Advertise on podcast: Small But Mighty Agency: How to Grow Your Agency

You’ve done the thinking, built the plan, and walked into the meeting prepared. Then the client hesitates, latches onto something minor, or asks a question that shows they’re somewhere else entirely. In this solo episode, I share a story from my work with an agency director whose solid plan fell flat four minutes into a meeting with her founder.  We look at why that happens, the four main ways people take in an idea, and how to adjust in the moment when the person across the table needs something different.  I also talk about why this is a leadership skill, especially if you’re still the only person in your agency who can get a client to say yes. In this episode, you’ll learn: The four ways people take in an idea: results, possibility, evidence and peopleHow to spot your own default and the blind spot that comes with itHow to read the room and adjust when an idea isn’t landingWhy being the only one who can land ideas keeps your agency from growingKey quote “We tend to present ideas in the way that makes sense to us. Strong communicators learn to present them in the way that makes sense to the people receiving them.” Your challenge this week In your next client meeting, notice where you start and what your client keeps coming back to. Then send me a message on LinkedIn and tell me what you noticed. I read every one. Connect with me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwanaudrey/

Clients hire the bigger agency expecting more speed and more resources. Then their project waits its turn in a queue behind everyone else's. Jonathan Cogan has seen it from both sides. He spent more than two decades in healthcare marketing, in both independent and network agencies, before starting his own small but mighty agency.  Jonathan and I dig into where the big agency model gets in its own way and what a small team can do that a large one struggles to match. In this episode: Why clients expect to see action within weeks, and what that means for the time you spend on strategyHow to talk about the advantages of a small agency without bringing up your sizeWhat builds a client's trust when you're a small agencyThe question that tells you whether you're making a client's life easier or harderIf you've ever played down your size, this conversation gives you another way to look at it. Show Notes: -Sephrina Website: sephrina.ca -Jonathan's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jon-e-cogan Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep163 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

By the time your ideal client asks for a proposal, how much of their decision has already been made? Probably more than most agency owners realize. CMOs are paying attention long before they formally enter the market for an agency. They're looking for signs that a potential partner understands their business, can move quickly, and won't add more risk to an already high-pressure role. So, what makes a small agency feel like the right choice? Christian Banach, founder of Next Big Win, and I dug into that question. He has spent more than 20 years helping agencies win new business, and his CMO Journey interview series keeps him in regular conversation with senior marketing leaders. In this episode, we get into: Why CMOs treat hiring an agency as a risk decisionWhat a specialist signals before the first callWhat CMOs are still outsourcing, and what's moving in-houseWhere to look for early signs a company may need supportWhat to send a CMO once you've spotted a signalHow thought leadership keeps you visible while timing sorts itself outKnowing which CMOs to reach out to, and what to say when you do. This episode covers both. Show Notes: -The Next Big Win: thenextbigwin.com Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep162 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

There's one thing that consistently saved me from finding out in December that a client had already checked out.  It didn't work perfectly every year, but the years I ran it, I saw the risk coming instead of getting blindsided by it. In this solo episode, I'm talking about that habit: an existing-client growth review run every September, no matter how packed the month got.  It was a deliberate look at where things actually stood with the clients I already had, quick and practical rather than something that needed a blocked-off week. Three lenses I'd run every client through: Renewal riskExpansion opportunitiesAdditional servicesI get into what I was actually looking for in each one, plus where this went well for me over the years, and where it didn't. If September already feels like it's running you instead of the other way around, this one's for you.  If you want to connect with other agency owners in person, join us at the Agency Together Mastermind Mingler on September 17th in Vancouver: https://agencytogether.com/mastermind-mingler Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep161 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Referrals feel great until they stop. And when they do, most agency owners realize they never actually built a pipeline, they built a network and hoped it would behave like one. Jasma Moody spends her days inside the pipeline of Copper, listening to sales calls, digging through customer data, and figuring out exactly why some leads convert and others quietly disappear.  In this episode, she breaks down the real difference between a network and a pipeline, and why so many agency owners confuse the two until a client churns and they're left scrambling. Jasma walks through the simplest possible way to start tracking pipeline (hint: it's not a fancy CRM), the three signs it's time to outgrow a spreadsheet, and a weekly, monthly, and quarterly rhythm that keeps business development moving even when client work is eating every hour of the day. She also reframes something almost every agency owner gets wrong: what to do the moment someone says "not right now." This one's for anyone who's ever looked up from a busy season and realized their pipeline went cold without them noticing. Jasma is leading a conversation on pipeline growth at the Agency Together Mastermind Mingler in Vancouver on September 17th, one of five conversation streams you can choose your way through. Learn more here. Show Notes: -Jasma's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jasmamody Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep160 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

There's a version of the "we need to talk about scope" conversation that plays out in almost every agency, and it usually gets treated as a project management and profitability problem.  Talia Palermo doesn't see it that way. She compares it to going in for what you think is a shoulder injury and finding out the real issue is somewhere else in your body entirely. Project management issues, she says, are often just the symptom. The real cause is usually hiding a few steps back. Talia is the innovation manager at Function Point, where she talks to agency owners all day and hears what's actually breaking before most of them have language for it. One number she shared stopped me mid-sentence: 56% of agencies say they don't have enough information at the start of a project to scope it properly. In this episode, we cover: Why over-servicing keeps showing up as the top frustration agency owners bring to Talia, and what's really driving itHow value-based pricing works differently on the outside than it does internally, and where agencies get that twistedThe mindset shift that makes time tracking feel like advocacy instead of surveillanceWhy profitability has to be part of the entire project life cycle, from estimating to active work to review, not just something you check at the endThis one will change how you think about the numbers you're not looking at. Want more conversations like this one? Talia is leading a conversation on project management, profitability, and pricing at the Agency Together Mastermind Mingler in Vancouver on September 17th, one of five conversation streams agency owners can choose their own adventure through. Learn more here. Show Notes: -Talia's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/taliapalermo Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep159 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

You're doing a piece of client work you've done a hundred times. You open a tool, and it does in minutes what used to take an afternoon. And instead of relief, there's a stomach drop: if it can do that, what am I still charging for? Here's the real risk. Your clients are having that same realization, whether you talk about it or not.  And if you stay quiet about what's changed in how you deliver your work, you're not protecting yourself, you're just waiting for them to notice on their own, and start wondering what else you haven't told them. In this episode, I break down what it actually takes to stay irreplaceable to a client right now. It's not one thing, it's a sequence, and there's a last step that's harder than the rest, the one this whole episode is really about. Hit play if you've felt that stomach drop and haven't figured out what to do about it yet. And if this one hits home, come talk it through live. We're digging into this exact question at the Strategic Partnership Mixer on August 6th, online. Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep158 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Most agency owners have felt the sting of being ghosted after a great sales call, the kind where the conversation goes well, real interest seems to be there, a proposal goes out, and then nothing comes back. It happens often enough that it gets treated as simply the cost of doing business, something you absorb by giving your best thinking away for free and hoping enough of it converts into paying work. What that approach quietly costs, though, is time: hours that could have gone into your actual clients, your actual offer, or just having an evening back. Daniela found her way to a different approach, but not by design. Like a lot of agency owners, she learned it the hard way, through the overwhelm of free consultations before building a sales process that leads not just to a signed client but to a 12-month retainer, and that process is what she unpacks in this episode of the Small But Mighty Agency podcast. Daniela Furtado is the founder of Findable Digital Marketing, an agency that works exclusively with design and construction firms, though it took her years to arrive at that focus. For a long stretch early on, she ran her business across two completely unrelated industries at once, and it wasn’t until she finally chose which one to build around that everything else, including the sales system she still uses today, became possible. That system starts with an $800 consultation, an offer that both saves Daniela time and primes prospects for the retainer conversation that follows. She walks through the details in the episode, along with how she pitches a 12-month commitment in a way that rarely comes down to the number twelve at all. It took Daniela two years to build this system. The episode covers what she learned in that time, so you do not have to spend two years finding out for yourself. Show Notes: -Findable Digital Marketing Website: findabledigitalmarketing.com -Instagram: findabledigitalmarketing -Daniela's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/daniela-pimentel-furtado Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep157 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

You already know that search doesn't look the way it used to.  Buyers are no longer finding agencies through one clean path from Google search to website visit to inquiry.  They may discover you through an AI-generated answer, a Reddit thread, a local Facebook group, a directory, a review, a LinkedIn profile, or a blog post that answers a very specific question. Darlene Moore from Drive Traffic is actively watching how visibility is shifting, and in this episode she shares what she's seeing on the ground right now — where decisions are actually being shaped, and what's working. We talk about what makes content worth citing, why lived experience and specificity matter more than generic AI-generated content, and how you can use tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Reddit, and Search Console to understand where your buyers are actually looking for answers. Show Notes: -Website: drivetraffic.ca -LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/darlene Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep156 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

There's a moment Joe Teo describes in this episode that will feel familiar to a lot of agency owners: revenue flattening, a growth channel that stopped working and no plan B. For Joe, the CEO and co-founder of HeyOrca, that moment forced a question most marketers never think to ask: what if you'd built a growth strategy with no foundation underneath it? In this episode, Joe breaks down how HeyOrca rebuilt their growth engine through community-led marketing after paid ads hit a wall, and what they learned about the difference between having an audience and building a community. We get into: Why systems alone (newsletters, Slack groups, webinars) don't create community, and what actually doesThe shift from "what should we publish next?" to a question that changes everythingHow paid ads fit into a community-led strategy without becoming the whole strategyThe participation signals worth tracking beyond likes and commentsWhy Joe thinks AI fatigue is pushing people toward something most marketers are underestimatingJoe is also the author of Community-Led Marketing, and his take on where trust, attention, and growth intersect right now is one I think you'll be thinking about long after the episode ends. Show Notes: -Website: heyorca.com -Community-Led Marketing ebook: heyorca.com/ebook/community-led-marketing -Joe Teo's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/josephteols -HeyOrca's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/heyorca Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep155 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Ten years of running an agency, and everything was still in her head. Natasha Golinsky, founder of On Purpose Projects, a custom web and e-commerce development agency, didn't plan her exit from the day-to-day. A stage two breast cancer diagnosis gave her six weeks to hand over a business she'd been running for a decade, while everything lived in her head. What came out the other side is one of the most honest, human stories about building a business that can run without you that I've heard. In this episode, Natasha shares what it really took to build and lead a strong remote contractor team, why the freedom she worked toward came with an unexpected identity shift, and what she wishes she'd done differently long before the crisis hit. Here's what we cover: What the handoff actually looked like when the timeline wasn't strategic, it was survivalThe emotional side of stepping out, the loneliness, the grief, and learning to let go of being neededThe multi-phase hiring process Natasha uses to find contractors who are the right fit beyond technical skillHow to start loosening your grip by identifying the work you already avoidYou don't have to go through a health crisis to build a business that doesn't depend on you. But you do have to be intentional about it. Let's dive in. Show Notes: -Natasha's LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/natashagolinsky Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep154 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

A lot of small business owners are feeling the pressure to keep up right now. AI is changing how we work. New tools and platforms keep showing up. Buyers are behaving differently, and the market feels harder to read than it used to. And I get it. When things feel uncertain, it’s very easy to start adding more. But for small but mighty business owners, more is not always what creates momentum. Sometimes it just makes the business heavier. In this episode, I sit down with Lydia Lee, business strategist and work reinvention coach, for a conversation about what it really means to grow in this season. This is not a tidy framework conversation. It’s more of a real talk about the pressure small business owners are carrying, what is changing in the market, and why some of the most important growth moves right now might actually be quieter ones. We talk about simplifying, getting clearer on what you actually need, and building a business around your real season of life instead of someone else’s version of success. We also get into why relationships matter more than ever. AI can give you ideas, outlines, and tactics, but it cannot replace trust. In this episode, we cover: why experienced small business owners are feeling overwhelmed right nowhow AI is creating both urgency and distractionwhy adding more is not always the best response to uncertaintywhat it means to define growth based on the season you are actually inThis conversation is for you if you have been feeling the pressure to do more, but some part of you knows the answer might be to pause, simplify, and ask a more honest question: What do I actually need right now? Show Notes: Website: screwthecubicle.com ​ YouTube: youtube.com/screwthecubicle LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lydiallee Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep153 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

A lot of agency owners think about selling one day. But selling is not something you prepare for at the last minute. And here's what most people miss: the things that make an agency attractive to a buyer are the same things that make it stronger, more stable, and more enjoyable to run right now.  Whether an exit is on your radar or not, this conversation is worth your time. In this episode, I sit down with Steve Guberman, M&A advisor for agency leaders, to get into what owners are building well, what they're avoiding, and what it really takes to run a business you could sell if you wanted to. Here's what we cover: The difference between building a team and building a team that can run without youWhat "panic selling" looks like and why so many owners end up thereWhy the goal isn't to sell. It's to have the option.You don't build a great agency to sell it. You build it well, and selling becomes an option.  Show Notes: -Website: agencyoutsight.com -Get the Operators Audit Worksheet: agencyoutsight.com/resources -LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/agencycoach -Podcast: agencyoutsight.com/podcast Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep152 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Most agency owners think exit means one thing: finding a buyer. This episode offers a different perspective. I sat down with Daniel Pillai, CEO of Langton PR, to talk about a path into ownership that did not come through a traditional sale, but through trust, mentorship, and a gradual transition shaped over time. It’s a conversation about leadership, succession, and the often unseen inner work of stepping into a role you’re not sure you’re ready for. Together, we explore what agency owners may be missing when they overlook internal succession, how potential can show up before someone fully believes in themselves, and why leading well is one of the most important parts of building an agency that lasts. In this episode, you’ll hear about: why exiting an agency doesn’t always have to mean selling to an outside buyerhow account management and relationship leadership can become a foundation for ownershipwhat true mentorship and stewardship can look like inside an agencywhy internal succession is not just an exit strategy, but a reflection of how well you leadIf you’ve ever thought about legacy, leadership, succession, or what it really means to build an agency that can outlast you, this conversation will give you a lot to think about. Show Notes: -Website: langtonpr.com -Instagram: @daniel.pillai -TikTok: @queendeehbic Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep151 Podcast Edits by Lindsay Curtis

Some agencies do solid work and still lose clients. And in a market like this, I think that raises a more important question than most people are asking: What actually makes a client want to stay? Because client retention is not just about doing good work. It is not just about being responsive, likable, or easy to work with either. There is a deeper layer to strong client relationships. A kind of value that makes a client feel steadier with you in the room, more confident in your perspective, and more likely to see you as someone who helps them think, not just someone who helps them deliver. This episode explores what that kind of relationship really requires now. I get into why client relationships feel different in this market, why strategic advisory matters more than ever, and what actually helps agencies become harder to replace when budgets tighten, pressure rises, and trust carries more weight. If you want to become harder to replace in the eyes of your clients, this episode will help you see where that value really comes from. RSVP to the next Mixer: https://agencytogether.com/mixer-event Hey thanks for hanging out with me at the Small But Mighty Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode it would mean the world to me if you hit the follow or subscribe button in your podcast app and share it with a friend. And I’ll see you on the next one.  Get the full show notes and more information here: https://audreyjoykwan.com/podcast/ep150