Blair Enns

Blair Enns is CEO of Win Without Pitching and the author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. Blair joins the Creative Agency Podcast to talk about both books and strategies creative agencies can use to improve their effectiveness, autonomy, and bottom line. Get your copy of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto Get Your Copy of Pricing Creatively: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour The post 045 Pitching and Pricing Smart – Agency Advisor Blair Enns appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Blair Enns is CEO of Win Without Pitching and the author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. Blair joins the Creative Agency Podcast to talk about both books and strategies creative agencies can use to improve their effectiveness, autonomy, and bottom line. Get your copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1999523504/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1999523504&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=0fc8f0c0a30e687c2d27bf3bfd4e6456" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Win Without Pitching Manifesto</a> Get Your Copy of <a href="https://www.winwithoutpitching.com/pricing-creativity/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwuZDtBRDvARIsAPXFx3CObGlpk2j6Vwqsx2IHMHbgJ6srJiz-4O7LtzAqeJz8b56eAT2ik1QaAkCLEALw_wcB" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pricing Creatively: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/045-pitching-pricing-smart-agency-advisor-blair-enns/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">045 Pitching and Pricing Smart – Agency Advisor Blair Enns</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

045 Pitching and Pricing Smart – Agency Advisor Blair Enns

Jared Mirsky

Jared Mirsky is CEO of Wick &amp; Mortar, a branding and marketing agency specializing in the cannabis industry. Jared started out as a freelancer working with local nightclubs on branding and marketing.  He used a combination of Yelp and SEO tactics to grow his client base. His work with nightclubs led to the cannabis industry and legalization became a catalyst for business growth. Jared has used his personal brand, as well as deep insights into the cannabis industry, to put Wick and Mortar center stage. Jared and Wick &amp; Mortar have been featured in publications such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, CNN, Geekwire, The Dieline, HighTimes, and more. Find out how narrowing your focus can take your agency even higher. Learn more about Jared and his agency: Entrepreneur Media https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2  https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2 Huffington Post https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/marijuana-marketers_n_3832448.html  CNN Money https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/09/smallbusiness/marijuana-startups/  The Dieline https://thedieline.com/blog/2017/6/6/this-seattle-based-design-agency-was-create-specifically-for-the-cannabis-industry  Podcasts https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/branding-cannabis/id1372502413?mt=2  https://www.periodiceffects.com/episodes/e040  https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-periodic-effects-ca-28688711/episode/e040-rebranding-the-cannabis-industry-29292538/  https://litlucidpodcast.com/episode-22-jared-mirsky/  https://player.fm/series/benjamin-holness/wick-and-mortar  http://stayrootd.com/strong-cannabis-branding-need-know/  Speaker / Instructor Speaking Reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO-CqncGr4 The post 044 The Cannabis Niche – Jared Mirsky of Wick &amp; Mortar appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Jared Mirsky is CEO of <a href="https://www.wickandmortar.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wick &amp; Mortar</a>, a branding and marketing agency specializing in the cannabis industry. Jared started out as a freelancer working with local nightclubs on branding and marketing.  He used a combination of Yelp and SEO tactics to grow his client base. His work with nightclubs led to the cannabis industry and legalization became a catalyst for business growth. Jared has used his personal brand, as well as deep insights into the cannabis industry, to put Wick and Mortar center stage. Jared and Wick &amp; Mortar have been featured in publications such as Entrepreneur, Forbes, CNN, Geekwire, The Dieline, HighTimes, and more. Find out how narrowing your focus can take your agency even higher. Learn more about Jared and his agency: Entrepreneur Media <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2</a> <a href="https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/author/jared-mirsky2</a> Huffington Post <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/marijuana-marketers_n_3832448.html" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/30/marijuana-marketers_n_3832448.html</a> CNN Money <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/09/smallbusiness/marijuana-startups/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://money.cnn.com/2015/03/09/smallbusiness/marijuana-startups/</a> The Dieline <a href="https://thedieline.com/blog/2017/6/6/this-seattle-based-design-agency-was-create-specifically-for-the-cannabis-industry" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://thedieline.com/blog/2017/6/6/this-seattle-based-design-agency-was-create-specifically-for-the-cannabis-industry</a> Podcasts <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/branding-cannabis/id1372502413?mt=2" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/branding-cannabis/id1372502413?mt=2</a> <a href="https://www.periodiceffects.com/episodes/e040" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.periodiceffects.com/episodes/e040</a> <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-periodic-effects-ca-28688711/episode/e040-rebranding-the-cannabis-industry-29292538/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-periodic-effects-ca-28688711/episode/e040-rebranding-the-cannabis-industry-29292538/</a> <a href="https://litlucidpodcast.com/episode-22-jared-mirsky/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://litlucidpodcast.com/episode-22-jared-mirsky/</a> <a href="https://player.fm/series/benjamin-holness/wick-and-mortar" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://player.fm/series/benjamin-holness/wick-and-mortar</a> <a href="http://stayrootd.com/strong-cannabis-branding-need-know/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">http://stayrootd.com/strong-cannabis-branding-need-know/</a> Speaker / Instructor Speaking Reel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO-CqncGr4" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pO-CqncGr4</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/044-cannabis-niche-jared-mirsky-wick-mortar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">044 The Cannabis Niche – Jared Mirsky of Wick &amp; Mortar</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

044 The Cannabis Niche – Jared Mirsky of Wick & Mortar

Andrea Engstrom

Can you imagine hiring a new employee every month? Bajillion Agency is doing it. Andrea Engstrom president and founder of Bajillion Agency is setting goals and achieving them at a rapid pace. Established in 2015, Bajillion is now a 26 person agency. Andrea goes into detail about how they’ve grown and maintained a vibrant culture. She shares tips on winning new business and hiring new employees. If you want to grow your agency, you’ll want to listen in! Mentioned on this show:The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni: https://www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player(The interview questions can be found in the Free Tools section of that page).The post 043 A New Employee Every Month – Andrea Engstrom of Bajillion Agency appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Can you imagine hiring a new employee every month? <a href="https://www.abajillion.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bajillion Agency</a> is doing it. Andrea Engstrom president and founder of Bajillion Agency is setting goals and achieving them at a rapid pace. Established in 2015, Bajillion is now a 26 person agency. Andrea goes into detail about how they’ve grown and maintained a vibrant culture. She shares tips on winning new business and hiring new employees. If you want to grow your agency, you’ll want to listen in! Mentioned on this show:The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni: <a href="https://www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.tablegroup.com/books/ideal-team-player</a> (The interview questions can be found in the Free Tools section of that page). The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/043-a-new-employee-every-month/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">043 A New Employee Every Month – Andrea Engstrom of Bajillion Agency</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

043 A New Employee Every Month – Andrea Engstrom of Bajillion Agency

Mike Paton

In this episode, we explore the benefits of using The Entrepreneurial Operating System to grow your agency. And who better to interview on this subject than Mike Paton (pronounced Payton) the Visionary at EOS Worldwide. Paton has spent most of his life learning from entrepreneurs.  Today, he spends all his time giving back – as an Author, award-winning Speaker, certified EOS Implementer.  Specifically, Paton helps entrepreneurs clarify, simplify and achieve their vision – by mastering the simple concepts and practical tools he’ll be sharing with us today. Paton gives an overview of EOS and how creative agencies can use it to grow their businesses.   Books mentioned in the show: Start with this: Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business Then: Get A Grip Rocket Fuel How to be a Great Boss Thanks for Listening! Join us on Slack! The post 042 The Entrepreneurial Operating System For Agencies – Mike Paton of EOS Worldwide appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

In this episode, we explore the benefits of using The Entrepreneurial Operating System to grow your agency. And who better to interview on this subject than Mike Paton (pronounced Payton) the Visionary at <a href="https://www.eosworldwide.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">EOS Worldwide</a>. Paton has spent most of his life learning from entrepreneurs.  Today, he spends all his time giving back – as an Author, award-winning Speaker, certified EOS Implementer.  Specifically, Paton helps entrepreneurs clarify, simplify and achieve their vision – by mastering the simple concepts and practical tools he’ll be sharing with us today. Paton gives an overview of EOS and how creative agencies can use it to grow their businesses. <h3></h3> <h3></h3> <h4>Books mentioned in the show:</h4> Start with this: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936661837/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1936661837&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=943ed8b9e9c2c12d676b2ccf04f092e2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business</a> Then: <a href="https://traction.eosworldwide.com/get-a-grip-book" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Get A Grip</a> <a href="https://traction.eosworldwide.com/rocket-fuel-book" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rocket Fuel</a> <a href="https://traction.eosworldwide.com/how-to-be-a-great-boss-book" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to be a Great Boss</a> Thanks for Listening! <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/agency-slack-group/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Join us on Slack!</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/eos/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">042 The Entrepreneurial Operating System For Agencies – Mike Paton of EOS Worldwide</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

042 The Entrepreneurial Operating System For Agencies – Mike Paton of EOS Worldwide

Ryan Watson

Ryan Watson is the founder of a unique accounting agency, Upsourced Accounting, that focuses on creative agencies.  Ryan discusses pricing strategies, profitability, taxes, and much more. He also explains how his business integrates with agencies and helps agencies through automation and financial strategy. Don’t miss this episode and be sure to stick around for the end where Ryan discusses his top 3 takeaways for agencies looking to up their financial game. Did you know that some agencies can save 20% on their 2018 taxes? Listen in to learn more. The post 041 Agency Finances With Ryan Watson of Upsourced Accounting appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Ryan Watson is the founder of a unique accounting agency, <a href="https://www.upsourcedaccounting.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Upsourced Accounting</a>, that focuses on creative agencies.  Ryan discusses pricing strategies, profitability, taxes, and much more. He also explains how his business integrates with agencies and helps agencies through automation and financial strategy. Don’t miss this episode and be sure to stick around for the end where Ryan discusses his top 3 takeaways for agencies looking to up their financial game. Did you know that some agencies can save 20% on their 2018 taxes? Listen in to learn more. The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/upsourced-accounting/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">041 Agency Finances With Ryan Watson of Upsourced Accounting</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

041 Agency Finances With Ryan Watson of Upsourced Accounting

Once again we turn the mic on ourselves and talk about our own agency journey. Headquartered in Portland, OR (in an office located in a renovated high school), Murmur Creative is a branding and web agency with big dreams and humble beginnings. 2017 was an exciting, nail-biting adventure in agency growth for us.  It was a tumultuous year, but we made it out the other side stronger and better prepared for the future. Join the brother’s Bolton as they reveal the trials and tribulations Murmur faced in 2017. Learn if we finally reached our million dollar goal, and listen in to what we have planned for the future. Are you an agency owner? Join our Slack group. (Picture courtesy of Chris and Andrew’s mother)   The post 040 Our Story Part 4 – Murmur Creative Year in Review 2017 appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Once again we turn the mic on ourselves and talk about our own agency journey. Headquartered in Portland, OR (in an office located in a renovated high school), Murmur Creative is a branding and web agency with big dreams and humble beginnings. 2017 was an exciting, nail-biting adventure in agency growth for us.  It was a tumultuous year, but we made it out the other side stronger and better prepared for the future. Join the brother’s Bolton as they reveal the trials and tribulations Murmur faced in 2017. Learn if we finally reached our million dollar goal, and listen in to what we have planned for the future. Are you an agency owner? <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/agency-slack-group/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Join our Slack group.</a> (Picture courtesy of Chris and Andrew’s mother) The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/murmur-creative-2017-review/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">040 Our Story Part 4 – Murmur Creative Year in Review 2017</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

040 Our Story Part 4 – Murmur Creative Year in Review 2017

Ellen De Vries

One of the most important things about running successful digital projects is cultivating effective collaborations. Ellen De Vries, Content Strategist at Clearleft and author of Collaborate: Bring people together around digital projects joins us to talk about how you can optimize collaborations at your agency. Ellen talks about the challenges that groups face on digital projects and how to develop a shared understanding of values and goals in order to alleviate stresses and roadblocks. Ellen shares highlights from her book and offers keen insights from her work at Clearleft. Be sure to download Ellen’s book for free here. Also mentioned in this episode: Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers ****** As mentioned in the introduction to the show, we have a new Slack group for agency owners called Grow Your Agency. It’s free. Join here! The post 039 Collaboration – Ellen De Vries of Clearleft appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

One of the most important things about running successful digital projects is cultivating effective collaborations. Ellen De Vries, Content Strategist at <a href="https://clearleft.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Clearleft</a> and author of <a href="https://gathercontent.com/books/collaborate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Collaborate: Bring people together around digital projects</a> joins us to talk about how you can optimize collaborations at your agency. Ellen talks about the challenges that groups face on digital projects and how to develop a shared understanding of values and goals in order to alleviate stresses and roadblocks. Ellen shares highlights from her book and offers keen insights from her work at Clearleft. Be sure to download Ellen’s book for free <a href="https://gathercontent.com/books/collaborate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here.</a> Also mentioned in this episode: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596804172/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0596804172&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=9af570041662fb510cb6859f99b34b36" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers</a> ****** As mentioned in the introduction to the show, we have a new Slack group for agency owners called Grow Your Agency. It’s free. <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/agency-slack-group/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Join here!</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/ellen-de-vries/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">039 Collaboration – Ellen De Vries of Clearleft</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

039 Collaboration – Ellen De Vries of Clearleft

Ann Kaufman

Ann Kaufman is a partner at Fuzzco. She runs their Portland, OR office. Ann cut her teeth in the agency world as an account director and recently put on an event in Portland called Not Not Creative. Not Not Creative featured the voices of account directors and project managers from across the agency spectrum. Ann talks about the account director role and why it’s important to agencies. She explains the dynamic between project managers and account directors.  She also explores how an account director at an agency needs to put the client’s goals first. Listen in! Follow Ann on Twitter  Connect Ann on LinkedIn   The post 038 The Account Director Role – Ann Kaufman of Fuzzco appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Ann Kaufman is a partner at <a href="http://fuzzco.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fuzzco</a>. She runs their Portland, OR office. Ann cut her teeth in the agency world as an account director and recently put on an event in Portland called Not Not Creative. Not Not Creative featured the voices of account directors and project managers from across the agency spectrum. Ann talks about the account director role and why it’s important to agencies. She explains the dynamic between project managers and account directors.  She also explores how an account director at an agency needs to put the client’s goals first. Listen in! Follow Ann on <a href="https://twitter.com/ann_deotte" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter </a> Connect Ann on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-deotte-kaufman-2946299/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/fuzzco/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">038 The Account Director Role – Ann Kaufman of Fuzzco</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

038 The Account Director Role – Ann Kaufman of Fuzzco

Brad Flowers is founder of an agency called Bullhorn. Brad and his partners have taken a proactive approach to growing their business by focusing on integrating new systems and using inspiration from a very useful book called Traction by Gino Wickman. Brad also refers to Get a Grip, another book by the same author that inspired him and his team to make some big changes at his agency. Brad and Chris talk about the challenges of going from creative to entrepreneur and the importance of establishing concrete values that inform your business. Books mentioned in this podcast:   Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business Get A Grip: How to Get Everything You Want from Your Entrepreneurial Business The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers The post 037 Getting Down to Business – Brad Flowers of Bullhorn appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Brad Flowers is founder of an agency called <a href="http://bullhorncreative.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bullhorn</a>. Brad and his partners have taken a proactive approach to growing their business by focusing on integrating new systems and using inspiration from a very useful book called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936661837/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1936661837&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=943ed8b9e9c2c12d676b2ccf04f092e2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Traction by Gino Wickman</a>. Brad also refers to Get a Grip, another book by the same author that inspired him and his team to make some big changes at his agency. Brad and Chris talk about the challenges of going from creative to entrepreneur and the importance of establishing concrete values that inform your business. Books mentioned in this podcast: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1936661837/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1936661837&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=943ed8b9e9c2c12d676b2ccf04f092e2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1939529824/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1939529824&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=103a6b82448ce728e0d59cf87d843620" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Get A Grip: How to Get Everything You Want from Your Entrepreneurial Business</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062273205/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0062273205&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=61b49ba9075b91d759292d9d2845beaf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/bullhorn/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">037 Getting Down to Business – Brad Flowers of Bullhorn</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

037 Getting Down to Business – Brad Flowers of Bullhorn

Justin Dauer

Justin Dauer is a designer and author who just published a book called Cultivating a Creative Culture. The book comes from Justin’s experience working at a variety of creative agencies and focuses on the importance of creating a human-centric culture. Justin has some really amazing tips for onboarding new employees. Some of which we have already begun implementing here at Murmur Creative. Pick up Cultivating a Creative Culture today on Amazon. About Justin Justin Dauer is multi-talented, multi-tattooed, multi-pierced designer, author, and user advocate from Chicago. Through bloodshot tunnel vision, he’s drawn from career experiences across agency side, client side, design studio, and pure tech to foster healthy, dynamic, supportive creative cultures. Crafting as the Vice President of UX &amp; Development for bswift (http://www.bswift.com) by day, his personal creative outlet by night (…and day) is pseudoroom (http://www.pseudoroom.com), the same moniker by which he tweets (http://www.twitter.com/pseudoroom).     The post 036 Cultivating a Creative Culture With Justin Dauer appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Justin Dauer is a designer and author who just published a book called Cultivating a Creative Culture. The book comes from Justin’s experience working at a variety of creative agencies and focuses on the importance of creating a human-centric culture. Justin has some really amazing tips for onboarding new employees. Some of which we have already begun implementing here at Murmur Creative. Pick up <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692840672/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0692840672&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=df9de1417b11e1a63d8ba727b1b0a942" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cultivating a Creative Culture</a> today on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692840672/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0692840672&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=df9de1417b11e1a63d8ba727b1b0a942" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amazon</a>. About Justin Justin Dauer is multi-talented, multi-tattooed, multi-pierced designer, author, and user advocate from Chicago. Through bloodshot tunnel vision, he’s drawn from career experiences across agency side, client side, design studio, and pure tech to foster healthy, dynamic, supportive creative cultures. Crafting as the Vice President of UX &amp; Development for bswift (<a href="http://www.bswift.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.bswift.com</a>) by day, his personal creative outlet by night (…and day) is pseudoroom (<a href="http://www.pseudoroom.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.pseudoroom.com</a>), the same moniker by which he tweets (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/pseudoroom" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.twitter.com/pseudoroom</a>). The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/justin-dauer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">036 Cultivating a Creative Culture With Justin Dauer</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

036 Cultivating a Creative Culture With Justin Dauer

Amazing podcast and a must-listen for anyone running an agency business.

YES!

Very informative, interesting and helpful!  Great job Chris!

Great interviews

The Creative Agency Podcast

Rob Mills

You can’t build a website without some form of content strategy.  Rob Mills of GatherContent joins us to talk about “all things content strategy.” Rob worked as head of content at an agency for many years and now works for GatherContent. He’s a writer, blogger, author, and all-around smart guy. Rob does a great job of defining the role of Content Strategist and emphasizing the importance of content strategy in general. Rob also explains his “content first” approach to design and explains a hybrid “proto-content” approach. Check out Rob’s articles about content strategy here. GatherContent is also the sponsor of this episode. GatherContent is a software tool that allows you to easily collaborate with your clients in the content gathering and writing phases of a website project. GatherContent also allows you to export content directly into a CMS like WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, and much more. You can get a free 30-day free trial if you go to https://gathercontent.com/cap The post 034 The Importance of Content Strategy – Rob Mills of GatherContent appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

You can’t build a website without some form of content strategy.  Rob Mills of <a href="https://gathercontent.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GatherContent</a> joins us to talk about “all things content strategy.” Rob worked as head of content at an agency for many years and now works for GatherContent. He’s a writer, blogger, author, and all-around smart guy. Rob does a great job of defining the role of Content Strategist and emphasizing the importance of content strategy in general. Rob also explains his “content first” approach to design and explains a hybrid “proto-content” approach. Check out Rob’s articles about content strategy <a href="https://gathercontent.com/blog/author/rob" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>. GatherContent is also the sponsor of this episode. GatherContent is a software tool that allows you to easily collaborate with your clients in the content gathering and writing phases of a website project. GatherContent also allows you to export content directly into a CMS like WordPress, Drupal, Sitecore, and much more. You can get a free 30-day free trial if you go to <a href="https://gathercontent.com/cap" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://gathercontent.com/cap</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/gathercontent/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">034 The Importance of Content Strategy – Rob Mills of GatherContent</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

034 The Importance of Content Strategy – Rob Mills of GatherContent

Isaac Arthur

CODO brilliantly targeted their ideal clients by creating an online resource called The Craft Beer Branding Guide. Not only does this website bring thousands of web visits and new business opportunities weekly, it’s allowed them to publish a print version of the book. Isaac talks about how he and his business partner started CODO just out of college and grew it into a 5 person agency with a stellar reputation for branding strategy and design–especially in the food and beverage space. Learn how CODO uses content marketing to keep their pipeline full and avoid dry spells and don’t miss Isaac’s takeaways at the end of the show. Digital Agency Summit As mentioned in the show Chris Bolton will be speaking at Digital Agency Summit which takes place online April 3rd-7th 2017. It’s a virtual conference, so you don’t have even have to get up from your desk to attend and it’s free so you don’t have to pay anything. The conference is all about growing your agency. The conference also features Karl Sakas who recently appeared on our show in episode 28. Chris Bolton’s session is called Don’t Specialize. Evolve and it’s all about the complexities of specialization and how agencies end up specializing. Don’t miss it. Sign up for free!   The post 031 Winning Business With Targeted Content – Isaac Arthur of CODO appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://cododesign.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CODO</a> brilliantly targeted their ideal clients by creating an online resource called <a href="http://craftbeerbrandingguide.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Craft Beer Branding Guide</a>. Not only does this website bring thousands of web visits and new business opportunities weekly, it’s allowed them to publish a print version of the book. Isaac talks about how he and his business partner started CODO just out of college and grew it into a 5 person agency with a stellar reputation for branding strategy and design–especially in the food and beverage space. Learn how CODO uses content marketing to keep their pipeline full and avoid dry spells and don’t miss Isaac’s takeaways at the end of the show. Digital Agency Summit As mentioned in the show Chris Bolton will be speaking at <a href="https://yc294.isrefer.com/go/das/chrisbolton/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Digital Agency Summit</a> which takes place online April 3rd-7th 2017. It’s a virtual conference, so you don’t have even have to get up from your desk to attend and it’s free so you don’t have to pay anything. The conference is all about growing your agency. The conference also features Karl Sakas who recently appeared on our show in <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/karl-sakas/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">episode 28</a>. Chris Bolton’s session is called Don’t Specialize. Evolve and it’s all about the complexities of specialization and how agencies end up specializing. Don’t miss it. <a href="https://yc294.isrefer.com/go/das/chrisbolton/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sign up for free!</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/codo/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">031 Winning Business With Targeted Content – Isaac Arthur of CODO</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

031 Winning Business With Targeted Content – Isaac Arthur of CODO

In this episode of The Creative Agency Podcast we turn the mic on ourselves and explore how our own creative agency has achieved success. Chris interviews his younger brother, Andrew Bolton, owner of Murmur Creative, a 10-person creative agency that has grown quickly over the last few years. Andrew describes how he came up with the name Murmur Creative, discusses the major turning points for the business, reveals how fear-of-public-speaking influenced a major business decision, and how Chris took the big leap and joined the Murmur team, and more. Andrew &amp; Chris also set the lofty goal of bringing in 1 million in gross revenue for 2016. Stay tuned to see if they make it! If you have any comments or questions about the show. Let us know in the comments below! The post 006 Our Story Part 1 – Chris &amp; Andrew of Murmur Creative appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/chris-and-andrew-murmur-creative-e1453760036468.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-128 nofollow" target="_blank"></a>In this episode of The Creative Agency Podcast we turn the mic on ourselves and explore how our own creative agency has achieved success. Chris interviews his younger brother, Andrew Bolton, owner of <a href="http://murmurcreative.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Murmur Creative</a>, a 10-person creative agency that has grown quickly over the last few years. Andrew describes how he came up with the name Murmur Creative, discusses the major turning points for the business, reveals how fear-of-public-speaking influenced a major business decision, and how Chris took the big leap and joined the Murmur team, and more. Andrew &amp; Chris also set the lofty goal of bringing in 1 million in gross revenue for 2016. Stay tuned to see if they make it! If you have any comments or questions about the show. Let us know in the comments below! The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/growing-our-agency/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">006 Our Story Part 1 – Chris &amp; Andrew of Murmur Creative</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

006 Our Story Part 1 – Chris & Andrew of Murmur Creative

James Loomstein

James Loomstein is co-founder of Rogue Marketing in Dallas, Texas, a college professor, and regular speaker at digital marketing conferences such as Pubcon. James talks indepth about marketing, project management, specialization, and pricing. The story that runs through the interview is how to take your business to the next level by transforming yourself from a “wandering generality” into a “meaningful specific.”  Follow James on Twitter at @jloomstein If you have any thoughts or questions on this episode. Let me know in the comment section below! The post 007 What You Need to Know to Grow – James Loomstein of Rogue Marketing appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/james-loomstein-rogue-marketing.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-137 nofollow" target="_blank"></a>James Loomstein is co-founder of <a href="http://go-rogue.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rogue Marketing</a> in Dallas, Texas, a college professor, and regular speaker at digital marketing conferences such as Pubcon. James talks indepth about marketing, project management, specialization, and pricing. The story that runs through the interview is how to take your business to the next level by transforming yourself from a “wandering generality” into a “meaningful specific.”  Follow James on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/jloomstein" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@jloomstein</a> If you have any thoughts or questions on this episode. Let me know in the comment section below! The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/rogue-marketing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">007 What You Need to Know to Grow – James Loomstein of Rogue Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

007 What You Need to Know to Grow – James Loomstein of Rogue Marketing

Doug Fish

Doug Fish started Fish Advertising in the 90s, sold it, and then created a new agency, Fish Marketing, which focused on the rapidly growing digital marketing field. Fish Marketing recently won The Portland Business Journal’s Lighthouse Award for businesses that have been on the Journal’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for five consecutive years. Doug has great advice for agency owners and entrepreneurs on the topics of sales, culture, growth and more. Be sure to listen in. Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below. The post 004 Managing Rapid Growth – Doug Fish of Fish Marketing appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/doug-fish-black-and-white.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-97 nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Doug Fish started Fish Advertising in the 90s, sold it, and then created a new agency, Fish Marketing, which focused on the rapidly growing digital marketing field. <a href="http://www.fish-marketing.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fish Marketing</a> recently won The Portland Business Journal’s Lighthouse Award for businesses that have been on the Journal’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list for five consecutive years. Doug has great advice for agency owners and entrepreneurs on the topics of sales, culture, growth and more. Be sure to listen in. Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below. The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/managing-rapid-growth/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">004 Managing Rapid Growth – Doug Fish of Fish Marketing</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

004 Managing Rapid Growth – Doug Fish of Fish Marketing

Jeremy Pelley

Jeremy Pelley is co-owner of the Official Manufacturing Company (OMFGCO) a branding and design agency located in Portland, OR. Jeremy and his partner, Fritz Mesenbrink, founded OMFGCO in 2009.  Jeremy and Fritz had little business experience but shared a passion for creating great work. Together they grew a successful and principled creative agency that does amazing work. OMFGCo thinks big about branding. They’ve worked with amazing companies like the ACE Hotel,NBC Universal’s G4 network, and Stumptown Coffee. OMFGCO’s tagline “We build brands for visionaries” underlies their passion for producing work that transforms the world around them. Chris, our host, had the pleasure of visiting OMGCO’s new headquarters and interviewing Jeremy in a secret room which, when finished, will lie behind a secret sliding bookshelf. No joke. Be sure to listen to this interview. It’s one of our favorites! Comments? Questions? Let us now in the comments below. The post 008 Work That Matters – Jeremy Pelley of OMFGCO appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/jeremy-pelley-omfgco-1.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-148 nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Jeremy Pelley is co-owner of the <a href="http://omfgco.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Official Manufacturing Company</a> (OMFGCO) a branding and design agency located in Portland, OR. Jeremy and his partner, Fritz Mesenbrink, founded OMFGCO in 2009.  Jeremy and Fritz had little business experience but shared a passion for creating great work. Together they grew a successful and principled creative agency that does amazing work. OMFGCo thinks big about branding. They’ve worked with amazing companies like the ACE Hotel,NBC Universal’s G4 network, and Stumptown Coffee. OMFGCO’s tagline “We build brands for visionaries” underlies their passion for producing work that transforms the world around them. Chris, our host, had the pleasure of visiting OMGCO’s new headquarters and interviewing Jeremy in a secret room which, when finished, will lie behind a secret sliding bookshelf. No joke. Be sure to listen to this interview. It’s one of our favorites! Comments? Questions? Let us now in the comments below. The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/creative-work-that-matters/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">008 Work That Matters – Jeremy Pelley of OMFGCO</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

008 Work That Matters – Jeremy Pelley of OMFGCO

Sarah Schulweis

Sarah Schulweis of Anchor and Orbit is a consultant that helps small businesses grow by looking at their finances, processes, marketing, and producing action plans and programs. She was recently featured on Freelance Wisdom a website that offers “resources, advice, and love for lady freelancers.” Sarah’s new website was also recently featured on Typewolf We talk to Sarah about how she started out, what challenges she faces, pricing services, what tools she uses, and just what it means to be a freelancer or solo-preneur. Don’t miss this episode. Sarah has some great takeaways at the end of the show! As always, If you like The Creative Agency Podcast, I’d love to see your review in iTunes here.  The post 019 Is “Freelancer” a Dirty Word? Sarah Schulweis of Anchor &amp; Orbit appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Sarah Schulweis of <a href="http://www.anchorandorbit.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anchor and Orbit</a> is a consultant that helps small businesses grow by looking at their finances, processes, marketing, and producing action plans and programs. She was recently featured on <a href="http://www.freelance-wisdom.com/interviews/2016/7/16/sarah-schulweis" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Freelance Wisdom</a> a website that offers “resources, advice, and love for lady freelancers.” Sarah’s new website was also recently featured on <a href="https://www.typewolf.com/site-of-the-day/anchor-and-orbit" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Typewolf</a> We talk to Sarah about how she started out, what challenges she faces, pricing services, what tools she uses, and just what it means to be a freelancer or solo-preneur. Don’t miss this episode. Sarah has some great takeaways at the end of the show! As always, If you like The Creative Agency Podcast, I’d love to see your review in <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-creative-agency-podcast-1/id1073676395" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes here. </a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/anchor-orbit/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">019 Is “Freelancer” a Dirty Word? Sarah Schulweis of Anchor &amp; Orbit</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

019 Is “Freelancer” a Dirty Word? Sarah Schulweis of Anchor & Orbit

Karl Sakas

028 Stop Scope Creep with Karl Sakas of Sakas and Company

Zach Davis

How do you go from earning a PHD in 17th century poetry to running a coding agency? Well, Zach Davis is the man to ask.  Zach Davis started Cast Iron Coding along with a friend 12 years ago. At the time he was an adjunct english professor in New York. Zach decided to abandon his teaching career and move to Portland to concentrate on building Cast Iron Coding into the agency it is today.  Zach’s background in English and writing would prove vital in his approach to growing his agency. In particular, it informed the craft and articulation that goes into his proposals.  Zach also has a very practical and transparent approach to conducting business. We’ll talk to Zach about this and much more in this episode of The Creative Agency Podcast.   The post 005 Proposals and the Truth – Zach Davis of Cast Iron Coding appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/zach-cast-iron-coding-1.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-110 nofollow" target="_blank"></a>How do you go from earning a PHD in 17th century poetry to running a coding agency? Well, Zach Davis is the man to ask.  Zach Davis started Cast Iron Coding along with a friend 12 years ago. At the time he was an adjunct english professor in New York. Zach decided to abandon his teaching career and move to Portland to concentrate on building Cast Iron Coding into the agency it is today. Zach’s background in English and writing would prove vital in his approach to growing his agency. In particular, it informed the craft and articulation that goes into his proposals. Zach also has a very practical and transparent approach to conducting business. We’ll talk to Zach about this and much more in this episode of The Creative Agency Podcast. The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/proposal-writing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">005 Proposals and the Truth – Zach Davis of Cast Iron Coding</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

005 Proposals and the Truth – Zach Davis of Cast Iron Coding

Managing interactive projects (websites and apps) ain’t easy. And it takes a special kind of personality to make sure all the necessary steps are followed and the feedback, deliverables, research, and “everything else” can happen in a timely manner.  In this two-part interview, accomplished producers Christa Arriaga-Volker and Aleta Fullenwider, walk us through the project management process start-to-finish. Aleta and Christa have spent their entire professional careers pushing projects from infancy to maturity. They are both producers (AKA project managers) at a 21-person digital agency here in Portland, OR. Part 1 In the first installment of this interview, Aleta and Christa begin by talking about their involvement in the pitching, onboarding, research, and discovery process. They follow up by talking about content management and associated challenges. Be sure to check out part two, where Christa And Aleta dive into UI/UX, design, development, launch, and more. Note: we just added an email newsletter signup in the sidebar on the right. We promise not to spam you. If you sign up we’ll probably send something out every few months. Nothing crazy.  Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below! The post 024 Managing an Interactive Project Start to Finish – Part 1 appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Managing interactive projects (websites and apps) ain’t easy. And it takes a special kind of personality to make sure all the necessary steps are followed and the feedback, deliverables, research, and “everything else” can happen in a timely manner.  In this two-part interview, accomplished producers Christa Arriaga-Volker and Aleta Fullenwider, walk us through the project management process start-to-finish. Aleta and Christa have spent their entire professional careers pushing projects from infancy to maturity. They are both producers (AKA project managers) at a 21-person digital agency here in Portland, OR. Part 1 In the first installment of this interview, Aleta and Christa begin by talking about their involvement in the pitching, onboarding, research, and discovery process. They follow up by talking about content management and associated challenges. Be sure to check out <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/managing-an-interactive-project-part-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">part two</a>, where Christa And Aleta dive into UI/UX, design, development, launch, and more. Note: we just added an email newsletter signup in the sidebar on the right. We promise not to spam you. If you sign up we’ll probably send something out every few months. Nothing crazy.  Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below! The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/interactive-project-management-part-1/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">024 Managing an Interactive Project Start to Finish – Part 1</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

024 Managing an Interactive Project Start to Finish – Part 1

Sharon McMullen

While many agencies hire full-time employees and then hire contractors as needed, it’s also possible to build a custom team for each project you win. This way you can always contract the best people for the job at hand. This is how Sharon McMullen of Ink + Mortar runs her agency. Sharon is smart, informative, and has lots of great advice on running a successful creative agency. Be sure to stick around for her takeaways at the end of the show! Here’s the book she mentions in the interview Value Based Pricing by Ronald J Baker Here’s the business consultant she mentions in the interview: http://emilycohen.com/ Follow Sharon on Twitter: @sharon_m_taylor Questions, Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below! The post 020 Project Based Teams –  Sharon McMullen of Ink + Mortar appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

While many agencies hire full-time employees and then hire contractors as needed, it’s also possible to build a custom team for each project you win. This way you can always contract the best people for the job at hand. This is how Sharon McMullen of <a href="http://inkandmortar.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ink + Mortar</a> runs her agency. Sharon is smart, informative, and has lots of great advice on running a successful creative agency. Be sure to stick around for her takeaways at the end of the show! Here’s the book she mentions in the interview <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470584610/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0470584610&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=7902b6d99c32554d072c832ffd76384d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Value Based Pricing by Ronald J Baker</a> Here’s the business consultant she mentions in the interview: <a href="http://emilycohen.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://emilycohen.com/</a> Follow Sharon on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/sharon_m_taylor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">@sharon_m_taylor</a> Questions, Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below! The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/ink-and-mortar/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">020 Project Based Teams – Sharon McMullen of Ink + Mortar</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

020 Project Based Teams –  Sharon McMullen of Ink + Mortar

Mike Arnesen

Mike Arnesen founded UpBuild, a technical marketing agency that offers a winning cocktail of conversion rate optimization, analytics, and SEO. Mike leveraged his prior agency experience and reputation as a thought leader and speaker to build an agency that was almost instantly successful. In this episode, Mike tells how he built up the courage to start public speaking, how his personal brand helped him kickstart his agency, and we get into some of the finer points of selling SEO services in 2017. You definitely don’t need to be super technical or an SEO expert to enjoy and learn from this interview. Be sure not to miss Mike’s takeaways at the end of the show. Here’s the article that Mike mentioned during the show: How We Make a Remote Team Work The post 030 Question the Defaults: Selling SEO with Mike Arnesen of UpBuild appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Mike Arnesen founded <a href="https://www.upbuild.io" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">UpBuild</a>, a technical marketing agency that offers a winning cocktail of conversion rate optimization, analytics, and SEO. Mike leveraged his prior agency experience and reputation as a thought leader and speaker to build an agency that was almost instantly successful. In this episode, Mike tells how he built up the courage to start public speaking, how his personal brand helped him kickstart his agency, and we get into some of the finer points of selling SEO services in 2017. You definitely don’t need to be super technical or an SEO expert to enjoy and learn from this interview. Be sure not to miss Mike’s takeaways at the end of the show. Here’s the article that Mike mentioned during the show: <a href="https://www.upbuild.io/blog/remote-team/#the-tools-of-the-trade" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How We Make a Remote Team Work</a> The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/upbuild/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">030 Question the Defaults: Selling SEO with Mike Arnesen of UpBuild</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

030 Question the Defaults: Selling SEO with Mike Arnesen of UpBuild

Rick Webb

In 2001, Rick Webb co-founded The Barbarian Group, an award-winning digital ad agency. He grew his agency to a 150-person-team that works with big brands like Apple, Google, GE, and more. Rick served as The Barbarian Group’s COO for the first ten years of the company’s existence. Rick’s book, Agency: Starting a Creative Firm in the Age of Digital Marketing (Advertising Age), is the best tell-all guide to growing a digital agency that you’ll find. In this interview Rick talks about how he grew his agency despite the inevitable bumps along the way. We cover bootstrapping, developing a culture and vision, Rick’s distaste for hourly billing and time tracking, procurement, and more. Be sure to stick around for Rick’s takeaways at the end of the show. This is an episode you won’t want to miss! Follow Rick Webb on Twitter @RickWebb Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comment section below. Transcription Chris: [00:01:09] All right well today I’m very excited to have Rick Webb author of “Agency: Starting A Creative Firm In The Age Of Digital Marketing” and founder of the Barbarian Group. Welcome to the show. Rick: [00:01:20] Hey thanks. Good to have you with me. Good to be here. Chris: [00:01:25] I’m glad to have you. And this is actually the second time because the first time we tried to do this interview I accidentally forgot to hit record and my and my fellow employees have decided to remind me by putting a sign in the window of the conference room that says “press record.” So we’re definitely going to record it this time. Rick: [00:01:45] It’s like the Joseph Gordon-Levitt start-up, Hit Record. Chris: [00:01:51] [Laughs] Yeah! So I love your book and I recommend everyone reading it. I’ll put a link in the show notes. It’s fantastic and I actually bought it twice because I lost my first copy. At the beginning of your book you talk about how you wished there had been a guidebook available when you started your agency. You said you sort of had to wing it. And I’ve actually felt that pain myself because in starting our agency, Murmur Creative, I had trouble finding other resources out there. And that’s why I started this podcast and I’ve scoured Amazon looking for other books on, you know, running a digital agency and it really isn’t that much out there and I think we’re really fortunate that you wrote your book which is so high quality. Rick: [00:02:31] Thank you. Yeah, there really seem to be like two kinds of books, there’s a lot of small business starting a graphic design shop books. And then there’s like a lot of, you know, stories from the battles at big agencies, that kind of book. Yeah, definitely. There seemed to be something missing in the middle. Chris: [00:02:49] That’s awesome. Well I’d like to start out by talking a little bit about your agency the Barbarian Group that you founded and then after that we’ll talk a little bit about bootstrapping and culture and your approach to timekeeping and some other good stuff. So the Barbarian Group was a pretty significantly sized agency. On the Barbarian website it says you work with Pepsi and Google and Intel and GE. How many employees did the Barbarian Group have while you were working there? Rick: [00:03:18] Yeah, so, I mean I worked there–we started the company in late 2001 and, just to give you a little overview, we sold it to a holding company in 2009, and I left at the end of 2011. So I was just about a decade. And in that time we went from the four founders to about 150 people when I left. Chris: [00:03:38] Wow. Would you say that there are many agencies that size? Rick: [00:03:41] I think we broke through at that point, there are still a lot. I mean there’s–one thing I’ve learned after writing this book is, there’s far more agencies in general than anybody is aware of. But you know I think in my travels in talking to people I see a lot in the 30 to 60-75 range. And there’s definitely fewer when you break 100. You know, there’s probably a sort of a smaller number. Chris: [00:04:05] Yeah I don’t know if they’re any of that size here in Portland, Oregon there maybe .. oh, well probably Wieden+Kennedy. Rick: [00:04:10] Yeah right, perfect example: you got Wieden, you get the big ones. I think there might be one or two in the middle within that you know even I know of several smaller shops and that 10 to 50 people range. Chris: [00:04:22] So what was your annual revenue before you sold your company? Rick: [00:04:27] Hmm, well, I think by the end it would have been in the 10 to 20 million range. It had to be more, significantly more, than 10 because I remember payroll being about a million dollars a month at the end. Chris: [00:04:39] Wow. Rick: [00:04:39] So I have you know 15-20, maybe. Chris: [00:04:41] And how much do you sell it for? Rick: [00:04:43] Well, you know, all these agencies … one of the things I really talk about in the book is there isn’t … it’s all pretty much a multiple on revenue, right? When you talk to bankers and things like that they always go on about EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) and profit, but we all kind of do the same work; and we all kind of hire the same people; and pay them about the same amount; and price their jobs about the same, so it tends to be everybody’s got kind of the same margins. So companies typically go for, you know, one to twice revenue is the rule of thumb I sort of advocate in the book. And that was what we did, you know. Chris: [00:05:14] One to twice? So either how much you make in a year, or how much you make over … two years? Rick: [00:05:19] Yeah, you know, then you get all these questions about is it the last 12 months? Is it forward looking? Is it the last quarter multiply by four? There are different ways to do it, especially if you’re growing fast. But you know it’s in that range. Chris: [00:05:31] So, how much did, like, an average project cost? At the height of your business? Rick: [00:05:37] Well you know, I would say after the first two or three years we settled really nicely into an area where, you know, this was in the early 2000s and things are predominately Flash, mini sites, or little games. Things like that. There wasn’t any mobile development yet, there wasn’t any software development yet or video production and we hadn’t really broken through to be someone’s agency of record, right? So projects kind of ranged from like $50,000 to $300,000 for a lot of years. And then the last few years we did kind of break through that and we started becoming like the agency of record for people, or doing like full annualize web development jobs and things like that. And then you started getting into jobs that were over one million, two million a year. You know, once you own a website, a big corporate website, for a brand and they’ve got like a team that’s dedicated, that’s always working on it, in some iterative or agile way, you know, it starts being not so much a project as like an ongoing relationship. Chris: [00:06:35] Gotcha. An agency of record just basically means you’re the main agency? Rick: [00:06:39] Yeah, I mean you know that term is a little fuzzy and kind of losing meaning as the years go by, but if you’ve got some sort of official ongoing relationship or for some aspect of their business–be it the social ill or the website or something like that, you know what I mean? Chris: [00:06:56] And so for a project how many people would usually end up working on an average project? I guess that’s kind of a broad question, but … Rick: [00:07:04] Yeah, you know, I mean it gets harder to answer that as the years went by, right? So, there’s sort of these different stages of growth to these companies. I think everybody sort of starts out these days because they were good at what they did, right? I talked a lot about that in the book. In the old days, agencies kind of started like Mad Men-style and you were already working at an ad agency and you had an account person and a creative person and a copywriter and if you all left you took an account with you. It’s not really like that anymore. A lot of these companies are started by freelancers. They might be designers or engineers or UX people or writers or something, and then they get more and more work that they want to do, so they start hiring people and growing and then they hit … you know that’s kind of the first inflection point is when you get beyond yourself. And then I think there’s often another inflection point in the 20 to 40 people range where you start to take on different types of work, right? But you might have a client that you’ve been doing graphic design for years but they just would love to give you all the back end too and they don’t want the hassle of dealing with two different shops. And the works just sitting there. So you start hiring a developer or two or vice versa. And so then you’re sort of offering like different types of work. And then after that goes on for a while you might start taking peer development work or peer design work or a job to do both. So the longer you’ve been in business and the more you grow the notion of like an average job sort of falls away, you know? Chris: [00:08:32] Yeah, I mean I definitely realize that at least here at our agency  … projects have been accumulating people as we separate out the different roles. It’s like, “oh now we have a strategist, and now we have the UI/UX person, and now we have a designer.” In the beginning, we had a designer and developer and that was the project [laughs]. Rick: [00:08:52] At the beginning we specialized in database driven Flash sites, so like a lot of games, a lot of like, you know, Nike sites, e-commerce things like that. So I would say our core skills of the early years were creative-driven design … and backend. And then, you know, we expanded into strategy and user experience and then Facebook came along and we started doing more, you know, “social.” And then we had a whole planning department and we expanded with YouTube and video production. So by the end, we were many different services and every client had a different combination of them. We did pretty much everything for Kashi, the cereal company, and maybe 70 percent of GE’s digital stuff. At that point you’ve got these very large teams, right, one or two designers, a UX person, a strategist, one to four developers– maybe you’re doing some video production and you’ve got some sort of base contract, you’ve got your producer, maybe a writer. And then you’ve got a base contract for the year that pays for that team each month and maybe that’s in the $100,000 or $200,000 range. And then throughout the year, there are add-ons, like you need to do a photo shoot or a video. Then there’s these little projects that add-on that could range anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000. Chris: [00:10:32] In your book you say … “in my agency, when we finally got around to asking each other what we wanted out of this whole enterprise and why we did it, it was an incredibly awkward conversation. Rick: [00:10:47] [Laughs] More than one. Chris: [00:10:50] [Laughs] Why do you think that was? Rick: [00:10:51] Well, so I have this whole theory about agencies in general. You know, one of the reasons I love them so much is I view it is a very egalitarian industry, right? It’s not dominated by MBAs. It’s not something you need to be really rich to get into. You don’t need to raise venture money, in fact, it’s probably not a great idea. I say in the book, these days you could probably start an agency with an iPad and a desk in a co-working space right? [Laughs] So, it naturally lends itself to a lot of people that are younger and hungry and eager and trying to get their feet off the ground and are just looking for a start in their career. And everybody’s really excited because you’re turning nothing into something, right?  And that’s very different for everybody, right, so some people might just want to do this for their whole life. Some people might have viewed this as a stepping stone to do something bigger or get into a startup. I have one friend that’s pumped all his money from his agency into real estate. And yet when you’ve got partners, your sort of mutual go at the beginning is very in-line. You’re all starting to do this to get something going, to grow something and make it cool. And then as you grow everybody revisits their life goals and, you know, the odds are pretty slim that you’re all going to want exactly the same thing in life. Chris: [00:12:24] Yeah. [Laughs] Rick: [00:12:26] So [Laughs] if you haven’t really talked about that along the way you now have this thing that’s worth something and you’re all very passionately invested in it and you all kind of might view it very differently and where you want to take it. So that communication is so vital. I start the book talking about “what do you want to do with this?” What are your goals? Where are you going in life? And it’s doubly important when you have many people. Chris: [00:12:51] Yeah, I love that part in the book and it actually inspired me to work with our agency on sort of establishing our values and our vision and stuff like that, because we hadn’t given much thought to that either, and it’s been really valuable. Rick: [00:13:05] Yeah, exactly. And you know it’s a lot like a marriage except you got multiple people and you need to revisit what you want out of it pretty frequently, right? Chris: [00:13:15] [Laughs] Yeah. Rick: [00:13:15] People grow up; people change. Chris: [00:13:16] So, you and your partners did eventually decide to sell the Barbarian Group, was that always the plan? Rick: [00:13:23] Well it turned out it was for some of us and not others. [Laughs]. So that was a heavy part of the conversations. And then you know when you realize some people really love what they do and they don’t want to do anything else. And some people’s perception is it has turned into an asset. You know, they’re not diversified and they’re looking at their life through the lens of financial planning over the course of their life. Those become different things and the questions start to become how can you fulfill the goals of as many partners as possible, right? So if one person just wants cash for this asset, another person wants to do it forever, you start to think about a place where you can you know sell to someone that will let the other person keep doing it forever. So what we did was very much a circumstance of trying to find the way to best fit as many partners’ goals as possible. Chris: [00:14:13] And so did some of the partners stay on? Rick: [00:14:15] Yes. Some had left before. I think we started at 6, we rapidly down to five. Then we added one, and then we’re back to 6, and then we’re down to 5, and they were down to 4. I think we were at 4 when we sold. But, you know, each one of them had different agreements with us about what would happen if it did sell down the road. Chris: [00:14:50] Gotcha. What was your role at the Barbarian Group? Rick: [00:14:53] So, you know, it’s funny that’s kind of another example of this, right? When we started, we all did similar things. We were all designers and developers. I was a decent designer and an okay coder, but very good at the production. We started to specialize. I rapidly took on anything project management related, financial related, and things like that. You know my title the whole time was the same. I was always the CEO. But by the end we had maybe 10 or 12 producers reporting to me and 10 or 12 account people, the entire strategy department, finance … All that was sort of under me at the end. The other interesting thing is, I picked this up in my early years when I worked at Ernst and Young, but there was always a partner that was the engagement partner. So. You know there’s a lot to sort of start out. Also, everybody is always stepping on eachother’s toes in a partnership. It’s like employees will go ask Mom or they’ll go ask Dad and try and get a different answer. So it’s really incumbent on the partners to figure out who’s responsible for what and agreed between themselves who’s the ultimate answer. Right. So with each client, we had an engagement partner that was ultimately responsible for everything on that client. And so I had several accounts I would oversee you know the cace account the Apple account. Ben my partner had G.E. and Keith had Bloomberg in Cubin had CNN and you know so there was also that kept so that I could always still sort of participate in the design and the creator as well. Chris [00:17:13] What do you think the Barbarian Group owes its success to. Rick [00:17:18] I talk to a lot of agencies now and people are bad at PR. People are bad at getting the word out about their shop and they are bad about bragging about themselves. One of our first in-house hires was a PR person and it really made a difference. You know I don’t know that you need to do it in-house. It’s funny, I would do it again. I would I would hire a PR person pretty early on if I were ever to do it again. But I don’t know if anyone else has ever done that. It’s funny, I would do it again. I would hire a PR person pretty early on if I were ever to do it again. But I don’t know if anyone else has ever done that. The shops I work with today nobody does that. But you know you can get lazy about it if you have a good roster of clients and they keep coming back and you’re doing pretty well and you think it’s all fine. But nobody in the company is relentlessly thinking about getting the word out all the time. Chris [00:18:42] Yeah that makes sense. I mean we’re an 11-person agency and there’s no one here who’s solely responsible for marketing our agency. Listen to the episode to learn more! The post 021 Agency (The Book) – Rick Webb, Author and Agency Founder appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

021 Agency (The Book) – Rick Webb, Author and Agency Founder

Dan Carlton

Dan Carlton is founder of The Paragraph Project, a 10 person agency in Durham, North Carolina that focuses on discovery, market research, and brand strategy. Dan talks about the importance of running discovery workshops and how to run them effectively. He also introduces The Discovery Toolkit which was just launched on Kickstarter. The Discovery Toolkit is a nifty kit that makes it super easy to run discovery workshops using card-based exercises. The Paragraph Project was nice enough to send us their prototype and it’s a very intuitive and simple system for getting your clients to express important insights about their brand. The Kickstarter ends Thursday, November 10th 2016. Don’t miss out. You can contribute or get your own kit here: http://itf8F1lM.kckb.st (Note this is an affiliate link, so if you support the Discovery Toolkit you are also supporting the Creative Agency Podcast.) Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below! The post 023 Discovery Workshops – Dan Carlton – The Paragraph Project appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

Dan Carlton is founder of <a href="http://www.theparagraphproject.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Paragraph Project</a>, a 10 person agency in Durham, North Carolina that focuses on discovery, market research, and brand strategy. Dan talks about the importance of running discovery workshops and how to run them effectively. He also introduces <a href="http://itf8F1lM.kckb.st" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Discovery Toolkit</a> which was just launched on Kickstarter. The Discovery Toolkit is a nifty kit that makes it super easy to run discovery workshops using card-based exercises. The Paragraph Project was nice enough to send us their prototype and it’s a very intuitive and simple system for getting your clients to express important insights about their brand. The Kickstarter ends Thursday, November 10th 2016. Don’t miss out. You can contribute or get your own kit here: <a href="http://itf8F1lM.kckb.st" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://itf8F1lM.kckb.st</a> (Note this is an affiliate link, so if you support the Discovery Toolkit you are also supporting the Creative Agency Podcast.) Thoughts? Questions? Let us know in the comments below! The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/the-paragraph-project/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">023 Discovery Workshops – Dan Carlton – The Paragraph Project</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

023 Discovery Workshops – Dan Carlton – The Paragraph Project

Defining the vision you have for your agency is one of the most important things you can do to foster ongoing success. Yes, we all have ideas about what we want, but putting those ideas on paper and refining your goals and expectations can have a huge impact on your business.  This is “Part 2” of the story behind our creative agency, Murmur Creative. You can find Part 1 here.     Chris Bolton, our host, and his brother Andrew (owner of Murmur Creative) talk about their struggles and successes over the first half of 2016. They discuss their “million dollar goal” for the year as well as their predictions for the future. During the show Chris and Andrew talk about Murmur Creative’s new “vision statement.” You can download the full document here. Chris also recommends the book Agency: Starting a Creative Firm in the Age of Digital Marketing (Advertising Age) by Rick Web. Thoughts on the show? Questions for Chris or Andrew? Let us know in the comments below.   The post 017 Our Story Part 2 – Developing a Vision with Murmur Creative appeared first on The Creative Agency Podcast.

<a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/chris-andrew-murmur-creative.jpg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a>Defining the vision you have for your agency is one of the most important things you can do to foster ongoing success. Yes, we all have ideas about what we want, but putting those ideas on paper and refining your goals and expectations can have a huge impact on your business.  This is “Part 2” of the story behind our creative agency, <a href="http://www.murmurcreative.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Murmur Creative</a>. You can find <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/growing-our-agency/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Part 1 here</a>. Chris Bolton, our host, and his brother Andrew (owner of Murmur Creative) talk about their struggles and successes over the first half of 2016. They discuss their “million dollar goal” for the year as well as their predictions for the future. During the show Chris and Andrew talk about Murmur Creative’s new “vision statement.” You can download the full document <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/OurVisionStatement.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here.</a> Chris also recommends the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1137279869/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1137279869&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=storypodca-20&amp;linkId=f26168947643b6527190867d44d5b035" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Agency: Starting a Creative Firm in the Age of Digital Marketing (Advertising Age)</a> by Rick Web. Thoughts on the show? Questions for Chris or Andrew? Let us know in the comments below. The post <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com/developing-a-vision/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">017 Our Story Part 2 – Developing a Vision with Murmur Creative</a> appeared first on <a href="http://www.creativeagencypodcast.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Creative Agency Podcast</a>.

017 Our Story Part 2 – Developing a Vision with Murmur Creative

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