The Cancer You’re Letting Kill Your Agency

I’ve been a small business owner for sixteen years. The last eight as CEO of a digital marketing agency. I should have known better by now, but I’ll admit it: I’ve let the wrong people in.

I’ve brought in peers, partners, vendors, and coaches who promised me what I wanted to hear … secrets, shortcuts, fantastical growth, loyalty. And I bought in. Not just once, but over and over.

It wasn’t always their fault. My insecurity led me to search for “the secret” to a successful business, and by extension, life. I doubted myself, and I ended up outsourcing my confidence.

Those decisions almost destroyed everything I’ve been working towards my whole career. Just a few weeks ago, I nearly shut down two of my three agencies. Not because of lack of opportunity, but because I let the wrong people get too close. Empty promises, loaded salaries, business coaches, and even business organizations that made it all sound more complicated than it is. Their cancer started to spread. It infected my team, my culture, and eventually me.

But here’s what I finally realized: there is no secret. Business isn’t all that complicated. Do good work. Make your clients happy. Treat your employees properly. Treat yourself properly. Sure, it’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s really everything you need to know.

The more you allow people to convince you otherwise, the more screwed you’ll get in the end.

I’ve cut coaches. I’ve fired employees. I’ve stopped allowing people to have leverage over me. I remind myself: I didn’t need them before, and I don’t need them now. It may be painful to cut them, but I’ll survive.

And now, I’m more careful. Brutally careful about who I let into my inner circle. Most people don’t get in. Because when you let the wrong ones stay, they’ll change your culture in ways you did not anticipate and do not want.

I know where I’m going. By 2030, I’ll be celebrating with my team in Las Vegas when we hit $100M. But before that party, there will be a private dinner for my closest confidants in the open desert at night. And I already know who will be at the table. When I think of letting someone in, to get close, I think about whether they’ll be at the table with us. That’s how I make decisions about confidants now. If I can’t see you at that dinner, then you don’t get to shape my agency today.

If you’re an agency owner, think about this. Who are you letting in that’s killing your momentum? Who are you keeping around that shouldn’t be there? Don’t let it fester. Treat the cancer before it takes you out.

I teach agency owners how to build profitable agencies that give them more time, more leverage, and the ability to scale without the wrong people dragging them down. The Business of Agency newsletter and my one-on-one coaching are all about that. Subscribe to the newsletter or visit businessofagency.com to learn more.

I hope that helps.

~ Erik