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Life Among The Monsters
Starting, Running, & Selling An Agency When You
Have No Plan Whatsoever
Ian Lurie, & Everyone Else Along The Way
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The agency owner
Skilled
Feral
Ready for anything
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One week later
Confused
Winging it
Poorly groomed
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The Prologue
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These are the people
And they are amazing
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They are not a “resource”
They have lives. Good days. Bad days. They
screw up.
In other words, they’re you.
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I had no plan. There. I said it.
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01
Don’t make the same mistake.
People take you too damn seriously
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1. Maintain Sanity
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Important note!!!!
Sanity <> Stability
Sanity = good decision making, staying power, and kindness
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02
You are not the cavalry
There is no cavalry
You are not a superhero
You are a professional
You are not in a movie
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03
It’s Princess Bride. At best.
This is not Lord Of The Rings
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04
It’s not “just business,” ffs. You have permission to feel
good/bad/awful
Care what other people think. Then get to work
Be emotional
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05
Listen. Then get to work
Care what other people think
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06
They revolutionized how I worked
Twice
Hire a coach. Find a mentor.
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07
Pick a treat. Be consistent.
Fly first class
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08
Two recessions, one banking collapse, a terrorist attack, two (at
least) major wars, a pandemic
Tear gassed, mugged (unsuccessfully), major earthquake, two
bike crashes, son lodged a penny in his throat, daughter hit in
the face with a flying wooden banana, emergency
appendectomy, three major layoffs
Every shitshow’s different
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2. Foster Clarity & Trust
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Clarity & Trust Go Hand In Hand
”Clarity” isn’t about “mission.” Clarity is anything that helps you and
your team make good decisions about the work, their tenure, their
careers, and their lives.
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09
Why: A goal
How: A structure
What: Metrics…?
Tell everyone why they’re there
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No content
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It costs you trust
Praise in public
Critique in private
Don’t fart in public
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Don’t think out loud
Be careful with sarcasm
Take advantage to teach/lead w/ less effort
Everyone’s listening
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Say “excuse me”
You can re-establish trust
When you do fart…
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It shouldn’t happen often
When it does, cut the cord
Know when someone’s checked out
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You’re just screwing everyone
Don’t be “nice”
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What means a non-stop trip out the door?
Make sure everyone knows
Have non-negotiables
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(avoid farts of omission)
Silly? No. Think of the little questions that come up: Expenses,
holidays, PTO, dress code (yes, dress code), supplies
It’s about the little things that can make you…
Have an employee manual
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17
Avoid fart ambushes
On a schedule
On paper
Have reviews
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HR software
Time tracking
Expense tracking
PTO requests
Have the processes before you need them
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No matter what you do
½ your company will hate the tools
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20
Do not share salaries
Explain salary bands
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21
Individual contributors and management
Have dual promotion tracks
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Therein lies madness
Never, ever collect anonymous feedback
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Leadership must be accessible and safe
Foster access
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Even when the world goes to shit
Even if you (barely) survived
Celebrate
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“Yay! We did it!”
“What would you do different next time?”
Master happy teaching moments
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Lunch with _____
Say thanks
Just a checkin
Try teaching
Interact
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You know a thing or two
Teach the team
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They know a thing or two
Get the team teaching
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Remind people
Make it easy
Tettra, Confluence, Google Docs, whatever
Have a knowledge base
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30 Write it all down
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“Teach the shit out of everything”
Make it part of the culture
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3. The Business
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Disclaimer
I sucked – SUCKED – at hiring. Seriously. It was legendary.
I got lucky several times, then those people did the hiring.
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…is to earn more than you spend
Your main strategy
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No matter what. Ever. No exceptions.
50% up front/1st month
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No one gets to ask for more
Get paid in full
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Don’t bill hourly. You’re punishing yourself.
You’re worth more than time
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Trust me on this
Get credit before you need it
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3.5. Client Management
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“This is a project agreement. However, if hours exceed…”
Prepare for high-touch
Direct team transparency
Big clients?
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38
Strict service level agreement
Set super-clear expectations
Small clients?
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39 Charge a drama rate
When it’s time to renew
If you’re going out of scope
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The test drive is a myth
There’s never “more work later”
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You’re there to make the client (and you) look good
”Sales are up 100%! Thank you, development team, for
implementing our recommendations!”
I told you so
Give the praise, take the hit
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It may hurt. It’s worth it.
But remember, don’t fart in public.
Team first. Clients second.
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“Thanks for your patience”
Don’t apologize. Appreciate.
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“How else can I help?”
Ask The Question
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3.6. Exit
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Build to be a great agency
Sell when someone recognizes that you’ve built
a great agency
Don’t go looking
Do not have an exit strategy
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Oy
Have a job description
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I have no clue
How much?
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What does it all mean?
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…if you don’t
Don’t pretend you have a plan
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…and people make good decisions
Foster clarity
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The cash, the clients, the long term
Tend the business
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Treat it as one
This is a big deal.
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Required (OK, Recommended) Reading
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No content
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Everything by this guy
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Wil Reynolds: The Consultant’s Rut & How To Escape It
https://url.ianlurie.com/consult-trap
Cough Cough
https://url.ianlurie.com/one-trick
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Ask (I’ll try to answer)
Deck, links, and all that:
https://ianlurie.me/agency-life