Masters in Marketing Agency

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Jun 2026

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Are you running a digital marketing agency but feel like you need some advice? The Masters of Marketing Agency Podcast features veteran marketing agency owners who share their experiences, mistakes, and successes along their journey. Join host Josh Hoffman and make sure you have a notebook as he digs deep so you can learn more about what veteran agency owners know. The Masters of Marketing Agency Podcast is brought to you by DevNoodle. https://devnoodle.com/

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June 8, 2026Episode 1111 hr 2 min

How AI Genies & Problem Machines Are Disrupting Business and Nonprofit Tech

Join Alex and Joe for a candid and insightful conversation on AI, spreadsheets, $1K automation challenges, nonprofit success stories, and how emerging AI agents are transforming both the way work gets done and the trust businesses build with their clients.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of the Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.The game-changing $1K Challenge creates custom business tools live in 1 hourAI "genies" enable small businesses to access automation never before possibleTrust-building turns vendors into long-term partners, not just project vendorsData, workflows, and team buy-in are critical to nonprofit tech overhaulsFlexible retainers transform service relationships and increase client impactResources:Mata ConsultingDevNoodleConnect with Joe Mata:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:5:16 - The 1K challenge is basically if you feel like you're losing money or stuck or frustrated by this thing, you always have to do or always laid on, like your admin or team members always like, hey, can you get this to me? And you're like, oh yeah, that's right. That's on my list. If any of those things, or if there's a system that you've ever wanted for your business that you never thought was possible because custom, custom software development is way too expensive. We invite you to a 1K challenge, we will solve that problem. Build that tool for you. Live on a one hour call. If we solve your problem, we'll deliver it for a thousand dollars. If we can't, I'll give you a thousand dollars. And it's, the response has been insane. A better response that I've had with any other offer I've ever made since I've been in business.14:05 - You need to create a problem machine. You need to create a machine, basically a way for people to come to you when they have problems. And what's interesting is this 1K challenge that opened the door for it, right? Because it gave people the sense of, he's really confident in this. If I can have the things that I think I could have for $1,000, and then they get on the call. And I've never had this where people get on the call, and I'm like, okay, go tell me what you're thinking. Right? Like, I could just say that. And they just unleash all their business problems, Right? And that's the thing that I've always been looking for.14:54 - I think that's probably the most rewarding part of like the sales discovery process is that once you, because you can feel when the trust has been developed, when there's really starting to open up and say like, well, one, talking about the technical problems, but also they're human, not human problems, but, you know, team challenges that they're facing, whether when it comes to a specific process or when it comes to onboarding a new tool. One, once you kind of break that, that barrier, they're like, you're an established partner and they're ready to rock with you.29:36 - He was against AI initially, and then he's like, I've taken the equivalent of the red pill, and I can't wait to show you what I've built. I was like, all right, I was like, I'm coming over tomorrow. But we were talking that right now is probably the first time in history where you can manifest any idea that you have right now. Like before it was like, okay, I have this idea, like I wanna try this thing, even if it was art. Like I have this thing that I wanna create or music, whatever it is, you had to go, and there's maybe you needed a place to record, or you needed, to paint, and it would take a while for you to get the thing that's out of your head into reality or digital reality.53:16 - It's been amazing to be on the same side of the fence as, you know, the leaders of these organizations to say like, we're doing a lot of work to serve the community. What are we doing for ourselves to serve ourselves to then better serve the community? So it all goes back to servant leadership. You know, I am a Christian and so we like to, you know, how do we make sure that we're supporting other folks' mission and, you know, cleaning, cleaning others' feet and helping them to achieve their goals and go and do the things that they want to do to improve, a person's life or community's health or whatever it might be.

May 13, 2026Episode 1101 hr 1 min

AI Gold Rush: Building, Breaking, and Bantering on the Future of Work

Step into an energetic conversation exploring AI tools, rapid prototyping, and agency life, alongside the deeper impact of technology—brought to life through real-world experiments, bold perspectives, and visionary banter.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of the Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Rapid AI prototyping slashed months of work to hours for agenciesAI as a force multiplier, not a human replacementUnique "One K Challenge" game show for solving real-life problemsBook clubs as a tool for communication and team growthLively debate on the societal and ethical impact of AI's riseResources:Aisle3DevNoodleConnect with Rob Cromer:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:03:08 - And now my whole feeling is how do I create, how do I use AI as a force multiplier, not a replacement of human capital. And that's like part of the mandate of IL three doesn't allow me to like go down that deep rabbit hole of like, but I could fucking do this at like a 99% margin with one dude just to hit, hit buttons. 10:46 - I think the consistent thread of why I left that agency, or they were great, but is always, oh, there's a flurry of work, and then they set it and forget it. And now I feel like I'm always emailing them to do something. Right? And we're always trying to ignite the wheel. So we are only as good as as proactive as we can be. And I think that the agile, really, when you boil it down, agile requires proactivity, consistent activity, consistent review, consistent input. 19:40 - So I used Claude Cowork, it's still down in the blocks that then I put in.. and the first thing I had Claude do was, alright, take all this data and thousands of lines of data, take all this data and do a Freudian analysis of the me. And that was really fucking interesting. And then I took the same thing, put it back into ChatGPT, and told it to give me a Freudian.36:57 - There's a mix in the world that's gonna be people building productive things for themselves, and then people who are gonna try to figure out how to, like, you know, make money on it. And there's gonna be so much slop, like shitty apps that don't need to exist that already exist that like, there's gonna be a gold rush right? In everything like this. And it's interesting to see the teams that will make it, like you're not looking at it like, oh well, we just made this thing, let's like make an app out of it and sell it. You're like, this is really helpful. Internally, we save ourselves 15 hours, like with anything AI video slot that came out, right? So it's gonna be a while of parsing through a bunch of garbage. 55:41 - Well, for starters, we don't look at, I'm not looking at AI on how to replace somebody. I'm looking at how to make them more productive, right? That force multiplier effect. I don't want a company that is me and 25 agents running around, right? Like that is an interesting, I think we do things like company retreats that make sure we bring everybody together so there is some human contact because we're a remote workforce.

January 27, 2026Episode 10951 min

Fishing for Clients: Marketing Insights from the Pros

Dive into a riveting discussion where local network marketing whiz, Jim Stewart, unfolds the layers of a dealership model that outperforms traditional franchises. From leveraging indoor digital billboards to optimizing multichannel advertising, this episode packs a punch with tales of industry camaraderie and wisdom on building a business that resembles more a community than competition.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Benefits of the dealership modelInsights on marketing agency partnershipsTips on using white-label servicesImportance of Google Business ProfileValue of local networking for growthResources:Your Local NetworkDevNoodleConnect with Jim Stewart:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:14:20 - When you're talking to that marketing agency, I tell everybody, just ask 'em this simple question, what else outside of what you offer should I be doing to help grow my business? Because a good agency will point you in other directions too, because we don't all do everything. So, you know, we're really good at certain things, and then we do other things, and then there's stuff we don't do. And I always have other agencies on my list where I'm like, I think this person would be a really good fit for you. You should call them because this is something that could probably help grow your business outside of the stuff I'm doing right now. And there's too many agencies out there, and they make us look bad as they're just out to sell the services they have and focus on that and nothing else. 11:04 - The one was, you know, I got this, an email that I send out that reminds everybody about the event every month. And this guy probably has been on my list, my email reminder list for like 16, 18 months. And he finally showed, you know, he finally showed up for the event, and he spent five minutes thanking me for not stopping, you know, sending him the emails. He's like, thank you for keeping me on your reminder list. He goes like, every month I wanted to come out, something just came up, I couldn't do it. You know, he is like, I came out, he goes, I had two really good conversations that are gonna lead to bigger conversations here tonight. Thank you so much for continuing to send me the email.32:14 - I do a ton of networking, and you know, you're in a room and you, you see that a person that's, you know, another marketing person and they refuse to talk to you, you know, because you're the enemy and you're just like, no, we're, we're not the enemies. We're, you know, we should be working together. I can help your clients, you can probably help my clients. 37:11 - You're trying to grow your business, you gotta build your network. I'm a big believer in that. I belong to multiple chambers. I belong to BNI, belong to a few other networking groups. I'm constantly out there. I just, I'm heading to my third networking event tonight for the day. So I had a morning one, I had my BNI lunch, and now I'm gonna be heading to a multi chamber happy hour. So I just tell people, you know, get out there, show up. That's the biggest thing. Just show up.28:07 - It's a really interesting model, my perspective on it and why I think it works really well, you're able to offer more of a full digital marketing agency approach with billboards as well, in indoor billboards. And that network that's built out there, while still maintaining the relationship that clients get with being a smaller, localized agency. And that is rare, it seems almost impossible outside of this type of model, 'cause usually we seems, there'll be a small team of under 10 people that is a full-service digital marketing agency. And that specialization in all of the areas that you listed becomes impossible.

January 6, 2026Episode 10850 min

Mastering SEO and Conversion Tactics

Let’s dig into the digital depths with Michael Fleischner, a seasoned SEO navigator, as he reveals how to keep agencies afloat amidst changing tides, from the surging waves of LLMs to the calm shores of client communication. Tune in for an episode brimming with actionable strategies, personal sea tales, and the undercurrents of agency life.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Boosting online visibilityDomain authority insightsBalance in agency growthContent's role in SEOConversion optimization tipsResources:Big Fin SEODevNoodleConnect with Michael Fleischner:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:22:47 - The problem is that today, and as you mentioned over the last year, people are going directly to ChatGPT to ask and answer questions. They're not going to Google, or at least not in the same way. And that's why Google's really, I think, sprinting to try to catch up with AI overviews and changing some of the results and how they're created. But you know, ultimately it's kind of like saying, oh, no one will ever unseat Facebook yet Facebook is unseating itself through Instagram, and TikTok is replacing Facebook. So we have these, these visions of grandeur around some of the typical search behaviors because we've operated that way for so long. 36:40 - And that's kind of the manic depressive nature of agency ownership. And it's not for everybody. You know, again, I've been around long enough to know that all you can do is continually focus on delivering quality results for your customers. And you can do that, and they may still leave, you may not do that, and they stay, but you really have to, again, from my perspective, make sure that you're delivering the best quality and you're engaging in this idea of fair exchange or abundance exchange on a regular basis. And that's it. There's really no more to it. But over time, you know, the good news is you do get accustomed to, it's kinda like Game of Thrones when you're kind of getting into the characters initially, you quickly realize don't get attached to any of the characters, right? Like it's kind of the same dynamic.21:37 - I've been in the SEO business, but it's longer than most. And this one is different. And what I mean by that is, when I started out almost 20 years ago, the way that SEO was changing was more an evolution, not a sea change, which is happening here. The evolution was, oh, this is what you needed to do to rank, oh, this is what you need to do to rank differently. Oh, this is a different kind of ranking. You know, now we have images showing up in search, so on and so forth, right? So like there was all this evolution happening in the world of search and it created a really cool dynamic for us and our clients. It helped kind of expand content generation and creating different types of digital assets, building authority, doing all these fun, exciting projects for clients, really to get them to show up in search results.30:40 - Because LLMs, right now, they're inherently lazy. At least that's my perspective. They're not going even though it says, you know, taking a minute to think longer or deep research or yeah, they're just scanning more websites. But AI, but Google does that through AI as well. So it's, it's nothing, quote unquote new, but it is an advancement in terms of search behavior and how these machines return information. 31:44 - Because we're now so used to, I remember like I had to, I took a course to learn how to use Google properly, how to properly think about crafting the search term or question or whatever it was down to get down to relevant results instead of thousands. And now a lot of that's gone away because you could just chat with GPT, and if you took a wrong turn, you naturally, as if you're talking to a person, ask the right question and get into that depth. What's becoming really interesting is once you get someone to your place, your site where wherever it is that you have them, that you want to have them learn more about your company and convert, they're still gonna have those same questions.

December 2, 2025Episode 10740 min

Navigating the Creator Economy: Tech, Tactics, and Triumphs

Dive into the bustling intersection of influencers and innovation with James Michalak, CEO of NeoReach. Discover how a blend of top creators, cutting-edge tech, and insightful market data can lead to transparent, scalable marketing success, no matter the budget. Join us for a spirited talk that unravels the essence of being a creator in today's complex digital landscape.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Over 80% of creators operate independently.Substantial growth through creators, not brands.AI manager negotiates deals for creators.Strategic M&A for operations improvement.The concept of "fan subs" to monetize content.Resources:NeoReachDevNoodleConnect with James Michalak:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:11:20 - There's things that look good, like, you know, you have the concept of a 10-foot car, you know, 10 feet away. It looks fine. We had a 10-foot business for a little while, right? So it's taking a look at those things and saying, Ah, I could probably make that better. Or, oh, we should focus some time and attention here to improve that process, improve that, you know, customer service, whatever. So yeah, I do a lot of that. It gets me in trouble both at home and in the business. But you're not, you're not moving forward unless you're making things better or trying to break stuff.28:07 - I think that the creator economy is still ripe for a complete rollup. I think what we're seeing from a perspective at the macro level right now is driven by agency holdcos that are like, oh shit, we need this capability. We're just gonna bring it in-house so we can, you know, charge out the wazoo for it and add in hourly rates and stuff. But for us, we've looked at it differently still through the lens of like roll-up strategy in the sense that there is a huge competitive landscape out there. Any individual or like single aspect of the creator economy has hundreds of organizations trying to figure it out. 14:27 - I think everyone is swimming in the direction of continuing to service brands 'cause that's where at least the short-term dollars are. We're kind of going against the current, and we are focusing, I would say probably 80% of our attention now on the creators themselves. So building out tool sets for them to be more dangerous with their brand deals, building out ways for them to get paid more easily to do all the back office menial BS work that they don't really want to do. That's part of an activation. And then leaning into AI to make all that happen. 'cause the holy grail for us is being able to be that self, you know, full self-service aspect for creators to where we are also leveraging the data that they provide us to make informed decisions on the managed services side and possibly even use that to dictate where the creator economy is going. 27:01 - If it's hurting creators more than it's hurting my team. We're doing the creator thing first, 'cause at the end of the day we're in service of them. They're the reason we exist, and our entire value proposition moving forward is built around them. So like how can I be a hypocrite and focus on us first rather than trying to, to make life easier for them in any way that we can. Whether or not it's like payment processing, it's new tool sets, different data sets, jumping on the phone and just answering questions, all that kind of stuff.41:27 - Cause what we see all the time, even with the creators that we represent as licensed talent managers, brands, lowball, right? Brands have, they've got a bottom line that they need to preserve. So they're not coming out with their best and brightest or their best offer out of the gate. They're probably asking for way too much in terms of content or requirements from the creator as well. And these, the creators were looking to service, they're amazing, but they're not as well versed in how to negotiate with a big brand or even a smaller one, how to advocate for themselves. So this is us taking data, and backing that up, and putting an AI agent in their corner.

November 18, 2025Episode 10640 min

From SEO to CEO: Agency Growth Tactics Revealed

Dive into the exhilarating world of a high-flying CEO whose calculated risks in the unpredictable seas of business turned waves into success. Mark Belen's candid approach to growth, health, and strategy is both inspiring and instructive. For entrepreneurs thirsty for achievement and adventure, this episode quenches that thirst with stories of trials, triumphs, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.The evolution from marketer to entrepreneurImportance of sales process in business growthPhysical endurance events mirror business mindsetStrategic financial understanding boosts businessEmbracing risks to push through business plateausResources:SearchLabDevNoodleConnect with Mark Bealin Jr:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:13:44 - And he just said, you can do anything for 24 hours. A human body can do anything for 24 hours. And I, if it got hard, I'd just be like, you can do anything for 24 hours tomorrow, you'll rest. Like, I'll be comfortable again. And that was a lot of like the training, what you realize is like, it feel if, like, especially when you're so outta shape, it's like, it just feels like this is never gonna end, but like really in a short period of time, you're gonna be in a comfortable shower, you're gonna be in a shower, you're gonna be in a comfortable car, you're gonna be, you know, it does, it ends. And so just reminding myself, you can do anything for 24 hours is very helpful.24:15 - I progressed to the point, remember where I came from, like, I just hated this stuff. I progressed to the point where I did a three-day bootcamp at Wharton School of Business, where I, like, I remember walking around and being like, they're gonna find out I'm here and kick me out. Like, I shouldn't be allowed at this. Like all these Ben Franklin, Ben Franklin quotes on the sidewalk and everything, it was really cool. So we had Wharton professors teaching us all this stuff and case studies on humongous companies. And I just thought it was exhilarating, and I took away from it a bunch of things that are still involved in my business. I learned how to salary cap there. I learned how to like, manage numbers that are really important. So, so I've come a long way where now, I mean, it's one of the main things I talk about our finances. And it's been an amazing evolution.13:55 - I've spoken on this before that I, I'm very aggressive in my head. I'm like, no, no, do it, do it. But that's the other side of it is I really think like, you know, my body, I can do anything that I, I need to right now, and I'll take a break later, and you obviously feel so much better about yourself after I have put myself in the hospital. So I have tried too hard once. But no, I think the other side of it is also, you know, life is hard and when you do hard things, life, I don't know if it gets easier, but it allows you to approach things with a better lens, like hard problems with a better lens 38:50 - I'm gonna just give you some numbers not to, not to like brag or boast or anything like that, but I just think it paints a better picture. So when you get going as a business, I was flat broke, like I had no money. I was coming, going through savings, like out to wazoo, and it was really stressful. And so then once I got to a certain point, I'd say there's like 20 grand a month coming in of profit, right? It was, it's so easy to just sit there and bathe in those profits and just say like, man, why don't I just stay here a little while and start making this money. And really there's no button you can push that says like, just keep me right here and I'll be fine with 20 grand a month. If there was, I might think differently, but I had to take risks to get to the next level in the game. And the temptation I think far too often is once, once things get comfortable, businesses kind of go like this, they kind of plateau and then they go up and they plateau and they go up and they plateau in those plateau periods or even before those plateau periods, as you can see an opportunity or a good, a good op like a good way to reinvest profits that's the time to jump.33:57 - So the lesson I would give to anyone who's listening to this or to you guys is like, there was something that was going on there that nobody is, that I haven't talked about, which is, if I heard Greg in December of 9, 2019, I may all those hires during COVID, like during a period of a lot of uncertainty and when like, we were candidly like losing revenue. But there's my friend Will Scott, who's another agency owner, he used this, this buffet quote that I really like, which is, you know, Warren Buffet says like, be stingy when other people are being greedy and be greedy when other people are being stingy. And that really helped me because in that period of time everyone was being stingy, and I decided to be greedy and made a bunch of big hires, and it changed my life completely.

November 12, 2025Episode 10543 min

Adidas Hats & Spiritual Musings: A Chat with a Marketing CEO

Join us in a dynamic conversation with Mike Falkow, CEO of Meritus Media, where his vibrant life experiences from sports to spirituality inform his unique approach to marketing and personal philosophy. Expect tales of surfing, creative marathons, and branding brilliance in an episode that oscillates between profound insights and delightful details.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Getting deep on brandingPersonal journeys and businessThe influence of Peaky BlindersMike Falkow’s creative processThe problem with old agency modelsResources:Meritus MediaDevNoodleConnect with Mike Falkow:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:19:06 - I hate being bored. I mean, if you really want to abstract it all the way down, that's it for me. Like I was having a conversation with my sister yesterday actually, and she was like, it's good that you're doing things and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, you know, I despise the idea of being unproductive. It really bothers me. And so, I, wherever that comes from for me, who knows, I think it's not even worth analyzing all that deeply. But like, I find great joy in being productive. I find that my morale comes up. I find that I tend to feel like I'm exchanging more with the world around me. I feel like I'm in a better position to help the people who I care about. You know, like all those added benefits, but like sitting still for too long really drives me nuts and feeling lazy and feeling unproductive, and like, I'm not contributing like that.22:09 - And then also just having your biggest competition being yourself. Like, there's nothing that I can control about how that guy surfs that way. There's nothing that I can control about how that actor auditions for that part. Like, those are entirely out of my hands. So if I want to do the best job that I can do, all I need to do is focus on myself.13:08 - You need to treat your business like your body of, like, it needs to be well fed, it needs to have good sleep, it needs to get exercise like you, you need to respect it and treat it as such. 'cause a lot of times, especially with small businesses and, one man operations, it gets into this thing of like, ah, I'm just gonna cope and try and, juggle the plates and do everything all at once. And, but it's like, no, take time to rest. Take time to exercise, take time to feed it, and we can sort of extrapolate that metaphor all the way down the road, but being in the present, I think that's, that's the business right there.40:41 - Mike: It's unethical. If I want to be straight up about it. That's just my view of it. I feel like that's unfair. If you're already paying me a retainer to be your consultant and your PR strategist, why would I upsell you if I'm finding opportunities for you to do paid branding? Right?Alex: That's interesting. That stems into a lot of different industries as well, and like the owning relationships and kind of keeping those to the chest, close to the chest, and then upcharging for access, really. Yeah, Where that access may not even be limited to that agency. Maybe Lucky Strike could have gone and knocked on that door themselves.39:36 - Mike: The product is the commercial, but now you've got a product that you can sell at like massive, massive margins and then do these huge profits on media buys. Where like that's where the money is for the old agency model.Alex: So was that really in the relationship and them owning the relationship to those media distributionMike: Products? Yeah, like if, if you look at like, okay, so Lucky Strike comes in as an admin example, right? So they come up with a great creative idea of how to put the commercials together and what that ad campaign would look like. But okay, so they're getting paid some for that. But the contract with the, with Lucky Strike is all in service of getting to the media buyers. 'cause the media buyers where, okay, I, I pay, you know, $50,000 or whatever it is, or a hundred thousand dollars for this, but the client is now paying me five or, or whatever it is. Because the media buy upsell is, is such a large margin.

November 6, 2025Episode 10441 min

Branding Brilliance: Crafting a Law Firm's Digital Identity

Take a seat and learn from Adam Warren, the CEO of OpenJar, as he dives into the world of high-performance advertising, children's book writing, and movie-making. With a drink of creativity and a splash of legal marketing expertise, this episode is more intoxicating than a happy hour at your favorite bar.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Unique insights into legal marketingTips on creating effective brand contentThe importance of website conversion optimizationStorytelling in professional brandingDiscussing OpenJar's agency successResources:OpenJarA Bear with PantsDevNoodleConnect with Adam Warren:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:19:06 - Just when you thought, especially as a marketer, you've seen everything. We haven't, we've only seen everything up to this point, but tomorrow is going to be another monkey wrench. And so I'm gonna be dealing with tomorrow with fresh eyes, with fresh experience, and having to learn as I go. And, you know, I think that is something that I reminded myself of in writing that book to keep it from scaring me away from doing it. And believe me, I thought about not doing it about 30 times. In fact, I didn't tell anyone but my wife and kids for the longest time that I was even doing it. In fact, the majority of people who know me didn't know until I finally had the book in my hand. So it was a big secret to sit on because I did not want to disappoint if I decided an 11th hour back out. But even in other parts of my career, my first movie, you know, I had no idea what I was doing. I just generally don't let that be the deterrent. 31:56 - So it's easy for us to figure out what the client's budget is, figure out what they need, and then plug them into the media and the content that's appropriate for them. If there's something we don't offer, let's say I, would like to have some controls over the website development. We bring in a partner for that. Either we white label them or we let, let it be known from the start. We're always looking to identify vendors because someone always has something you don't and business owners who don't admit to that are full of shit. I think you have to recognize that sometimes you can't be, what is it omniscient? You know, we need to recognize as a company that strategic partners are important, and we have very much so built a company with strategic partners from day one.20:16 - Because at the end of the day, everyone had to do something for the first time. And so, you know, we go to school, you learn a lot in school. What you really learn in school, if you're going to get the ultimate takeaway is how to deal with shit, how to problem solve and how to understand that what makes you uncomfortable might be what makes you grow the most.39:41 - As a lead generator, when you start getting stuff below the fold, that concerns me that it's just gonna disappear. Not everybody is a long scroller. You know, I might like to see that his lead capture, his form feels were a bit more accessible. I thought they were too far down. And that's always something you can put on the, like, let's say he took this and just moved it off to the right, and it was there from the top of the fold. Like, Yeah. I mean you can't see where exactly where your cursor is. Like yeah. What if it was there? You know,, I think that people, the design challenge, the design challenge is, you have to remember you're dealing with the short attention span theater and maybe one of the greatest short attention span theater.27:40 - We live in the age of content, you're missing the boat if you're not creating good content. It's all anyone cares about at, at least in terms of entertaining needs or engaging needs or who they work with. You know, there's an old saying, you work with who you like that's the most optimal person to do business with. Well, if you're never gonna be able to create a relationships with someone, you kind of can do that through content. People begin to feel that like they're building a relationship with you through content. And so I looked back on my history and said, this is the moment where I get to take those lessons of my past and put them into action. And it was right around when I was finishing this book, when I was finally moving towards doing my first really big ad in this industry. And it's just such a cool ad. It's this, we turned this attorney outta Texas into like a spy, it was like this Jason Bourne kind of leaning inspired project and it was so much fun and no one had ever seen anything like it.

October 28, 2025Episode 10343 min

From Pub Talks to AI: Bridging Tech and Business Strategy

Take a deep dive with Dr. Wilson Zehr as we navigate the dynamic tides of innovation, the strategic intricacies of business, and the revival of direct mail marketing. This episode isn't your average marketing talk; it's an academic exploration of the forces shaping industries – all interwoven with practical knowledge to propel your venture forward. Tune in for a riveting blend of thought-provoking ideas and actionable insights.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Automation revolutionizing direct mail.Easy letter-sending tool with tracking.Pub talks: Informal yet insightful entrepreneur tales.Bridging theory and real-world application.Moving beyond the hammer-nail paradigm.Resources:ZairmailDevNoodleConnect with Dr. Wilson Zehr:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:10:52 - So Tim, once he told me that one of the things that people need, I mean, we always hear people talk in the industry, we talk about you need the expertise, you need people with the skills, and you need people, you need the money, you know, need the finance. But he said the other thing that people really need is heroes. They need people they can look at and said, if that person can do it, I can do it too. And we need more heroes and an entrepreneurial ecosystem.24:30 - And then, you know, the Christensen talked about this idea that when you create new industries, when you're doing disruptive, what he called disruptive innovation, oftentimes, well usually favors the new entrant. Usually the incumbent is at a disadvantage for a variety of reasons, including the reason that it's not always in their best interest to do that. They've got an a market to pretend and defend, to protect and defend, but they also have new ideas, new specialties, in a specific area. And we would need to, I guess we'd need to take time to spend on the curve, but the idea of this model that we built on is the idea that if you're looking very early in a life cycle.18:31 - But one of the interest, the really cool things that you see happening is that students, when you first lay out this project, you know, they just, kind of all the blood drain outta their face and they're like, oh my gosh, what did I get myself into? And they're really nervous about it. And because, you know, like any real world project, like I'm not out of the textbook, any real, real world project project, things are not always clearly defined. There's squishiness and you almost never have complete information, right? There's holes in that information. And you need to use what you have to work with, and you need to make assumptions to do that. So you need to try and make the best assumptions. And it may be that there is no right answer. There might be a series of right answers, wrong answers, depending on who they're for. It may be that, that there's only, you need to pick the least worst of the bad outcomes, right? 32:14 - AI is gonna kill everybody's job. And what history tells me is that it will reduce some opportunities, especially stuff that's systematic and repetitive, things that maybe people shouldn't be doing anyway. But it'll also create opportunities, and it's likely that it'll create many more opportunities than it actually eliminates. So, I mean, I'm not really worried about that technology at all. I'm more worried about the misapplication of it, people trying to use it to solve problems that's not well suited for than I am about it, eliminating everybody's job.38:44 - I think that the trick for me is AI, just for the sake of AI, everybody today seems to have a need and AI story, but AI for the sake of AI is maybe not as valuable. I, what I'm really trying to do at the most basic level is I'm trying to solve important problems for my customers. And I might use AI to do that. I might not. And in fact, there might be other tools that work more effectively to do that. So that's the question to ask is what's the problem I'm trying to solve?

September 10, 2025Episode 10247 min

Entrepreneur to Executive: Scaling Business Effectively

Dive into a riveting exchange with Pat Alacqua, CEO of Blue Magnet Partners, as he unpacks the entrepreneur-to-enterprise journey. Learn from a leader who's walked the path, scaling businesses, managing transitions, and successfully exiting companies. This episode is a trove of wisdom for any businessperson eager to learn from experience and expertise.Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Masters in Marketing Agency Podcast.Unveil growth tips from an expertScaling and exiting companiesSystem and process importanceIdentifying stages in businessMental transitions for leadersResources:Blue Magnet PartnersPat AlacquaDevNoodleConnect with Pat Alacqua:LinkedInConnect with our hosts:Josh Hoffman - LinkedInAlex Garashchenko - LinkedInQuotables:16:31 - I think everybody starts a business as much as you love it. You always [have to ask] if you're really going to get value out of it, you really got to say, how can it operate without me? Right. However, all that works. That's why I relate it to most of us. Parents can recognize the importance of letting our kids go. Right. So that's why I think that's a great analogy.19:33 - So we had to, I always say something, as you go through every stage of growth, we as leaders have to learn how to think differently, plan differently, and execute differently. And that's a constant transformation. And our businesses can't make that transformation if we're not making that transformation when we look in the mirror and there's different, we have to be different people as we go through that, right?28:14 - There's 2 ways to look at a business. There is your life cycle of every business is the same. OK, and you go from startup, you go to growth, you go to maturity. OK, where you either end up being, either make some adjustments at that point, and then you either continue to grow or you ultimately have to reinvent, right? because you decline, and that's where turnarounds come in, right? And then, without getting further in depth in that, every product has that same life cycle, if that makes sense, right? And when companies in that stage start to grow, A company might hit that maturity phase, right? Where you got a lot of competition coming in, you're not growing as fast, but the way they keep growing, if they choose to, is the next product.10:33 - You know, when you're starting up a business, right, you're wearing every single hat. What sort of what working on it means is you sort of got to step back and say, okay, where do I need systems? Where do I need process? How do I replace myself? You know, you know, we, we, we all enjoy in, in starting something. We all enjoy doing it and, and accomplishing things ourselves and what we do, right? But, you know, and when you start working on the business, you really start looking at how do I actually replace myself, right? And, what does that mean, and how do you go about doing that?50:56 - Pat A: So I think if you're on that journey in business and you wanna figure out how to get unstuck and tackle some challenges, I, think there's universal insights in that. And it's not all about me, it's about a lot of really interesting successful leaders that okay, you know,there may be some of 'em aren't on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, but quite frankly, they've got some great stories that we just wanted to highlight.Josh: I think, like you mentioned, I think that's exactly what we're trying to do with this podcast, too.