Trailblazer FM: WordPress without the drama

We need to be having frank conversations. With so much noise, with so many courses, with so many “experts”, with so much social media…. how can an agency owner catch a break and reconnect with reality? In today’s episode I share some of the frank conversations we’ve had on  YouTube  that I think this industry needs to have. Let’s cut through all the crap out there and help build an industry that v...

How do you give your agency brand a personality? How do you motivate your team, and get everyone on the same page? Ahsan shares how the huge cloud hosting brand Cloudways have managed to communicate their brand and their values to both their customers and internal team. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/what-are-your-agency-values?/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and...

Agency life can frankly be boring, repetitive and stressful. Being an agency owner can be demanding, exhausting and discouraging. How do you stay motiviated and galvanise the team around you? In this episode Lee drops motivation wisdom from our new YouTube series. Full show notes here - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-motivate-your-agency/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out...

Many agencies go through multiple iterations of their website, never quite happy with what they have produced. We know this because we are guilty of this, and a huge percentage of our community are forever apologising for their own websites. Are you happy with your agency website? Have you gone through multiple versions and are STILL not happy? Today I share reasons why you probably are not happy...

What is your brand voice and message? If you don’t know then neither to your potential clients. What helps you stand out from a crowded market place is a clear message that engages your ideal client. Your messaging needs to appeal, have a hook and promote a response. In this episode is share the main ingredients for developing your brand voice, and understanding what you should be talking about. F...

Do you feel like a failure? Is your agency not where you feel it should be? In this episode I share how we dealt with both failure and the feelings of failure in our agency. Be prepared to grab a notebook and to pause this episode at the appropriate moments because I want you to take some action today! Full show notes here -  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/you-are-not-a-failure/ See acast.c...

What your agency looks like today is likely nothing like you thought it would be. Equally you may be wondering how to start making necessary changes in your business to allow you to grow the team, or free up more of your time. In today’s episode we learn how Tim launched his agency, how he grew the team, and where he found it best to focus on their strengths with the industry they served. Yet anot...

Your agency need not be a cookie cutter clone of what others think an agency should be. You can truly create something unique that will serve your target market and your own plans too. Today we meet  Jordan Johnson who changed his entire business model to focus on unlimited WordPress support for agency owners through the brand  RipplePop . Full show notes here -  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podc...

Sales strategies are effective when converting leads, and extreme sales techniques are often applied in times of low income in an agency life to help an agency survive. A long term marketing strategy however helps you build your brand, and ATTRACT targeted and warmed up leads to you on a regular basis. Full show notes:  https://agencytrailblazer.com/general/marketing-activities-for-agencies/ See a...

Communicating on any project can be hard work. Project management tools are designed to help teams communicate, yet can often be off-putting to your less tech minded clients. Your inbox may be full of emails and nested conversations. Your task lists may be full of poorly described issues. Feeling it? We’ve certainly had this battle for many years. Given, we’ve grown better at supporting our client...

18+ hour days and weekends can be common place in agency life. How do you create a business that promotes a healthy balanced life? Erin shares her story of how she’s been able to build a business that allows her to enjoy the natural beauty of her surroundings, whilst running two successful businesses. Full show notes - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/building-a-balanced-agency-life/ See acas...

Starting an agency can be a challenge. How do you connect with local businesses, generate leads, build a portfolio and grow? These are questions Gareth Carr found the answer to as grew his passion into a business in a new country. Yes, not content with the challenges of launching a business alone, he took on the challenge of doing this on the other side of the planet having moved to Australia from...

Web build and design is not often thought of as glamorous or exciting. In the real world it can be a long process taking weeks, if not months. By the end of the project everyone is glad to get the site live and move on. Full show notes -  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-create-a-buyer-experience/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Are you stuck in your business, struggling to focus on doing the things you love? Meet Shane Rielly, who has evolved his business over the years. He was stuck with low paying, high demand clients and has been on an awesome journey developing his agency. Full show notes -  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-make-agency-life-enjoyable/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out informat...

Usually at the very last moment in a project your client suddenly says: “What about the privacy policy”. If you recognise that and can relate to the stress of getting your client to provide legal documentation, or you are left trying to put one together, then this episode is for you. Full show notes - https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/finding-the-right-privacy-policy/ See acast.com/privacy for...

Every journey is different. This week we jump into the time machine with Colleen Gratzer as she tells us her story. Her agency has evolved since 2003 and over the last few years she’s been deep diving into accessibility. She blows Lee’s mind with all the things he hadn’t even thought of in regards to accessibility as well as the user experience beyond the user interface. Thankfully she throws in h...

Pricing your projects or working out your hourly rate need not be complicated. In this episode I walk you through how to calculate both a reasonable and logical hourly rate and use that to price your projects and set achievable financial targets. Full show notes:  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-work-out-your-hourly-rate/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In October 2018 we finally decided to go for our dream of launching an event in the agency space. In this episode I share how planned and launched our event along with the lessons we learned along the way. Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-launch-a-niche-event/ ‎ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

How do you grow an agency, and create an exit plan that allows you to retire? Many agencies grow to a point where the founder becomes the bottleneck, the blocker to growth and the reason the they cannot move on from what they created. Feeling trapped? Looking for a growth and exit strategy? This episode is for you. Full show notes: https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-exit-your-agency/ See...

It’s the age old agency problem. You work hard to win the project, and then you are all hands on deck for delivery. In the meantime the sales pipeline gets neglected and before long there is too much month at the end of the money. As a result, you and your team begin scrambling for new business and become less and less fussy about what projects you undertake. Like a black hole, this cycle feels im...

Today we talk with Oliver who shares how his web agency began to develop solutions to help keep their client websites maintained and secure. As their service developed they realised it was time to pivot away from design/web builds and WebArx Security was born. Full show notes available here:  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-pivot-your-agency/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-...

Agency owners often dream of the perfect PR that generates 100s of leads and yet reality never quite meets expectations. How do you generate great PR for your agency that attracts the right sort of leads? Full show notes available here:  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-get-more-exposure/ --- OUR EVENT: Do you want to make real change in your business? Join us at our in-person event  A...

Chris Ducker is a serial entrepreneur who has worked his way up as an entrepreneur working 14 hour days 6 days a week to become a virtual CEO. Chris has also written a book on becoming the go- to leader in your industry and build a future proof business. Not only is Chris an author he also runs the YouPreneur podcast where he introduces his audience to some of the top online business minds, as wel...

Kelly Baader is a renowned Digital Sales and Marketing Strategist, Certified Business Coach, Mentor to emerging Christian entrepreneurs, Host of Christian CEO Podcast, author of an Amazon bestseller – A Little Girl Called Grace, and the founder of The Christian CEO University. From a humble background, Kelly had to overcome insurmountable odds since her childhood to achieve the success she enjoys...

Are your current marketing strategies failing you? Do you even have a marketing strategy? (Hey, I’m often winging it folks). Today Michelle Hunter shares how we can create a marketing plan for our services. Expect zero “buzz words”, instead easy to understand explanations, advice and actions. Full show notes available here:  https://agencytrailblazer.com/podcast/how-to-market-your-services/ --- OU...