss why white-label agencies can lose accounts over problems they had nothing to do with. We compare pricing, landing-page control, hiring Google Ads specialists, and the systems required to keep fulfillment consistent. Mark is building a different version of a niche agency than ours, which is exactly the point: two competitors can serve the same market without building the same business. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Contact Mark: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mark.d.kelly1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdkelly/ Inbound Revenue: https://inboundrevenue.com ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

August 7, 20261 hr 9 min

The Trade Show Strategy Behind a Six-Figure Niche Agency (ft. Matt Aldrich w/ Pet Engine Marketing) | Episode 218

We sat down with Matt Aldrich of Pet Engine Marketing to break down how he built a six-figure niche agency using trade shows and a $2,500 monthly minimum retainer. Cold outreach flopped in his industry, so Matt pivoted to trade shows to build face-to-face trust with local business owners. He eventually turned those connections into paid speaking gigs that positioned him as an authority in the space. Most local clients did not even understand what a real marketing budget was, so educating them became step one. We also covered why he completely ditched organic social media management after realizing it burned out his team and provided zero financial return. Instead of selling bloated service packages, Matt shifted his focus strictly to high-impact strategy, email, and paid ads. Agency growth is rarely linear, and sometimes cutting useless deliverables is the fastest way to fix your margins. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Contact Matt: jet@petenginemarketing.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjaldrich13/ Pet Engine Marketing: https://petenginemarketing.com/ ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

July 31, 202647 min

Quality Suffers When Owners Step Away | Episode 217

[Cold open [Steroids, workout hacks, and AI-flagged social content.] ends at 08:25.] Stepping away from your agency before you have a proper scale built out is a fast track to lost revenue and client churn. In this episode, we break down a recent post from our friend Caesar, who lost $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue after taking six weeks off. While he attributed the lead drop to pausing client acquisition, the cancellations exposed what happens to deliverable quality when the owner steps out. We discuss why raising prices without adding extra value creates high churn the moment you step back from managing those relationships. Based on our conversations with multi-million dollar agency owners, you shouldn't hand off account management before reaching $2 million in revenue or sales before $5 million. Putting an early-stage agency on "autopilot" usually just means you are gliding toward zero. If you want to protect retention, you have to stay in the trenches and do the unsexy work required to maintain quality. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Cesar's Reddit Post: "Down $10K MRR this summer - it's on me" (https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/comments/1ux8bxa/down_10k_mrr_this_summer_its_on_me/) ----- PREMIUM: Join the Patreon and get exclusive content from this episode with more in-depth advice and hours of bonus content each month: https://www.agencygrowthpodcast.com/premium ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

July 24, 20261 hr 46 min

Competitor Interview: The Agency Built on Revenue Share (ft. Tyler Hoyt w/ Fast Break Digital Media) | Episode 216

We sat down with another competitor, Tyler Hoyt of Fast Break Digital Media, to compare how two niche agencies can serve similar clients while building completely different businesses. Tyler explains how he grew from managing every account himself to running a lean team built around revenue share, contractors, a VA, and a setter. We talk about getting out of fulfillment, hiring people who are better than you, and dropping the belief that you need to control everything. We also break down the realities of selling Meta Ads, setting minimum budgets, getting clients to create video content, and turning away prospects who will not do their part. Tyler shares real numbers on lead costs, close rates, acquisition costs, pricing, and why organic social is still his strongest source of new business. Fast Break is now doing around $70,000 per month without a bloated team. This is an honest conversation about retention, seasonality, client expectations, and what agency owners can learn from the competitors doing good work beside them. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Follow Tyler: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-hoyt/ Fast Break Digital Media: https://fastbreakdigitalmedia.com/ ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

July 17, 202646 min

The Mid 2000s Agency Model is Dying | Episode 215

[Cold open [Paintball, sick kids, and the problem with barber fades] ends at 05:58.] The agency model built on evergreen content and one reliable acquisition channel is starting to break. Last month, 25% of our Google ad spend went to LSAs, something that would have been unheard of a year ago. Now ChatGPT Ads, AI search, and changing platforms are forcing agencies to rethink both service delivery and client acquisition. We talk about why authority matters more than generic content, and how brand mentions, reviews, industry publications, social engagement, and video are shaping who gets trusted and recommended. Real credibility takes time. It comes from doing useful work and showing up in more than one place. For newer agencies, that may mean working for free to gain experience and cold calling when inbound is not there. For established agency owners, it means staying involved in sales, building beyond one channel, and accepting that the old playbook will not carry the business forever. ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

July 10, 202659 min

This Is the Worst Year for Google Ads | Episode 214

[Cold open [Jake is moving... Again] ends at 10:40.] Google Ads feels weird right now, and we’re trying to figure out what changed. In this episode, we talk about what we’re seeing in real local lead gen accounts. LSAs are getting more attention, standard search ads feel weaker, CPAs are rising, and clients are asking fair questions. We also get into what we’re testing next, including AI Max, target CPA, Google-hosted lead forms, ChatGPT ads, and better reporting. No perfect answers here. Just honest testing, cleaner data, and saying the quiet part out loud. ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

July 3, 20261 hr 37 min

Competitor Interview: The $3M Mistake That Changed His Business (ft. Nicklaus Conley w/ Tekton Growth) | Episode 213

We sat down with Nicklaus Conley to talk about what happens when marketing works faster than the business underneath it. Nick scaled his hardscaping company toward $3 million in contracts before a massive chunk of that revenue vanished in weeks. The crash wasn't a marketing failure; his operations and cash flow simply couldn't absorb the rapid growth. It is a harsh look at how high lead volume can give you dangerous, false confidence. We also broke down why bragging about cost-per-lead is meaningless if you do not track your true customer acquisition cost. Now, Nick is building a lean agency focused on productized offers and AI automation. He is mapping out the unsexy systems required to scale MRR without creating endless drudgery for himself. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Follow Nick: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicklaus.conley.2025/ Tekton Growth: https://www.tektongrowth.com/ ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

June 26, 20261 hr 22 min

Competitor Interview: Did They Build a Better Agency Model? (ft. Ezra w/ Green Frog Web Design) | Episode 212

This week, we brought on Ezra from Green Frog Web Design to talk about what agency owners usually avoid: competitors, pricing, retention, and what “enough” actually means. Ezra works in the same lawn and landscape space we do, which is exactly why we wanted him on. Most agency owners treat competitors like enemies. We think that’s usually a barrier you made up yourself. We got into his path from lawn care and cold calling to building a niche web design and SEO agency with a low-friction monthly model. No giant retainers. No pretending every client needs the same thing. Just a clear offer, a specific niche, and a business built around retention. We also talked about the bigger question behind all of this: what are you actually building for? More revenue is great, but if the business forces you into a life you don’t want, that’s not much of a win. ----- MENTIONS IN THE EPISODE: Follow Ezra: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezragreenf/ Make & Model Advertising: https://greenfrogwebdesign.com/ ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact

June 19, 202658 min

What We’re Working On in 2026 | Episode 211

[Cold open [Jake turns Iowa’s football stadium into a paintball field] ends at 10:39.] We’re trying to figure out what the next version of our agency actually looks like. SEO and Google Ads are still the foundation, but marketing alone has a ceiling. Adding more lead sources does not help much when clients only see the bad leads, follow-up is inconsistent, and everything gets compared to high-intent search. In this episode, we talk through what we’re testing right now. That includes Google AI Max, lead form campaigns, HighLevel, and one dashboard that brings leads from every platform into the same place. The bigger idea is moving beyond lead generation and into operations. Better qualifications, faster follow-up, sales coaching, and cleaner client data may be what makes the agency more valuable and less seasonal. We do not have it all figured out, but this is the boring work we’re doing to find out. ----- RESOURCES: Want the tools and resources we recommend for agencies? Check them out here: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/tools ----- NEWSLETTER Want the show in your inbox? Sign up for the newsletter! https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/newsletter ----- COMMUNITY Looking to join a community of agency owners? Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ----- CONTACT Got something to say? Send us a message: https://www.agencygrowthpod.com/contact