Trailblazer FM: WordPress without the drama

Being intentional with social media allows you to build your brand. In turn you can build trust, and generate valuable leads for your agency. In this episode I will share with you the basics of planning your social media strategy... Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/planning-your-agency-social-media-strategy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There comes a point in your agency when enough is enough. You cannot do everything and you realise you need outside help from a freelancer or virtual assistant. The thing is, you've heard horror stories from other agency owners and your last freelance experience was a nightmare. How do you find, select and onboard the right contractor for your agency? If you are struggling, this episode is for you...

Do you know what is in your bank account, who owes you what, and what you have to pay out? It's likely you don't as running an agency is time intensive and demanding. Finances become something we dread at the end of our financial year as we hand over a box of receipts to our accountants, unsure if we will be able to pay our tax bills. It need not be like that. In today's episode I am going to talk...

How do you keep motivated when things can be so stressful? Running an agency can be high pressure, and you may have experienced those days where you can't face it all. I know I have... Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-keep-yourself-motivated/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How many plans have you made that you've never followed through with? What would you like to change in your agency or in your personal life that seems too overwhelming and un-achievable? I have struggled for years with procrastination, and have a graveyard of abandoned dreams behind me. Yet all that changed a few years ago, and I'm going to share with my strategy for getting things done. Full show...

"Plan for the worst, hope for the best" is a phrase I've often heard from family members as we go through life. There is no better place to ensure you can push through the rough times that in your business. What would happen if your office burnt down? What would you do in the case of a business partner passing away? Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/planning-for-the-worst/ See...

So much business can be lost due to not handling leads effectively. With multiple channels of communication, and such unique needs, what can you implement to keep on top of, and to nurture the leads you get in? Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-manage-leads/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Being a business owner, or part of a business design agency can be tough. I remember how lonely I would often feel battling the day to day challenges with no one else to talk to. In this weeks episode we share how to get plugged into the online community to create a support network. Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/getting-plugged-into-online-community See acast.com/privacy f...

Running your agency without a plan, you are inadvertently planning to fail. We learned the hard way many years ago. The purpose of this episode is to provide you the framework for a simple one page business plan that you can review regularly. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/the-one-page-business-plan/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you get more productive and create a healthier happier lifestyle? Who better to brainstorm this with than my good friend James Rose. We’ve known each other many years and he’s been able to balance business with travel, family and developing hobbies. We talk ways to improve productivity and to enhance our lifestyles. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/productivity-w...

Profitability is not just about selling more. We are so often a slave to our business because we need to generate more income to get more free time. It’s a vicious cycle. In today’s call I share a range of money saving techniques both for your business and personal life. These are what we apply to our lives so we can: Get lots of time together as a family Operate a stable business Save for the fut...

Networking helped build our agencies and is an essential element of our ongoing marketing strategy. If you are a new or established business, you should consider your own strategy for generating leads through networking. We cover: Different types of networking Meeting styles Help others Help others help you Reality check Outcome: To help you develop a clear long term networking strategy to help su...

Without a website specification document you are running the risk of a big fall out with your client. Everyone needs to agree on what will be built, the timeline and the cost. Without these projects can often breakdown or become unprofitable. The problem is, creating a specification document is super boring, and it's difficult to make sure you've covered everything. We flip the script today, and A...

For many agency owners, Christmas a stressful time of year. Potential clients are gearing up for Christmas, projects are on hold or non existent and they still have staff to page. Rob shares with us both what to do if you need clients right now, and also how to avoid this situation in the future. Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/i-need-clients-now-what-do-i-do/ See acast.com/...

We are pivoting and I want to tell you all about it. I’ll give you some background, share our experiences and unpack what we plan to do throughout 2020. I will share our hopes and ambitions for the community and how you can get involved. Here’s to 2020. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/big-changes-are-coming/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How can you leverage content marketing for your agency when you can’t even get started? In this episode, Martin and I unpack the blockers to your creativity and strategies to overcome them. Learn how to come up with ideas for content and use our creation hacks to get your content strategy in place. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/overcoming-the-content-block/ See acast...

Adrian, having worked with Infusionsoft for several years recognised a gap in the market for small to medium businesses who needed marketing automation but could not access it. Systems were very pricey and complex to integrate into their websites so he launched a brand new WordPress plugin. This became Groundhogg which brought the features of marketing automation platforms into peoples WordPress w...

Many agencies avoid settling on a niche as they feel they will miss out on projects. Meet Brad and Emily from GoWP who share their niching journey from local full service agency to WordPress support company. They have niched, then niched down further, creating a profitable and growing business that promotes a good work life blend. There is a lot we can learn from their journey. Full show notes her...

Feast or famine is experienced often by the hard working agency owner. How can we can we change this model and create a business based on recurring income whilst providing the same services? This is not a podcast about selling support packages but instead creating a business based on your expertise, and creating real value for your clients. An interview that blew Lee's mind, so it is one not to be...

Facebook groups are an amazing place for agency owners to build up relationships, learn and give back. They are also the potential source of distraction if we engage with certain characters. In this episode, Nick shares his experiences in Facebook groups and they key types of people, posts and conversations to avoid to help protect your time and your mental health. Full show notes here - https://a...

How do you take a vacation as a business owner when there is so much pressure and perhaps you are even strapped for cash? Taking a vacation can seem like a pipe dream to the agency owner who feels they can never truly take a break. In this week’s episode we share the core message from our premium group call from last week. Full show notes available here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-...

Funnels are so often abused, yet if done right, they can help us to develop lasting business relationships. In this episode Matt deep dives into the anatomy of a funnel and what the essential ingredients are. I have so often shared my own frustration with funnels that go in for the sell and can feel manipulative. (Check out one of my recent rants on YouTube ). Based on this, I give Matt a hard tim...

Trading time for money may be our comfort zone as an agency owner but it is likely holding us back, trapping us in our business and not even doing your clients any favours either! In this weeks episode we talk with Rob Da Costa who shares the concept of VALUE based pricing and answers standard objections Lee hears in the community about it. Full show notes here -  https://agencytrailblazer.com/pod...

Running your business alone is a hard slog. I know because I’ve done it. Even if you have business partners or a team, you are still IN your business day to day with all of the internal and external influences that might be affecting decisions, productivity and success. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/you-probably-need-a-business-coach/ See acast.com/privacy for privac...

Now and again a guest comes along who shatters my bubble and changes my mind. This happened in this episode with Pete Everitt. Full disclosure: I have created HUGE amounts of content for 4 years and invested hardly any time into SEO just assuming that the sheer volume would take care of it. I have never been so wrong! In fact as I have been unpacking the advice from Pete's course , I've discovered...