Having been an agency owner for over fifteen years, I occasionally reflect on the past and relive situations and scenarios, asking myself: what if I h

50 Things Keeping You From Scaling Your Agency

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2021-06-14 17:30:08

Having been an agency owner for over fifteen years, I occasionally reflect on the past and relive situations and scenarios, asking myself: what if I had made a different decision or what if I had behaved differently?

I do this not to dwell on missed opportunities or to fill myself up with regret (although there are twangs of pain) but to remind myself that looking ahead, it's firmly in my hands to do things better and to avoid making the same mistakes again.

It's in this spirit that I decided to jot down a list of 50 items that I felt have been blockers in helping me scale our agency. Where available, I've linked to blog posts I've written on some of these topics.

The unwillingness to confront and face tough decisions and difficult conversations (with clients, business partners, employees) may help avoid short-term pain but will stunt progress in the long run. Fear of confrontation, fear of being wrong, fear of failure – these are all emotions that nudge us to find evasive maneuvers, but deep down, we all know that for true progress, we have to face the pain.

The other fear that is prevalent is the fear of letting go and the fear that trusting someone else will lead to failure. This fear, which is wrapped up with one's sense of ego–that only the owner is qualified or capable of doing something right–is a major obstacle when it comes to scaling. The fear leads to constant micro-managing, which in turn prevents the growth and development of employees, and which ultimately leads to a vicious cycle of underperformance and attrition due to frustration and mutual distrust.

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