Jason Swenk’s story is remarkable. After he built a website for fun, friends began to ask him to build theirs. He then started to make a living constructing websites for businesses. That small venture eventually became a highly successful digital agency with over 100 employees and major clients like Lotus Cars, AT&T, Hitachi and more.
That climb from the bottom to the top is fascinating enough, but it isn’t the end of Swenk’s saga. Eventually, he grew tired of the agency of life and sold his successful business. However, he quickly got bored with retirement and began to help friends with their agencies. He then spun that into another company, advising agencies on how to grow and scale faster. Swenk also hosts the “Smart Agency Masterclass Podcast,” a highly popular podcast focused on marketing agencies.
In this episode of “Only The Strong Survive,” Swenk sits down with host Dan Kahn to discuss what he learned building both of his businesses from the ground up. The in-depth discussions and lessons don’t just apply to agencies, but are valuable to any entrepreneur leading their own brand.
Click on the icon above to listen to the entire episode, and here are our top five takeaways:
Hire the right people.
Be a specialist instead of a generalist.
Failing to adapt or change your brand can be its downfall.
Ensure your core values match with anyone you do business with.
Focus on what you do best and delete the rest.
Hire People Who Can Manage Themselves
Swenk initially hit a wall with his agency because he really didn’t like being a project manager. Plus, with so many projects that had to run through him, he eventually became a bottleneck. His solution was to hire people who can manage themselves and, just as importantly, let them do exactly that.
“I am the worst manager in the world. I can’t manage anyone. My brain thinks very differently, and your brain probably thinks very differently than people you have to manage,” said Swenk. “So, what I started to realize was, and I could see this in the team, was that I need to hire the people who can manage themselves. And I need to hire people who are better managers than me to manage the people that do need to be managed at the lower level.”
Be a Specialist
Many think offering a wide range of products or services is the best way to make their business work. However, for Swenk, the opposite is true. Specializing in something is a better path to success as it allows for a better focus on your mission, customers and competition.
“On the podcast, I am always interviewing specialists. We are always talking about how you have to be a specialist so you can really drill down on the problem, you can really refine your offer, and you can get more streamlined and more profitable. You are really eliminating your competition (by being a specialist), and that is one of the key parts,” said Swenk. “That is why you see in Agency Mastery, 90% of them are all specialized agencies.”
Adapt or Die
It is definitely a weird time for any business or agency, with the rise of AI causing multiple concerns about the future. However, brands have experienced many transitory periods in the past. The key is to adapt and be open to new realities and technologies, as refusing to change can be a death sentence for your brand.
“When I started the agency, websites and the internet were the big new things. I remember there was a big distinction between a traditional agency, like they weren’t even called traditional agencies, they were just called marketing agencies. They were doing traditional things, like outdoor, TV and print, and that is all they were doing,” said Swenk. “The ones that really kind of died on the vine were the ones that didn’t want to change.”
Align Your Core Values
Knowing your brand's core values is extremely important. However, according to Swenk, aligning your core values with the values of your vendors, suppliers, partners, customers or anyone else you do business with is just as important. Skipping that step can result in conflict, misunderstandings and misalignments that can harm your brand.
“I realize that anyone that I want to work with as a client, and I think everyone should do this as well with a client, member or however your business is set up, is to ask what are their core values? My core values are being resourceful, having fun, sharing what works and what doesn’t, and that is the core values we look for when we bring on clients,” said Swenk. “When we talk to people, we first ask, ‘Can we help this person?’ and then, ‘Do we want to help them?’ We then ask about their core values.”
Focus on What You’re Great At
Brands can often get bogged down with too many irons in the fire. Whether it is trying to branch out into new markets or find different revenue streams, it can all detract from doing what the business is actually good at. For Swenk, the key to being successful is focusing on what you are best at.
“Too many businesses are trying to do too many things and doing things that they are not really good at. Think about when Steve Jobs came back to Apple. What did he do? He eliminated all the crap and focused on the things they are great at,” said Swenk. “I will only release and do things that I know we can do great. If I say it is just good enough, no, it is crap. Really, it is figuring out what you can become the world’s best at.”
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