• Ep 42: Accidental Agency: How Referrals Sparked a Marketing Business , with Evgeniya Polikarpova
    Jun 30 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Evgenia’s agency journey started “by accident” through helping a friend with Facebook Ads, leading to word-of-mouth referrals.
    • Her background includes agency and corporate marketing roles, giving her a strong foundation in structured systems.
    • She emphasizes the importance of building internal systems early on, even for solo operators.
    • Referrals are powerful but unpredictable; building a repeatable sales process is critical for growth.
    • Airtable and Kanban systems are strong alternatives to expensive tools for project and content management.
    • Clarity on your Ideal Client Profile (ICP) is a must—trying to serve everyone ultimately serves no one.
    • Building relationships—not just pitching—is the most sustainable sales strategy.
    • Outreach automation via AI can backfire if it’s done poorly and without personalization.
    • One of her proudest wins was building a successful LinkedIn presence for a niche public policy consulting firm—driving engagement from the exact audience they wanted to attract.

    Learn more about Evgeniya's agency here:
    https://linktr.ee/raincitymarketing

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    31 mins
  • Ep 40: From Musician to Email Marketing Pro: How Shopé Built His Agency from the DMs Up
    Jun 25 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Shopé transitioned from being a touring independent musician to running a thriving email marketing agency.
    • The pandemic derailed his music career, leading him to start an eCommerce brand — and later discover email marketing as a high-ROI channel.
    • After realizing the cash flow potential, he pivoted to start Building Block Digital and began acquiring clients through 1:1 outreach in DMs.
    • Early success came through reconnecting with a fellow musician-turned-entrepreneur who opened the door to Slack communities and his first recurring clients.
    • Shopé emphasizes building real relationships over quick-pitch automation in DMs — and it’s still a core part of his lead gen strategy today.
    • He shared a major deliverability win: successfully migrating a 1.4M+ email list from Klaviyo to a lesser-known ESP while improving deliverability and performance.
    • Real client results include $500K in attributed email revenue in just 3 months and a $50K monthly lift for an already successful 6-figure brand.

    Check out Shopé's agency here:

    https://www.buildingblockdigital.com/

    Check out Kondo: https://app.trykondo.com/referral/BV3GUQ

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    38 mins
  • Ep 39: Scaling DTC Brands with CRO: Inside Customers Who Click, with Will Laurenson
    Jun 23 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Will transitioned from in-house marketing roles at startups to launching his own CRO-focused agency.
    • Customers Who Click serves 7–9 figure DTC brands by implementing data-driven conversion optimization strategies.
    • His early frustrations with lack of execution led him to shift from consulting to full-service delivery.
    • “Done-with-you” services often require more effort than “done-for-you,” and he now prices accordingly.
    • Will shared the evolution of his pricing strategy and the challenges in creating tiered CRO offers.
    • Smaller clients tend to demand more time and attention despite paying less—making tier segmentation crucial.
    • His podcast has become a major lead-generation asset by building strong guest relationships.
    • He's refining a strategy to convert podcast guests into clients or strong referral sources.

    Check out Will's agency here:

    https://www.customerswhoclick.com/

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    30 mins
  • Ep 38: Are You Losing Money on Clients? Two Steps to Financial Clarity
    Jun 20 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Implementing Profit First creates essential financial clarity and structure
    • Separate your revenue into 4 simple accounts: OpEx, Owner’s Comp, Taxes, and Profit
    • Most agency owners unknowingly overspend and underpay themselves
    • Tracking profitability per client reveals which clients are profitable vs. loss-making
    • Use a basic Google Sheet to track client-level labor and tool costs
    • Try this prompt to get coached by your dream mentor:

    "For this entire chat, please act as if you are {CREDIBLE, WELL KNOWN PERSON YOU WISH WAS YOUR MENTOR} coaching me on my business problems. Say what you think you would say. Ask the kinds of questions you think you would ask. Provide the kinds of diagnoses you think you would provide. And don't be afraid to provide a hard dose of reality, no matter how brutal or blunt."

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    9 mins
  • Ep 37: Niche Down, Level Up: Why Specialization Changed Everything for This Agency, with Chase Clymer of Electric Eye
    Jun 18 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Chase transitioned from music and photography into digital freelancing before co-founding Electric Eye.
    • The agency became “real” after three years, shaped by key books like Built to Sell, Profit First, and Traction.
    • Niching down into Shopify design and development significantly improved operations, profitability, and client fit.
    • Partnerships, especially with smaller SaaS apps, drive long-term growth when built on authenticity and reciprocity.
    • A podcast is a “cheat code” for relationship-building, content creation, and authority-building—if you're willing to play the long game.
    • When hiring, always choose someone with proven experience to avoid training from scratch and poor outcomes.
    • Avoid the myth of instant success in agency life—real growth comes from iteration, mistakes, and strategic focus.

    Check out Chase's agency here: https://electriceye.io/

    Check out Chase's podcast here: https://honestecommerce.com/

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    34 mins
  • Ep 36: Inside a Latin American Agency: Growth, Challenges, and Opportunities with Ale Zanetti
    Jun 16 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Ale started his career as an engineer and later transitioned into marketing with a data-driven mindset.
    • Orkesta specializes in helping eCommerce and SaaS companies with performance marketing and full-funnel strategy.
    • The agency has evolved to include creative services, video content, and AI integration to stay competitive.
    • AI is viewed as a game-changing tool for improving conversion and automation across marketing efforts.
    • One of Ale’s biggest challenges is competing in a saturated, price-sensitive Latin American market.
    • Building long-term client relationships and providing clear value is critical to sustainability.
    • Larger clients often offer more satisfying work but come with the risk of internalizing services—diversification is key.
    • Strategic positioning and differentiation become crucial when serving more mature businesses.
    • The importance of meditation, patience, and never becoming complacent are core lessons Ale would give his younger self.

    Check out Ale's agency here:

    https://orquesta.agency/

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    27 mins
  • Ep 35: The Agency Leaky Bucket: How to Patch Churn Before It Sinks You
    Jun 13 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Client churn often feels sudden but usually stems from deeper issues than just performance.
    • Reacting to churn with more sales efforts alone treats the symptom, not the cause.
    • Real solutions come from diagnosing and addressing foundational operational and leadership gaps.
    • Agencies must assess fit and alignment with their ICP before onboarding clients.
    • A structured, visual onboarding process dramatically improves early client experience.
    • Early value delivery within the first 14 days is crucial to build trust and retention.
    • Success criteria must be defined, documented, and agreed upon with clients before starting work.
    • Regular, proactive communication is essential—communication gaps often signal pending churn.
    • A single team member should own each client relationship for better accountability.
    • Profitability and team burnout must be tracked and managed for sustainable service delivery.
    • Skipped calls and lack of communication are often early signs of client dissatisfaction.
    • Agencies should use a churn diagnostic checklist after every lost client to identify breakdowns.

    Get the Client Churn Diagnostic here!

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    13 mins
  • Ep 34: Built for Impact: How Pasha Knish Turned Freelance Scraps into an Amazon Powerhouse
    Jun 11 2025

    Key Takeaways

    • Pasha’s agency journey started as a side hustle while bootstrapping his own Amazon brand.
    • AMZ Optimized helps FBA sellers scale faster and more cost-effectively than hiring in-house.
    • The human relationship element is essential to long-term agency success—automation alone can’t replace it.
    • Applying principles from permaculture, Pasha builds systems with multi-functional benefits for both clients and team.
    • The agency is launching an AI tool to streamline Amazon listing backend optimization.
    • Referral networks and strategic partnerships are central to AMZ Optimized's growth.
    • Smaller, well-optimized teams using the right tech can outperform larger, less agile organizations.
    • Town halls and internal communication foster a strong remote culture across global time zones.
    • AI should enhance, not replace, core functionality in tools and systems.
    • A long-term, client-centered approach led to 20x growth for one Amazon brand.

    Check out Pasha's agency here:

    https://www.amzoptimized.com/

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/email

    Agency Uplift - Free Stuff to Scale Your Agency:

    https://www.agencyuplift.co/sop (I saved $20K/mo using this system)

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    36 mins