OK, not really monsters. But this is a brain dump of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences building and running a marketing agency - Portent - for 25 years, plus a few notes on selling. I screwed up plenty. Make of it what you will.

1. The agency owner
Skilled
Feral
Ready for anything

2. One week later
Confused
Winging it
Poorly groomed

3. Life Among The Monsters
Starting, Running, & Selling An Agency
When You Have No Plan Whatsoever
Ian Lurie, & Everyone Else Along The Way
@ianlurie

4. The Prologue

5. These are the people
And they are amazing

6. They are not a “resource”
They have lives. Good days. Bad days.
They screw up.
In other words, they’re you.

7. I had no plan. There. I said it.

8. 01
Don’t make the same mistake.
People take you too damn seriously

9. 1. Maintain Sanity

10. Important note!!!!
Sanity <> Stability
Sanity = good decision making, staying power, and kindness

11. 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

12. 03
It’s Princess Bride. At best.
This is not Lord Of The Rings

13. 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

14. 05
Listen. Then get to work
Care what other people think

15. 06
They revolutionized how I worked
Twice
Hire a coach. Find a mentor.

16. 07
Pick a treat. Be consistent.
Fly first class

17. 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

18. 2. Foster Clarity & Trust

19. 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.

20. 09
Why: A goal
How: A structure
What: Metrics…?
Tell everyone why they’re there

21. OKRs
Exceed the client
promise
SHIFTS

22. 10
It costs you trust
Praise in public
Critique in private
Don’t fart in public
toot

23. 11
Don’t think out loud
Be careful with sarcasm
Take advantage to teach/lead w/ less effort
Everyone’s listening

24. 12
Say “excuse me”
You can re-establish trust
When you do fart…
toot

25. 13
It shouldn’t happen often
When it does, cut the cord
Know when someone’s checked out

26. 14
You’re just screwing everyone
Don’t be “nice”

27. 15
What means a non-stop trip out the door?
Make sure everyone knows
Have non-negotiables

28. 16
(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
toot

29. toot
17
Avoid fart ambushes
On a schedule
On paper
Have reviews

30. 18
HR software
Time tracking
Expense tracking
PTO requests
Have the processes before you need them

31. 19
No matter what you do
½ your company will hate the tools

32. 20
Do not share salaries
Explain salary bands

33. 21
Individual contributors and management
Have dual promotion tracks

34. 22
Therein lies madness
Never, ever collect anonymous feedback

35. 23
Leadership must be accessible and safe
Foster access

36. 24
Even when the world goes to shit
Even if you (barely) survived
Celebrate

37. 25
“Yay! We did it!”
“What would you do different next time?”
Master happy teaching moments

38. 26
Lunch with _____
Say thanks
Just a checkin
Try teaching
Interact

39. 27
You know a thing or two
Teach the team

40. 28
They know a thing or two
Get the team teaching
Remember, these are
cartoons, not the team

41. 29
Remind people
Make it easy
Tettra, Lessonly, Confluence, Google Docs,
whatever
Have a knowledge base

42. 30 Write it all down

43. 31
“Teach the shit out of everything”
Make it part of the culture

44. 3. The Business

45. Disclaimer
I sucked – SUCKED – at hiring. Seriously. It was legendary.
I got lucky several times, then those people did the hiring.

46. 32
…is to earn more than you spend
Your main strategy

47. 33
No matter what. Ever. No exceptions.
50% up front/1st month

48. 34
No one gets to ask for more
Get paid in full

49. 35
Don’t bill hourly. You’re punishing yourself.
You’re worth more than time

50. 36
Trust me on this
Get credit before you need it

51. 3.5. Client Management

52. 37
“This is a project agreement. However, if hours exceed…”
Prepare for high-touch
Direct team transparency
Big clients?

53. 38
Strict service level agreement
Set super-clear expectations
Small clients?

54. 39 Charge a drama rate
When it’s time to renew
If you’re going out of scope

55. 40
The test drive is a myth
There’s never “more work later”

56. 41
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

57. toot
Except…

58. toot
to
o
t
toot
APOLOGIZE!!!

59. 42
It may hurt. It’s worth it.
But remember, don’t fart in public.
Team first. Clients second.

60. 43
“Thanks for your patience”
Don’t apologize. Appreciate.

61. 44
“How else can I help?”
Ask The Question

62. 3.6. Exit

63. 45
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

64. 46
Oy
Have a job description

65. 47
I have no clue
How much?

66. What does it all mean?

67. …if you don’t
Don’t pretend you have a plan

68. …and people make good decisions
Foster clarity

69. The cash, the clients, the long term
Tend the business

70. Treat it as one
This is a big deal.

71. Required (OK, Recommended) Reading

73. Everything by this guy

74. Wil Reynolds: The Consultant’s Rut & How To Escape It
https://url.ianlurie.com/consult-trap
Cough Cough
https://url.ianlurie.com/one-trick

75. Ask (I’ll try to answer)
@ianlurie
ian@ianlurie.com
Deck, links, and all that (coming tomorrow):
https://url.ianlurie.com/agency-life