2 Strategic Shifts to Change Your Agency’s Growth Trajectory with Jennifer McPherson | Ep #789

2 Strategic Shifts to Change Your Agency’s Growth Trajectory with Jennifer McPherson | Ep #789 Speaker 2: I want you to stop working for free. If you're tired of getting ghosted on proposals, the endless follow-ups and We'll think about it as a response. There's a better way. The top agencies aren't sending proposals. They're getting paid to pitch and close bigger deals way faster. I want you to grab this free resource I just put together at agencymastery360.com slash strategy. That's agencymastery360.com slash strategy and you'll learn how to flip the script if you want to get paid for your expertise instead of giving it away for free. Hey, Jennifer, welcome to the show. Speaker 1: Hi. Good to be here. Speaker 2: Yeah. Excited to have you on. Tell us who you are, what you do. Speaker 1: I'm Jennifer McPherson. I am the owner of Chicken & Go Marketing Solutions. We are a very niche marketing agency where we provide public involvement and marketing services such as website design and branding for private engineering, construction, I work with oil and gas clients in addition to providing public outreach and engagement on DOT, local agency and federal government projects. Speaker 2: Awesome. And how'd you get started in the agency life? Speaker 1: I worked for 27 years for engineering companies providing marketing inside of engineer companies. And almost seven years ago, being May this year, seven years ago, I decided that I needed a change of direction and I wanted to do my own agency where I could really hyper focus on the industry. And so I left that world and started Chicken and Go. Speaker 2: Awesome. And I know we were talking kind of the pre-show and obviously I know your story quite a bit. You know, there's a lot of agencies that, you know, we start by accident or we wanted to get rid of kind of the corporate mentality and kind of start our own thing. When did you realize that you had a real business? Because there's a lot of like, I remember when I was creating my agency, for many years, I was like, this is just a side hustle, even though it was full time. And after a couple years, I was like, man, this is actually a real business. Speaker 1: Yeah. I would probably say that I came to that realization When I started getting employees, I mean, as simple as it seems, when you leave something to start your own company, basically you know how to do a thing and then you decide, I'm going to take that thing and I'm going to start my own company. And you do that and you're doing the thing in your company and then you don't really know the whole business side so much and you start to learn it and start to realize, wow, this is And this is more than just doing this thing. It's just working on and running a company. And then, you know, getting employees was a big part of that was, oh, how do I hire employees? I don't know how to hire. What are the rules behind that? Like those kinds of things that make you really realize, wow, this is a legit business. And people are also now relying on this company and continuing. And so that was a huge aha moment where you just thought, oh, I need to keep working hard. Speaker 2: There's always a couple of pivots that people do when they're running their business, when they're running their agency. What was a pivot that made a difference for your agency and what made you make that pivot or that realization to pivot? Speaker 1: I would say probably about a year and a half ago, I really realized that, I mean, we're doing great, but it was a struggle for me because I didn't really know anyone in the agency space at all. I knew no one. I didn't know anyone that had a business. I felt very alone on an island and that pivot, that was a first pivot for me. And that was really trying to find a tribe that I can attach myself to and learn from. And I mean, honestly, that's where I found you, Jason, through Elevate. That pivot has really changed the way that my company operates in that I now have a CEO. We have a bunch of systems I've. I've been less in the business and more on the business. And so it's been a huge differentiator and pivot for me in this past year and a half in terms of the company. The second big pivot that I've had to do in the last year has been trying to, you know, our services are 90% public involvement. On governmental infrastructure type projects, and there's not. Reoccurring revenue, so it's project by project basis, which is very. A very difficult model. To sustain because you're always chasing that next project. Your growth is dependent upon the hours that people can bill within your company. And so that without having that reoccurring revenue or it stifles your growth. And so for me, that was a humongous pivot this year that we've been working towards getting more of the recurring revenue versus project by project basis type work. Speaker 2: Our agency, like I was telling you, it was about 80% project work and the rest was reoccurring. And if you don't have a pipeline built up or the constant thing that I would run into in the beginning and the middle, not the end because I started figuring things out a little bit more. I would focus on business and then I would focus on delivery of that business I just sold because we sold a bunch. Because whatever you focus on, you usually go to. And the funny thing is, it's so true. When I would teach people how to race cars, I'd be like, look, if we start spinning out, I don't want you to look at the thing you were trying to avoid. I want you to look where you're actually trying to go. And almost every time we'd start spitting out, they'd look at the wall. I'm like, don't look at the wall. You're going to hit, you know, we're going to hit the wall. It's the same thing kind of in the agency. So like when I would focus on sales, we get a lot of sales. Then I'd focus on operations and then, right, we'd focus on operations. And then three months later, sales went down. And it was this constant roller coaster that really just drove me crazy. And then finally, I was like, look, I got to create some kind of system that doesn't involve me in all this, right? Kind of going back to what you were saying is like kind of Stepping out of being in the business and just working on the business, which is really kind of what my goal of doing the podcast and doing the mastermind and all this is, is really going like, you know, I saw a LinkedIn post I commented on yesterday on LinkedIn. I probably shouldn't have, but you see this comment and you're like, and it was this agency owner. And someone told me in the mastermind, Brandon was telling me about this. Cause he commented. And it was, this is a kind of angry agency owner going like, no one should ever create an agency. It's the worst agency model ever. You don't make any profit. And then Brandon, who you know, commented, he was like, well, my agency is doing great. I'm 50% margins on net. And he was like, oh, you must be ripping people off. And so then I commented and I literally was like, just because you didn't figure it out yet, doesn't mean it's not possible. Kind of like the four minute mile. Everyone thought that was unattainable. And then as soon as one person broke it, Everyone else follow suit. Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. I mean, I am a very mostly positive person. I don't like to sit in dwell for long periods of time. To publicly say how awful it is, is claiming defeat to me. I think we all have moments where we feel that way, but you just have to be able to pick up your bootstraps and just pivot or take a breath or ask somebody for advice or educate yourself more on what it is you're doing currently and how you can change it and how you can improve it. I like giving up. Speaker 2: So, well, yeah, you know, the thing is, is like, I always tell everybody is you have to be really honest with yourself, but also honest with the people that are in your circle because doing it like you mentioned, like doing it alone. This particular gentleman was probably doing it alone, right? And he was just like, I can't do it. And you know, I've always been looking for my own tribe for what I do. I've been struggling for years and years. I still haven't found my own tribe. On that, which is very difficult. I just I'm very blessed and happy that I have an amazing team that I can rely on and they call me on my bullshit. Yeah, but you know, it's very aggravating where you can't find A place where you can go, Hey, dude, I want to give up. Like, could we all go through that moment? I'm like, screw it. I get conversations all day long. Like, Hey, Jason, I just want to sell this damn thing. Like, I don't want to do it anymore. And the thing you got to ask yourself, like when, you know, when I ask a lot of people, I go, well, if I had a magic wand and I can fix this one thing, that's giving you issues, would you still sell it? Speaker 1: Yeah. Speaker 2: And almost everyone's like, no, no, I don't know. Speaker 1: I think this year has been an amazing year for us and for my company. It's been an amazing year too. Connect and educate for myself and like figuring out how do I grow the company, you know, and that's not me. That's not all me. That's been like being a part of this tribe has been significant in me understanding the bigger picture of not only my company, but just business in general and agencies in general. And I think A lot of times, I'm very competitive as I'm sure a lot of people are and I compare a lot to other people and I don't have the full story. So, none of us have the full story. So, when you're looking at another agency and you're comparing, you're not comparing apples to apples. You have no idea. But you're still in competition. I feel competitive like, oh, how are you doing so well? And I don't know. So for me, I think this year has been an amazing year of growth for me personally and education and for my company. So it's been amazing. I'm very pleased with this year. Speaker 2: Hey, agency owners, if you're sticking with one platform for every project, you're probably stuck in a growth bottleneck. More clients means more hires, which adds noise and cuts into profits. To break the loop, you need a more flexible tool that doesn't stretch your resources. Now, Wix Studio is a smart addition to your agency's toolkit. Intuitive by design, your team can quickly master the platform and focus on the work that matters the most. Now, with robust native business solutions, Like booking, e-com, and events, you can take on any project at any scale without adding cost to third party plugins. Plus, Wix Studio is a low maintenance platform, meaning you can redirect client budget toward real growth initiatives. Think more value for your clients, steady income stream, and stronger relationships. Scale your agency at wixstudio.com. People that are successful, they kind of see what's possible, but like you said, nothing's ever what it seems. It's kind of like the duck on the pond, right? Those ducks look pretty calm and collective, but if you got goggles and dove down, you'd see their little feet go, di-di-di-di-di-di, really, really quick. And sometimes people are ahead of you. And that's the thing. I've come to this realization, right? Like I used to think, and you find that your friends, And in your close group, when things go shitty. So, you know, when things go shitty, it's the people that are there for you, but they don't ever expect anything in return. And I have a couple of close, very knit friends where we celebrate each other's wins. I think we're happy for them. And you should be happy for people rather than going, that should be me because I'm working hard. Just because you work hard doesn't mean you should get it. But if you prepare yourself, I tell people, they're like, well, how'd you sell your agency? I'm like, I worked my ass off. I was really lucky and I was around really cool people. Those three stars have to align. If I worked really hard and I was around cool people and I wasn't lucky, that wouldn't happen. But you have to enjoy that journey. After I sold the agency, I was depressed. I didn't have that team that we would go to battle and we would compete and win. People all think about the end goal, but I'm like, man, what are you going to do? Like if you want to sell your agency, unless you know exactly what you want to do next, you shouldn't do it. Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I recognize myself, like even if I, if I sold this agency tomorrow, I would be. My family would hate me because I would not know what to do and I'd be in everyone's business and like, you know, because I'm, I can't just sit idle. I have to, my mind is always going and I, you know, I need something. I need to know. I mean, I need something to do constantly. Speaker 2: Yeah. I knew I missed it. Right. Like kind of what you're alluding is like. You just can't sit there and do nothing. I thought when I sold the agency, I was like, cool. I'll go fish every day. I'll go run. I'll go ride bikes. But doing that by yourself is freaking boring. And then you don't have that sense of accomplishment anymore. You experience this really high. You're at the top of the mountain by yourself, but then you realize it's cold as hell. It's windy up there. Everyone else is way down having fun and you're way up there and you're like, And I got to do something else. And I knew that sold their company and they're like, they would kind of say the same thing. I'd be like, yeah, you're full of shit. You're saying don't make decisions based on money because you have money and you can do that. But honestly, when I was lucky enough to have some money and I didn't have to make decisions on money, I actually made more money. Speaker 1: Yeah, I believe that. You know, I think I like winning. I like winning, but I like all the things that get me to that winning point, all the strategy, all the relationship building, like all the connections. So winning is not just luck. It's all about all the backend stuff that you have to do in order to get to that winning seat at the table. I love all that stuff. I love talking to people. I love building relationships and I love unseating the competition. I always say our motto is, our unspoken motto is work like you give a shit and all of our team works like they give a shit and it shows and it drives me crazy because in a lot of governmental type work there's a lot of complacency. Speaker 2: It's like molasses trying to get those idiots out of there sometimes. Speaker 1: I can't stand that. I can't stand like here's the bar right here and we can come right to here but we're not going to go any not even a micro inch above that of that bar and the bar is pretty low and so you know for me I just I can't stand that. And so that's probably where my competition comes in. I just am like, okay, we're just going to get in there and we're going to do the things that are right. We're going to do the things that are best for the project and for the public. Cause you know, especially like public engagement, it's all about educating and teaching people. And I take that very seriously. Speaker 2: It's the same thing, right? Like I always talk about it in the community is like, There's some people that just do just enough just to not get fired. We've always been looking for a marketing person for years. And finally, I was like, well, I'm going to hire an agency. And then we hire another agency. And they just do enough. It's just it's hard to find someone to give a shit like you were talking about. Speaker 1: Yep, it is. Speaker 2: They want it the easy way. I did a call this morning. So someone sent me an email yesterday, and it said something like, we can produce because I'm always about building the pipeline and finding different channels. And so, I got the email that said something like, we can guarantee you 100 clients in 90 days or you don't pay us and I'll give you 5,000 for wasting your time. So, I'm like, that is the best offer I've ever seen. So, I'm like, hell yeah, I'll jump on a call with you. Jump on a call. Oh, well, you don't qualify for this part. Okay. But you have to do this. And if you do it for six months and you do exactly what we say, and I was like, no, no, no, no, no. I could see the trap. And then, then they were like, well, I learned this from so-and-so. So what did I do? I booked a call with that company. And I was like, I want to see this. And it's the snake oil stuff. Unknown Speaker: I don't like guys. Speaker 2: Yeah. It drives me nuts. Speaker 1: Me too. You know, you don't. And I think like when you start a company, it's your name behind it. You're initially the name behind the company. And of course, as you grow, you become a little bit not quite as visible, but it's still your name and your reputation. And like, I never want anyone to think, oh, The Chickeningo, they just didn't perform for us or they didn't put it all out on the table. I feel slighted. I don't ever want to be that company. I don't live my life that way. I don't want my kids to watch me act that way. You just got to be in the world like you give a shit, not just work like you give a shit, but act in the And I think you'll do great things in the world if you act that way. Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. So awesome. Well, Jennifer, this has been great. I appreciate you sharing your story. You're sharing your pivot. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you think would benefit the listeners listening in? Speaker 1: If you're ever out there and you decide that you want to start a company or you're in a company, I mean, you own an agency and you feel like you're out there on an island. And I read, meaning I listened to every book in the universe on business and motivation and all kinds of things. But finding an actual tribe is probably your next step if you feel like you're alone on an island. Nobody should be, you know, you need people around. You need people who are further along in their journey than you are that you can learn from. It's going to be hard to get from A to B if you have no idea what level B is going to be like for you. And I think just surround yourself with people who are better than you and you will go really far. Speaker 2: Well, Jennifer, thanks so much for coming on the show and Everyone listening, if you guys are trying to find your tribe, we'd love to invite you to check us out. You go to agencymastery.io and just click apply and let's have a conversation. If we feel you're right for the community, we'll invite you. If we have a better resource for you, we'll point you even if that's not us. So, you know, make sure you get agencymastery.io and until next time, have a Swenk day.