What do you do when you hit a ceiling? Sometimes that means it's time to grow, and sometimes that growth happens in the form of an agency. If you've ever considered starting one, then this is the episode for you because I've got Jason Swenk with me today, who has mastered the art of helping people build and scale their agencies. Even if you have a personal brand, there's a lot to learn today, so let's do this!

Jason defines an agency as a digital marketing agency: Anyone creating a website, pay-per-click ads, AdWords, or other marketing services for a business. On a broader scale, if you have skills that serve people through your own capabilities or the people you hire, you're going to want to listen up. There's a limit to how much you can do on your own, and Jason has a lot of helpful information for anyone who wants to grow their business through a team.

What happens for a lot of people in online business is that they start off freelancing, but later discover that there's a cap (Jason uses the metaphor of milking a cow). The only way to grow, at a certain point, is to hire, to bring on team members to do the things that you don't need to be doing. The goal is for you to only be doing the things that you're really good at, the things that not everyone can do.

If you're considering going the agency route, Jason has some guidance to offer on that decision. He's also got a ton of practical and straightforward advice for growing into an agency: how to take your first step toward agency life, who to hire first, how to manage your team and position your brand, plus the mindset you need to get past any fear you might have about taking those first steps. It's a packed episode today, so press play and let's get started!

You can hear more of Jason over at the Smart Agency Masterclass podcast, and the Swenk Today Show podcast. Plus, you can get a bunch of free resources from Jason by visiting Swenk.it. Jason's got a new book out as well: Accelerating Your Agency. Check it out!

I've been doing a bunch of live webinars and free trainings recently, and I'd love to see you at the next one! If you want to see when the next training is, and also where I'm speaking next, go to SmartPassiveIncome.com/connect/. If you're looking for help on starting a podcast, how to do affiliate marketing, or even if you're starting a business from scratch, that's where to go. See you there!

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Special thanks to Jason Swenk for joining me this week. Until next time!

Today's Guest

Jason Swenk

Learn practical strategies for growing your business into an agency, hiring your team, positioning and marketing your brand, and pacing your growth so you don't fall off the rails.

• Website: JasonSwenk.com
• Twitter: jswenk

You'll Learn

• How Jason got his unconventional start in online business.
• How to decide whether you should expand to an agency or not.
• The first step that you can take to start transitioning from freelancing to an agency business.
• What first hire you should make for your growing agency.
• How to position your services so that clients feel great about working with you and your team.
• How to set a clear-cut vision for your agency so that decisions aren't bottlenecked.
• How to manage your team so that you have a clear snapshot of what's going on at all times.
• Strategies for marketing and positioning your team in the marketplace.
• Why niching down pays off big time when you're running an agency.
• How to pace your agency's growth so you don't fall off the rails.
• Mindsets for getting past the fear of creating an agency.
• Why Jason decided to get rid of his website's contact page, and more!

Resources

Note: Some of the resources below may be affiliate links, meaning I receive a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you use that link to make a purchase.

• Smart Agency Masterclass podcast
• Swenk Today Show podcast
• Swenk.it
• Accelerating Your Agency book
• SPI Live: Free Webinars with Pat!