The Agency Growth Podcast

**Cold Open (Cody went to Scotland for a Taylor Swift concert)****Skip the Cold Open at 12:40**Our podcast is largely about practical advice we give to other agency owners as we grow ours -- however, we thought it would be a good idea to air out all of the problems our agency is currently facing.Every business faces new challenges as they grow. Problems don't go away, they just change.In this episode, we talk about the challenges we're facing today. Let us know if you can relate to any of them.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Cody and Jake talk office chairs and Chat GPT)****Skip the Cold Open at 7:57**It's been a year since we've talked about AI and its potential effect on agencies. Now that we have had some time, it's time to talk about what is actually being impacted.When we first thought about this, we figured the biggest impact would actually come from agencies using AI. However, we've noticed something a bit different... Vendors and media platforms like Google and Facebook using more and more AI and getting... interesting results.Check out how we've noticed AI affecting agencies in the last year in this latest episode today.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

We're excited to bring AJ Doppke from Marketing Qubed onto the podcast to talk about his main acquisition method for new clients -- cold calling.AJ is a long-time listener to the podcast and owns an agency similar in size to our own. We grill him on his agency size, niche, and services, but especially his cold-calling strategy.What is it that AJ is doing differently that gets him 1 appointment out of every 8 calls to a decision-maker and a 50% close rate once he presents his solution?Learn more from him over the next hour and a half on what most cold-callers are doing wrong to not land appointments.----------------------------------Find AJ on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/aj-doppke.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (The agency space is getting dumber)****Skip the Cold Open at 15:30**Most new agency owners can agree on one thing and it's that picking your niche is more difficult than it sounds. The majority of agency owners will pick niches they heard were good based on videos they've watched or what peers have said. Other agency owners will pick multiple niches to see which ones take off first.If you cast a wider net, won't you catch more fish?Not necessarily.We talk about the differences between just focusing on one niche vs spreading yourself over multiple and why focusing on one might actually yield more results and sales.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Physical therapist that helps gamers)****Skip the Cold Open at 4:58**Staying productive is hard when there is so much to do and you can start to get analysis paralysis by looking at your daily checklist of items. It's even worse when you leave your full-time job and you no longer have someone like a boss ensuring you come to work early enough and stay focused.We go through a few things we do to keep us focused and productive while working on our agency. That includes things like eating right, minimizing instead of maximizing, the 2nd morning, and working out.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Non-compete agreements are now illegal)****Skip the Cold Open at 9:15**We keep seeing things online about how your leads should only be costing you $2-$5 on Facebook or that a cost per lead of $80 is bad. But neither of those is necessarily true.We have clients at Evergrow that are willing to pay $200/lead. If we tried to get them the cheapest leads all the time, then we would likely be delivering poor leads.Jake breaks down his formula for helping clients understand how much they should be willing to pay per lead generated from ad campaigns using their own numbers. This is a formula that will help you and your client set expectations around what is and isn't realistic.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Cody got a check from a class action lawsuit / Jake's old job is hiring)****Skip the Cold Open at 12:39**Jake has seen a lot of new agency owners get hung up on what their offer should be to prospective clients. People aren't sure what their guarantee should be or what sets them apart from the numerous other agencies out there.However, we have a belief that your "offer" doesn't need to be an offer to your prospective client. It can be as simple as being good at your service or being niche-specific.In this episode, we dive into what it means to actually have an offer that sells your agency without you having to give anything away for free or deliver guarantees.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

We hit our biggest milestone in this podcast since we started... 100 episodes!Throughout the last 2 years, we've been asked numerous times why we're even doing this. What's the point? We aren't monetizing it with ads or even have anything to sell our listeners.We don't even bring on guests who have things to sell our audience.This episode answers that.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Jake gets involved with Agency TikTok / People on Reddit Suck)****Skip the Cold Open at 18:00**We talk cash flow and how our agency maintains a healthy flow of liquidity and a stockpile of cash in the bank that would make Ron Swanson blush.There are a few things we do to ensure that we are a cash-positive business and that there is enough money in the business to keep things alive for 6 months with everyone having jobs even if we were to lose all of our clients tomorrow.This becomes more and more important as the United States heads into an economic downturn ahead of the election.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (Do you use the tongs at gas stations?)****Skip the Cold Open at 6:30**This is an episode regarding a question we get asked frequently. What does our onboarding process look like when we onboard a new client?We take you through the process of the initial sales call all the way to the live website. Both from our perspectives as well as each team member's perspective who handles a portion of that onboarding.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @jakehundley

**Cold Open (We Have a Bone to Pick with Stacked Marketer)****Skip the Cold Open at 14:38**Evergrow Marketing's structure and goals are based on a business plan put together by Cody. But what is a business plan? What makes one good?We hear about business plans all the time but never really see them or see what's inside of them. In this episode, we talk about how we wrote our business plan, what's in it, and what business plans are even for.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Nickelodeon & Shohei Ohtani interpreter)****Skip the Cold Open at 13:55**All of the gurus tell you how important it is to have multiple streams of income. But what they don't tell you is that advice is not for you. It's not for people who haven't made their money yet.You need to focus on your one, primary income stream before you even consider a second income stream. It's better to build one house with bricks than to build multiple stick houses.We talk about when you should start considering another stream of income and what we're doing at Evergrow to not only increase the streams of revenue within our business but considering the tangential businesses and services we can operate that are complimentary to Evergrow.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

Cody and Jake were asked, "At which point should you take a salary at your agency?" which brings up a good point... when should you?The answer to this question has a lot of variables, especially if you're dealing with multiple owners of that agency.How much recurring profit is coming into the agency? Are you using the Profit First system? How are you forecasting?Although a salary leads to increased stability in your personal life, it often leads to inflexibility and instability in the business during the early stages.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Cody is jealous of Jake's electric razor)****Skip the Cold Open at 7:40**On this episode, we talk about common mistakes agency owners make when they choose to flex but can't back it up.It's incredibly easy for us to tell who is and isn't a legitimate agency owner by only having a short conversation. Furthermore, it's easy for your prospective clients to tell if you're not being truthful.Be honest about who you are, how big you are, and how many clients you have. This has actually gotten us more sales than pretending to be bigger than we are.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Jake's cigars and Cody solved the Google Ads suspension issue)****Skip the Cold Open at 13:20**We often get requests to handle SEO and PPC services for other freelancers and agency owners and we've always had a firm stance against it for a few reasons.In this episode, we explain why we don't white label and why white labeling your services could be a trap that works against your business.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Cody has to do Jake's job and hates it)****Skip the Cold Open at 3:25**We tend to get a lot of comments on the way we price our services and how we handle billing. Those questions might include things like why do we charge credit card processing fees to our clients? Why do we put our payment information in the ad account? Why do we bill forward vs execute the work and then bill back?We thought it'd be a good idea to answer all of these questions in one episode.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

We received an inquiry from a listener asking about how he could deal with contractors who weren't completing basic tasks such as time tracking.We decided to make this episode completely on how we handle not only underperforming contractors but employees as well. Ultimately, it starts at the hiring process and we get into why and how we pick our team but we also give really useful tips on how to manage team members when they aren't performing well or doing basic tasks or repeatedly missing something.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (The Russell Brunson thing... again)****Skip the Cold Open at 5:00**Google is picking a fight with us and suspending ad accounts over their own platform errors.Having your ad accounts get denied, disapproved, or suspended is every agency's worst nightmare and it's happening to us right now.In this episode, we go over what's going on with Google Ads and how we're fighting back. We also stress the importance of not having all of your eggs in one basket. Thankfully doing so has kept us safe from the issue we're dealing with Google on for the most part.in the middle of the episode, Cody talks about the article that he wrote on his website regarding this whole situation in order to get Google's attention. You can read that here:"Google Suspended Our Google Ads Accounts Over Their Mistake"----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Russell Brunson Punches a Kid?)****Skip the Cold Open at 11:06**A lot of agencies out there seem to still be charging things in a manner that isn't really conducive to a scalable model. Ultimately, what it comes down to is that the agency's owner is still stuck in a freelancer mindset.In this episode, we really dive into what it takes to get out of the freelancer mindset and start charging prices and packaging your services correctly so you're not putting too much work into the services you're selling based on what you're selling them for.We also make sure to cover how freelancers can start charging prices accordingly to set themselves up for correct and fair agency prices, even as a solo operator.If you're charging $20/hr then just get a job. If you're charging $2,000/hr... who do you think you are?----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold open (Jake takes a deep dive into agency Reddit and it sucks)****Skip the Cold Open at 10:20**Last year, we recorded from our hotel in Colombia and recapped our finances from 2022 and how much we grew.This year, we're doing the same thing and recapping 2023. We had some explosive growth and also faced some challenges along the way that caused us to not grow as much as we wanted to.We also cover things we spent more on and things we spent less on.----------------------------------If there's anything we've learned about owning a digital agency, it's that your online security is #1. After facing a Facebook hack with the hacker spending $30,000 on our ads account in a matter of 2 days, we've partnered up with Aura to monitor our online presence and secure our accounts.Secure yourself and your agency while supporting the podcast by running a scan of your personal information for free when you sign up for a free 14-day trial at aura.com/everbros.You can also get up to 50% off security and monitoring plans with the same link after your trial expires!----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Jake has a question for the audience)**We keep seeing gurus make the money part of owning an agency really simplified. How money is spent and finances are handled in an agency at $10k/mo and at $100k/mo look very different but no one talks about it.Cody and Jake do a deep dive in how money looks at different levels of the business.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Jake and Lauren sneak onto First Class train in Japan)****Skip the Cold Open at 13:18**There seems to be some confusion around the practical application of having a CRM in an agency. Jake aims to clear that up in this episode.Aside from the typical derailments, Jake talks about:What a CRM technically is (you're probably already using one and don't even know it)Why you should be using a free CRM at firstHow Jake uses it on a daily basisHow it helps Jake close more sales----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Jake and Cody talk about their Hubspot automation)****Skip the Cold Open at 7:08**There are many different lead generation agency models out there. On one hand, an agency can only be responsible for delivering leads. Another lead gen agency may also follow up with those leads for the client to make sure they close.We address why we don't like lead gen models in which it's the agency's responsibility to follow up with the leads.We also explain common objections to the idea of only supplying the leads and leaving the follow-ups and closing to the client such as:Knowing the close rate of the platforms you're driving leads on.Knowing your client's average close rates.Setting the right expectationsJake also explains that if you follow up and close leads for your client, you're taking a foot out of the marketing agency space and putting another in the "consulting and sales" space.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/Reddit: u/JakeHundley

**Cold Open (Cody's had his credit card hacked twice in two months)****Skip the Cold Open at 9:00**Jake and Cody answer the questions:What is networking?Who do you network with?Why should you network?For starters, it depends on what you're trying to do. Are you trying to grow your business or get better at growing your business? Because they're two different things.If you're trying to grow your business, Jake has tips and explains why you shouldn't care about networking with other agency owners. Instead, you should be networking with other professionals inside your niche that aren't agency owners.If you're trying to get better at growing your business, Cody talks tips and who to network with on the operations side... that is... other agency and business owners. But the challenge is knowing which agency owners to network with -- it's usually not the ones you meet online.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

Ahrefs has been in the SEO community chatter quite a bit since the pricing model change so we thought it'd be good to bring Tim Soulo himself on the podcast to talk a little bit about the reasoning behind that.But we wanted to get more value out of the episode than that.In this episode, Tim gives us some useful keyword research tips both using paid tools as well as free tools and sheds some light on the accuracy... or lack thereof... when it comes to the metrics that SEO tools spit out including how inaccurate Google's owned tools' metrics such as Search Console and Keyword Planner.Tim uncovers how Ahrefs does keyword research for their own blog using "Business Potential" keywords and the downside of using Google's free keyword tools.Additionally, if you're a longtime listener of the podcast, you know that Cody and Jake have been pretty anti-paid tools when it comes to SEO and SEO research. In this episode, hear Tim counter Cody and Jake's argument on the idea that paid tools aren't necessary for new agency owners.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------You can find Tim Soulo and Ahrefs at these profiles / locations:Twitter/X: @timsouloLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/YouTube: @AhrefsComWebsite: www.timsoulo.com/----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Jake's optimal morning)****Skip the Cold Open at 3:06**We hear a lot of people quitting their day jobs in order to start an agency in which they have no experience -- only "knowledge" they've gained from online resources.To be frank, this is a dumb idea.We have grown our agency to near the half-million dollar mark while Jake still has a full-time day job. Doing this has allowed safe and steady growth while keeping full-time benefits and the same standard of living.So where do we find time to run a successful agency while also dedicating 40 hours per week somewhere else?Well, we tell you how we did it and continue to do it in this episode.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Lissette is gone and we're sad)****Skip the Cold Open at 5:30**We keep seeing agency owners emphasize the importance of documenting processes in order to scale, but there are a few problems with this. Most people:Don't know how to document their processesDon't know where to put their documentationDon't know what to do with it once it's documentedDon't treat it like a living, breathing documentDon't even know what their processes areIn this episode, we go over what "documenting your processes" means, how we do it, what we do with it, what you should and shouldn't document, and where we organize it.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Cody is back from surgery)****Skip the Cold Open at 4:26**Jake is seeing way too many people looking for "appointment setters" and "high ticket closers" for agencies and SMMAs in Facebook groups.Building an agency off of this model will ultimately kill your agency.This also brings up an interesting point -- if you own a social media marketing agency... how good are your social media marketing services if you can't even get clients using the services you provide?Instead of complaining about the above, we talk about what you should be doing to get your clients and where to get them without appointment setters and high ticket closers.----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Jake has to do dad stuff)****Skip the Cold Open at 2:45**Cody and Jake often find listeners and other agency owners stuck. Whether they're stuck at only a few clients or struggling to move past $20k/mo, a few things keep popping up over and over again with these agencies who struggle to scale passed their current status.With these 6 things, nothing should be able to stop you from scaling your agency:You’re trying to scale too fastYou lack a foundationYour processes aren't outlined or documentedYou don't know your internal labor rateYou don't plan aheadYour product sucks----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Nobody with a beard is happy -- Cody has a beard)****Skip the Cold Open at 6:30**If you run ads for your clients, you've likely run into a few issues...The budgeted amount wasn't spentToo much was spentThe account spends inconsistently and you have to spend too much time managing the spendYou're getting too many accounts and it's hard to keep upWe discuss the 5 ways we manage client ad spend and budgets for platforms like Facebook and Google.We answer questions like:Whose card should be on file?If you plan to spend $500 in a month, how do you track and pace that to make sure you spend that?When do you need to pay attention to spend?What are ways you can prevent "doomsday scenarios" in which too much is spent?We break out how we manage client ad spend for over 50 accounts with 5 key points:Know who's legally responsible for overspendUse a daily budget trackerBeginning and end of month require more time for monthly accountsUse automated rulesLongterm honesty is better than short-term profits----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------

**Cold Open (Cody wears random shirts he finds / Having a tough week at Evergrow)****Skip the Cold Open at 6:41**We had a listener of ours ask what our opinion was on HighLevel (GHL) as he was hearing a lot of agency owners promoting it and it seemed to have a lot of features he could sell.I had a pretty honest conversation with him about why we don't use GHL and reasons why he should or should not use it.If you build your agency in someone else's playground, you don't have a good agency.As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Cody brings up NVIDIA article / When is chasing money no longer worth it?)**Skip to Cold Open at 8:07**We're joined by David Tobin of TobinLeff M&A Advisors to discuss what agencies need to consider when thinking about selling their business.Jake mentions how he sees a lot of small agency owners (freelancers) looking to sell their "agency" in groups. We ask David very pointed questions on whether it's even feasible to sell an agency that only consists of one person and a client list as well as what things businesses look for when acquiring an agency.Some questions David answers are:How can you tell how much an agency is worth?What kind of multiples can agencies sell for?What can agencies do now to sell for more?Why do people buy agencies and who is buying?What are things you need to know about your agency before you sell it?What questions are buyers asking?What's a realistic revenue number an agency should be at before selling?TobinLeff M&A Advisors is a team of advisors that helps business owners plan and facilitate exiting their business or acquiring other businesses through mergers and acquisitions. They'll not only facilitate the transition but also advise on your business now for a future acquisition or merger.As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.You can find more about TobinLeff at tobinleff.com or reach out to David Tobin on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/david-tobin-120658184/Other Resources:NVIDIA article Cody referenced in the Cold OpenTobinLeff: 10 Questions Buyers Will Ask When You Sell a BusinessTobinLeff: 7 Best Practices for Managing a Rewarding Exit PaydayWant to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Jake and Cody talk about rebranding the podcast)****Skip the Cold Open at 7:11**A listener of the podcast submitted really great questions and we wanted to take the time to respond to all of them on the show. This is part 2 from episode 74 where we answer questions 7-10.There were 10 questions, we answered the last 4 in this episode:Why did you decide on digital marketing?What did you wish you could have done sooner to make you more successful today?How do you avoid burnout?How long does it take to make a good salary?What's a salary I can expect in the first year?What have you gained from being your own boss?This episode is sponsored by Aura -- Your personal security is your agency's security. Sign up for a free trial and run a scan on your email and personal information to see if it has been picked up in a data breach at aura.com/everbros.As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Jake delivers a keynote at a lawn care business conference)****Skip the Cold Open at 7:42**A listener of the podcast submitted really great questions and we wanted to take the time to respond to all of them on the show.There were 10 questions, but we were only able to get to 6 of them on this episode:How did you learn more about building websites and utilizing SEO? What would you focus on learning first?Should I build my business first or learn marketing first?What do you do about health insurance? Is it expensive to provide it to employees?Can you tell me more about the importance of choosing a niche and why did you pick your niche?What limitations would Evergrow face if Jake didn't have Cody and vice-versa?What are some unexpected tasks you had to do whether you liked them or not?----------------------------------JOIN THE FREE DISCORDhttps://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRDOur recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencygrowthpodcastTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencypodcastFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u

**Cold Open (Handkerchiefs / The Everbros Lost Episodes / Vulgarity)**Skip the Cold Open at 17:27**We see a lot of rookie mistakes new agency owners are making that's causing them to not get any sales or make it passed the $10k/mo mark.At its core, it comes down to commitment to your expertise and your niche.In this episode, we don't just tell you what we think the mistakes are, we also talk about things you can do to prevent these from affecting you and your agency.The 7 mistakes are:Having no skillsOutsourcingNot being an expertNot doing researchNiche hoppingStart-up costsNo clear goalOther mistakes we mention in this episode are:Not subscribing to Stacked Marketerhttps://www.stackedmarketer.com/friend-recommended/?rh_ref=9731be28Not leaving us a review or a rating on Spotify or AppleAs always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/**This note is for Matt Diggity. I mentioned you in the podcast and made a bet you'd get a Google Alert on your own name. Your part is at 54:30**

**Cold Open (Do you take non-professional email addresses seriously?)****Skip the Cold Open at 06:13**This week's episode comes to us a week after Jake talked about getting his Facebook account hacked and the implications that the hack had on the entire agency and our clients.During the period of this hack, Jake decided to partner with Aura. After getting his Facebook account back and getting the agency back up and running on the Facebook side of things, we thought it would be good to make agency owners aware of how easily usernames, passwords, and personal information get out there and how common hacks and data leaks are.What better way to do that than to bring Aura's SVP of Growth to talk about online security and what agency owners can do to prevent hacks and data leaks that compromise their operations?Jason Fragoso is the SVP of Growth at Aura, a rapidly growing AI-powered digital security company focused on keeping individuals and families safe online. To connect with Jason, check out his LinkedIn page at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonfragoso/As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Cody is sick... again / GoDaddy's Weird Marketing Strategy****Skip the Cold Open at 11:10**This is a topic we've been holding off on talking about until the dust settled -- but in July, Jake's Facebook account was hacked. It doesn't sound like a big deal until you realize that Jake's personal account is connected to all of our clients' ad accounts...Jake details what happened, what he had to do to get it back, and how he had to deal with the fallout with this basically crippling the agency's Facebook operations.Jake also talks about signing up with Aura to protect his digital identity and information moving forward and how the Everbros have now partnered with Aura.After this hack, Jake and Cody encourage you to sign up to Aura for a free 14-day trial (aura.com/everbros) to see what and how much information of yours has been leaked and which of your usernames, emails, and passwords are compromised.You can head over to aura.com/everbros to support the podcast and get your free trial.Podcast reference:**Jake talks about reaching out to Hacked to help recover his Facebook account. That link is hacked.com. This podcast is not sponsored by Hacked.As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Cool things about Colombia from Colombians)** **Skip the Cold Open at 10:03** On this episode, we're joined by Carolina Rincon and Isabel Gaviria from OnTop's legal team to discuss how agencies can hire and pay foreign and overseas contractors the right way from a centralized portal. We've talked about OnTop multiple times throughout the podcast so we thought we would bring them on. Many of our listeners rely on contracts to invoice them or pay them through payment processors like PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle -- but not every contract receives payment the same way, and with those apps, you don't have much security or control over when and how contractors receive their money. With OnTop (which we've used since March of 2022), you can manage contractor contracts and payment processing all from a centralized dashboard for a fee that's not any higher than the standard, local payroll tax. Additionally, contractors can choose to be paid in either their country's currency or your country's currency, which is a huge benefit for overseas contractors looking to be paid in USD. If you're looking at hiring contractors and want to do it the right way, reach out to Ontop at getontop.com. We're curious... how are you paying contractors? Head over to our website and post in the comments of this episode how you typically pay contractors. If you're listening on Spotify, you can do it right in the app. As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content. Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials: Twitter/X: @HundleyJake LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/ Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1 Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Cody asks Jake what his take is on wash rags...)** **Skip the Cold Open at 7:48** Jake was asked by a listener what goals we aim to achieve in our agency on a recurring basis. Frankly, there aren't a lot of goals we have. The more goals you have as a small agency the more analysis paralysis you experience and it keeps your eyes off of the true intentions of growing your agency. Cody also gives his take on goals in general and how he hates them. He also hates camping -- did you know that? Tell us what goals you have in your agency by heading over to our website and commenting on this episode. If you're listening on Spotify, you can do it right in the app. As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content. Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials: Twitter/X: @HundleyJake LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/ Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1 Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Homeownership is turning Jake into an old man. Jake also talks about his vole problem)** **Skip the Cold Open at 9:00** On this episode, Jake and Cody talk about the fallacy of the phrase "work on your business rather than in it". Too many people take this too literally and too soon. In order to work on your business, you have to work in it and you have to do it for a while. If you try to jump the gun and work on your business before doing the important work from working in it, you will operate a very short-lived business model. As always, if you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. It helps us get found and gives us the motivation to keep producing this free content! Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials: Twitter/X: @HundleyJake LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/ Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1 Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (TikTok releases search ads / Subscribe to Stacked Marketer)** **Skip the Cold Open at 11:13** Cody and Jake talk about how adding more services to your offering won't necessarily get you more clients or help you grow. What you should do instead is figure out what you're actually selling. You're not selling SEO and Google Ads, you're selling leads. You're not selling organic social media posting, you're selling branding. Attempting to sell a service you're not an expert in is a slippery slope in the legitimacy and perception of your agency to your clients. As mentioned in the cold open, if you're not subscribed to Stacked Marketer, are you even a marketer? And as always, if you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. It helps us get found and gives us the motivation to keep producing this free content! Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials: Twitter/X: @HundleyJake LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/ Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1 Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (We discuss the worst things we've ever bought online)** **Skip the Cold Open at 8:54** If you're looking for advice on scaling an ecommerce marketing agency, this episode is for you. Cody and Jake are pretty notorious for not speaking well of the ecommerce niche. Not because ecommerce is bad to get into but because ecommerce companies that have a high enough budget to pay agencies and remain profitable are few and far between. In this episode, we're joined by Mike Begg from AMZ Advisers, a 7-figure ecommerce marketing and consulting agency. Mike tells the Everbros how he scaled his agency, how he started, who he works with now, and how his services and pricing model works. We grill him more on his agency and his advice for other aspiring 7-figure ecommerce agency owners like: What is the ideal client when you're first starting out? Why doesn't he like working with founder-led organizations? What's his pricing model and what some other pricing models are? How he tracks ROI for his clients And much more Mike also talks about working in Mexico and doing business there -- even so far as to starting a company helping brands get into Mexico's ecommerce industry with GoAvance. Have more questions for Mike that we didn't ask him in this episode? You can find him on all of his personal socials below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m1ke_begg/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbegg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mike_begg Be sure to check out his business socials as well! Facebook: https://facebook.com/amzadvisers Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amzadvisers/ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10895001 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/amzadvisers

**Cold Open (Cody gets detained at customs)****Skip the Cold Open at 14:00**In this episode, Jake talks about his personal journey over the last 3.5 years going from a negative income making $42,500/year at an inside sales position at the beginning of 2020 to making $200k/year by 2023.Something that was not mentioned in this episode is that Jake had a negative income at $42,500, meaning more money was coming out for bills than was coming in from his day job. Additionally, Jake didn't graduate college, which made him hard to employ for a position that yielded a higher wage.This isn't a step-by-step guide or a how-to episode. We wanted to talk about this to show you what it looks like to not only make money by turning a side gig into a full agency but also growing your personal career life with a day job at the same time.Getting to the $200,000 mark obviously didn't happen overnight, but there were significant changes each year that added to the bottom line both on the Evergrow side and the career side.2019: Jake closes out the year at $42,5002020: Jake and Cody make money and Jake closes out the year at $80k2021: Jake and Cody have an explosive year and Jake takes a new day job, closing out the year at $125k2022-2023: Evergrow continues to grow pushing Jake to the $200k markCody asks the real questions about the problems Jake faced making $42.5k vs the problems he faces now and how things have changed as well as what things Jake still worries about.If you have any questions about Jake's journey or want to reach out to us, head over to our website at everbrospodcast.com.Also, if you liked this episode or any other one, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple! It really helps us get found and gives us the motivation to keep coming up with things to talk about and provide free content!Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Jake asks what our biggest prediction flops were)****Skip the Cold Open at 4:16**Chris M. Walker, owner of Legiit and Superstar SEO joins us on this week's episode to talk about why it's important for you to know how to execute the service you're delivering and not simply hire a contractor to do it for you -- at least no without being somewhat of an expert yourself.We talk about how it isn't only unethical but it also isn't scaleable.We also cover:How Chris got started with his SEO career and started Superstar SEOHow and why Chris started LegiitHow an Alex Becker course was actually a catalyst for LegiitHow Chris used cold email to get clients when he first startedHow freelancers can use Legiit to get clientsAnd much moreLegiit.com is a platform where freelancers, agencies, and course creators can list their services where people are looking for those services. Unlike Upwork or Fiverr, buyers find you on Legiit, not the other way around.Superstar SEO is Chris' agency he started before creating Legiit where they offer SEO training, consulting, and managed SEO services -- all conveniently productized on legiit.com.You can find Chris on various social media platforms as well as his sites linked above:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/superstarseo/Twitter: twitter.com/cmwalkerFacebook: facebook.com/cmwlegiit/If you like this episode or any other episode, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. It helps us get found and gives us the motivation to keep producing this free content!Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

On this special episode, Cody, Jenny, Jake, & Lauren all meet up in Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan for an in-person podcast episode! In this episode, we talk about all things relationships when it comes to owning an agency. Lauren gives her take on what it was like to date Jake while he already owned an agency. and Jenny tells us about the feelings she had when Cody decided to partner up with Jake. We also dive into the positives and negatives being an entrepreneur and agency owner can have on our relationships and how we've worked through some of those things and where compromises had to be made. Deciding to be an agency owner and entrepreneur isn't just a personal struggle, it also affects our loved ones around us. If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple -- it really helps us get found and gives us more motivation to produce this free content!

On this special guest episode, we invite Alec Smith on the podcast; a former coworker and friend of ours at the agency we all worked at together in Iowa.Alec brings a unique perspective to the show as he, like us, left the agency employment life and started his own freelance / agency.However, after a while, even while proving to be successful on his own, he decided to give his clients a 30-day notice and work for another agency that wanted to bring him on as a full-time employee.Alec explains his decision and why the business side of things no longer interested him, yet was able to find an agency to work for that gave him the autonomy, higher earning potential, and flexibility he was looking for when starting his own agency.Alec also explains how he got into digital marketing, specifically PPC marketing almost by accident and his journey to where he is today.Have any questions for Alec or want to reach out to us? Head over to everbrospodcast.com and let us know!As always, if you liked this episode or any other one, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple. It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content!Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (Airport and flying tips and business travel)****Skip the Cold Open at 9:43**We've wanted to talk about the books we'd recommend to other agency owners for a while now so we decided to put together a pretty comprehensive list of those.Jake went deep. Cody provided his top 3-4 books.Here's a link to each book and article we recommended:Jake's Recommendations to the ListenerHow to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)The ONE Thing (Gary Keller & Jay Papasan)Start with Why (Simon Sinek)Profit First (Mike Michalowicz)Rework (Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson)The Art of War (Sun Tzu, translated by Thomas Cleary)The Prince (Niccoló Machiavelli)Crush It! / Crushing It! (Gary Vaynerchuck)The Boron Letters (Gary C. Halbert & Bond Halbert)Little Red Book of Selling (Jeffrey Gitomer)The Simple Path to Wealth (JL Collins)The E-Myth Landscape Contractor (Michael E. Gerber & Anthony C. Bass)This book is specific to the landscaping niche, but there may be one specific to your niche. If nothing else, check out the general E-Myth book.On Writing Well (William Zinsser)***Recommended by both of us.Books Cody Recommended to Jake but Jake Still Hasn't Read YetMy Life in Advertising / Scientific Advertising (Claude C. Hopkins)The Master-Key to Riches (Napoleon Hill)Cody's Recommendations to the ListenerOn Writing Well (William Zinsser)***Recommended by both of us.Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (Robert B. Cialdini, PH.D.)Breakthrough Advertising (Eugene Schwartz)This is an expensive book.Advice is Futile (Edith Zimmerman)This isn't a book. It's an article Cody said we'd put in the show notes when he mentioned it in the episode.Honorable MentionsNever Split the Difference (Chris Voss)This wasn't mentioned in the episode but Cody has brought this up to Jake on numerous occasions regarding negotiating with clients and vendors -- written by an actual FBI hostage negotiator.Stacked Marketer (Newsletter)We've mentioned this before but if you want to stay up to date on all things digital marketing, this is the #1 newsletter we both recommend. We unsubscribed to all other marketing newsletters and only subscribe to this one.Do you have any book recommendations for us? Tell us at everbrospodcast.com!Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/

**Cold Open (How many alarms do each of us set to wake up?)****Skip the Cold Open at 4:14**On this episode, Jake and Cody are joined by Toggl Marketing Director, Ilia Markov, discussing the importance of tracking time in your agency for reasons beyond simply billing.We've talked about tracking time for various reasons in episode 4 (How to Price Your Agency Services) but most importantly in episode 19 (Understanding Your Internal Labor Rate Calculation is More Important Than Making Money) -- however, in this episode, we dive deep into the not only why time tracking for multiple reasons is important in agencies, but also which tools you can use.Ilia, Jake, and Cody discuss why time tracking is important for agencies as well as key features of various time tracking apps including Toggl.Toward the end of the episode, you'll learn:How Toggl is much more than a time-tracking appHow time reporting is just as important as time trackingHow Toggl Track integrates with other project management tools like ClickUpToggl's own project management tool, Toggl PlanNew Toggl features such as Toggl HireAdditionally, for the next 3 months after this episode's air date, Ilia has been gracious enough to give all Everbros Podcast listeners 20% off on annual plans for new members by using code "EVERBROS"!**Head over to toggl.com to learn more about their products!As always, if you enjoyed this episode or any other episode, it would greatly help us get the word out there by leaving us a review on Apple or a rating on Spotify.Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website or connect with Jake on socials:Twitter/X: @HundleyJakeLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/Facebook: facebook.com/jake.hundley.1Instagram: instagram.com/jakehundley/**The Everbros Agency Growth Podcast does not receive any compensation for referrals to Toggl. This is strictly an offer Ilia wanted to offer to our listeners.

**Cold Open (Cody exclaims his love for konbinis and how often he eats at them)****Skip the Cold Open at 3:45**We've noticed a lot of newer marketing agency owners out there understand the importance of niching down but it looks like they have trouble grasping the concept of doubling down and becoming an expert in that niche.You can't simply "niche hop" every month or so; you need to stick to it and become an expert in that niche -- that's how business owners will trust you and how you'll establish credibility.But what does it mean to be an expert in your niche and how do you go about doing it? How do you become an expert and how do you portray that to your target audience?In this episode, Jake lays out exactly what he did and what he still does to establish himself and Evergrow as the industry experts in lawn and landscaping.As always, if you liked this episode or any other one, leave us a rating on Spotify or a review on Apple.If you have anything you want to reach out to us about or comment on this episode, head over to our website at everbrospodcast.com!

**Cold Open (Making some changes to the podcast - including shorter Cold Opens)****Skip the Cold Open at 3:58**Whether you're first starting out or you've been in the agency game for a while, eventually you'll want to explore adding new services to your business. In this episode, we talk about how we navigate adding new services to offer to clients without having them crash and burn.When you offer a new service that you don't have a lot of experience in, you run the risk of rocky setups and underwhelming performances which can leave a bad taste in your clients' mouths.Jake also talks about the importance of learning the craft before you start charging people for it.The TL;DR on the episode is:Find a service that your clients want and could be mutually profitableOffer that service for a discounted rate to test it outManage client expectationsIf success is found, ramp up the pricingCreate a system around that service----------------------------------Our recommended agency tools:everbrospodcast.com/recommended-tools/----------------------------------⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐As always, if you enjoyed this episode or this podcast in general and want to leave us a review or rating, head over to Apple and let us know what you like! It helps us get found and motivates us to keep producing this free content.----------------------------------Want to connect with us? Reach out to us on the everbrospodcast.com website, subscribe to us on YouTube, or connect with us on socials:YouTube: @agencyuTwitter/X: @theagency_uLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agencyuFacebook: facebook.com/theagencyuInstagram: @theagencyuReddit: r/agency & u/JakeHundleyTikTok: @agency.u