Creative Agency Success Show

You know the candy you dig for first and the one you trade away before you get home. This year, the Anders Virtual CFO team drafted both. In this episode, Jamie Nau brings back the show’s holiday draft, this time for Halloween candy. Adam Hale, Partner and Managing Director of Advisory at Anders, Joey Kinney, Virtual CFO at Anders, Hannah Hood, VCFO Principal at Anders, and producer Roxanne Raynor...

Every agency conference talks about AI. At SoDA Prague, the conversation that kept coming back was trust. In this episode, Mikala Page, Virtual CFO at Anders, joins Jamie Nau to recap their week at the SoDA event in Prague. They share why agencies are hiring senior talent over entry-level roles, why trust has become the theme driving agency growth, and how AI has shifted from writing and design to...

Most businesses pour money into ads with no real idea what they will get back. Skip Wilson built a way to predict that answer before the first dollar goes out the door. In this episode, Skip Wilson, founder of DRAFT Media Partners, joins Jody Grunden and Tyler Bryant to discuss predictable ad spend, growing ad platform fragmentation, and the future of fractional CMOs. Skip shares how DRAFT predict...

Most agencies say they have a niche. Few actually built one after being told, in blunt terms, that they looked exactly like everyone else. In this episode, Richard Muscat Azzopardi joins Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden to discuss niching down, the fractional CMO model, and what it takes to become part of a client’s team rather than just another vendor. Rick shares how a single LinkedIn comment from ind...

Creative agency growth gets harder when overhead, burnout, weak client fit, and unclear culture start shaping the business. In this episode, Scot Keith joins Jamie Nau to talk about creative agency growth, advertising agency culture, low-overhead operations, client fit, and why the best creative work often comes from failure. Scot shares how ONE23WEST started in a garage in 2013, why the agency ch...

Earning client trust is one of the hardest things a service-based business can do.  In this episode, Roger Nairn, Co-Founder and CEO at JAR Podcast Solutions, breaks down how brands use podcasting as a long-form trust-building engine  and why it works better than almost any other marketing channel available today. You'll hear how to measure podcast ROI beyond download numbers and why authenti...

Most agency owners say they serve everyone. The ones building real, sustainable profit say the opposite.  In this episode, Rachel Knutton, CEO and Founder of Alluvia Studio, shares how she built a thriving niche agency in one of the most regulated and complex industries in the world: MedTech. You'll hear how her background inside hospital C-suites, operating rooms, and medical device sales be...

The most profitable agencies do more than deliver great work.   In this episode, Sharon Toerek, Owner and Founder of Legal+Creative | Toerek Law, shares how legal foundations, intellectual property, agency contracts, AI risk management, marketing compliance, data privacy, value-based pricing, agency profitability, and business growth work together to strengthen your agency. You’ll learn why legal...

The rules of business growth are changing faster than ever. The businesses that adapt will find new opportunities. The ones that resist change risk falling behind. In this episode, Rachel Ody, Project Management Operations Consultant and Coach at Hello Rachel, talks about what it takes to grow a service-based business in today’s rapidly shifting environment. You’ll hear why the project management...

The future of agency growth is not just more automation. It is also a more human connection. In this episode, Jay Owen, CEO of Business Builders, joins Jamie Nau to talk about agency community, event strategy, thought leadership, organic growth, and the practical ways AI is changing how agency owners work. Jay shares the story behind Agency Builders Retreat, why in-person connection matters more i...

AI adoption gets risky when agency owners move faster than their teams can follow. In this episode, Rob Harr, co-founder and President of Sparkbox, joins Jamie Nau and Tom Wadelton to talk about AI, agency operations, leadership, team adoption, innovation, and business model change. You will hear why AI cannot stay trapped with the owner, how internal communities help teams experiment safely, and...

When your messaging, positioning, and systems stay aligned, you create clarity, trust, and momentum for the next stage of growth. In this episode, Amy Maxwell, Founder and Creative Director at Maxwell Design Co, breaks down the hard truth about rebranding, business growth, brand strategy, thought leadership, positioning, operational systems, and scaling a service-based business. You’ll hear practi...

You put in the work to plan a webinar and still walk away with no sales calls booked, no pipeline, and no clear path forward. In this episode, Logan Lyles, Founder of DemandShift, shares his proven webinar strategy for B2B service-based businesses that want to generate leads, book sales calls, and build pipelines without turning their webinars into a hard sell. You’ll learn how to fix the two bigg...

When your processes are structured and your team knows what to do next, you gain time and improve performance. In this episode, Kenny Harper, Growth Coach at Growth Amplifiers, shares how to systemize your business, simplify operations, and multiply impact using scalable systems, repeatable processes, and a proven framework. You’ll learn how to move from custom work to standardized workflows, shif...

Growth can feel lighter when your business starts working with you, not against you. In this episode, Al Zdenek, Executive Chair of CakeClub, breaks down why most service-based businesses struggle with profitability, cash flow management, financial planning, and sustainable growth. You learn how to manage cash flow, build cash reserves, improve pricing, make better financial decisions, and align y...

Time is one of the most valuable assets in a service-based business. Yet many owners and teams spend most of their week searching for information, copying data, formatting documents. In this episode, Greg Boone, CEO at Walk West, explains how artificial intelligence, AI tools, automation, and agent workflows can give business owners back nearly 80% of their time. You learn how AI transforms market...

When leads feel inconsistent and results do not match the spend, the problem is rarely effort. The problem is visibility, measurement, and knowing what actually drives growth. In this episode, Jeff Greenfield, CEO of Provalytics, breaks down why so many service-based businesses feel like half their marketing budget is wasted. You hear clear explanations around marketing measurement, attribution, G...

A well-built service business creates momentum instead of pressure. With the right systems in place, you allow growth to happen without burning out. In this episode, Steven Ness, founder of Lighting the Way Leadership, explains how business owners can stop carrying the weight alone by building leadership systems, operational structure, and clear processes. The focus stays on delegation, accountabi...

Many service-based business owners win deals, deliver great work, and still struggle with margins. In this episode, Albert Banks breaks down how service-based businesses can protect margins before work even starts. You get a clear look at pricing strategy, value-based pricing, project profitability, cost awareness, negotiation tactics, and sales frameworks that help agencies and professional servi...

Run your agency with clarity, confidence, and control. Many creative and marketing agency owners are closer to real growth than they realize. In this episode, Jesse Gilmore, CEO and founder of Niche in Control, breaks down the mindset and structure shifts that agency owners must make to achieve freedom, scalability, and financial success. He shares how to move from being the doer to being the lead...

As a business owner, you may trust your team, but that trust can blind you to the quiet financial risks inside your business.   In this episode of The Creative Agency Success Show, we talk with Clay Kniepmann, manager in Forensic and Litigation at Anders, to share practical tips on balancing trust and control and how you can use simple steps to strengthen your internal processes. Key Takeaways: Wa...

Imagine turning media attention into real business growth. For service-based small business owners, publicity is about turning visibility into profit. In this episode, Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, shares exactly how you can use PR to grow your credibility and revenue. He explains how press releases, when done right, can open doors to media coverage, attract your ideal clients, and create...

If you’re invisible online, you’re losing clients before they even know you exist. In today’s competitive market, your digital presence is your storefront.  In this episode, Agency Consultant & Executive Coach Karl Sakas of Sakas & Company explains why being invisible online is costing you clients and what you can do to fix it. He shares practical strategies on leadership, delegation, and...

You don’t need more hands—you need better tools. For service-based small business owners, AI can lift the burden of repetitive tasks, helping your team do more of what moves the needle   In this episode of The Creative Agency Success Show, we sit down with Ed Krystosik, Co-Founder of RAC Projects AI, to unpack the real-world strategies for integrating AI into small businesses. From streamlining wo...

Creative Agency Success Show (Episode 144): “A maturity model isn't a report card, it's about understanding where your decision-making capabilities are.” - Jamie Nau In this episode of The Creative Agency Success Show, Jamie Nau and Jody Grunden pull back the curtain on how small business owners can move from just getting by to truly thriving. They’ve spent the last eight months crafting...