Agency Journey

“I had bought into this idea that you had to sacrifice everything you had to kill yourself for growth. And it cost me dearly. I made some really poor decisions.” Carlos Hidalgo is co-founder & CEO of Digital Exhaust, a Utah-based data-driven, AI-enabled agency with a belief that "growth is a state of being, not just a goal to be achieved". But he's also a man with a dramatic story of putting h...

“I have long seen myself as: I’m a very good marketer. I'm a very good communicator. I'm a good content creator. That's my lane. I know how to drive in that lane very, very well. And this has been a challenge for me to say: how do I become the best president, owner of a services business? Versus the best marketer anybody knows.” Ali Schwanke is founder and CEO of Simple Strat—a Diamond HubSpot Sol...

“If you don't like managing people, one of the things to consider is: do you want to run an agency? The management portion will never go away. But it also doesn't have to be so hard.” Karl Sakas, agency advisor and founder of Sakas & Company, has served as “agency therapist” for over 600 clients in 36 countries. He was also our recent guest on Agency Journey. His fourth time on the show! You c...

“We all consider ourselves humble experts. So we all know that we're good at what we do, but ego does not get in the way around our workplace.” Arianne Foulks, CEO and founder of Aeolidia, a one-stop shop agency for creative ecommerce brands with 20+ years of market presence, was our recent guest on Agency Journey. If you want to build an efficient, adaptable agency that builds strong relationship...

[This is a special feature of Gray's recent appearance on Perpetual Traffic—reposted on the Agency Journey feed so you don't miss this informative discussion!] Kasim chats with Gray MacKenzie, the co-founder of ZenPilot, a company that helps agencies master project management. Gray reveals why project management is more than just software, and how to create effective processes and habits. He also...

"Small groups of highly skilled, highly motivated, well communicating people can just achieve more than you can at a large organization." Jesse Resnick, co-founder of Ei Digital, a full-service digital agency, was our recent guest on Agency Journey. This episode is a must-listen for agency owners and managers looking to build a high-performing team culture. Episode Insights: 💡 Jesse's journey fro...

Is your agency prepared for the cookieless future that threatens to “tank” advertising performance? Paris Childress, CEO of SaaS-focused performance marketing agency Hop Online, was our recent guest on Agency Journey. He shared insights on crafting first-party data strategies that can help agencies avoid disrupted campaigns when third party cookies expire. Paris also discussed expanding service of...

Want to take your agency to the next level? Learn how Matthew leveraged EOS, strategic partnerships, and custom ecommerce solutions to optimize operations and expand offerings over 9 years in business. His proven strategies can help your agency demonstrate ROI and pave the path to sustainable growth. Matthew McIver shares his journey evolving Commence Studio from a service-based creative agency in...

Running a professional services agency? You need compelling case studies to close sales. But most video case studies end up dry, boring, and forgettable. So how do you create video case studies that captivate prospects and accelerate deals? In this episode of Agency Journey, host Gray MacKenzie interviews Ian Garlic, founder of Video Case Story. Ian shares his proven process for producing video ca...

Running a marketing agency is hard. Running one remotely across several time zones? Even harder. So how do you keep a distributed team aligned, motivated, and growing together? In this episode of Agency Journey, host Gray MacKenzie interviews Janet Mesh, CEO and co-founder of Aimtal, a fully remote marketing agency. We dig into the keys that accelerated Aimtal’s growth over the past 5 years. Janet...

Ask any agency owner and they’ll tell you—growth doesn’t happen by accident. It takes strategy, systems, and support. So how do you choose the right blueprint to guide your agency’s growth? What if that blueprint could help you smash through plateaus and scale your team 10x? In this episode of Agency Journey , host Gray MacKenzie interviews Tyler Dolph , CEO of Rocket Clicks . We'll dig deep into...

Struggling to get your team aligned on goals and metrics? Wish your company culture was more productive and humane? Mark Abbott , founder and CEO of Ninety , shares how and the importance to implement tools to empower employees and build a resilient organization. In this episode, Mark discusses the specifics of designing effective scorecards, setting targets vs goals, and getting team member buy-i...

In this episode, Kuba shares his vision for ZenPilot Marketing. He details his strategy to transition ZenPilot's perception from merely a ClickUp implementation partner to a team of agency operations experts. Kuba emphasizes the importance of promoting the ZenPilot team and using platforms like YouTube and LinkedIn to highlight their expertise and unique personalities, fostering a more connected a...

Do you struggle to create work that truly resonates with your audience? The ability to craft stories and messages that forge meaningful connections is what separates good creators from great ones. In today’s episode, host Gray MacKenzie sits down with storytelling expert Jay Acunzo. Jay Acunzo, The founder of the Creator Kitchen, a membership program helping you push yourself creatively. He's also...

In this episode, Erika Zeigyte, CEO of a consulting & recruitment agency called Prosana. joins Gray Mackenzie to discuss the intricacies of hiring an A+ talent for your agency. Erika also shares her insights into what makes for great agency candidates, how to build an effective hiring process, the benefits of using a recruiting agency, interview techniques, and recommended tools for recruiting...

Misti Ferris holds the “Integrator” seat at digital marketing agency Roger West Creative & Code, which means she ensures that everyone is dancing to the same beat called EOS (even the creatives). In addition to the Integrator role, Misti serves as Vice President of Operations, where her “3 M” mantra: marketer, minimalist and mom (of 4 daughters) is the driving force behind all things requiring...

William Ferreira is the founder of Social Buff, a full-service digital agency that builds and scales direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce brands. Since its launch in 2019, the business has taken countless companies to multi-million pounds in revenue. In this episode, William and Gray discussed the tools and strategies Social Buff uses to operate efficiently while providing high-impact results, incl...

In this power-packed episode, we are joined by JJ Rusell, Partner and Director at Best Damn Agency Mastermind. Together with Gray, they delve into the importance of having a clear vision for mastermind groups, the value of strong connections within the community, and overcoming self-limiting beliefs. They also discuss strategies for building a successful agency and fostering an entrepreneurial min...

In this episode, Karl Sakas, Author, Speaker, Agency Consultant and Founder of Sakas & Company, joins Gray MacKenzie to discuss strategies & key metrics that agency owners should start tracking, and how it contributes to achieve sustainable growth and increased profits. Karl Sakas helps people at agencies make smarter decisions for smoother growth. Drawing on his background in agency opera...

In this episode, Andrew Stern, Partner, and COO at Pilothouse, a full-service digital marketing agency that helps DTC brands scale through performance marketing. Andrew shares insights into Pilothouse's unique partnership model with clients, how they've scaled to over 170 employees in just a few years, and the key sales and marketing strategies that have fueled their growth. In this episode, you'l...

Mike Rose, Founder and CEO of Return On Energy, is a highly successful entrepreneur who has built multiple profitable agencies that can run without him. With a track record of accolades, including being named INC Best Places in America and a 3X Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company, Mike shares his insights and strategies for creating a sustainable agency that can thrive even when the founder s...

Individuals with soulful character approach leadership with tremendous fervor. They possess a deep understanding of their organization's structure and prioritize bottom-up motivation over top-down. They recognize the importance of all team members. These leaders also value open communication with all employees, recognizing that each person plays a crucial role in the organization and is equally va...

In this episode, Charles "Charlie" Gaudet II, CEO of Predictable Profits. He is also the author of “The Predictable Profits Playbook" and host of The Beyond 7-Figures Podcast, joins Gray MacKenzie to explore the strategies and best practices for building successful and profitable agency partnerships. In this episode, you'll learn: Why it is important to understand the benefits of agency partnershi...

In this episode, Anne Shenton, CEO of Ascend Strategy & Design, a HubSpot Diamond and Advanced CMS Implementation certified solutions partner, joins Gray MacKenzie to dig deeper into the impact of implementing EOS. Whether it's self-implementation or with a professional implementer, you will learn how an agency quantifies the impact of implementing EOS. Topics discussed in the episode: How Asc...

Kevin Barber is the Head of Growth at Lean Labs, focused on helping innovative companies make their marketing profitable so they can scale. Father of 3, lives in Tampa, FL, and loves bikes, boats, and building brands. Chris DuBois is the CEO at Lean Labs, helping build growth teams and websites for brands that deserve to win. Father of 2, and husband of 1. Lives in Portland, Maine, and enjoys expl...