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Most agencies begin as one-person shows. But to grow and expand — and keep the owner sane — it can’t stay that way forever. That’s the challenge that Chip Griffin and Gini Dietrich tackle in this week’s episode of the Agency Leadership Podcast.
Clients who originally signed up with an individual naturally want to maintain that access even as the agency takes on more clients and employees.
But that doesn’t scale.
Owners need to focus their time to work on the business, not in it.
That doesn’t mean that there’s not a place for owners to step in and work on client service, but Chip and Gini explain how to position the team for success and set the right expectations with clients.
During this episode, you will hear:
- Specific examples of cases where agency owners struggled with this challenge.
- Detailed explanations of why it will hold back growth and make the owner miserable.
- Strategies for dealing with the inevitable desire of an owner to micromanage projects.
- Process improvements that will make it easier to escape the “agency of one” trap.
- Personal stories of how Chip and Gini have addressed this issue in their own agency businesses.
A few notable quotes include:
- “You do have to put priority on coaching and mentoring a team to be able to do the same level of work that you do.” – Gini
- “You have to be needed, but not necessary. In other words, you have to bring something to the table, you can’t be in a situation where you’re worthless to your own agency, there needs to be some there there.” – Chip
- “If I were going to do it, again, I would not put my name on the door.” – Gini
- “As an agency owner, if you want to help your team grow, if you want to help build the relationship between your subordinates and the client, that means you have to shut up and just be the pretty face.” – Chip
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