Season 8 | Ep 95 | Finances and Agency Growth Management with Ryan Watson

What financial stage is your agency, and how are you managing the growth? Agency growth has four discreet stages that drive decisions: the create mode, build mode, grow mode, and big business stage. 

In this episode of The Agency Blueprint, I’m joined by Ryan Watson, an experienced operations and finance leader for creative agencies and venture-funded startups. As a partner at Upsourced, he helps scaling agencies build better plans, see the future, and drive profit.   

Listen in to learn the importance of focusing on one thing at a time and building momentum rather than a hierarchy of KPIs.  

Key Questions:   

  • [01:14] What are the glass ceilings you’re seeing from a financial perspective working with agencies every day?  
  • [20:13] Why is it a bad idea for an agency to have a hierarchy of KPIs?  
  • [24:47] What stage do you think makes sense for someone to bring in a full-time in-house team? 

What You’ll Discover:  

  • [01:43] The four discreet stages of agency growth and the challenges and intentional decisions to make.  
  • [06:34] The challenge of creating a repeatable revenue generation during the build mode phase. 
  • [09:37] How to find the right way to form a business unit that you run. 
  • [13:35] The importance of transparency when communicating your why to your team. 
  • [18:47] Why the fear of letting people go at certain stages is a massive limitation in growth.  
  • [20:33] The importance of focusing on one thing at a time in your KPIs and building momentum.  
  • [25:04] The questions to ask yourself to understand when to bring in a full-time in-house team.  

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